Stephen
If you go into a room blindly and someone put this disc with a volume cranked out loud, wild guess is that you'll be confused into thinking that this is a new Bon Jovi record. I won't blame you for that since Johnny's voice has been fame with its close comparison to Jon even though musically I must said that this disc is better than what Bon Jovi did in the last ten years. "Livin' Out Loud" is gonna set your night on fire with lots of uptempo tunes, smartly balanced with sweet midtempo ballads. Some Bon Jovi, Kiss, and Def Leppard traces here and there, but this isn't merely a revisit to the 80s decade, this is a fresh modernized record with the old melodic rock juicy goodie hanging loose on his musical backbone.
"All I Wanna Do" blitzed with high tempo and crunchy rhythm, “Wildflower” borrows Gotthard riffs and clamps it with a catchy chorus. "I'm On Fire" flows with a strong AC/DC vibe and a big commercial breezy chorus. "Caught In The Middle" sparks some firey riffage and breathtaking chorus, sure you can't find any weak moment on this song, the guitars, the drums, everything is just flawless. Come up next, a hilarious and joyful song, "Gimme Some Rock So I Can Roll". Johnny shouts it right with a decent polite protest to the radio, "let's hear some motley, shout at the devil please, cause that amy winehouse just doesn't do it for me". "Still Waiting For You" is a modern-flavored commercial track with superb arrangement while "Hard to Say Goodbye" reminds me of Bon Jovi's "I'd Die For You" style with a blissful chorus.
This record is not without fillers, songs like "Somebody To Love", the title track, or "Till Love Is Gone" won't be missed if they aren't there, but I have to give him a round of applause for his talent. Not only he handles vocal and many rhythm section alone, he also responsible with the production and songwriting for those whole bunch of songs. A totally likeable record if you dig melodic rock, later day glam, or even traditional heavy metal. Great job!