Customer Reviews

Prism

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jeff Scott Soto is one of my favorite vocalists ever, he has a powerful voice and sings like no one does. For those who don't know him, check out his work on Malmsteen (specially the Marching Out album), Axel Rudi Pell, Takara and Talisman (one of the best hard rock bands ever!).
In Prism, his 2nd solo album, there's a combination of 80's hard rock and ballads.
Actually there are too many ballads in this album, and that's the only bad thing.
Eyes of Love (10/10)- awesome song, Talisman style with a catchy chorus and great guitar solos) He plays this one in his DVD
Heaven Knows (6/10) - the worst ballad in this album, he made it for the people who died on the 9/11 attack.
Don't Come Easy (8/10) - nice ballad, nice keyboard/vocal combination
Don't Wanna Say Goodbye (8/10) another great ballad, nice lyrics and backing vocals
I Want to Take you Higher (8/10) Duet with God of singing Glen Hughes. The song is not that great, but it's worth by hearing 2 phenomenal voices.
Holding On (9/10) Great song, starst slowly and has a dazzling chorus. The second best song on the album
2 Late 4 Goodbye (9/10) Long introduction, but when it starts it totally rocks. Hard/Pop song
Till the end of time (8/10) Great ballad, nice lyrics.
How Long (9/10) Great song, he also plays this one in his DVD, nice hard rock.
By your side (8/10) Another ballad, guitar/vocals combination is awesome. Only JSS can sing like this. Try to sing along and reach his notes...very difficult.
Don't Walk Away (9/10) The best ballad on this album. The lyrics are perfect, the melody is awesome. It's kinda R&B, but his voice makes it perfect. It's the kind of song you ought listen to when your laying down with your girfriend, breathing soft on her skin...you get the point...

This album is definetly worth buying, even though his last solo album (Lost in Translation) is better than this. Get his DVD, it's the best DVD i own. JSS is the man.

"Lost in the Translation" is the second solo album by American singer Jeff Scott Soto, originally released in 2004. In contrast to its predecessor "Prism", "Lost..." turned out to be much more of a classic sounding AOR album with Jeff effectively going back to the roots.

On "Lost..." Jeff performs beyond lead vocals, keyboards and bass while the guitars are handled by Howie Simon and Gary Schutt while drums are contributed by Glen Sobel. Songwriting-wise song structures are fairly reminiscent of Soto's Swedish band "Talisman" as many of the songs seem to have been written on bass. In terms of performance "Lost.." draws considerably upon the early `80s works of such melodic rock giants as "Journey" and "Foreigner". In fact Neil Schon actually guest on the album by playing the guitars on the opening song "Believe in me" (which would lead into the "Soul SirKus" project a year later). Songs like "Soul Divine", "Hight Time", "Find our way" as well as the title track are prime examples of JSS-AOR.

Overall while having no particular surprises in store for the listener "Lost..." is a substantially more cohesive work than his debut. Arguably the only one out of Jeff's three solo albums to fit perfectly within the melodic rock genre, "Lost in the translation" is a strong AOR album that still holds its own seven years past its release.

It appears that Amazon has the listings for Prism and Lost in the Translation incorrectly linked. This review is for the Lost in the Translation reissue.

When he's not working with Talisman, or Takara, or Soul Sirkus, or Journey (however briefly), or Human Clay, or...you get the idea, Jeff Scott Soto - a.k.a. the hardest working singer in rock - somehow manages to maintain a solo career. My theory is that he somehow managed to turn power ballads into a substitute for sleep. He probably saves a lot of time substituting "2" and "B" for "two" and "be" when he writes songs as well.

2005's Lost in the Translation is Soto's second solo offering, and it's a winner. There are no real surprises here (well, the guest appearance by Neal Schon on "Believe in Me" was a bonus); Soto came up with the kind of high quality melodic rock album you might expect from Talisman or Human Clay. Plenty of guitar hooks, solid melodies, and of course Soto's trademark vocals. Soto also handles bass, keys and the occasional guitar part, as well as the lion's share of the songwriting, so this does feel more like a solo album than his collaborations with Marcel Jacob (RIP).

If you're a fan of Jeff Scott Soto's other projects (all 1154 of them), chances are you'll love Lost in the Translation as well. It's another first rate melodic rock album from a guy with a proven track record of releasing first rate melodic rock albums. What more can you ask for?

Edition Notes: Frontiers reissued Lost in the Translation (along with 2003's Prism) in 2009. The Special Edition of Lost in the Translation comes in a digipack (a step down in quality, in my opinion) and includes five bonus tracks. The bonus tracks include most of the Believe in Me EP ("Still Be Loving You" is missing), an acoustic version of "Soul Divide" and the song "Turned the Page". If you already have the original version of Lost in the Translation and Believe in Me, there's really no reason to grab this reissue. If, like me, you missed the album the first time around, this Special Edition is a great way to remedy that.

Well this is a excelent record for who believes that hard/heavy rock never dies! Sotto proves again for some many reasons he's one of the best singers for all kind of songs.
malmsteen... it is not necessary... a bunch of great guitar players you found right on the corner...
but singers like Sotto.... so far away!
seeya!

ytse

Soto is a towering vocal talent. But as has been mentioned in some quarters ther quality control of what he sings has sometimes been fairly poor. This album proves both points to be true. The lead cut, Eyes of Love, is quality hard rock with great vocals + sparkling musicianship, especially from Gary Shutt who himself has released albums.

BUT - as soon as the lead track fades out the decline begins. Too many ballads and slow paced, sub standard tunes. Sotos voice is excellently suited to this - but the guy can sing a number of styles so why the overt reliance on so many ballads?

The inclusion of Glenn Hughes may incite a tiny amount of interest but not much. At least w/the inclusion of a bonus video track the buyer is getting some extra value for money, though the video is a low budget affair. In his defence, Soto has written all but one track and produced the whole thing too.

As a long time Soto fan I wanted more, but this is a bit of a wimpout which would be OK if the ballads worked better. But they are missing the X factor.

Get yourself Lost in the Translation instead, it's far superior