FROM THE INSIDE – From The Inside

This release, From The Inside, is a safe return from Danny Vaughn, and it comes as a nice surprise. Vaughn has been around for quite a while … he started in the band Waysted in 1986, and while with that band he toured with Iron Maiden. Later, he started his own band, Tyketto. He has also released CDs with the band Vaughn.

It was Frontiers Records who approached Vaughn in 2003, and asked him to be part of this project … and then the band From The Inside was born. It’s the first time Vaughn came out with a CD where the songs have been written by others. Of the 11 tracks on this release, only two songs are composed by Vaughn himself. Fabrizio Grossi (the producer of this CD), Desmond Child, and Andreas Carlsson are others who have written songs for this project. This album can definitely bring him back into the spotlight. He has an incredible and smooth voice that fits very well with this type of Melodic Hard Rock. He certainly delivers his vocals with feeling and emotion.

There isn’t a bad song on this album – it rocks hard! The guitar and bass work handled by JM Scattolin, Fabrizio Grossi, along with Masayoshi Yamasuka and Joachim Cannaiuolo on drums, sounds good and everything comes together fantastically. Make no mistake, though, this is fairly soft Melodic Rock with an acoustic edge, yet very enjoyable. Bon Jovi and Foreigner fans, in particular, will find much to like on this From The Inside album. This CD covers a wide spectrum, but in a tasteful way – the songs include everything from ballads to mid-tempo to up-tempo songs.

From The Inside has a few cover songs, some may say there are too many. It has two tracks from LeAnne Rimes: “Suddenly” and “Dawn,” and the album’s last song, “Beautiful Goodbye,” is an Amanda Marshall cover. Both LeAnne numbers had rock potential in their original versions, and Vaughn and Grossi make the songs their own with a sensual vocal delivery. The Marshall ballad doesn’t come close to the original, leading you to think that maybe they should have ended the album with another song?

Track 8, “Blessing in Disguise,” is one of the absolute highlights. It/ll definitely stay in your head!!! This is a song where Vaughn gives his best performance. Lyrically, this one and “Is Anybody Watching Me” are the best tracks on the CD. It seems that he is telling a real story, not fantasy, but actual experiences. Another track that is one to sing-a-long to is “Always” … this up-tempo rock song is definitely a winner.

Most of the tracks on From The Inside sound great … Vaughn has got an amazing voice and the musical performances and production are good. With this CD, you get some bonus material: The video for “Nothing at All” and a video interview with Danny Vaughn. In the end, this is a good album for Heavy Rock fans … it’s not too hard, but not so mellow that it puts you to sleep either!

This November Tyketto will go on a European tour.