It’s not necessarily en vogue to love the music of Michael Bolton but I seriously can’t get enough of the guy. Every other vocal line he delivers is completely over the top and it’s absolutely great. The dude has tone for days and a gritty high end to his voice that makes every song he sings feel larger than life. Before he became The Soft Rock King (a title I have given Bolton that I am committed to get to catch on) he was actually the frontman for hard rock band Blackjack in the late 70’s. Which totally makes sense cause Michael Bolton totally rocks.
1991’s Time, Love & Tenderness is soft rock to its core, one of the best examples of the subgenre that exists. This album sits in that wonderful space of music history between the late 80’s and early 90’s that has a distinct sound that’s so damn recognizable– it’s the delicate synths, the reverby piano, the Hammond B3 organs, the vocal melodies, the dramatic major/minor 7th chords. Hell, this is an album that features a song with Kenny G (“Missing You”) to really underscore its soft rock bonafides. Lotta hair in the studio when they cut that track.
No one does soft rock anthems rock better than Bolton, and there’s a handful of bangers on here like the title track “Time, Love & Tenderness” and “Forever Isn’t Long Enough” that rip in a distinctly Bolton way. But my favorite song on this album (and honestly one of my favorite songs ever) is the incomparable “Steel Bars” which closes out the album on an incredible high note. This is Bolton at his best– massive lead guitars hooks, a moody verse that chugs along like a train, a pre-chorus that sets the stage, and then a climactic chorus that demands you sing along at the top of your lungs. And of course (of course!) it hits that obligatory key change on the final chorus and plays out in a refrain with Bolton riffing lead vocals all the way home.
This would be a guilty pleasure if I felt an ounce of guilt about enjoying it as much as I do. But I don’t.
All hail the The Soft Rock King.
Standout Songs: “Steel Bars”, “Forever Isn’t Long Enough”, “Love Is A Wonderful Thing”, “New Love”
