Ken Tamplin has a rich past in melodic rock music. He became popular in the eighties when he played in bands such as Joshua and Shout. Since the early nineties he invested in his solo career. The first solo disc was also entitled Ken Tamplin & Friends. Wake The Nations proves Tamplin assembled more friends than ever, including Marty Friedman, Doug Aldridge, Jeff Scott Soto, Kee Marcello, Reb Beach and several others. With such a well esteemed artist like Ken Tamplin himself this is sure a guarantee for a top notch album. The first track, The Story Of Love, is just one great example of his catchy songwriting combined with the excellent singing of him and Jeff Scott Soto and Philip Bardowell. It's great melodic hard rock. And this song is no exception as to what the rest of the record has to offer. Wake The Nations is also a record with many faces in the sense that there's variety. There are bold rock songs as well as nice ballads and God In Heaven is more in the blues rock vein. In several songs there are harmonic vocals and with eleven guest guitarists to pick from, you may expect some real smoking solos! While many nowadays artists sell albums with less than forty minutes of music, Ken Tamplin offers 18 tracks filling 78 minutes. I love this man!
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2003Reviewed by Kevin MathewsI made the mistake of watching the bonus DVD that is included in this release before listening to the audio CD. Let me explain... I have such a low tolerance for music videos nowadays that I run the risk of letting the video color my judgment of the music. And so, I viewed Story of Love and was truly amazed at how many effects the video editor put in to distract us from the fact that there was…More from Ken Tamplin
1992At the Top of Their Lungs
1993Tamplin
1996We the People
1990An Axe to Grind
1995In the Witness Box
1991Soul Survivor
