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Myles Kennedy – The Ides of March

Florian Buechting Media Review No Comments

Myles Kennedy - The Ides Of March

Myles Kennedy - The Ides Of March
3.7

Rating

 3.7/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Great voice and good stories
  • Very versatile and entertaining in the second half
  • Good guitar performances

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Some rather weak and non-catching tracks, esp. at the beginning

Even though Myles Kennedy is a really successful music artist as part of bands and other collaborations, The Ides of March released on 14th May 2021 is just his second solo album. After his debut has been quite a success, I felt that this one is a good choice to listen.

 

Myles Kennedy – About The Artist

Myles Kennedy was born under the civil name Myles Richard Bass on 27th November in Boston. He is likely most well known as lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge, which is active since 2004. He is however also the lead singer of Slash’s backing band. Out of that collaboration, there are three albums labeled as Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, dated as of 2012, 2014 and 2018. There was also a rumor around 2007 that he is joining Led Zeppelin, which finally did not happen. Myles Kennedy had his first solo release in 2018 with the album Year of the Tiger. The title track had a reasonable placement in the US Mainstream Rock charts. The album, however, was very successful in several markets. In Austria, New Zealand and Scotland, the album has even been a Top 10 one.

 

Myles Kennedy – The Ides Of March – Track by Track

The eleven track album lasts 51 minutes.

1. Get Along

Myles Kennedy sounds like a mixture of Axl Rose and Tobias Sammet to me from the very beginning. The song comes with powerful chords, there is a pop-ish touch here and there. The song is catching, which is however rather coming from the screaming voice and the powerful guitar play, which here and there breaks into rather slow passages.

2. A Thousand Words

I really liked the opener of the album – A Thousand Words feels less catchy – also because it sounds quite similar here. Hmm, let’s listen on, maybe just a one-timer…

3. In Stride

At least, In Stride does not give you a chance to do something else from the very beginning. The guitar riffs loudly request your attention. Nice Rock’n’Roll track with a powerful, marching drive. Really good one.

Cool down baby you know
You’re gonna burn out in time
Sometimes ya gotta let go
And just open your mind
Just take it all in stride

4. The Ides Of March

The title track is on position 4 of this set of tracks. It starts very slow and direct, but after less than a minute, the guitars give harder chords already. The song comes with a nice groove, so that the rather hard rocking parts sometimes even feel a bit of disturbing.

Please don’t forsake me
Don’t break my heart
Don’t break my heart
All I am saying
Beware the Ides of March

5. Wake Me When It’s Over

You can wake me when it’s over
When the nightmare finally ends
You can wake me when it’s over
So that I can dream again

The song almost comes with an apocalyptic message. The lyrics are definitely the stronger part of this song. The instrumental side is well-done, but there are not too many catching elements or surprises any more.

6. Love Rain Down

The first real ballad on the album. Good, but not really special enough. At least, I don’t see a catching element – though indeed it is well done overall.

7. Tell It Like It Is

At least Tell It Like It Is is a loud song. The riffs power from the very beginning. However, the hidden gem in this song is the rhythm, which also comes with clapping sounds at the beginning. A good track to cheer up the crowds when on stage – the song later comes with a really lovely Rock’n’Roll feeling as well.

8. Moonshot

If it’s the last chance
Then take my hand
If there’s a miracle left in your heart
It can’t be that far

The eighth track is a lovely power ballad. In this song, Kennedy much better does in putting emotions into melodies. I just love to listen to him here. One of my favorite songs on the album, indeed.

9. Wanderlust Begins

Wanderlust Begins is one of the most surprising tracks of the album to me. The song comes with a very quiet mood – the drummer is just doing a bored base rhythm. The song has a lot of folk music touch. A great contrast to the other songs of the album. Would have loved to have more of these special moments, for sure.

10. Sifting Through The Fire

Even though Sifting Through The Fire, I still feel a little folk vibes in the chords here and there. Apart from that, the song is a track which definitely makes you move and smile. Good one.

11. Worried Mind

Worried Mind is a lovely final track of the album. The guitar performance on this very intimate track is striking, just on point. Great listen.

 

Myles Kennedy – The Ides Of March – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

Myles Kennedy – The Ides Of March – My View

Listening to the album at the beginning was a bit of an up and down – which is such a shame, as the last tracks of the album lead to such a positive feeling towards it. If you love straight rock music with sprinkles of folk and blues, you should definitely give The Ides Of March a listen. There are some really nice moments on this eleven episode storybook.

 

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