Welcome To The
Rest Of Your Life

Man, this takes me back! Back to the late 70s and early 80s when arena rock was called just plain old rock, when ladies dressed to the skin tight nines and primped their hair, when few went to concerts without lighters. I occasionally hear similar music—REO is still around, Rick Springfield has recently toured (and sounded pretty good to me), April Wine has supposedly reformed. Maybe my ears were a little fatigued back in the glory days, so many bands plugging in and cranking out straight rock, but this actually sounds a little refreshing. Hard to beat the major chord progressions and cranking rhythm guitar when the mood strikes.

Make no mistake, either. Tommy Strazza has the touch. Blessed with a pretty fair rocking attitude and voice to match, he takes you through track after track worthy of the best auditoriums and arenas. Think Night Ranger and Player with a Springsteen edge. Think expensive jeans and expensive casual long-sleeved shirt and maybe boots. Think Camel cigarettes and a fine lady on your arm. And think loud. This is original rock, not tribute music, and meant to be played LOUD because that is the best way to absorb the pounding rhythm or the full chords.

Detour has gotten the most press and it is a great rocker, but the peak for me is the one-two-three punch of Good To See You, Love, Don't Bring Me Down and Liberated. Great tracks which stack one on the other in fine early 80s fashion. A special pat on the back to Laura Christiansen who supplied perfect harmony vocals on Love, Don't Bring Me Down. When you close your eyes on that track, you live in the musical past. Those were, indeed, the days (for those who lived them, anyway).

Track List:

Edited by: David N. Pyles
(dnpyles@acousticmusic.com)