The Livesays Hold On....He is Calling Review by Gary Hill
There is some exceptional music here. The sound of this really channels a lot of old school classic rock textures, but at times brings some modern elements to it. I really like this album a lot. There are no bad songs here at all. I would say that it might be a stronger album if it were a bit shorter, though. All that said, it's darned good as it stands, so why quibble?
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Track by Track Review
I'm Coming Home
I absolutely love this song. It starts with a real folk rock kind of vibe. The vocals are powerful and really make it work. It powers out to more 70s rock based music as it continues. This is classic and timeless in so many ways. It's also very powerful stuff.
Angels of the New Millennium No less tasty, this has more of a blues rock vibe to it. It's a hard rocking piece of magic. I love the slide guitar, but the whole song is great.
Pop Star If this had been released in the 1970s it would have been a huge hit. It's catchy, bluesy and so tasty. The vocal performance seems even stronger than the ones on the two openers. This is just such a cool tune.
No Promises This isn't as strong as the cuts that came before it. Honestly, that's not as much about this song as it is about those. The bar was raised so high that things just had to miss a bit at some point. On another album this would be a highlight. The competition here is just so steep. This is a mid-tempo cut that makes good use of the balance between rocking and mellower stuff. It's strong and has some solid guitar soloing.
Call on Me In some ways this is more in line with modern alternative rock. It has a lot of energy and some solid stylings. I like the chorus, but overall this one doesn't do a lot for me.
I've Heard the Truth Before Mixing the classic textures with a more modern alternative rock sound, this is fast paced and driving. While it's not one of my favorites, it's a step up from the last couple tunes.
I'd Change Everything
I love the vintage soulful vibes on this rocker. It's such a classy tune. This is another highlight of the disc for sure. It is classic and modern at the same time. It has a good balance between mellower and more rocking sounds.
This Side of Town I love the bluesy edge to this. The guitar sound is great, but the vocals really drive it. Yes, you could say that there is a bit of a down home sound here. The textures are old school in so many ways. Yet, there is a modern element, too. However you want to label this tune, though, it's one of the best of the set.
Libertine A mellower cut, this is perhaps more modern in nature than anything else here. I like this, but not nearly as much as the rest. It does have a modern element to the power ballad stylings that are built into it, but it's more alternative rock based for sure.
Why You Wanna Keep on Loving Me The classic rock vibes are strong with this one. It reminds me of something Bryan Adams might do, but I think I like the style of this better than that.
Pick Yourself Up Hard rocking and energized, this is another that makes me think of Bryan Adams quite a bit. It's a strong number.
It's What I Have to Do Another that lands more in the balladic territory, I like this tune, but it's not one of my favorites. It's a bit too samey and doesn't really manage to separate from the rest.
Turn It Around Here's another that makes me think of Bryan Adams. It's a solid rocker. Personally, I think the set would have been stronger if the last couple songs had been left off of the disc. It's not that these songs are bad. It's just that they are not all that special and in this case, I think less would be more in terms of letting the individual songs shine better.
