MR

In interviews, the band says the track - Maybe Monday- on their new sophomore effort, Take 2, was originally recorded by Deen Castronovo for their debut but didn't make the cut. They've now re-recorded it with Chicago alum and co-bandleader, Jason Scheff, handling the vocals. I'm a fan of both of those guys. I think Jason's vocals have a Deen quality to them. Good song. Probably could have just used the Deen version tho.

https://youtu.be/cGwHXsqeyD8?si=7N8OoAcma5mjdjuh

Huge disappointment. New album a major step down.

Andrew wrote:Huge disappointment. New album a major step down.

Yes, agreed. Some good tracks tho. Like I said on The Noticeboard, I think they just hobbled leftover tracks together to fulfill their obligation to Frontiers. I'll take what I can get at this point tho.

The full album is on YouTube. I clicked through it and most of the songs sound like Country music to me. This one and one other sound like they are missing "something"...probably a horn section because it sounds a lot like Chicago. I don't know why they bothered with "You're the Inspiration". Scheff was not the original singer, but covering a Chicago song and having it be an attempt to be as close to the original as they did does not make sense when it sounds like an obvious step down. If this i s what Scheff wants, he should try to go back to Chicago. It would give them a little more legitimacy and if they could release an album, it would sound better than this. Scheff sounds slightly different then back in the Chicago days...but he still sounds really good.

I know Deen is a highlight here...but the other songs seem less than mediocre to me and I spent no time with them. This is not a very good album at all.

Monker wrote:I clicked through it and most of the songs sound like Country music to me.

People also said the first GR album also sounded country. And it did. The rock balance may have been a little better with Deen there. Given that the band is basically a Rascal Flatts spinoff, I get it. Also, everyone from Bon Jovi to Steven Tyler have gone the country route.

Monker wrote:I don't know why they bothered with "You're the Inspiration".

It's obvious filler. That said, I understand why they did it. Whatever few live shows these guys do, are mostly comprised of rock covers. They may as well record their own versions. If Deen was still there, they probably would have included a Journey cover.

Monker wrote:I know Deen is a highlight here...but the other songs seem less than mediocre to me and I spent no time with them. This is not a very good album at all.

Deen is not on this album and not in the band.