New Talk Show features 1970's hard, pop rock

Talk Show
(Atlantic Records)
3 stars (out of 5 stars)

By Tony Bonyata

With Stone Temple Pilot's lead singer Scott Weiland exercising the revolving door of the rehab center to kick his drug addictions, he has left his three bandmates, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bass player Robert DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz, waiting in the wings for his return.
Tired of sitting still musically, waiting for Weiland to clean up, the boys have decided to hire a temporary vocalist and continue their hard rock conquests under a new moniker, Talk Show.
While not quite as dynamic as S.T.P., Talk Show offers a bit more melodic side without losing their flare for delivering a good solid hard rock sound. Blending the catchy hooks of 70's act Cheap Trick along with the thunderous rhythms of Led Zeppelin, the lads from Stone Temple Pilots prove that they've had a lot pent up since Weiland's absence, and now have a new format to unleash their musical ideas.
Procuring the versatile pipes of vocalist Dave Coutts, from the Long Beach, California-based band 10-Inch Men, Talk Show runs through a pleasing number of tunes that actually takes you back in time into the rear seat of your cramped '76 Camaro, as opposed to the flannel-clad, alternative-metal of their previous band.
Opening up with the bump and grind rhythm on "Ring Twice" and the heavy Jimmy Page-styled riff and fuzzy, noodling guitar solo on "Hello Hello", Talk Show proves that the seventies are making a larger comeback than just platform shoes and bellbottoms. "So Long" delivers a cool, swaggering groove while the contagious choruses and hard rocking rhythms on the songs "John" and "Hide" are a bit more reminiscent of their Stone Temple Pilot days. Coutts shows an awesome vocal range throughout the album but shines on the numbers "Behind", with Freddie Mercury-like theatrics, and the jangling, poppy "Morning Girl".
With the Stone Temple Pilots on temporary hiatus, it's nice to see the remaining bandmembers releasing some viable, if not superior, music with their latest musical incarnation.

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