When your band comprises only three artists, they'd all better be very good. Obvious examples are ELP, Rush and King's X. The Rush and ELP band members are household names – in progressive households, anyway – and two members of the King's X trio have also built successful alter egos for themselves away from their core band. Which leaves King's X drummer Jerry Gaskill, who has been the silent partner until now.
Gaskill's solo outing is a bit like the Carl Palmer / Asia analogy, and his music will appeal to a similar audience. Come Somewhere is Jerry's first outing, and is a song- and vocals-oriented piece with 15 tracks running 1½ to 3½ minutes. Jerry handles all drums, piano and vocals, and the guitar work is shared by Jerry and King's X bandmate Ty Tabor. The songwriting is also attributed to Gaskill, and Tabor also played bass and handled production.
The keyword to the songs on this album is 'pleasant'. The vocals are omnipresent with few extended instrumental passages. Strummed acoustic guitars and heavily distorted electric guitars dominate the instrumentation. This record won't impress die-hard prog fans because it revolves around short, melodic songs with clear singing in the mid-ranges and has a limited keyboard presence. But there's a good variety between the songs, and it will impress mellow hard-rock and adult-pop fans, and the overall positive outlook on this album is a pleasant relief from all the morbid minor keys we're subjected to these days.
When your band only comprises three artists, they'd all better be very good; and Jerry Gaskill has made it abundantly clear that King's X fits the mold set by their eminent predecessors.
Track Listing:
- The Kids (3:39)
- She's Cool (3:22)
- Johnny's Song (2:24)
- No Love (4:29)
- L.A. Flight (2:24)
- Faulty Start (3:13)
- All the Way Home (3:29)
- Crazy (3:18)
- Garden Stroll (1:25)
- Walk Alone (3:33)
- Every Day (2:53)
- Gallop (3:06)
- Hello Mrs. (2:40)
- I Saw You Yesterday (3:53)
- Face the Day (3:48)
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