Myles Kennedy - The Ides of March

"The Ides of March" is the 2nd solo album by Alter Bridge frontman, Myles Kennedy. Not forgetting the singer/guitarist from Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and he conspirators.  Myles musical projects just keep coming and he seems to have found a nice operating rhythm of balancing all his projects. With the pandemic it seems with the lack of touring Myles has found himself (like many others) more creative than ever which means fans are reaping the rewards.  But what does "The Ides of March" have to offer?"

The title track on the album and the second single "The ides of March" certainly is a standout for many reasons. At first, I thought it might be a shoutout to Iron Maiden who also have a track of the same name.  But it represents the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to the 15th of March, which appropriately is the day this song was released in 2021.  It really is a mammoth of a song too.  Sitting at 7 minutes 30 seconds its up there with some of the longer songs Myles wrote with Alter Bridge and that's both in terms of length and quality.

But while its easy to compare this length of song to the likes of Stairway (Led Zeppelin) and Blackbird (Alter Bridge).  And Stairway vibes can be felt in the opening notes of the track. Myles pulls away from that as the guitars kick in properly.  The first couple of versus sound like it should be a soundtrack to a James Bond film. Then there is a long and winding guitar solo.  But I think the thing I love the most about this song is the seamless transitions between the different sections of the track. Before the long guitar solo for instance, it's almost as if you are climbing up a ladder to the start of the solo.  It works well. Then to finish the song there is another small solo before returning to how the song starts to finish off.

So, if "The ides of March" is the "Blackbird" of the album.  What is the "Rise Today" or "Before tomorrow comes" (also tracks from Alter bridge's 2nd album "Blackbird").  Well roll up first, the first single to come from the album "In Stride".  This track symbolised the more up-tempo and upbeat direction Myles was heading in with his second album as he plus in his electric guitar in comparison to his predominantly acoustic debut "Year of the tiger". "In Stride" has this killer riff using the slide guitar to great effect. I thought this was so good as despite all the bands and projects Myles has worked on over the years. With his solo stuff he has still managed to create something which is separate and has it's own sound which is a great feet.

I would say "Get Along" is the "Rise today" of the album as well as being a great tune. It's the one that really has a powerful message and is the way Myles is trying to communicate with the world as he sings "Why can't we all just get along".  There are many great moments on this album as well as these key tracks.  I would say my favourite has to be album closer "Worried Mind" which has some great guitar work in it.  It's not all up-tempo, for example "Wanderlust" and "Love Rain" down are some of the slower tracks on the album but still just as good.

Overall, Myles continues to set such a high standard really in whatever he touches.  I think his Alter Bridge band mate Mark Tremonti often steals the limelight when it comes to his guitar process, but Myles proves here that he is such a talented musician and songwriter.