C.T.P. (Christian Tolle Project): Now & Then

Christian Tolle is another artist I was unfamiliar with until hearing his latest effort Now & Then. He bills himself as the Christian Tolle Project and on his latest album he has some well-known musicians like Steve Lukather (solo guitar on a few tracks), Michael Landau and Tim Pierce (guitar), Lauren Scheff and Chuck Wright (bass), Raymond Herveille (drums) and Morris Adriaens (keyboards, backing vocals). There are also a number of vocalists such as David Reece (Accept), John Parr, Philip Bardowell and Michael Voss (Mad Max, Bonfire, Casanova).

First things first, Christian Tolle is a fine guitar player and his songs are as catchy as anything you will hear on the radio. That being said, this album is strictly melodic AOR so if you are looking for genre defining stuff you will have to look elsewhere. However, if you appreciate well-constructed rock tunes with typical verse/chorus/verse structures and catchy choruses Now & Then will be worthy of your time.

The disc kicks off with the heavy rock of "Dumped" one of my favourites as the band's energy in the studio comes off well on disc. Voss is a fine singer and he really injects grit and soul into his performance with some searing high notes as well. "Magic Pudding" is a little slower with a hint of heavy blues making for another fine AOR track. Some nice guitar work from Lukather highlights the catchy "The Real Thing" as well as on the instrumental "87 99", with perhaps the best musicianship on the disc. Excellent axe work from Tolle, Pierce and Lukather.

Now & Then is a solid melodic rock album and while it didn't blow me it will certainly garner a few more listens, especially when I want that catchy AOR sound.

Track Listing:
1. Dumped (4:10)
2. Magic Pudding (5:00)
3. The Real Thing (3:55)
4. Taking A Risk (5:29)
5. Changed (3:53)
6. The Price Of Love (3:37)
7. Hard To Find (4:25)
8. Back To The Moon (3:51)
9. On And On (4:53)
10. One Night Alone (5:50)
11. Enemy (3:55)
12. 87 99 (Instrumental) (4:48)
13. Changed Alt. Solo Version (Bonus Track) (3:54)

Added: January 13th 2017
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist's Official Site
Hits: 2111
Language: english

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