Released: 2004
Tak Matsumoto is a Japanese musician who is part of a pop band that is a multi-million selling concern in his home country. I don't really know much more about the guy than that (other than the fact that he can play the guitar like a demon), but it could well be that his first love, is American-style melodic hard rock, because that describes TMG 1 in a nutshell, and if that's your preferred mug of beer then this album will quench your thirst quite nicely.
Gathering together Mr. Big vocalist Eric Martin, journeyman drummer Brian Tichy and melodic rock mastermind Jack Blades as his band, Matsumoto knows exactly what he’s doing and who to get to help him do it: this is a killer line-up indeed. Martin is an outstanding vocalist with exactly the right tones for this type of rock and Matsumoto himself has an obvious appreciation for a good tune in that he can still write a few good ones while shredding his tits off at every opportunity.
When all is said though, TMG 1 doesn’t actually sound all that different from something that Martin or Blades would do with bands of their own. It’s solid, generic AOR that’s good in its own way but nothing truly outstanding and fourteen songs is probably a few too many when complete duds like “Wish You Were Here” and “The Greatest Show on Earth” somehow made the cut. There are lots of good songs too though, particularly the mean bluesy rocker “Red, White and Bullet Blues”, the Aerosmith-like “Wonderland” and the opening trio of tracks but while TMG 1 is certainly agreeable, it really doesn’t stand out very much. Melodic rock fans should find it worthwhile, but it’s not going to set their world on fire.
- Oh Japan (Our Time is Now)
- Everything Passes Away
- Kings for a Day
- I Know You By Heart
- I Wish You Were Here
- Greatest Show on Earth
- Signs of Life
- Red, White and Bullet Blues
- Trapped
- My Alibi
- Wonderland
- Train, Train
- Two of a Kind
- Never Goodbye
Rating: 65%
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