Toby Hitchcock is no stranger in the melodic rock community as he has left his mark in the last 20 or so years with Pride of Lions and his solo endeavors. His voice bears a striking resemblance with Bobby Kimball and I guess that says a lot. Truth be told here; I didn’t realize how time flew as Hitchcock’s debut solo record “Mercury’s Down” was released 10 years ago! That album was a really strong effort while I can’t say the same for its successor (“Reckoning”) which didn’t meet our expectation.
“Changes” is not a bad album but on the other hand is not anything special. It doesn’t come close to the quality level of “Mercury’s Down” and I really expected that as Hitchcock was coming hot on wheels from the brilliant “Lion Heart” record with Pride of Lions. It goes without saying that Hitchcock’s voice is exceptional but the songs themselves leave you under the impression that are forwarded towards middle-aged, conservative housewives. Mid-tempo compositions with a help from the all too familiar Italian gang of musicians (Del Vecchio included, of course) paint the picture of this, I’d say, indifferent record by Hitchcock.
Another lost chance by Frontiers that starts with all the good intentions but somehow loses track along the way…and that’s something to be expected and the reasons behind it are well-documented (especially in the last few years).
Highlight: Hitchcock is capable for far better things…
