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Cover: 2
Don't Look Backs out of 10
Could there be a more uninspired album cover? There's a skewed teal
circle with arrow-shapes inside it on a maroon background. Then someone
slapped the band's logo on it, put the title at the bottom, and called
it a day. I can't imagine the band standing around, saying, "yeah,
that's cool, man." Preschoolers with sidewalk chalk could design
a better cover than this.
Booklet: 6
More Than a Feelings out of 10
The lack of thought that went into the cover art is made up for in the
booklet. Black and white on one side, color on the other. Lots of band
photos, both posed and in the studio. Lyrics for every song and credits
and that stuff. It's visually interesting and the layout is kind of
cool. The type is a little smaller than it needs to be and it's a little
hard to read the liner notes, but it's not a bad insert overall.
Songs: 4
Foreplay/Long Times out of 10
The first thing one might notice about these songs is that they sound
alot like Boston. Duh! RTZ was a collaboration between guitarist Barry
Goudreau, who played on Boston's first 2 albums, and singer Brad Delp,
whose voice lent itself to the unmistakeable sound of 70's rock staples
like "Peace of Mind," "Smokin'," and "More
Than A Feeling." Shit, you can't turn on a classic rock station
without hearing a Boston song every 30 minutes. Needless to say, RTZ
didn't venture too far from the mold. These tunes have AOR written all
over them. Most push the envelope of mediocrity and the album is rife
with drippy power ballads. There is one OK song, "There's Another
Side," which has a cool 70's hard rock vibe going on, reminiscent
of early Foreigner or Bad Company. So if you're a big Boston fan, then
you'll probably dig RTZ. But if you like party rock like Pretty Boy
Floyd and Faster Pussycat, or heavy shit like Exodus and Slayer, then
you'd do best to give this CD a pass.
Comments: "Until
Your Love Comes Back Around," one of the wimpier songs, actually
was a mild radio hit for a few weeks. RTZ did one tour, then Brad Delp
came to his senses and went back to Boston. There were a bunch of leftover
songs from the "Return to Zero" sessions, and in 1998, Barry
Goudreau released them on a CD called "Lost."
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