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Singer Paul Shortino is known as a singer of Rough Cutt and partly as the successor of Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot). He also released solo albums, but lately we haven't heard much about him. Now he presents a new album called Chasing My Dream. Singer and guitarist Michael Voss (Casanova, Silver) produced the album and also played guitar on the album.
Mr. Shortino kicks off with Remember You. First a short acoustic part, very emotional and then the track becomes a powerful balladesque rocker. The song isn't an ear catcher, but the emotional vocals can touch you. The following hard rocker is called To The Cross, but somehow this song can't touch me... With the acoustic Prelude Missing they lead you into Missing, another balladesque track. You can feel the sadness. In my opinion a bit too bombastic... Very heavy with crunchy riffs and a Great White-ish touch they present Nocturnal and the catch hook will soon haunt you! But you can also find some slower, more balladesque parts. The next songs are quite heavy, but always melodic. Alone They Ride sticks out, the song reminds me a bit of Tyketto's Last Sunset.... The track Chasing Your Dream kicks off with acoustic guitars, but then they add power and the song becomes a mid-paced balladesque rocker. Great Dreamer has its moments, but in the end it's a bit shallow... One of the highlights on Chasing My Dream is Take My Heart And Run, but it's more a rock ballad... AOR. Anyway, a good track which you would expect from Richard Marx or Michael Bolton. But hey, a good song is a good song! Promises is in the same vein, but piano-based. The string orchestration is drowning into the piano / acoustic guitars - and the high notes. Actually I think Paul Shortino sounds better when he sings a bit deeper, but that's just a matter of taste!
Paul Shortino is a great singer and some songs can shine through his emotional vocals, but at the moment there are a lot of hard rock albums and so it's even more difficult to survive nowadays. A decent album with a great voice, but if it's enough only time will tell... But I have my doubts... But everybody who loves Paul Shortino's voice should check it out!
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