Serpentine - A Touch of Heaven

[Vicious Robbie]

A friend of mine let me in on this record and to be honest I didn't know what to expect from these youngsters from Cardiff, UK. Oh wow...was I in for a surprise!! The moment the title track kicks in...you recognize the voice...oh yes...it's Tony Mills!! Not only that but the material he is singing...it takes the bad taste away from those dreadful TNT records. I don't know how these youngsters (average age 23) can come up with this kind of material but this is wonderful AOR and Tony just makes the material soar. The guys are not virtuosos but the name of the game is solid songwriting and the boys have it. Single Whatever Heartache screams Shy all over and Lonely Night is right up there. Ballad For the Love of It All does the job nicely and Fashion has one of those choruses that you just can't get out of your head. I only dislike two out of the nine originals and there is cover of Toni Braxton's Unchain my Heart, which is ok but nothing special.

This is definitely the type of material that Tony was born to sing and if you love AOR, you'll do yourself a favor and give this record a listen. It's already been available in Europe on 3/26/10 on AOR Heaven. I may be a little unfair comparing these guys with Shy, just because of Tony, but I also hear a little FM in them. No matter, this brings me back to the type of material that I love to hear Tony singing and if these guys keep up the quality material, us fans will be the only winners!

Listen to a few tracks from the album: http://www.myspace.com/planetserpentine