Myles Kennedy is a name that should be familiar to most rock music fans. Widely regarded as one of the finest voices in the modern rock world, he has had huge success with his main job as the frontman for Alter Bridge and has also added his vocal prowess to Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators (if this still doesn’t ring any bells, then please crawl out from under what must be a very large and soundproof rock and go and listen to both bands). With such a reputable background, the release of his first solo record must have been a daunting prospect, particularly given the incredibly emotional and personal subject matter. Kennedy’s father died when he was young, and he says that using this event as lyrical inspiration is something he has ‘been putting off for [his] whole life as a writer.’ To convey this emotional weight, all the arena-rock stylings usually associated with Kennedy have been stripped away. Instead, it utilises a range of acoustic instruments and an unpolished recording approach that lets the songs speak for themselves.
The opening song, title track Year of the Tiger, blends an acoustic guitar playing a single repeated chord with the bass and mandolin to create an eastern tinged soundscape for Kennedy to sing over, lamenting the year when the ‘pale horse’ arrived for his father. This eastern theme is repeated in The Great Beyond, the most ambitious song on the album. The eerie melody and droning motif make the song almost feel physically heavy, like you are being dragged down a hole into despair. Kennedy’s vocals go through peaks and troughs, from gentle whispers through to anguished cries, combining with the sinister musical backdrop to create five minutes of surrealism that carries more weight that any acoustic song has a right to. Fortunately, there is some musical respite with Blind Faith. It takes country music influences like slide guitar to create a gentler musical backdrop. However, there is no emotional respite as Kennedy takes us on lyrical journey undoubtedly influenced by his father’s decision to rely on faith, rather than medical attention, when he became ill.
After an emotional couple of songs, things take a more upbeat turn with Devil on the Wall, a more traditional country/folk style song with a chorus that you’ll be singing along to in no time. The simplified, unprocessed approach used for the recording really allows the individual instruments to be singled out and enjoyed. In particular the bass and lead guitar, both adding little flourishes that stand out without being too flashy. This country influenced approach is repeated later on in Haunted By Design, an expertly crafted piece of fingerstyle guitar playing supporting a song that sees Kennedy barely leave his lower vocal register. Given the lyrical content I am reluctant to use the word ‘fun’ to describe these two songs, but that is what they are. They provide the emotional highs in an album full of emotions ranging from despair to hope, to loneliness and longing and even a sense of peacefulness in songs like Ghost of Shangri La and Songbird. The order of the tracks provides a gentle motion of rising and falling that effortlessly carries you through the album, keeping you engaged throughout. The final song, One Fine Day, does not end with a feeling of closure but one of hope saying that ‘one fine day, this too shall fade, you never know, never know, never know’. There are few musical flourishes on this one as it uses simple strummed chords and gentle slide guitar to allow the album to bring itself to an uplifting and natural finish.
Having poured a great amount of his personal psyche in these songs, the vocals and lyrics are clearly the focus of the album and, given that Kennedy’s vocal talents have been unquestionable for some time now, a fine singing performance is no surprise. It is his skill in song craftmanship that makes each song greater than the sum of its parts and a real pleasure to listen to. The vocals, instrumentation and song structuring all combine to make this a masterpiece of song-writing that does not feel lacking for being without Mark Tremonti or Slash to provide further musical input. And perhaps that is the real achievement. Kennedy has created an album that stands apart from his other projects and so can be judged for what it is without comparison to previous works. The unprocessed production and acoustic instrumentation makes it feel like it really is just him, his music and his emotions, making it a solo album in the truest sense of the word.
Highlights: The Great Beyond, Devil on the Wall and Love Can Only Heal.
Year of the Tiger is released on March 9th 2018 via Napalm Records and can be purchased here.
You can find Myles Kennedy on Facebook, Twitter and on his website.
