Lost in the Translation

California native Jeff Scott Soto is a journeyman vocalist who started out singing for theatrical metal guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen in the '80s. He then went on to front numerous not-quite-on-the-radar groups throughout the '90s before teaming with Journey guitarist Neal Schon in the group Soul SirkUS in 2004. Since 1995, Soto has also consistently released solo albums, this being his fourth. The opening song, and Schon co-write, "Believe in Me" sounds like an outtake from Journey's Frontiers (or like psyche-up music from an '80s teen film), while "Soul Divine" has an '80s lite-metal bent to it, as does "Drowning." Soto just happens to have one of those dramatically fierce, vibrato-drenched voices suited toward '80s-style pop-metal, and Lost in the Translation is full of grand gestures befitting that era. Originally released on the European label Frontiers in 2004, the CD was issued stateside by Locomotive Music in 2005. ~ Erik Hage