Lee Mallory & Joey Stec - Japan (CD)

All Music Guide

Lee Mallory and Joey Stec were members of the Millennium. Some thirty years after that group split and went their separate ways, the two got together to play some shows in Japan as an acoustic duo. This recording was made in ShibuyaKu on June 5th, 2000. Mallory and Stec do a selection of Millennium songs, some vintage Mallory songs (including Mallory's best solo recording, a cover of Phil Ochs That's the Way It's Gonna Be), some Stec songs both vintage and recent as well as a cover of the Temptations I Wish It Would Rain a song that Stec did on his solo record from 1976. It is nice to see the two men have survived and are able to experience some of the acclaim that the renewed interest in all things Millennium has brought. The only problem with this disc is that it is not very good. Their voices are ragged and tired sounding, making their relatively few attempts to harmonize an adventure. Also because of the overly bright acoustic guitars and unimaginative playing, the songs pretty muc...h all begin to sound the same about three songs in. Since the Millennium were all about wonderful voices singing incredible harmonies over the top of inspired and lush orchestrations, all one is left with here are the songs which turn out to be boring. As admirable as the reason for its existence is, fans of the Millennium should steer clear of this record as it adds nothing to their legacy and is a resolutely unpleasant listening experience. - Tim Sendra, All Music Guide Read more Less