Talas was the first established band of bass legend Billy Sheehan, who burst on the Buffalo, New York music scene back in the late 70's, releasing two studio albums and a live album before fizzling out by the mid-'80s due to a lack of that 'big break' plus heavy interest in Sheehan's formidable talents from the likes of UFO, Michael Schenker, David Lee Roth, and Tony MacAlpine, among others, eventually leading to the formation of the very popular Mr. Big alongside Paul Gilbert, Eric Martin, and Pat Torpey by the end of the decade. 1985 sees Sheehan and some of his old bandmates in Talas basically putting the finishing touches on the never realized third album, which SHOULD have come out in 1985, but now getting a second life all these decades later. With some new songs plus those few tracks that debuted on the Live Speed on Ice live album in 1984 but never got a proper studio recording, Sheehan, along with drummer Mark Miller, singer Phil Naro (who has since passed away), and guitarist Kire Najdovski, have put together a fine collection of hard rocking songs that take you back to, well, 1985. Those who are familiar with the live album from 1984 will be pleased to hear new studio versions of those heavy rocking songs "Do You Feel Any Better", "Inner Mounting Flame", and "Crystal Clear", alongside new tracks "I'll Take the Night", the crunchy "On the Take", and the memorable "Close to the Killer". Sheehan's always huge & nimble bass lines permeate all these songs, and the guitar skills of Najdovski are also pretty impressive, as he unleashed a torrent of crisp hard rock riffs and flashy solos. Naro also sound quite good here, in what will be his last recorded vocals on any album before he succumbed to a long battle with cancer.
While there are a couple songs that border on the generic, and the little bass solo at the end from Sheehan is fine for what it is though somewhat unecessary, overall this is a really solid return from Talas, and I'm guessing puts some closure on things for the bass legend.
Track Listing
1.
Inner Mounting Flame 03:17
2.
I'll Take the Night 04:13
3.
Crystal Clear 04:16
4.
Don't Try to Stop Me Tonight 03:04
5.
Do You Feel Any Better 03:44
6.
On the Take 03:48
7.
Come When You Call 03:24
8.
The Power to Break Away 04:10
9.
Black & Blue 04:11
10.
Close to the Killer 04:38
11.
7IHd h 02:34
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