Review by Andy Hawes for MPM
Radioactive’s main man Tommy Denander is something of a legend in Melodic Rock circles, having played on a staggering amount of sessions and produced several albums of his own with bands such as Prisoner and Radioactive.
He is a very gifted songwriter and producer and an absolute master of the guitar, being heavily influenced by Steve Lukather.
The Radioactive project began back in the 1990s when Denander managed to secure the services of most of Toto in the recording of his first Radioactive album, Ceremony of Innocence, which was finally released in 2001. Since then, five albums have appeared under the Radioactive name, each featuring a stellar cast of great singers and musicians from the world of Melodic Hard Rock and AOR. The sound has shifted a little over the years with a harder rocking sound replacing the Toto-esque sounds of the debut on later albums.
However, Reset shows Radioactive ‘pushing the reset button’ and going back to a more AOR-friendly sound with another great bunch of vocalists including Alien’s Jim Jidhed, AOR god Jeff Paris, Robin McAuley (McAuley Schenker Group, Grand Prix), Joey Vana (Mecca) and a new find, ‘Dio’ Harris. There are also contributions from mega-producer Mutt Lange (Def Leppard, The Cars, AC/DC, Shania Twain) in the backing vocal and songwriting department and Keith Scott from Bryan Adams’ band pops up on guitar too.
Just one listen to the opener ‘Sentimental’ proves that the AOR quotient is there in spades. Denander is incredibly skilled at combining layers of guitar and keys and this is in evidence from the moment the first chords explode out of the speakers.
It is also very apparent that Denander is a mightily skilled producer, as the whole thing has the kind of gloriously sparkling sheen that the best AOR just has to have. Keyboards twinkle angelically as guitars roar ever so politely and Jim Jidhed delivers a vocal performance with some delightful Steve Perry-esque tones. Musically, the track echoes Toto circa the Isolation album, which, if you’re an AOR fan, is no bad thing. This truly is AOR the way it should be done!
‘Shame on You, Shame On Me’ harks back to the first two Radioactive records and fans of those two albums will recognise Denander’s trademark writing style at work in fine style again here. There is a Colossal chorus on this one, with layers of very Lukather-ish guitars – always interesting, with riffs, chords and licks all combining effortlessly into a proper AOR anthem with a huge and mighty impressive guitar solo which scythes its way out of the speakers in pink and gloriously fluffy AOR fashion.
The pace drops for the quite brilliant ‘Gaia’ which combines very 1980s-rsque clean guitars with layers of keyboard pads and delicate melodies in quite spectacular fashion. This is a rather moody and atmospheric number where the vocal hooks are rather more subtle. There are some really delightful lead guitar licks in here too, all of which add to the atmosphere on a 5 minute plus epic which does absolutely everything that is required in a quality AOR anthem.
‘When The Lights Go Down’ is up next and proves that AOR doesn’t have to be all pink, fluffy and wimpy, as the guitars spit and snarl (well, as much as they ever do on an AOR album) in the hardest rocking track thus far before the more mid-paced ‘In A Perfect World’ returns us to the slightly softer sounds reminiscent of the debut Radioactive album.
It’s at this point that I’m struck by the only slight downside to this album thus far: the production and mix sparkles and sounds a million dollars, but it’s very full on. There is always a ton of stuff going on, and as such, one can occasionally feel a bit fatigued by the limited dynamic range. That said, ‘In A Perfect World’ is so well written, with a few interesting chord modulations under the staggeringly brilliant guitar solo section, so although it is a full-on sound, there is still a lot to enjoy.
Next up is the title track ‘Reset’ which is absolutely staggeringly brilliant. Led by a wonderful Robin McAuley vocal and featuring more dynamics in the production than any of the preceding tracks as well as more interesting lyrical themes, this song builds quite brilliantly, with just the right balance of keyboard delicacy and guitar power.
The layers in this one are very cleverly arranged, leaving more space in the production which just makes the whole thing breathe so much better. It is also blessed with a quite stunning dual guitar solo where Denander takes the first part and Keith Scott demonstrates quite awesome chops in the second part showing more technical and compositional skill than we normally see hi employing in his day job with Bryan Adams. Very impressive indeed and my favourite track so far by quite some margin.
‘Midnight Train’ is next and comes on all Toto-esque with a quite delicious groove and another huge chorus in the early Radioactive style. Instrumentally speaking, this song also has all those wonderful 1980s Toto hallmarks of interesting rhythms and chord progressions and clever guitar and keyboard combinations which just lifts it immensely.
The vocal on this one even reminds me of the late and much missed Fergie Frederikson who sang with Toto in the mid 80s and the production once again breathes much more than on the album’s earlier tracks. Another belter and no mistake!
‘Open Spaces’ starts all quiet, emotive and delicate in the finest AOR tradition before opening up into the sort of sound last heard on Journey’s classic Raised On Radio album. It’s a truly gorgeous mid-paced AOR anthem and another album highlight.
‘Sweet Little Tina’ opens with a wonderful smorgasbord of hi-tech AOR goodness before exploding into another anthem with more than a hint of Isolation-era Toto in the writing, arrangements and production. It’s not easy carrying this stuff off, but Radioactive make it all sound so effortless! It certainly isn’t the ‘AOR-by-numbers’ that we hear so often these days and is all the better for that! The formula is repeated on ‘Hard Times To Fall In Love’ which has some very clever production touches in the way that guitars and keyboards chime out of the mix before the album closes with ‘Breakaway’, a breakneck paced rocker that gallops along like a runaway juggernaut to close the album on a very uptempo note.
Overall, Reset is a very welcome return to form for Radioactive. I personally feel that the debut Ceremony of Innocence) and its follow-up (Yeah) are the finest albums that Denander has produced under the Radioactive monicker, but I have to say that Reset is up there with them, a fact that both surprises and delights me. Fans of Tommy Denander’s work with Radioactive and other acts will love this album.
For those who may not be familiar with his work but who love classic Toto should also give this a go without hesitation as it wears its influences proudly on its sleeve without being derivative.
Fabulous modern AOR with a classic twist performed by some incredibly talented musicians, Reset was released on 11th October so is available now. Give yourself a pink, fluffy AOR treat and give it a listen pronto!
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