Review Summary: The saturday morning samurai flicks of your childhood are back, and with a whole new makeover!
There’s a feeling you get inside of you when you hear the first few strings and chords in the intro of Man Of The Law that continues to grow as you go track by track in as Savant calls it, his ambitious electro-pop space opera. Savant produces more than just music, but an overwhelming feeling of giddiness. It’s the first time in over two years that Savant has produced a product that truly sounds genuine. Combining the saturday morning action cartoons of his childhood with the pop music of the 80’s and 90’s along with his own creative twist. Savant brings an obscure concept to the table that really pays off… for the most part.
The album’s high and low points come from the heavy reliance of cheesiness that comes attached with a space themed rock opera. There are instances where the album shines brightly, mainly noted in the colorful and energetic rock sections through the upbeat tracks, Man Of The Law's guitar centered structure is chocked full of exciting power chord structures and riffs, along with a smooth guitar solo that showcases Savant’s insane instrumental talents. Other times it’s the little things, like the background Gagaku guitar instrumental in Rider in Red or the Legend of Zelda samples in Quest that really help push the concept and set the cheesy 80’s cartoon concept the album bases itself from.
The songwriting and presentation works well too in songs like Laser Sharks and Rider in Red where the charismatic narrator presenting the song’s story and the harmonious falsetto and vibrato layerings from Savant’s vocals cement the melodies into an excellent bliss and really complete the more upbeat tracks along with the more slower pop and nu-disco tracks. All that said, there are instances where Savant’s ambitions go over his head in terms of songwriting and presentation. Certain tracks and lyrics sometimes have a tendency to derail the whole album experience during a thorough listen when they take strange turns.
In Venom for example, when the chorus has Savant singing about why drugs are "great" which doesn’t fit anywhere else in the context of the song or the album. Spaceship, along with a few of the other tracks like Cry For Love and Hit The Top are unfortunately bland shots at a love song or are far too repetitive to enjoy. Savant also has a very uncanny tendency to fit swear words into the oddest of places in songs like Rise Up and Super Sheriff, and while this isn’t the biggest of problems it can get very disorienting and take away from the theme of the concept Savant was aiming for.
Overall, Savant has produced an interesting concept album that despite it’s few bumps can be an overall enjoyable experience for any casual listener and any die-hard fan of Savant. Showing the man of 10,000 songs tackle something new and unseen before in the music world while maintaining the properties that made fans fall in love with him in the place, Savant truly pulls off an album worth your time.
Recommended Tracks:
Rider In Red
Sword Of Destiny
Spaceheart
