Hot on the heels of Lion Music's re-release of Takara's first three albums comes the `Best Of' covering said three albums plus a couple of acoustic numbers added on. Takara is the brainchild of guitarist Neal Grusky and on the first three albums you had the vocal talents of Jeff Scott Soto (Talisman/Yngwie Malmsteen). In the mid- 90's there were very few melodic hard rock bands bar Ten, Crown of Thorns and of course this band.

`Spotlight' sets Takara's sound out nicely - hard rockin' riffs with big melodies and the soaring vocals of Jeff Scott Soto. For the softer side of the band there is ballad `Restless Heart' (also on here in acoustic form as well). Soto is in fine vocal form with Neal Grusky laying down those long guitar solos most associated with power ballads. `Colors Fade' is another top draw ballad, this time with more keyboard fills and harmony vocals. Plenty of hard rockers on here like `Blind In Paradise' (very Joe Lynn Turner fronted Deep Purple in sound) and `Your Love 2night'.

Eighteen tracks in all, making this an ideal starting point for those new to the band and a welcome addition to any self-respecting melodic rock fan's CD collection.

Related>> Blind In Paradise
Taste Of Heaven
Eternal Faith

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Review by Jason Ritchie

***** Out of this world | **** Pretty damn fine |
*** OK, approach with caution unless you are a fan |
** Instant bargain bin fodder | * Ugly. Just ugly