Hard to believe that Shades is King's X guitarist/vocalist Ty Tabor's 11th solo album...that's right, 11...but then again, with his main band stuck in a long period of inactivity, he's kept busy, so kudos to him for that. Shades is actually a lovely little album, chock full of fun, vibrant rock songs that are long on catchy melodies, soaring harmonies, tight guitar riffs, and some tasty solos. This isn't a 'look at me I'm the guitar player' album, not by any means, here, it's all about the songs, and Ty's been showing what a great songwriter he is for decades, and this might be one of his best. Littered with stunning Beatles-like melodies and the alt/prog/metal/rock mentality of King's X, Shades shows Tabor in all his glory, delivering thoroughly enjoyable fare such as "Leaves Falling Down", "Shallow", the addictive hard rocker "Sister Genocide", the alluring "Doesn't Linger", the gorgeous acoustic pop song "Ashes", and the fun "Your Fantasy". Plenty of variety, and it's always dialed onto 'fun' no matter what style Tabor is putting forth, plus the guy is such as good singer AND guitar player you get a wealth of both here, but it's never showy and always for the song.
It's a charming, enjoyable album by one of the great musicians of our time. Check it out.
Track Listing
01 Come Home
02 Shallow
03 Your Fantasy
04 What You're Thinking
05 Sister Genocide
06 Best Day in a While
07 Insane
08 One Drop of Water
09 Doesn’t Linger
10 Leaves Falling Down
11 Ashes �" (Bonus Track) [CD & Digital Download only]
12 Political Nonsense �" (Bonus Track) [CD & Digital Download only]
13 Ashes (Acoustic) �" (Bonus Track) [CD & Digital Download only]