Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Commercial bliss., 25 Oct 2002
This is Yngwie's most successful release stateside, just falling short of gold status. Joe Lynn Turner on vocals brought a commercial edge never experienced before or since, and also wrote most of the lyrics - maybe also the melodies depending on who you ask - adding to the "Rainbow" feel. He doesn't quite have the vocal range of previous vocalists, but his smooth, bluesy-edged delivery is unique, and personally I am a big fan of JLT anyway.In addition, Yngwie was recovering from a bad car crash, which left him unable to hold a plectrum. This makes the quality of the guitar playing even more astounding. There are still songs that are classic Yngwie, Rising Force, Faster..., Riot in the Dungeon for example. But Dreaming is one of the best rock ballads ever (the solo is outstanding), Heaven Tonight and Now Is The Time are pure pop, and Crystal Ball starts like a Toto song. This is not meant to be a criticism, however, the melodies are excellent and the choruses memorable; considerably more so that some of his more recent stuff. Should have made Yngwie a superstar.
|
|
|
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Old skool of the cheesiest order, 6 Mar 2002
By A Customer
I first listened to this in the Golden era of 80s metal, around when I was 14. Despite the obvious leanings toward saccharine sentimentality, Odyssey is a tour de force of everything that is good about Mr Malmsteen. The solos are great, the riffs are fantastic and the songs rush along at such a pace as to drag the listener inside the album and go until the very end. That was the great thing about that era of metal and rock music - albums were made to be listened to from beginning to end and they all made sense as individual pieces and as a more powerful whole. They were personal records for dreaming to. The only bands that attempt to do that sort of thing now are the relics from that same era (eg.Iron Maiden), their mimics (eg. Iced Earth) and possibly extreme music vendors (eg. Emperor).Rising Force is a crunching blockbuster of a song that rises to almost unimaginable heights. Dreaming is a whiny ballad but that's no bad thing. Riot in the Dungeon is much the same as Rising Force and equally as good. The longer tracks on side 2 are of merit as well. Faster Than the Speed of Light is a sizzling tune, Now is the Time is a dirgey thinker complete with rusty guitar sounds, Deja Vu and Crystal Ball hark back to Malmsteen's Trilogy and Marching Out opuses. The final 2 instrumentals are both beautiful and lingering. Malmsteen slipped up somewhere after this, Eclipse being barely mediocre and I lost interest, especially with the fall of metal and hard rock during the latter half of the 80s. Now, as nu-metal invades our airwaves (basically it's Britney Spears with different packaging), we can see where it all came from. The 80's may have the reputation for the worst decade, musically, but I happen to believe that some of the great albums of all time were cut around that time. This may not rank up there with the genius of Slayer's Reign in Blood, Metallica's Master of Puppets or the majority of Iron Maiden's earlier albums but it certainly makes a perfect accompaniment to an era as dead as punk and as remembered with as much fondness.
|
|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Odyssey is an unforgettable combination of melody and power, 13 April 2001
By A Customer
From the opening track "Rising Force" any listener will know that this album is all about heavy metal power. The combination of Malmsteen's guitar wizardry and Joe Lynn Turner's massive vocal talent make for some truly unforgettable late Eighties rock. From the dynamic, thumping energy of "Deja Vu" and "Crystal Ball" through to the emotional tranquility of "Dreaming" this is by far Mr Malmsteen's most impressive album. A true classic.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ Yngwie Malmsteen
~ Yngwie Malmsteen
~ Yngwie Malmsteen
~ Yngwie Malmsteen
![Yngwie Malmsteen - Far Beyond The Sun [DVD] [2006]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rhxqlKFVL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Yngwie Malmsteen
