Signing to Columbia Records, Steve made an album, ‘All I Am’. Despite the musical schizophrenia, he had a ton of fun travelling the world and writing lots of songs, and even got to play live on Top Of The Pops!
Along with 3 mates Balsamo formed a country rock band, The Storys, made 3 albums and toured the globe with the great and the good. More recently Balsamo made an Americana/Country album with Rosalie Deighton.
Steve is currently recording a collection of old, new, borrowed and blue songs for a series of 4 EPs. He released the excellent ‘Circle the Wagons’ EP at the tail end of 2018 that contained 6 Country/Americana tinged tracks of mature AOR influenced music. Think Richard Marx jamming with Ben Earle of The Shires after an evening listening to Don Henley. Soulful, nuanced pop/rock.country.The second of the scheduled 4 EP releases came out last Friday (July 12th). Entitled ‘High on Sunset’, the five tracks on offer range from smooth, American-influenced AOR, through to Country tinged pop and even West End infused melodrama. The EP begins with first single and title track, ‘High on Sunset’. ‘…….Sunset’ is a cautionary tale (as old as time) of fame, ambition, aspiration and the casting couch – set in modern day Babylon, which for the uninitiated, is Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles! The track is a strong one, featuring smooth, clean vocals from Balsamo and a sort of West Coast AOR sound, a bit Don Henley, bit Richard Marx – firmly residing in that glorious place where good songwriting and passion collide
https://open.spotify.com/album/1uz9moSZO2s6eWHwpav2Hc
Track 2, ‘Better Man’ continues that MOR/AOR, West Coast feel. It’s a piano driven song that breaks out after the second chorus into a sort of rock/pop/country hybrid. Echoes of bands like Journey can be found if you listen hard enough as it builds in strength throughout, before it comes to an end, having come full circle, with just the piano and Balsamo’s vocals. ‘Better Man’ is our favourite track on the EP – it’s got a big production and big aspirations too whilst at the same time putting across a simple, yet meaningful message.
Further ‘big sounds’ can be found on ‘I Won’t Give Up’, which can be seen as the sister song to ‘Better Man’. This track is all big drums and gospel vibes, driven in places by handclap percussion with Balsamo singing over the top. Infact, Balsamo’s vocals excel on this track, sometimes echoing those of the pop greats like Gary Barlow, whilst at other times sounding uncannily like the great pop/rock singers of the 80’s like John Waite. There is also a hint of that infamous ‘Gethsemene’ ‘high note’ towards the end of the song, proving that Balsamo still has the power and range in his vocals that he had back in his West End days in the 90’s.
The EP is rounded off by two ballads. ‘It’s Always Been You’ is perhaps the most Country-infused song on offer here. A quiet, acoustic pop/country hybrid, it’s evocative vocals and emotional lyrics are augmented by the plaintive sounds of a country-styled guitar wailing in the background, providing a hint of the West as well as a hint of the West End. Those West End feels are played out to the max on ‘Lost and Found at the Same Time’. This track is another quiet, tender song but is backed by powerful lyrics – think Jim Steinman in full romance mode. There’s a lot going on production wise here that leaves ‘Lost and Found…’ feeling like it’s been picked from out of the middle of a West End show and, again, similar to ‘It’s Always Been You’, a string section and a violin solo that could easily be played on a fiddle, lends the track a little hint of the American West at times too.
High on Sunset’ is a an EP that reeks of experience and class. You can tell Steve Balsamo has had a varied career, from the West End to West Coast, this guy has been there, seen it and done it all. He’s now in a place where he can put that experience to good use in his music and explore, with freedom and confidence, the sounds and songs he wants to produce without having the pressure of a label or fan expectations forcing him down roads he is reluctant to travel. The EP is a smooth, accomplished mix of many different sounds and genres tied together by the binding narrative of Balsamo’s smooth, clean and powerful vocals. From the power of ‘Better Man’ to the restrained sounds ‘It’s Always Been You’, this Ep flows fabulously well together and the only real shame is that there aren’t more than five tracks on it. Here’s to the next couple of EP’s to come from Steve Balsamo, let’s hope he continues in this rich, creative vein.
© lyrics magazines
https://stevebalsamo.blogspot.com/
