I was almost starting to get the feeling that Tony Mills was about to suffer the "Jeff Scott Soto syndrome". You know the one where a singer-for-hire appears on so many releases in a short period of time that you start to get burnt out on him? Then this new release comes along and restored my faith in Mr. Mills!

SERPENTINE is the release I am listening to today and this one will jump near top of the list of favorite releases that Mills has appeared on right along with CHINA BLUE, SIAM, some of his solo works and of course the semi-legendary SHY. SERPENTINE is comprised of not only Mills but also Christopher Gould (guitar), Gareth David Noon (keyboards), Gareth Vanstone (bass), John Clews (guitar) and Roy Millward (drums). The sound of the band is pure melodic rock/AOR not all far from Mills days spent in SHY. It’s ‘safe’ and maybe not anything you haven’t heard before but then again a lot of the AOR sound is pretty similar. This is just done really well and that gets points in my book.

"A Touch Of Heaven" opens with swirling piano and synthesizer sounds as Mills distinctive vocals come in before the track finally kicks in. The backing vocals are perfectly executed and the production is crisp and clean. The guitars are special point of interest and clocking at over six minutes, the song is a somewhat epic beginning to the record.

Once again piano sounds introduce "Whatever Heartache" and the song is a gallop through the AOR world… great songwriting, perfectly executed vocals and that pompy keyboard sound… love it all! You can’t say this isn’t a great tune. Some in the media said this album is the one JOURNEY should have made. I don’t think I’d go that far but songs like this certainly bring a certain level of validation to that sentiment.

This certainly seems to be an album dominated by the keyboard as "Lonely Nights" opens with the synthesizer once more before the guitars join in. I would like to have heard a slightly ‘beefier’ tone from the guitars here the song is a decent mid-paced tune, which seems to focus on the vocals of Mills. Some will say Tony Mills vocals are a bit of an acquired taste but for me his performance with SERPENTINE brings me right back to the days of SHY and that is great to hear.

The records first power ballad comes in the form of "For The Love Of It All". It’s a great tune with a bit of a sentimental feel and for me it’s the song-writing here that lifts this tune a step above the norm for the AOR genre. Another solid performance from Mills in this one also

A guitar riff opens "Let Love Rain Down" but I still feel the guitars would be better served with a bit more of muscular tone. The song is a full-on rocker though and the traditional ‘gang-style" backing vocals and ripping guitar solo make this song a real winner.

The second half of the record continues with more of the swirling and stabbing keyboards you get with the first half of the album. As I said earlier, the sound is nothing you haven’t heard before but it is done well and the production is crisp enough to carry it all the way home.

One special mention is the cover tune that closes the record out… "Unbreak My Heart"… yes, the same one that was made famous by Ms. Toni Braxton! Mills takes on the song with his distinctive vocals as he and the band pretty much do a straight-forward rendition of the song. An interesting choice for a cover song on an AOR/Hard Rock record but it’s all well and good and fits in without sounding out of place.

All in all, "Touch Of Heaven", while not a classic, is a strong AOR record. With a slight bit more variety in the songs, the rest seems in place already for a classic release in the future. Here’s to hoping the band try and follow this one up and turn it up a notch. Could be interesting…