OVER THE EDGE FEATURING MICKET THOMAS – Over The Edge

The Over The Edge project involves a collection of 10 songs written by Jack Blades (Night Ranger, Damn Yankees, and others), Neal Schon and Jonathon Cain (Journey), Steven Cristol (Starship), and Freddy Curci (Alias). The common bond between all of this talent is Mickey Thomas, the former wailer for Jefferson Starship (and Starship), who handles the lead vocals for each song, bringing an element of consistency and common ground to each of the tracks.

WHAT’S GOOD

Mickey Thomas may not have the same biting edge to his voice that was heard in former Jefferson Starship songs like “Jane,” but he still is an amazing talent, and even though the lyrics in virtually every song center around sappy relational/love topics, he sounds sincere and delivers a solid vocal performance. Each track has great, original, catchy choruses that help the songs take shape and form identity, and you can almost envision the lights going dim (except for the one shining on the rotating mirror orb) as a phantom DJ at the Roller Rink announces … “We’re going to slow it way down for a couples’ skate – girls choice” … when the song “Eyes Wide Open” begins.

The production quality and “ease” of listening to this album are also its strengths. The musical style and song structures are very similar to what everyone has heard in years past by bands such as Bad English, Night Ranger, Damn Yankees, and The Babys, so if you’re looking for polished Hard Rock music with plenty of quality sing-a-long lyrics, this album will be a definite winner for you. Out of the 10 total tracks, the first 8 are completely solid and could easily be included on the play lists for a host of different rock radio stations that emphasize various rock ‘n’ roll stylistic formats.

WHAT’S LESS THAN GOOD

This album is a “musical tease,” so to speak. Most songs start out with a taste of musical power and innovativeness, but then morph into simple drum patterns and bass fills that are accompanied by “light” guitar work as Mickey Thomas’ voice takes (and keeps) the center stage … although “Thief” and “Surrender” come pretty close to matching music/vocal prominence, all of the other songs are lyrics driven instead of musically driven. The last 2 songs of the album seem to be essentially fillers – they’re not bad, but it appears to indeed be a “strategical move” to include “Turn Away” and “Glory Day” at the end of this CD – these songs don’t have the same cohesiveness of the first eight tracks. Lastly, although Thomas performs in solid voice throughout most of this album, the song patterns often include the choruses being sung over and over too many times. As noted above, the choruses do a good job of causing each song to take shape, but they have a propensity to tire a bit due to over-repetition.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, the Over The Edge project is a success and will be enjoyed by persons who either enjoy lyrics driven rock ‘n’ roll or the softer side of Hard Rock music. Due to over-repetition of the chorus lines, this album may eventually lose some of its zip after a number of spins, but until then, it can serve as a very enjoyable, easy to listen to, uplifting (at times), rock ‘n’ roll album featuring the voice of one of the true legends in the industry.