Jeff Scott Soto, Gary Schutt, Michael Voss, Neal Grusky – ’24th of June: Alive ‘N Kissing’ (1995) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

Back on June 24th, of probably 1995 (I think) at a place called Kühners Landhaus in Kissing, Germany, a group of musicians and friends gathered together for a small promotional show. Those four friends were Jeff Scott Soto, Gary Schutt, Michael Voss and Neal Grusky. That short little show was released as Promo and limited to only 500 copies by Long Island Records and released sometime in 1995. I’ve been wanting this one for quite a long time and finally bit the bullet and bought it as it wasn’t too expensive, but is on the pricier side of things.

It is a very relaxed show and the guys have a lot of fun with it but when the music plays, it is all business and all perfection. They are in front of a very polite and yet receptive crowd and they whip through 6 tracks with Jeff on vocals for 5 and Michael Voss on 1 track. They are joined by Mike Foerster to help out on acoustic guitar as this is an all acoustic set. No drums, simply guitars and vocals. An intimate setting and the guys doing what they do best.

The CD opens with Gary Schutt calling for Jeff to come to the stage so they can start the show. When Jeff does finally arrive, they kick in to a beautiful rendition of Jeff’s band Takara’s song “Restless Heart”. The original version is a power ballad with some great keyboards and a big chorus. Here, it is stripped down to its bare essence with Jeff giving such a stellar rendition. There is no explosive moments like in the regular version, it is reserved and even more emotive than the original. Jeff sounds amazing and sounds as good or even better than the studio version. Simply stunning.

They then taken on a Gary Schutt song called “Stranded” from his album ‘Sentimetal’ which Jeff sang the vocals on. The studio album was a pure melodic rock masterpiece and one of the best songs on that album. Here it is still a upbeat melodic rock track just done acoustically. No keyboards or drums as in the original. There is some bass acoustic here and some simple, yet effective, guitar work. Jeff again is hitting on all cylinders and there are no notes he can’t hit. A fun song done to perfection.

Next up is a Jeff Scott Soto solo song called “For You” that is Jeff’s version of doing a song inspired heavily by Prince. It has all those Prince falsettos and he doesn’t miss a note. It is a ballad that sounds like those old school R&B tracks. There is a sultry, sexiness to it as Prince would do as well. A really cool song and a favorite from Jeff’s debut solo album ‘Love Parade’.

Jeff takes a short break and hands the vocals over to Michael Voss as he does a song called “Mama, Mama” from his band Demon Driver. The song is a party, very upbeat and exciting yet all done acoustically. The guitarists on this really turn it up a notch and jam it out. Michael sounds great and this makes me want to check out Demon Drive and the album this song is from ‘Burn Rubber’ (also on Long Island Records, go figure). A standout track on this set for its energy.

Then we go back to Jeff and he does one of my favorite covers he does and that is Journey’s “Send Her My Love”. They add some bongos to this so it isn’t all acoustic guitars and it works beautifully. I do think they slip an electric guitar in there based on the sound, but they don’t credit it as such. Jeff is heavily influenced by Steve Perry and he approaches it with such class an integrity staying true to the original. He nails it, plain and simple.

The final track of the night is another cover and this one is an actual Prince song and it is “Purple Rain”. The opening sounds epic with all the acoustic guitars chiming in at the same time. Jeff puts on his R&B, funky vibe voice and they add some great backing vocals to enhance the experience. Towards the end and Gary Schutt whips out an electric and tackles that solo and does a great job. Jeff “WOOHOO’s” doing it like Prince would do. At the end, the guys have fun with the “woohoo’s” and back & forth with the vocals. A nice way to end the show.

What a fabulous acoustic live performance we get from these four friends. This was so worth wait in getting this as it exceeded all expectations. It is short and sweet and stellar. Jeff’s vocals sound as good as they do when he is in the studio. Not many can match their studio voice, but he does with ease. Made respect! Michael Voss on “Mama, Mama” was a treat for me and might have a new band to discover now. Gary Schutt and Neal Grusky as well as Mike Foerster’s acoustic guitars were awesome as well. There are no negatives on this release at all. My Overall Score is a 5.0 out of 5.0 Stars. It is nice to find a promo that is as good as this. Worth the extra few bucks to get.

THE JEFF SCOTT SOTO SERIES:

1. Panther – ‘Panther’ (1986) – recorded in 1984
2. Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force – ‘Rising Force’ (1984)
3. Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force – ‘Marching Out’ (1985)
4. Kuni – ‘Lookin’ For Action’ (1988)
5. Kryst the Conqueror – ‘Deliver Us From Evil’ (1989) / ‘Soldiers of Light: The Complete Recordings (2019)
6. Eyes – ‘Eyes’ (1990)
7. Eyes – “Nobody Said It Was Easy” (1990) – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition
8. Talisman – ‘Talisman’ (1990)
9. Talisman – “I’ll Be Waiting” (1990) – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition
10. Skrapp Mettle – ‘Sensitive’ (1991)
11. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Eternal Prisoner’ (1992)
12. Bakteria – ‘Deficate! Suffocate! Mutilate! Masturbate!’ (1992 / 2009)
13. Eyes – ‘Windows of the Soul’ (1993)
14. Talisman – ‘Genesis’ (1993)
15. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘The Ballads’ (1993)
16. Biker Mice From Mars – ‘Biker Mice From Mars (Soundtrack)’ (1993)
17. Takara – ‘Eternal Faith’ (1993)
18. Talisman – ‘5 Out Of 5 (Live in Japan)’ (1994)
19. Talisman – ‘Humanimal’ (1994)
20. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Between the Walls’ (1994)
21. Gary Schutt – ‘Sentimetal’ (1994)
22. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Love Parade’ (1994)
23. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Made in Germany (Live)’ (1995)
24. Takara – ‘Taste of Heaven’ (1995)
25. Talisman – ‘Life’ (1995)
26. Jeff Scott Soto, Gary Schutt, Michael Voss, Neal Grusky – ’24th of June: Alive ‘N Kissing’ (1995)
27. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Black Moon Pyramid’ (1996)
28. Human Clay – ‘Human Clay’ (1996)
29. Talisman – ‘Best of’ (1996)
30. Talisman – ‘Besterious’ (1996)
31. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Magic’ (1997)
32. Human Clay – ‘U4IA’ (1997)
33. Boogie Knights – ‘Welcome to the Jungle Boogie’ (1997)
34. Takara – ‘Blind in Paradise’ (1998)
35. Talisman – ‘Truth’ (1998)
36. ‘Rock Star: Music from the Motion Picture (Soundtrack)’ – Various Artists (2001)
37. Humanimal – ‘Humanimal’ (2002)
38. Humanimal – Find My Way Home: Limited Edition E.P. (2002)
39. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Holding On E.P.’ (2002)
40. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Prism’ (2002)
41. Talisman – ‘Live at Sweden Rock Festival’ (2002)
42. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘JSS Live at the Gods 2002’ (2003)
43. Talisman – ‘Cats & Dogs’ (2003)
44. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Believe in Me E.P.’ (2004
45. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Lost in the Translation’ (2004)
46. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Live at the Queen Convention 2003’ (2004)
47. Soul SirkUS – ‘World Play’ (2004/2005)
48. Talisman – ‘Five Men Live’ (2005)
49. Talisman – ‘World’s Best Kept Secret DVD (2005)
50. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Essential Ballads’ (2006)
51. Journey – ‘Live from Atlanta (Bootleg)’ (2006)
52. Talisman – ‘7’ (2006)
53. Talisman – The Albums Ranked Worst to First
54. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘B-Sides’ (2006)
55. Redlist – ‘Ignorance’ (2007)
56. Jeff Scott Soto – LA Rocks Demo / Vinnie Vincent Demo 1988 (2008)
57. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Beautiful Mess’ (2009)
58. Jeff Scott Soto – “21st Century” / “Gin & Tonic Sky” CD Single (2009) – Bonus Edition
59. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘One Night in Madrid’ (2009)
60. Trans-Siberian Orchestra – ‘Night Castle’ (2009)
61. W.E.T. – ‘W.E.T.’ (2009)
62. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Live at Firefest 2008’ (2010)
63. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Damage Control’ (2012)
64. W.E.T. – ‘Rise Up’ (2013)
65. W.E.T. – ‘One Live in Stockholm’ (2014)
66. Jeff Scott Soto – The Authorized Biography (2014)
67. SOTO – ‘Inside the Vertigo’ (2015)
68. Joel Hoekstra’s 13 – Dying to Live (2015)
69. SOTO – ‘Divak’ (2016)
70. Sons of Apollo – ‘Psychotic Symphony’ (2017)
71. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Retribution’ (2017)
72. W.E.T. – ‘Earthrage’ (2018)
73. SOTO – ‘Origami’ (2019)
74. Sons of Apollo – ‘Live With the Plovdiv Psychotic Symphony’ (2019)
75. Sons of Apollo – ‘MMXX’ (2020)
76. Talisman – “Never Die (A Song For Marcel)” – 7″ Single (2020)
77. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Live and Loud in Milan 2019’ (2020)
78. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Wide Awake (In My Dreamland)’ (2020)
79. SOTO – ‘Revision’ (2020)
80. W.E.T. – ‘Retransmission’ (2021)
81. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘The Duets Collection, Vol. 1’ (2021)
82. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Complicated’ (2022)
83. Jeff Scott Soto – The Solo Albums Ranked Worst to First
84. Ellefson-Soto – ‘Vacation in the Underworld’ (2022)
85. Slam – Slam (2023)
86. Art of Anarchy – ‘Let There Be Anarchy’ (2024)
87. D’Luna – ‘Monster’ (2024)
88. W.E.T. – ‘Apex’ (2025)
89. Ellefson-Soto – ‘Unbreakable’ (2025)
90. Jeff Scott Soto – ALL THE ALBUMS Ranked Worst to First
91. Jeff Scott Soto / Jason Bieler – Live In Concert (2022) – Bonus Edition
92. Jeff Scotto Soto / Jason Bieler – Live in Concert (2023) – Bonus Edition