They still have their trade mark harmonies, catchy AOR goodness BUT! you have much more guitar for your money and some amazing blistering fret work from the very talented Richie Beardsley who is able run free safe in the knowledge he has a very strong rhythm section, Craig Chapman (guitar, keys), JT (drums) & Dave Deaville (bass) to rely on. The vocals courtesy of Johnny Trowbridge are fuller and more robust too and that certainly makes a difference to the overall sound. The production is brilliant and so is the packaging, you wouldn't expect anything better from any of the major players in the melodic rock scene (in fact it's better than many label releases). The guys show their influences and passion for all things melodic rock... you have elements of GOTTHARD, WHITESNAKE & Y&T. The band give us power and as well as some great ballads the duet on Last 2 Know with Sue Willetts from Dante Fox is a gem I urge you to get your hands on this album as it’s a MUST and from a great bunch of guys who really love their music. A MUST for melodic rock fans.
– Gez www.loud1.net -
One thing that has been missing this year has been a great British Melodic Rock bands album yes there has been a few good albums and a few mediocre one but never an album that makes me say yes British Rock is back, that was until Tara’s Secret sent me the band’s latest release ‘Vertigo’.
I’ve always been a little critical of the British quarter in the Melodic and Hard Rock scene, because they never seem to have that punch that some of the Scandinavian and German bands in the same genre have, but I must say this new album by Tara’s Secret has meat on them there bones.
From the opener ‘Rock ‘N Roll Beauty Queen’ I was hooked on this album. The band have certainly picked up their game big style with a more full on guitar sound and a great sounding rhythm section. Another thing I must say is that Johnny has a much more predominant vocal on this album.
The album continues to rock big style with ‘She’s My Baby’, which is actually one
of my favourites off the album, again featuring a big guitar sound from Richie and
Craig and a monster rhythm section courtesy of JT and Dave. Things just continue
to get better as the great rocking keeps on coming with ‘Natural High (Rain Of Love)'
and the elegant ‘The Last 2 Know’, which features Sue Willetts of Dante Fox fame
duet-
The hard rock soon picks up pace once again with the riff spewn ‘Promises’. If I had to pick one outstanding track from the album then this would be my choice, this is modern Hard Rock with just a touch of 80’s rhythm to keep the diehard’s happy, and without a doubt Johnny finest vocal performance on the whole album.
The title track ‘Vertigo’ is up next, again keeping the high tempo rock going and with some great guitar work from Richie and Craig. Then it's time to bring things down a touch with the ballad ‘One More Chance’, a song to pull at the heart strings for sure. Coming in a close second to track of the album is the hard rockin' ‘My Reward’, then it’s a track that is old school all the way ‘Shake What Your Mamma Gave Ya!’, an all out rocker to shake your booty to.
The album closes properly in fine style with ‘Homeland’, a gentle rocker that rounds off what is without a doubt the bands best album to date. The band give a little more with a couple of bonus rockers, first up is ‘GTBR’, a real barnstormer of a track before keeping it going with the second ‘Wildest Dreams’, both great tracks that should have been on the album as tracks 11 and 12 and not bonus tracks as they are just two monsters.
They round off an album that shows that actually there are still a few British bands out there able to keep that Red, White and Blue flying in the genre. Honey – www.mayfairmallzine.com
If their last album album was a Cadillac cruising the American highways with Journey
on the radio, the new Tara's Secret is a Mustang, pulling at the leash to tear up
the back streets -
It's a less-
Rock 'n' Roll Beauty Queen starts with
a tribal drum pattern from John Thomas before Beardsley's and Craig Chapman's guitars
crash in, while on the piano-
Add to that concert staples Homeland
and Natural High as well as My Reward, with its off-
IAN HARVEY -
Tara's Secret are back and without a shadow of a doubt this is their best album to
date. They have honed their penchant for classy hard rock tunes and added in a few
surprises like the ballad 'The Last 2 Know', which features co-
The album's hard rock tunes like the opener 'Rock 'N' Roll Beauty Queen' and 'She’s My Baby', which sounds like prime time Y&T, really hit the spot. Give these songs airplay and lots more rock fans will discover just how good this band are. 'Shake What You're Mama Gave You' is a classic 80's sounding melodic rocker and features Adrian Marx on vocals, who sounds like a deadringer for Jon Bon Jovi and after a quick Google search it's hardly surprsing as he sings in a Bon Jovi tribute band!
The two bonus songs are no slouches either, with 'Wildest Dreams' giving the listener
plenty of opportunity to practise air guitar. The riffs are immense and the soloing
is fast and furious -
The UK now has a couple of decent melodic hard rock bands to match the 80's legends like Shy, FM and Airrace, something the Scandinavian and German bands have been producing for many years. If you like hard rock this album is for you, simple as that. ****½ Review by Jason Ritchie www.getreadytorock.com
www.glorydazemusic.com -
New drummer John Thomas stomps his way through the lead-
Musically, you can see that Taras Secret are wide and varied in terms of their song
choices and reference points. It's unmistakably an 80's era album, with little of
resemblance to anything trendy. To my mind, these guys represent the best of the
indie scene in the UK at the moment, and now with three albums out on the street,
they really shouldn't remain a secret anymore! EDITED
Thanks to all of these publications for taking their own precious time to review our music. If you prefer we only post a snippet,
along with a link to your website, then please let us know.
British Tara’s Secret has released their 2nd album called Vertigo. Their debut was
released 2006 called Tomorrow The World that was a good album but not sensational.
I wrote in my review that I hoped that they would do a whole album that would be
more AORish and I got my prayers answered. Vertigo is a step forward and they deliver
a album filled with great guitar oriented melodic hardrock with AOR influences. This
made me think of Tyketto's 2nd album Strength In Numbers mixed with Newman and Mitch
Malloy influences. Singer Johnny Trowbridge has a Danny Vaughn (Tyketto) mixed with
Mitch Malloy sounding voice and he sounds great. Rock'n Roll Beauty Queen opens up
the album in a great way. She’s My Baby could have been on the Mitch Malloy debut
album and is a great rocker with a strong chorus. The ballad The Last 2 Know is a
duet with Sue Willets from Dante Fox and it’s a nice one. Promises is the highlight
of the album, this is a fantastic hook laden melodic AOR-
Juha Harjula www.melodic.net SWEDEN
TARA'S SECRET: "Vertigo" 7 Cat Music 2009
Review by Kimmo Toivonen, www.kimmo@rockunited.com
Tara's Secret are a hard-
"Natural High (Rain Of Love)" is a good melodic rocker with sharp riffs and fine
backing vocals. "The Last 2 Know", a ballad and a duet between Johnny Trowbridge
and Dante Fox's Sue Willetts. It's another winner and an album highlight. The same
goes for "Promises", a cool stomping rocker with plenty of melody. The album's title
track is another good song. "One More Chance" is the album's second ballad, and it's
more of an understated one with only piano and vocals. A nice change of pace. "My
Reward" takes the album to a more metallic direction again, reminding me of the dozens
of late eighties hair metal bands. For "Shake What Your Mamma Gave Ya!" the band
has enlisted the help of Adrian Marx, a singer who does a lot of Bon Jovi tribute
songs. The song itself isn't a full-
I can still remember the stupid grin creeping across my face as I gave the album
a first spin -
When you throw this album into your CD player and out comes roaring the opening track 'Drive Me Home', which by all rights should be a dancefloor filler in rock clubs up and down the country, and should by now have received so much airplay that I'd be sat here going "Man I loved that song the first time I heard it... but god, it's been played to death!" www.komodorock.com
TOMORROW THE WORLD -
The catchy 80s Melodic Rock of the band TARA’S SECRET on their first official CD Tomorrow The World sounds damn catchy and is by far featuring the best melodic rock coming out of the UK in a long time! STRUTTER
“Tomorrow The World” is like getting all the best things in the same cake. Aor, melodic
rock and hard rock in a mix that almost make you blush -
Now this is more like it, another British band putting out a great new album. -
Who's ready for the AOR anthem of the decade then? 'Drive Me Home' is a tribute to all the AOR legends of days past, tossing in references to the bands heroes like Journey, Van Halen, Whitesnake and Boston. But the song itself is the talking point, with melody lines and pumping keyboards straight from 1987 that take on and beat Stan Bush at his own game www.gloryzone.com
One of the best independently released melodic rock albums this year and a real must for lovers of all things melodic rock.
This Is A Fantastic AOR Album From Start To Finish,
These are real hair-
I confess to having preconceived ideas about this release from Brit Rockband, Tara's
Secret. The band name and the album title conspired to paint (in my head at least)
a very different picture. The reality is something different. 'Vertigo' is feisty,
swaggering, melodic hard rock, taking its lead from disparate sources, combining
the awesome melodic rock reach of Survivor to the much misunderstood bluesy variant
of the UK's very own Thunder.
Opener, 'Rock'n'Roll Beauty Queen' sets out the band's
stall with a flamboyant flourish, the song quickly spiralling down from an anticipatory
rhythmic opening into a hulking, melodic hard rock bruiser. The tuneful, up tempo
tracks that follow, like 'She's My Baby' and 'Natural High' reinforce the comparisons,
with 'Promises’ brilliantly grandiose chorus being a particular highlight.
The energy
expended is almost palpable and while Richie Beardsley’s surging, spiking lead guitar
doesn't exactly bite or sting, it just ripples with punchy melodies, punctuating
each song, providing the perfect counterweight to Johnny Trowbridge's angular, driving
vocals. Talking of which, on the album's obligatory (but very welcome) ballads, 'The
Last To Know' and 'One More Chance', Trowbridge's cultured tone and full throated
vocal attack vividly recall Dennis (Styx) DeYoung circa 'Edge Of The Century'.
Guest
vocalist Sue (Dante Fox) Willetts helps out on the former, contributing significantly
to the arrangement's melancholy harmonies behind soughing strings and climactic piano
keys. 'Shake What Your Mama Gave Ya' could quite easily have been suspended in eighties'
aspic, now released from its temporary prison, celebrating freedom in a declamatory,
stadium filling style. Magnificently apposite, 'Wildest Dreams' closes the album
in a Foreigner-
Midlands based rockers Tara’s Secret formed in 2003, and have had a few line-
The band has taken some stick over the years, a lot due to the band evolving and improving in the public eye, but they have constantly looked to improve aspects of their musicianship based on the criticisms. We shall leave their 2004 debut “Spectrum Wheel” firmly in the past as a band testing the water and to be honest not making much of a splash, it’s not a body of work that I care for. With the release of “Tomorrow the World” in 2006, which was a far superior effort in the song quality and performance, they started to wake a few people up to the Secret. The band had come on leaps and bounds, but an album which was very mixed in style may have left a few people cold but showed the potential and talent within.
As 2009 came to a close we got their third album, Vertigo. This see’s the band finally mature and find their “sound” with a far more cohesive collection of songs. Everything about TS has improved, from the lyrics to the singing to the playing and it all shows on the best British rock album of 2009! If you weren’t a fan before, you should give the band a chance as Vertigo is a very different album to what we’ve heard before.
Stylistically TS has shown everything from Prog to Blues Rock in the past -
Although the heavier stance of TS mark 3 does at times have a darker edge, you still
get the fun time rock n roll on tracks like “She’s My Baby”, “Wildest Dreams” & “Shake
What Your Mama Gave Ya!” which features a guest vocal performance by cult Black Country
singer Adrian Marx (Plain Jane) -
Probably my favourite song on the album is the classic rock fused and inspired “Promises”,
which links a great set of lyrics with a great riff groove and an instant ‘in your
face’ chorus. Imagine the bastard lovechild of late 70’s early 80’s UFO & Rainbow
-
The band also show real quality when mixing classic rock riffs and AOR melodies with
big choruses -
Sue Willets of Dante Fox duets with Johnny on heartfelt ballad “Last To Know”, which takes the song to a whole new level and it’s a real coup for the band to get someone as talented as Sue to guest on their album. It takes what would have been a decent ballad and turns into a far more powerful and instant song, some great subtle use of cello on this tune as well. I’m a total Sue Willets fan boy and I don’t care!
“Homeland” another ballad has been with the band a long time and is Johnny’s tribute to his “Homeland” of Australia. It is obviously a song with personal meaning for Johnny and his performance on this song is one of his strongest. I heard the song live back in early 2007, and was totally under whelmed at the time, but the song has evolved and now has a very atmospheric feel and sound to it. Definitely a song for those who yearn for “Home” wherever that may be….
Runner for potential LIVE favourite has to be the infectious & quirky “My Reward”,
it has a great up-
I saw TS support Danny Vaughn (Tyketto) last December and I was totally blown away by their performance of probably the most powerful ballad the band have ever done, “One Last Chance”. Whilst the song is musically sparse, it’s a very raw and emotional song which uses subtlety to full advantage to create a very intense song. Although it is just Dave’s piano and Johnny’s vocal’s, there is great use of harmonies and a fantastic cello refrain. If this doesn’t touch you, you’ve got a heart of stone as this is the sort of ballad most bands would kill to be able to write! IF the guys sold this to Simon Cowell it’s got number 1 slapped all over it!
This is probably the best British Melodic Hard Rock Album that has been released in the past decade; it has everything with killer groove laden riffs and infectiously catchy melodies and choruses. Do your ears’ a favour and get VERTIGO! Britain’s best kept Secret is here, are you ready?
Album Rating: -
TARA’S SECRET “VERTIGO” -
Tercer trabajo en estudio de los ingleses, Tara’s Secret, quienes luego de tres años, regresaron, y con todo. Su última placa Tomorrow the World en 2006, captó la atención de la crítica especializada, aunque claro, lo mejor aún estaba por venir. Y hete aquí que con el lanzamiento de Vertigo, su más reciente placa, los liderados por el bueno de Johnny Trowbridge en voces, nos regalan su mejor obra y unos de los mejores discos de hard rock melódico del último año.
Para quienes aún no hayan tenido el gusto de conocerlos, se trata de una banda típica de Hard Rock ala Gotthard, Thunder o Tyketto, cuando hablamos de su sonido mas radicalizado, y de similitudes a Bon Jovi, Journey o Whitsnake, en aquellos momentos más clásicos. Y en esa vena aparecen grandes temas como la apertura Rock N´ Roll Beauty Queen (temazo), She`s my Baby (la faceta blusera del CD), la homónima Vertigo (que buen estribillo, bien ganchera y pegadiza de principio a fin. Gran labor del violero Richie Beardsley), y por último, la frutilla del postre, la extraordinaria, Promises. No se la pierdan, vale la pena escucharla una y otra vez hasta el cansancio, si es que alguna vez esto ocurre.
Dos que no quiero dejar pasar por alto son Natural High, y la balada, The Last 2 Know, donde Trowbridge hace una fenomenal dueto con la voz femenina invitada del disco, Sue Willets (hermosa canción). Otras que merecen un párrafo aparte son My Reward en un excelente rock and roll al mejor estilo Whitesnake o Rainbow era Joe Lynn Turner, y la popera Homeland, en un cierre ideal y a la altura de un trabajo descomunal.
Vertigo cierra con dos bonus track, GTBR y Wildest Dreams. La primera bien funky, un hermoso homenaje a los seguidores de Van Halen y Glenn Hughes; y la segunda, un medio tiempo bien rockero, y super al palo, para terminar bien arriba y con ganas de mucho, pero mucho más. Yo creo que si sos amante del hard rock y del rock clásico, no podes dejar pasar por alto a Tara´s Secret, te dejará con la lengua afuera, y los oídos endulzados de excelente parafernalia musical.
Alexis L. Berman www.planeta-
Translated..... The third work by Tara's Secret, who returned after three years.
Their last CD “Tomorrow the World” in 2006, caught the attention of critics, though
of course the best was yet to come. And here that with the release of Vertigo, their
latest opus, led by Johnny Trowbridge in good voice, give us their best work and
one of the best melodic hard rock albums of last year.
For those who have not yet
had the pleasure to hear the band, this is a typical hard rock band in the Gotthard,
Thunder or Tyketto vein, and at times with similarities to Bon Jovi, Journey or Whitesnake,
in those classics moments. And in that vein are vast, open epics such as Rock N 'Roll
Beauty Queen, She`s My Baby (the bluesy side of the CD), the eponymous Vertigo (good
chorus Hook and catchy from beginning to end). Great guitar work by Richie Beardsley.
And finally, the icing on the cake, the extraordinary “Promises.” Do not miss it,
it's worth listening again and again ad nauseam, if ever this happens !!!
Two songs
also, that I cannot fail to overlook are “Natural High” and the ballad “The Last
2 Know” where Trowbridge performs a great duet with the female guest singer, Sue
Willets (beautiful song). Others songs that deserve a separate mention are “My Reward”
in a great rock and roll in the style (eg) Whitesnake and Rainbow’s Joe Lynn Turner,
and “Homeland” a poppy and perfect close to this colossal work.
Vertigo closes with
two bonus tracks, “GTBR” and “Wildest Dreams.” The first is well funky, a beautiful
tribute for Van Halen fans and perhaps Glenn Hughes. The second is a good time rocker,
a super to song to finish it up and then want much, much more again. I think if you're
a lover of hard rock and classic rock, you can not ignore Tara's Secret, they will
leave you with your tongue hanging out and your ears sweetened by their excellent
musical paraphernalia !!
One band that has been helping the cause of AOR UK is Tara’s Secret, always the bridesmaid,
never the bride. VERTIGO is their 3rd release, it trounces their first and is a marked
improvement on their 2nd. Besides the great vocal delivery of Johnny Trowbridge,
I have to say the guitars on some of these songs sound huge. The likes of Rock n
Roll Beauty Queen, Natural High & Vertigo (I thought Eddie Van Halen turned up on
this one) are full of bruising riffs and tasty guitar solos courtesy of Richie Beardsley
& Craig Chapman. If you had said to me after their debut, they would one day record
an album this good, I would have laughed.. But now I am laughing on the other side
of my face now, ain’t I ? This is a Great Album and hey, its even got Sue Willetts
on it -
Tara’s Secret were formed in 2003, from that band Johnny Trowbridge, Richie Beardsley & Craig Chapman remain in the band today. Their second record, Tomorrow The World, were released 3 years later and got fine reviews. The band split up though the year after but reformed in 2008 with the current lineup and started writing songs for Vertigo.
The record has very high quality songwriting, surprisingly considering it’s such
a “lowprofile” band. I doubt that few people outside of England knows about them,
that must change with a record this good. Songs such as Promises, the titletrack
Vertigo, the ballad The Last 2 Know (a duett with Sue Willetts from Dante Fox), the
opening track Rock & Roll Beauty Queen and Natural High (Rain Of Love) is all fantastic
with the first 3 the best songs on the record. Homeland, My Reward (with a great
riff and problary the hardest song on the record) and the bonustrack Wildest Dreams
are also very good songs that fits in well.. The band has done very well with the
production too and I hear influences from such bands such as Tyketto, Gotthard and
Van Halen, as well as touches of Y&T in places. A great surprise, hopefully we hear
more from the guys in the future. If you’re into bands such as mentioned, this is
for You. -
British melodic hard rockers Tara’s Secret have been around for a few years now. This is their 2nd album and sees them leaping way ahead of the expectation curve, delivering an album that blows the last one out of the water. Independent bands are always constrained by budgets and lack of investment, but Tara’s Secret obviously know their way around a studio and have made the best of what they had at the disposal. The record sounds loud and in your face, clearly mixed and features a really nice guitar tone throughout.
The vocals of Johnny Trowbridge have also leapt ahead from the debut. His gritty,
often raspy voice is far stronger here and also has a touch of Danny Bowes (Thunder)
and even Dennis DeYoung (Styx) on the big ballad “The Last 2 Know” -
The opening 3 rockers are all from the Gotthard / Whitesnake songbook, moving into
that harder rock field, away from melodic rock as such. But it works -
Album highlights include the stomping “She’s My Baby,” the opening “Rock n Roll Beauty Queen,” another tasteful piano ballad “One More Chance” (more Dennis DeYoung) and the straight ahead rocker “My Reward.”
The Bottom Line
Great stuff for fans of British hard rock and the more traditional bands like Whitesnake, Thunder and even Gotthard. Strong production outshines the budget, and a strong set of songs puts these guys well placed to move forward in years to come.
90% MUST BUY !! Andrew McNeice -