Customer Reviews

Romeo Unchained

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I originally wrote this review back in 2000 (now, it's 2005). Well, it's been five years and this CD still finds its way into regular rotation among my driving CDs. It's still a great CD and I wouldn't change a word of what I wrote below, though I did add some information.

Yes, five stars for an artist of whom most people are unaware. Yes, they are well-deserved stars and if you like thoughtful, witty and revelatory lyrics you should buy it. The musical styles vary, but all are enjoyable from the energetic, tech-pop tinged "I Am Not Impressed" to the sparse acoustic sounds of the beautiful "You Will Go Free."

"Romeo Unchained is a thematic recording about (with the exception of "I Handle Snakes") personal relationships. It is always lyrical and literate, often insightful, and venemously accurate when targeting hypocrisy and a society which refuses to attempt to live up to its potential.

"You Will Go Free" is the song that touches me most. It's truths about the type of world in which we live and the salvation available move me.

While some people will prefer the earlier album "Life in the Foodchain," and understandably so for it is another gem, if I were to introduce someone to Tonio K's music this is where I would begin. The lyrics stand out and the songs never suffer from too much clutter or overproduction.

With tongue firmly planted in cheek ("Romeo Loves Jane," which qualifies for rhyme of the year -- "I saw Shakespeare and Cheetah drowning in their margueritas") or in a more serious mode ("Perfect World" with its anguished " 'cause I never had to walk away from anybody I wanted as much as I wanted you") Tonio K explores relationships with the cold, loving eye of someone who has been burned but is ready to try it all over again.

This, along with Robbie Robertson's self-titled CD, is one of the two most under-rated recordings of the past 20 years. Buy this CD or forever wonder how Mickey and Minnie Mouse wind up in the same song with Napoleon and Josephine and why it's obvious it should be so.

Romeo Unchained is the musical hinge in his catalogue and all his work before, and all that after, pivot on this album.

Of all the Tonio K albums, this one was polished to a very fine glow in anticipation of a wide release. After the critical acclimation of the early work there was plenty of interest among industry insiders, yet the music buying public still wasn't really sure of who Tonio K was or what he did. So this collection of songs was given the spit-shine treatment and directed at a new market - namely the CCM-buying public of the 80s. Because the CCM crowd wasn't exactly sure who this guy was either, they accepted him as "a new guy" with a new sound. But Tonio K was simply carrying on the work he had been doing for years and this album fitted nicely up against his previous releases. The only difference is the polish. Nothing before or since has been quite as slickly produced.

There has been much made about the opinion that "I Handle Snakes" doesn't belong on this album and most of this can be attributed to Tonio K himself stating this opinion on the original liner notes. All these years later, listening again... I think I have to disagree. "I Handle Snakes" fits quite nicely as a bookend against a bunch of tunes that have the same lyrical feel.

This album was not a milestone in CCM, nor was it the high point in Tonio K's catalogue (the limited release EP "La Bomba" is arguably the acme of K), but it is the most audience friendly in that it appeals to the widest cross section of listeners. It feels much like a late 80s album at this point and is prone to bringing back waves of nostalgia for anyone who was familiar with it back in 1986.

Tonio K covers the spectrum in relations lost and found. His songs leave an impression. Whether it's the perfection in relationships, sought between man and woman or between man and God. The words and emotions are the driving force behind the music and Tonio K does an outstanding job of blending the two.

"Romeo Unchained" was the first Tonio K. album I bought, and it mesmerized me from the start. Finally, here was someone who was addressing the same feelings that I had about love, relationships and how they fit with society.

Now, 16 years later, I still smile at the humor of "Impressed" and "Romeo and Jane." After relistening to it recently, the melodies are running through my head -- and it's a pleasure. The music and product are a little dated, but the songwriting and lyrics are as insightful today as they were in 1986.

Wow, what a recording. If you do not know who Tonio K is, then this should be the CD to check out. This and Notes from a lost civilization are his crowning achievement and belong in quality CD collections. The songs are solid musically, lyrically, and served up with passion. You will go free is the crown jewel of the crown jewel, but True Confessions, Romeo loves Jane, You belong with me, and You don't belong here are outstanding.

1 True Confessions

2 Perfect World

3 Romeo and Jane

4 You Belong With Me

5 Impressed

6 I Handle Snakes

7 Emotional War Games

8 Living Doll

9 You Don't Belong Here

10 You Will Go Free

The only song that does not fit on the CD and is the only "weak" song is "I handle snakes" but a CD with 10 songs of which 9 of them are great is worth the investment. A must have. MAD

On the one hand, the songs are quite good, going back and forth between Tonio K's usual sarcastic commentary and a more compassionate, love-fueled stance. Unfortunately, the early 80s production is extremely dated. The synth programming in particular seems completely at odds with K's aesthetic vision. Not K's fault, really - he was just keeping up with the times and trying to spread his message. But it means the record doesn't hold up as well as I'd like it to.

As a music person who has listened to thousands of albums and seen thousands of concerts, it is my humble opinion that Perfect World is the greatest rock song ever written. Yes, ever written. Better than Freebird, Stairway to Heaven, Won't Get Fooled Again- you name it.

Only because this was a "contemporary Christian" release was the reason this song is overlooked. The rest of this album also contains killer tracks and you can hear T-Bone's influence throughout.

"lost in a world gone crazy, where the men won't grow up and the women get so hard"

Perfect World rocks! and so does the album

I grew up listening to some of Tonio K.'s music, and I was thrilled to find him on Amazon. This was one of my favorites so it was the first I picked up now.

While the lyrics and arrangements are great, the music itself has not aged well. I cringed at the synth loops, snare drums, and cymbal overload, and I wondered what other 80s things I might have forgotten. (I'm fairly sure I never owned parachute pants, but could I have forgotten that too?)

On its own merit, however, this is a great album. Tonio K. wrote a deep album about love and relationships, and none of that writing has lost any of its luster. This is an excellent example of Tonio K.'s singing/songwriting talent -- even in the midst of 80s techno-pop.

I thought I was the only one listening to Tonio K. Life in the Foodchain and Amerika contained some of the best lyrics from the 80's presented in a comical style. This album contained much of the same, but seemed to lose some of the original edge. People have probably heard many of his songs: just sung by other artists.

Buy this album! It means something! Help make Tonio K some money! Give real, important music one last chance!