williams friestedt williams friestedt

Released: 30 May 2011 Label: AOR Heaven

With a ready rolled out music career in their back pockets, Toto singer Joseph Williams and guitarist/ songwriter Peter Friestedt have now joined forces, been snatched by the AOR  Heaven bandwagon and reached out for a collaboration.

For the kick off we have Swear Your Love. With the catchy chords, punchy solo, key changes and outstanding vocals, the song has ballard smeared over it. In comparison to the rest of the album Swear Your Love  has the most ‘bite’ to it; a very good choice for the first taste of the album.

Next on the agenda is the mellow Say Goodbye. It’s probably the most ‘song in the background’ on the album. It brings out the easy listening aspect of the abum. However, it is an extremely well thought through song.

With the melodic keyboard intro, Sometimes You Win brings a twist to the album.  The lingering vocals smoothing out the song, in conjunction with the backing vocals gives the song a jazzy tinge. Even though the band have installed a different vibe to the album, they do still have that ‘car jouney CD’ sound.

Back to the sparks, Where to Touch You scraps most of the theme they’ve had so far and tunes into some soft rock;soft being a key word. They are simply running on as many different musical tracks as they can.

Going Home  brings another change to the album. Again, they show off their flair and technical abilility, minus the vocals. It is an instrumental which is nothing short of being thoroughbred! It is probably the best example of how capable they are of giving us a pick and mix album. Even though they hold all the cards with demonstrating their highly skilled music techniques, Going Home is more of a ‘chapter turner’. It breaks up the album and gives it a fresh start.

Straight away the CD unveils Stay With Me. Williams Friestedt exposes their ‘poppy’ side. Yes there is a guitar solo; but with the timid harmonies under Williams’s ballady vocals, we see a major change in the CD. It isn’t the most complex song compared to the others, but Stay With Me still works.

One More Night puts yet another slant on the album. With its punchy ‘slap beat’ chords and chilled vocals, the song is more funky. It’s like Bob Marley with guitars. It’s an extremely ‘lets have a jamming session’song.

Letter to God polishes off the album. Its simple, delicate piano streams intertwining with the simmering vocals, the song just bleeds with emotion. It's a song for everone! It puts the perfect seal on the CD and even though it is the most basic song on the album, it's probably one of the best.

Williams Friestedt is like a musical spectrum; there are many different sides to it but they all sit together well. It is polished, professional and even though they have exterior musical sectors, this album reflects that there is a natural union.

by Kathryn Longbottom