This is a quickie because I just want to share my thoughts and then get back to dancing around my house. Also, a heads up: this is a CD-only release (also available to stream). There is no vinyl release.
It’s super rare for me to review a CD-only release… but here we are…
Recently, a song keeps popping up that makes me smile when I am at the gym. It feels like modern Europop, reminds me vaguely of Erasure, Roy Orbison, Savage Garden, Rocky Burnette, and Chris Isaak, and gets me moving. I’d never heard it before and I’d never heard of the singer but it ear-wormed its way into my head and it got to the point where I actually knew most of the lyrics.
Queue Shazam.
It turns out that the song is Same old Story by an Argentinian artist named Maxi Trusso from his 2014 CD, “S.o.S.”. I’ve absolutely never heard of this guy before, but apparently he’s no stranger to the music business. Born July 31st, 1970, Maxi Trusso is apparently one of the most successful Argentinian artists of the last decade. Known for his distinctive Tenor voice, he sings almost exclusively in English, giving him access to a huge global audience. He has even done guest vocals on a track by Paul Oakenfold and Poncho (Please Me, 2021), So why have I never heard of him?
Before going solo under his own name in 2006, he was part of an electro-pop band called Roy Vedas whose 1998 song Fragments of Life was featured on Top of the Pops in the UK and was voted one of the best tracks of the 90s by British magazine The Face. As a member of Roy Vedas he toured all over Europe, including a short stint as supporting artist for The Rolling Stones on part of their European tour. And yet… I’ve never heard of them. Have you? (I checked out Fragments of Life via YouTube and didn’t like it… but that’s another story. I’m here to talk about Maxi Trusso’s 2014 solo album, “S.o.S.“, which I LOVE.)
Once Shazam had provided me with the name of the artist and the song, I did a quick search to see if he had done any other songs that I might enjoy. I played the album via Spotify and discovered that it is really, really fun.
What initially made Same old Story pique my curiosity was his voice. He sounds like a modern day Roy Orbison singing hi-NRG dance/pop music (but less weepy, if that makes sense). Instead of sounding like everyone else out there these days (everyone screams, trying to sound powerful, and whines, trying to sound “soulful”. Have you noticed?) he sings with a gorgeous tenor voice, not too high yet not too deep, and sounds like he might have actually been a classically trained singer. He has great control over his voice and sings from deep in his chest. I like the fact that, as a guy, I can sing along and use my lungs instead of my nose… and I also don’t need to damage my vocal chords trying to reach any unattainable high notes.
I’ve had the album on my Spotify in high-rotation for awhile now, but I wanted to own a physical copy of the album, if for no other reason than to rip it to lossless FLAC. Sadly, it has never been issued on vinyl, so I had to make do with the next-best-thing, and bought the CD for a decent price off of eBay. In fact, I bought a second copy for my sister (who loves Savage Garden BTW) and shipped it to her as a surprise (shh! Don’t tell her!). I’m sure she’s never heard of Maxi Trusso either, and I think she will absolutely love the album.
There are only 2 tracks on the album that I skip when I listen to it; The Girl and S.o.S. Remix, which is tacked on at the end of the CD. The rest of the album is a solid joyride.
Of the eleven tracks on the CD, I’ve added 9 of them to my Spotify favourites. That’s pretty impressive. Besides S.o.S. (Same old Story), which started me on this odyssey, standout tracks include Nobody is Lonely, Nothing At All, Let Me Know, The Ring, and Music is My Dream. One song in particular that deserves a shout out is the trippy The Ring, which meanders around like an Erasure remix, but somehow segues into Auld Lang Syne, where Maxi Trusso gives an astoundingly operatic performance (it reminds me a wee bit of Lucciano Pavarotti, but that’s probably just me, haha). This part of the song takes me by surprise every time it pops up and it’s always a delight. If for no other reason than to hear THAT, you should definitely check out this album!! But other songs also have their surprises (Let Me Know has a great guitar bridge that sounds like random 80s hair metal set to dance music, and Music is My Dream has some amazing Spanish Female vocals that sound absolutely delicious… like aural candy).
As always, here is a playlist for you! I’ve added a couple of later songs as well: Make You Mine and Streets of Rock and Roll from his 2016 “Last Call”).
What do you think? Had you heard of Maxi Trusso before? Are you a fan? I’d love to hear from you!
Have I missed anything? Are there any songs I should have included in our playlist? Drop me a line in the comment section below! Remember to subscribe so that you don’t miss our next monthly (ish) post (We’ll never bother you more than once a month). PLUS! subscribers get a discount on any purchase made from us.
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