In late 1997, Tommy Stinson joined Guns N’Roses. Seven years on, that band’s Chinese Democracy album remains unfinished, so Stinson can hardly be blamed for making a solo record. Varied and melodic with echoes of Big Star, Cheap Trick and, inevitably, The Replacements, there are crisp ballads (“Light Of Day”), Stones-style rockers (“Something’s Wrong”) and the odd full-throttle riff (“Couldn’t Wait”). Opener “Without A View” is a heady brew of acoustic’ guitars, cellos and layered vocals unlike anything we’ve heard from Stinson before. Still, he’d be better advised giving his old mate Westerberg a call.
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