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Cult band Talas is
best known as the introduction to legendary bass god Billy Sheehan.
They're one of those bands that are always referred to as "influential,"
yet no one you know owns any of their records. Anyone heard a classic
Talas song on the radio lately?
Sheehan disbanded the group after a handful of albums when he joined
David Lee Roth in 1984, and this is the power trio's long-awaited
(?) live reunion album, recorded at a hometown gig in Buffalo, NY
in late 1997.
Sheehan is indeed the star of the show here, though he doesn't stoop
to gratuitous bass solos and treats this with a band mentality, much
to his credit (he could have very easily labeled this "Billy Sheehan
and Talas"). Having only heard Talas fleetingly in the past (and years
ago at that), I was surprised at how basic they sound.
They're a bar band through and through, albeit a very polished one
(especially that Sheehan has had all these years to mature as an artist
and try new things like his work in Niacin and Explorers Club). The
band is also highly effective at vocal harmonies, especially on "Tell
Me True," "See Saw," and "Most People."
The other highlights are "Sink Your Teeth Into That," "Expert on
Me," "Any Other Day" (where vocalist/guitarist Dave Constantino
sounds remarkably like Steve Perry), "Shy Boy," and a version
of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" (where they really
step up and show some chops).
What this live album shows is that Talas' cult status is well-earned,
and that this band, long forgotten (if indeed ever acknowledged) by
the general public, really could have gone places had they stuck it
out and grown together as artists and performers. They specialized
in simplified, straight-ahead rock and were obviously early pioneers
of the "power ballad." A bit of a metal obscurity for sure, but a
fun and dignified one.
Released by Metal Blade Records GmbH, P.O. Box 1332, 73054 Eislingen,
Germany.
Metal Blade Records Inc, 2828 Cochran St. Suite 302, Simi Valley,
CA 93065-2793, USA
Website : http://metalblade.iuma.com/
Email : mtlbldrcds@aol.com
Review by Mark Tinta
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