Michael Morales - That's The Way

1. Better Way
2. Change The World
3. Where Does Love Live
4. That's The Way
5. Blood
6. Let You In
7. What Kind Of Fool
8. No Tomorrow
9. Maria
10. I Remind Me Of You
11. Driving Back To Your Heart
12. No Way Out

Album Cover:

 

Total Playing Time: 45:28 m:s

Review date: 26 October 1999

Email: studiom@texas.net 

For this album, Michael has locked himself away in a studio creating a truly solo album, with Michael singing and playing all the instruments.

The press releases mention that Michael has released an album that positions him between Def Leppard and Rick Springfield. Having just finished reviewing the Z Plan album where I talked about the band forging their own identity, this comes as quite a shock. Michael's style is a hefty dose of Def Leppard with Rick Springfield and Bryan Adams filling in the gaps. The sound is very close to Def Leppard on many tunes. Another explanation could be that he has a Mutt Lange fixation and that it isn't Def Leppard he is trying to emulate but the production, whatever he sails pretty close to borders of plagiarism. Of course, if you're a Hysteria era Def Leppard fan, and Euphoria was quite the return to that style that you had hoped for, then this will be a godsend.

Having got all that out the way, this is a good album. I happen to like Def Leppard and Rick Springfield!!! "Better Way" kicks off proceedings in a Bryan Adams "Waking Up The Neighbours" vibe. That Mutt Lange drum sound and chorus style is very much in evidence and dominates the next bunch of songs. "That's The Way" could be "Pour Some Sugar On Me" part 2. "Blood" is another song where the connection is particularly strong, even the "Whoa! Whoa!" bit. On the ballads, "Change The World" and "Let You In", his voice sounds like a mixture of Joe Elliot and Bryan Adams.

Just when I think I'm becoming paranoid and hearing Def Leppard everywhere, "What Kind Of Fool" breaks the link and the only thing we have to deal with are clichéd lyrics - "Is he tougher than diamonds? Is he stronger than steel?". There's a hint of Bryan Adams on "No Tomorrow", but from here on Rick Springfield is what I hear the most. Maybe because Rick's style isn't quite so distinctive, I don't have so many ethical dilemmas with these tunes. It was whilst listening to "I Remind Me Of You" one day that I realized that if I wasn't spending all my time thinking about the obvious comparisons, the I'd notice that this is a bloody good album. For example, "Driving Back To Your Heart", is the kind of catchy lightweight pop/rock material that would have been huge in the 80s.

I seem to have spent most of this review bitching about how closely Michael's work borrows from other peoples, but else where in my Mood Swings reviews I've been a lot more tolerant. The bottom line is that "That's The Way" is a good album with hook filled tunes and crisp production that I enjoy listening to.