TY TABOR

"Rock Garden" (InsideOut; 2006)

Reviewed by Edwin Van Hoof

Ty Tabor has a rock garden! It may sound odd, but the story is revealed upon his website as well as the label's website. What is Ty's rock garden? It is merely the place he kicks back in to relax with his friends and find his vibe and path in music. With “Ogre Tones” marking the return to the King’s X heydays, I had my hopes that Ty would be able to revamp his fine feeling and create a new monster.

This album’s predecessor, "Safety," kinda lived up to its title. Thankfully (yahoo!), so does “Rock Garden.” Ty traced back his footsteps to return to what he does best: Create monstrous melodic slow groovers with Beatles reminiscent refrains, bridges and sugar sweet choirs. It is the combination of two different worlds, the black and the white, coloring a picture of near perfection. The dark and damp atmosphere contrasting with the sugarcoated choirs is the trademark of Ty and King’s X and this is a sound he leans on for this solo effort as well. 

Slow movers and creepers like “Play” (with its humid and dense atmosphere), and sweeter and friendlier tracks like “Beautiful Sky,” "Wading In," and “Take it Back” all feature Ty moving away from his trademark ways of playing. Hard rocking moments in “She’s a Tree” and “Ride,” or a typical King's X track like the warm and pleasant “Thankful” offer plenty of moments for fans to take down like a pint, and even enough to surprise the critics. 

Ty finds his way throughout "Rock Garden," just like he did with King's X. Hopefully, he'll stay on this path, and create even more exceptional music. It’s about time the world opens toward the remarkable sound and vision of Ty Tabor and his X-Men!

For more information, check out http://www.tytabor.net or www.kingsxonline.com

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

Back to CD Reviews Home

Back to RoughEdge.com Home

Copyright © 2006 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights reserved.
Revised: 12 Feb 2024 12:34:07 -0500.