Toby Hitchcock - Mercury's Down

[Glen]

Another great song. I can see this album will kick my ass. Gorgeous girl too - though I'm not actually quite sure what she's meant to be doing. And I don't think she is either. Glad they put her in the filmclip to combat the dreaded no-microphone awkward lead singer moments.

 

lol...yeah shite video (as always!!)...wait til you hear 'Tear Down The Barricades' or 'I Should Have Said'.......crazy good stuff!

[Glen]

Just looking back it was interesting to note that this album was first mentioned on these boards in February 2010! A long wait, but well worth the wait.

 

[KarpetRydOFunk]

Definitely sounds like it's been worth the wait, but I can't wait any longer. I want it, now!

[Glen]

OK, for those that cant wait.........fill your boots -

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VqR9dcZrc4&feature=related

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBhyP6fYaQ4&feature=related

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxchKsX8eko&feature=related

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiW3mfF1mLY&feature=related

[Geoff]

Here's my sexy little summary I did yesterday:

 

1 - Strong enough - good melodic rock. A bit too “inspirational” in a gay way, but good chorus - 8

2 - This is the moment - great melodic rock… again, a bit too boppy and has a pretty cheesy clenched fist and circling camera kind of feel to it... But killer chorus - 9

3 - How to stop - stunning chorus - 9.5

4 - Let go - beautiful melodic rock - 9.5

5 - One day I'll stop loving you - stunning ballad - 9.5

6 - I should have said - amazing melodic rock - 9.5

7 - If it's to be - great "inspiro rocker" - 8

8 - Just say goodbye - another monster… amazing chorus - 9

9 - Summer nights in Cabo - another killer - 9.5

10 - Tear down the barricades - good hard rocker - 7

11 - A different drum - another good hard rocker - 8.5

12 - Mercury's down - good solid hard rocker… a bit chanty - 7

Total Score of all Songs - 104

Average Total Percentage of all Songs (%) - 87

TOTAL SCORE inc Songs, Vibe, Production etc. (%) - 93

 

Pretty unbelievably good CD at times, especially the middle section. Only negatives could be a lesser quality end to the disc and a couple of “inspiro-type-rockers’… but they’re only small points. Overall, it’s pretty brilliant. 93% for album.

Before anyone gets to excited about how brief and uninformative it is, it's just a little something I'm doing for myself on 2011 releases, to get an accurate reading of how the year's going... 'cause I'm a nerd.

[Glen]

Here's my sexy little summary I did yesterday:

 

1 - Strong enough - good melodic rock. A bit too “inspirational” in a gay way, but good chorus - 8

2 - This is the moment - great melodic rock… again, a bit too boppy and has a pretty cheesy clenched fist and circling camera kind of feel to it... But killer chorus - 9

3 - How to stop - stunning chorus - 9.5

4 - Let go - beautiful melodic rock - 9.5

5 - One day I'll stop loving you - stunning ballad - 9.5

6 - I should have said - amazing melodic rock - 9.5

7 - If it's to be - great "inspiro rocker" - 8

8 - Just say goodbye - another monster… amazing chorus - 9

9 - Summer nights in Cabo - another killer - 9.5

10 - Tear down the barricades - good hard rocker - 7

11 - A different drum - another good hard rocker - 8.5

12 - Mercury's down - good solid hard rocker… a bit chanty - 7

Total Score of all Songs - 104

Average Total Percentage of all Songs (%) - 87

TOTAL SCORE inc Songs, Vibe, Production etc. (%) - 93

 

Pretty unbelievably good CD at times, especially the middle section. Only negatives could be a lesser quality end to the disc and a couple of “inspiro-type-rockers’… but they’re only small points. Overall, it’s pretty brilliant. 93% for album.

Before anyone gets to excited about how brief and uninformative it is, it's just a little something I'm doing for myself on 2011 releases, to get an accurate reading of how the year's going... 'cause I'm a nerd.

 

Nice summation.

 

We are pretty much in agreement on overall score...I have it at 94.1% (could change a tad?), but main difference is 'How To Stop' & 'Tear Down The Barricades' are almost reversed. I Like 'How To Stop' but just found the chorus ever so slightly annoying by the end.....excellent backing harmonies tho.....whereas 'Tear' is melodic perfection for me. Amazing over the top chorus, and just KILLER solos. A winner for me.

 

Bottom line is : Excellent album.

[Glen]

Also I just have to add that the guitar solo in 'Cabo' is f awesome. Just a moment.

 

Seriously if EM does really play all instruments on this and write all the songs the guy is a genius....plain and simple.

[JamesEagle]

Sounding exciting. Could be one of my very small 2011 collection along with Rakel Traxx, Blackrain and Pestilence!

[gener8tr]

Okay, so I just finished listening to M.D. for the second time straight through and I must say, I haven't been this excited for a melodic hard rock CD since I first heard Hardline - Double Eclipse the summer of 1992. That's not to say I think it's the best album released the past two decades, but as far as immediate WOW FACTOR it rates right up there for me... and I admit I'm very hard to please. I usually need to warm-up to almost anything and everything new. For instance, I remember bringing KEEP THE FAITH home the day it was released in November 1992, and almost tossed it out the window that very same night. Looking back now, it's the last great album Bon Jovi released (in my opinion), and now that I'm 43 and no longer 18, I find myself reaching for KTF even more than Slippery when I need a Bon Jovi fix.

 

Anyway, Hitchcock's new album simply rocks, and even the two ballads are crunchy enough to keep my interest. Ironically, the only song I really don't care for that much is the title track.

 

This one will be getting plenty of run in my system(s)! Those dudes at Frontier Records simply have their shit together, PERIOD!

[melodicrock]

Also I just have to add that the guitar solo in 'Cabo' is f awesome. Just a moment.

 

Seriously if EM does really play all instruments on this and write all the songs the guy is a genius....plain and simple.

 

 

He does and he is!

 

Next up Eclipse new album and Jimi Jamison solo album he's writing (not as heavy as Toby's album). Plus there is The Friday Nights for pop/nu breed fans... Love this guy! And how good does WET still sound?

[Kim_Hp]

OVERRATED. Open your ears guys, this is miles away from the greatness of Pride of Lions and it made me realize that without Jim Peterik, Toby Hitchcock is just a good voice and nothing more.

 

This album has a few goodish tracks, but also filler! And there is no real variation in songwriting. The real genius is Jim Peterik, not Erik Martensson.

[Kim_Hp]

It's funny reading your comments here, Geoff. First you say that Toby Hithcock "sure as hell single-handedly destroy anything POL ever managed to record" and then you give "only" a 7 to what in my opinion probably the best song of the record, "Mercury's Down". Is it possible to have more different tastes??

[Glen]

OVERRATED. Open your ears guys, this is miles away from the greatness of Pride of Lions and it made me realize that without Jim Peterik, Toby Hitchcock is just a good voice and nothing more.

 

This album has a few goodish tracks, but also filler! And there is no real variation in songwriting. The real genius is Jim Peterik, not Erik Martensson.

 

lol...to each their own, but I think yours is gonna be a very lonely opinion in the weeks to come.

[Glen]

Also I just have to add that the guitar solo in 'Cabo' is f awesome. Just a moment.

 

Seriously if EM does really play all instruments on this and write all the songs the guy is a genius....plain and simple.

 

 

He does and he is!

 

Next up Eclipse new album and Jimi Jamison solo album he's writing (not as heavy as Toby's album). Plus there is The Friday Nights for pop/nu breed fans... Love this guy! And how good does WET still sound?

 

Yeah I saw on Erik's facebook page that is writing (or has just finished writing!) for Jimi's solo album - very exciting!!

[Geoff]

It's funny reading your comments here, Geoff. First you say that Toby Hithcock "sure as hell single-handedly destroy anything POL ever managed to record" and then you give "only" a 7 to what in my opinion probably the best song of the record, "Mercury's Down". Is it possible to have more different tastes??

I think the word you're looking for is opposite, not different.

 

I'll be honest with you mate. I love 'Too hot to sleep' and some of those early Survivor albums are nice harmless AOR. The first POL disc did admittedly have about 5 good songs. But aside from that, I think Jim Peterik is a rubbish song writer. The other 2 POL albums, and his solo albums. Garbage. They'd be farcical if I cared enough about him to really take note of them. They were that bad.

 

Comparing him to Erik Martensson doesn't even make sense to me, personally. Peterik couldn't even dream of writing material as strong as what is on the WET CD, or this one. But I'll readily admit they're 2 very different artists too. One writes blistering melodic hard rock, the other write bland, boring and dreary AOR. If you like that boring type of AOR, yeah sure, I can see why he'd be the preference. But I'm more a fan of MHR anyway.

 

Just a quick one to the Erik Martensson fans. Anyone got any thoughts or ideas on why he's kept all his best songs for other artists, and not for the Eclipse CDs? Now, don't get me wrong. I love all 3 Eclipse CDs and identified them (to myself) as a band to watch way back when their debut hit the scene and I was playing songs like 'Midnight train', 'The only one' and 'I believe in you' in my car bravely as I drove with my mate to the beach back then. Because to me they were relevant and worthy of public display and even slotted in nicely between the best modern rock at the time, which I played mostly in company of friends. Both of the next 2 CDs were great too, but you'd have to admit they're not quite as amazing as the WET or Hitchcock CDs. Do we now assume the 4th Eclipse CD will be absolutely stunning, and by far their best yet?

[exact3]

I liked what i heard on this cd. It will be mine!

[Kim_Hp]

One writes blistering melodic hard rock, the other write bland, boring and dreary AOR. If you like that boring type of AOR, yeah sure, I can see why he'd be the preference. But I'm more a fan of MHR anyway.

 

I love good melodic hard rock too, but yeah, I probably prefer a well-written AOR tune before a good MHR song any day. And to my ears P.O.L are just about the best AOR you can get in the 00's. They're the opposite of boring AOR

 

When we talk about BORING, let's take some AOR releases from this year, Bad Habit, Elevener, Work of Art...the amount of mediocre stuff coming out today is unbelievable. I even prefer the Toby Hitchcock CD before much coming out of the AOR genre these days. I'll put my hope in White Widdow and Kimball/Jamison now for killer releases. Apparently Erik Martensson is involved there as well... hmmmm

[Geoff]

One writes blistering melodic hard rock, the other write bland, boring and dreary AOR. If you like that boring type of AOR, yeah sure, I can see why he'd be the preference. But I'm more a fan of MHR anyway.

 

I love good melodic hard rock too, but yeah, I probably prefer a well-written AOR tune before a good MHR song any day. And to my ears P.O.L are just about the best AOR you can get in the 00's. They're the opposite of boring AOR

 

When we talk about BORING, let's take some AOR releases from this year, Bad Habit, Elevener, Work of Art...the amount of mediocre stuff coming out today is unbelievable. I even prefer the Toby Hitchcock CD before much coming out of the AOR genre these days. I'll put my hope in White Widdow and Kimball/Jamison now for killer releases. Apparently Erik Martensson is involved there as well... hmmmm

I'm a huge fan of the Bad Habit (especially the first half) and Work of Art albums, but I must admit that the Elevener album was quite a letdown. It still rated 71% with me which I guess is actually pretty good, but it was a big step back from the last album, despite a much better vocalist. I think White Widdow will be a crowd pleaser across the board. I think I heard the samples from that Kimball/Jamison album and it did sound excellent too.

[Kim_Hp]

One writes blistering melodic hard rock, the other write bland, boring and dreary AOR. If you like that boring type of AOR, yeah sure, I can see why he'd be the preference. But I'm more a fan of MHR anyway.

 

I love good melodic hard rock too, but yeah, I probably prefer a well-written AOR tune before a good MHR song any day. And to my ears P.O.L are just about the best AOR you can get in the 00's. They're the opposite of boring AOR

 

When we talk about BORING, let's take some AOR releases from this year, Bad Habit, Elevener, Work of Art...the amount of mediocre stuff coming out today is unbelievable. I even prefer the Toby Hitchcock CD before much coming out of the AOR genre these days. I'll put my hope in White Widdow and Kimball/Jamison now for killer releases. Apparently Erik Martensson is involved there as well... hmmmm

I'm a huge fan of the Bad Habit (especially the first half) and Work of Art albums, but I must admit that the Elevener album was quite a letdown. It still rated 71% with me which I guess is actually pretty good, but it was a big step back from the last album, despite a much better vocalist. I think White Widdow will be a crowd pleaser across the board. I think I heard the samples from that Kimball/Jamison album and it did sound excellent too.

 

"In The Heat of The Night" is one of the best songs I've heard this year, and I went out and bought the "Atmosphere" on the strength of that song alone. Only to find out that it was pretty much the only decent song on show

 

I have only listened to Work of Art two times as of yet, but so far it is a clear let down. Top 3 AOR for me so far this year are probably Robin Beck, Night Ranger and Airrace which all rank at about 85-90%

[Geoff]

One writes blistering melodic hard rock, the other write bland, boring and dreary AOR. If you like that boring type of AOR, yeah sure, I can see why he'd be the preference. But I'm more a fan of MHR anyway.

 

I love good melodic hard rock too, but yeah, I probably prefer a well-written AOR tune before a good MHR song any day. And to my ears P.O.L are just about the best AOR you can get in the 00's. They're the opposite of boring AOR

 

When we talk about BORING, let's take some AOR releases from this year, Bad Habit, Elevener, Work of Art...the amount of mediocre stuff coming out today is unbelievable. I even prefer the Toby Hitchcock CD before much coming out of the AOR genre these days. I'll put my hope in White Widdow and Kimball/Jamison now for killer releases. Apparently Erik Martensson is involved there as well... hmmmm

I'm a huge fan of the Bad Habit (especially the first half) and Work of Art albums, but I must admit that the Elevener album was quite a letdown. It still rated 71% with me which I guess is actually pretty good, but it was a big step back from the last album, despite a much better vocalist. I think White Widdow will be a crowd pleaser across the board. I think I heard the samples from that Kimball/Jamison album and it did sound excellent too.

 

"In The Heat of The Night" is one of the best songs I've heard this year, and I went out and bought the "Atmosphere" on the strength of that song alone. Only to find out that it was pretty much the only decent song on show

 

I have only listened to Work of Art two times as of yet, but so far it is a clear let down. Top 3 AOR for me so far this year are probably Robin Beck, Night Ranger and Airrace which all rank at about 85-90%

Wowser, different tastes indeed. Not heard Airrace yet but I just played the Robin Beck a few minutes ago for my ratings and it struggled in at 71%. Funnily enough, the same as Elevener above. Some very good songs, but a couple of real duds too. Night Ranger is solid - got a 73% from me. Again, pretty low in my overall rankings, though.

[TIM (2)]

This is the best melodic rock release of the year so far IMO, and by quite some distance. Work of Art is good too but it's not this good. This is right up there with the best albums from last year, and in fact the run of songs from "If It's To Be"/"Just Say Goodbye"/"Summernights In Cabo"/"Tear Down the Barricades" are as good as any 4 songs I've heard in years. It's very similar in style to the W.E.T album, though heavier, but barely has a filler at all. AWESOME.

[Glen]

This is the best melodic rock release of the year so far IMO, and by quite some distance. Work of Art is good too but it's not this good. This is right up there with the best albums from last year, and in fact the run of songs from "If It's To Be"/"Just Say Goodbye"/"Summernights In Cabo"/"Tear Down the Barricades" are as good as any 4 songs I've heard in years. It's very similar in style to the W.E.T album, though heavier, but barely has a filler at all. AWESOME.

 

Backed. (for a change! lol) Completly agree.

 

As for some other comments in this thread......Robin Beck better than WoA ?? WTF? That RB album is weak IMO (apart from one or 2 standouts)

 

Night Ranger 71% ?? WTF.

 

People must be listening to different albums to me..............

 

Airrace is a great album tho............

[Nightrain]

WoA is no doubt much better than Robin Beck, but after another listen, hm I found Beck's disc is still pretty good though but with many great releases are sweeping in, Robin is gonna wash up below #40 i'm afraid.

 

Night Ranger should have been around 80%, 71% is too low i agree, and Elevener definitely also should have been above 75%, maybe 80% after 3-4 spins.

Airrace haven't checked out again but that one is so completely overrated and Beck still top that one off IMHO but everyone has different taste so nothing's really wrong with that

[TIM (2)]

I know you've all been waiting for the definitive view on this one, so here it is...

 

1. This is the Moment - Powerful opener, big chorus, great vocals. 9.5/10

2. Strong Enough - More melodic, AOR-styled chorus. Very like Pride of Lions this one. 9.5/10

3. How to Stop - Where's that chorus from? Oh yeah, "If I Fall" from W.E.T. Awesome AOR. 9/10

4. Let Go - Slightly moodier song, less anthemic chorus. 8.5/10

5. One Day I'll Stop Loving You - Killer power-ballad, very emotive. 9/10

6. I Should Have Said - More great AOR. Slightly samey chorus, but no let-up in quality. 8.5/10

7. If It's to Be - Quality goes up again here. Another big AOR chorus. 9.5/10

8. Just Say Goodbye - More emotive vocals, totally stunning chorus expertly written. 9.5/10

9. Summernights in Cabo - Another virtually flawless melodic rocker, lush chorus and nice key change. 9.5/10

10. Tear Down the Barricades - Rockier tune but megaclassic anthemic chorus. Flawless. 10/10

11. A Different Drum - Drop in pace and a lighter tune, but another lush key-filled chorus. 9/10

12. Mercury's Down - Would've been a great tune on any other album, but here it's out of it's depth. 7.5/10

 

Overall:- 9.5/10

[gener8tr]

This one rates up there with Treat's Coup De Grace for me. I can't quit spinning this one.