TOBY JEPSON – Viewfinder (2021)

”Viewfinder” is a collection of former Little Angels and current frontman of the superb Wayward Sons TOBY JEPSON solo material, selected by himself and freshly remastered. The album comprises Toby’s favourite solo recordings from the last fifteen years which curates songs from the ‘Refresh’ EP, ‘Twisted Rhapsodies’ double album, ‘Guitar Bass and Drums’ trilogy, and the ‘Raising My Own Hell’ mini-album.
The ”Viewfinder” CD – already sold out – is completed by four rare and unheard bonus tracks from Toby’s vault, making this limited edition 20 track album not to be missed by fans & collectors.

Prolific is one of the many words used to describe Toby Jepson. A quick glance at Viewfinder’s tracklist will show you that with its extensive twenty tracks. This collection of songs from Jepson’s back catalogue provides insight into his pre-Wayward Sons musical journey.
Whereas Little Angels and Wayward Sons output is very much rooted in classic rock / hard rock, when solo he spreads his wings a lot more. In the process it shows off his criminally underrated songwriting abilities.

And that’s one of the strengths of this collection – Jepson isn’t afraid to turn his nose up to any genre and as this will show, he’s dipped his toes into many different styles of rock and even dabbled in pop.
It’s an interesting listen and always ready to take you into new territory. Likely the most familiar tracks found here will be “Crush” and “Just No Way” (recorded by Wayward Sons and Toseland, respectively). Lyrically, “Crush” is pretty much exactly as you’d hear it on Wayward Sons’ debut but instead of an up-tempo rocker, it’s an acoustic-driven number and much slower but still has the same nuance and passion behind it. Meanwhile, the keys-based “Just No Way” sounds pretty much the same as it did when Toseland covered it, the only difference being the person supplying the vocals.

Opener “Better Off Dead” is one of the straightforward rockers and nothing short of what you’d expect from Jepson when it comes to that territory. Much like the others found here, like “Motivated” and the fuzzy “Happy Ever After”, they’re fun and bouncy romps.
Meanwhile, it’s the forays into the less traditional areas where some of the best tracks are like “Unwind” with its chunky power pop tones. Elsewhere, “Back in the Day” has the grimy, smoky sneer of early 70s Rolling Stones and the title track takes its cues from the more muscular blue rock tones of the same era like Bad Company and Led Zeppelin.

The wistful “Forgiveness” channels Queen’s “Sail Away Sweet Sister” both lyrically and sonically, and feels like a moving tribute to the original whilst maintaining its own identity as Jepson explores his own feelings on heartbreak. Of course, it’s not the only ballad found within and “Four Letter Word” examines love in all its forms.
Tucked away at the end are four unreleased tracks in the groove-laden “Little Bird”, the big ballad of “Overwhelming Me”, the jangly, sparkling “Losing Side” and the pop rocker of “Picking Up the Pieces”.

”Viewfinder” provides a 15-year trip into Toby Jepson’s world from both a musical and lyrical standpoint. What keeps the album flowing through all the sub-genres is the quality of songwriting itself. He explores and challenges what a rock song can and should be and allows fans and newcomers alike to (re)discover a great batch of songs whilst drawing a line under this period of his life.
For someone who has discovered his music later on, or merely wanting to catch up on what they missed out on, it would be more than worthwhile checking it out, as you missed some great material first time round.
Highly Recommended

01 – Better off Dead
02 – Unwind
03 – Back in the Day
04 – Dear Mama
05 – When Will We Learn
06 – Viewfinder
07 – Forgiveness
08 – Happy Ever After
09 – Motivated
10 – Raising My Own Hell
11 – Four Letter Word
12 – Twisted Rhapsody
13 – Crush
14 – Weight of the World
15 – The Chosen One
16 – Just No Way to Stop from Loving You
17 – Little Bird (Bonus Track)
18 – Overwhelming Me (Bonus Track)
19 – Losing Side (Bonus Track)
20 – Picking up the Pieces (Bonus Track)

Out of print
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