Customer Reviews

Genesis

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Swedish/American melodic rock band Talisman delivered their second album - Genesis - in 1993, after singer Jeff Scott Soto's brief detour with Eyes. The journeyman vocalist (previously with Yngwie Malmsteen and Axel Rudi Pell) rejoined bassist Marcel Jacob (RIP) to try and recapture the melodic rock magic of the Talisman debut.

Hearing Genesis, you have to wonder why this band wasn't huge. Even in the grunge-drenched `90s a band this good should have broke through to the masses. Genesis is just a fantastic example of hard-hitting but very accessible melodic rock. It's extremely well written and avoids a lot of the arena rock clichés that date so many `80s albums. Guitarist Fredrik Akesson really shines here as well, especially paired with Marcel Jacob's funky bass style. And of course Soto gives an incredible performance full of his trademark power and soul.

Talisman incorporated the best elements of 80's AOR and early 90's "hair metal", and did so at a time when mainstream musical tastes no longer cared much for this kind of music. If you love bands like Journey, Foreigner, Bad English, Europe, Winger, and Bon Jovi, but have not yet heard Talisman, you need to pick up this disc right now. You'll want to kick yourself for not finding it earlier. Genesis is the very definition of a must-have melodic rock album.

Edition Notes: In addition to the cover of Bad Company's "Run With the Pack," which was previously available only on an expensive Japanese import, the 2003 Rock Treasures reissue of Genesis features digitally remastered sound and a second disc full of demos, live tracks, and multimedia content. It's well worth replacing your older version. The weird thing is that the album covers are slightly different. You have to see them side by side to notice, though.

That people give names such as Bon Jovi, Poison, Cinderella or The Darkness as an example of good glam rock instead of just saying: Talisman is beyond me!

This is a glam band with big hooks reminicent of Yngwie Malmsteen circa Eclipse cd but ten times better.For instance: here the bassist is EXTREMELY prominent in the sound, unlike in Yngwie's works.Besides that the songs are different from one another and the hooks are fat and melodic, let alone choruses with cathy sounds galore!!

Buy this to listen to fun, extremely melodic, masterfully done glam rock/metal.Highly recommended!

anyone who knows Jeff Scott Soto knows he's sang for numerous bands...most noted for his work with my personal fav guitarist,Yngwie Malmsteen...with Talisman,Jeff creates a circus of sound that reminds me of the more commercial Ynwie (ie:Odyssey)..except jeff adds some blues and a twist of his own in to top things off...great cd from start to finish...can't go wrong with this one folks...would listen to this one time rather then have to listen to Matchbox Twenty 100 times,or any other mtv band...

"Genesis" is the second album by Swedish-American melodic hard rock band "Talisman" originally released in 1992. Between their 1989 debut and "Genesis", line up changes, record label bankruptcy and turns in musical trends were harsh realities for the group. Still, singer Jeff Scott Soto and bassist Marcel Jacob managed to regroup and reform the band for this second album.

Genesis would signify the birth of a sound that took 80s hard rock to another level: the bass lines would become more technical than ever, the drumming more aggressive, the guitar leads more complex while the choruses would remain as catchy as before. Imagine groovy distorted bass line, synchronized guitar/bass leads plus occasonal bass solos. The line up features Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, Marcel Jacob on bass and new entry, young guitar prodigy Fredrik Akersson. Although drums are reported as being programmed in the studio, the video clip of "Mysterious" showed drummer Jake Samuel participating in the studio sesisons.

"Genesis" established the trademark sound on which the following "Talisman" albums would be based upon also featuring a list of underground melodic classics: "Comin' Home", "Mysterious", "If you would only be my friend", "All or nothing", "All I want" and "Give me a sign". "Genesis" also introduced the band to Japan which would prove a stronghold for the band in the years to come.

This edition of the album is a two disc version featuring the orignal album plus the demos of the studio sessions.