With exception of the die-hard fans, most of us will probably admit to being a little skeptical when a band announces the sudden "discovery" of lost or forgotten early or live recordings. So here we have the hard rock AOR masters, Tyketto, pulling this one out of their hat. "The Last Sunset: Farewell 2007" is marketed as "a collection of unreleased tracks, album demos, and live recordings." Sounds bottom of the barrel scary.But the stereotype does not apply with this release...the Tyketto boys have delivered yet again and put out a "lost" recordings compilation that truly feels like a time capsule (circa 1988-1992). Having these tunes cranking out of your speakers just makes you want to grow the mullet back out and hit ebay for some spandex. Wow! Tracks like "Big Wheels" and "Till the Summer Comes" sound like they could have been on their AOR masterpiece "Don't Come Easy." Another standout is "Is Anybody Watching Me," which sounds like a follow-up to their classic acoustic-driven ballad "Standing Alone."
Even in the linear notes (also nicely done), vocalist Danny Vaughn writes, "Let's be honest, the reason these songs never got heard is because we never felt they were quite good enough." Their classification of these tracks as their sub par crap is testament to how awesome their "A-list" stuff was. But I thoroughly enjoyed most of their D-list throwaways.
As one might expect for such a record, some tracks are better produced and in more of a final form than others. But Danny never disappoints on vocals, and the trademark big chorus hooks are still present in these unheard tracks. I enjoy the "new" stuff better than the demos. The demos are interesting to hear, providing insight as to how certain beloved songs evolve, but it is hard to appreciate them more than once when biased by the well known version.
Fans of Tyketto rejoice...this is a "leftovers" CD worth picking up.
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