You know the scene. Rocky just came back home from burying his rival and best friend, Apollo Creed. He decides to go out for a drive. He opens the door to his Lamborghini and the drums kick in. For the next 4 minutes and 15 seconds, you’re taken back to a montage of Rocky’s life with one song as your storyteller: ‘Robert Tepper‘s No Easy Way Out’. Fast forward 27 years later and Tepper is telling a different story. A New Life Story.
Striped down from his big sound of the ’80?s, Tepper still gets your toes tapping from the opening strums of the acoustic guitar and simple beat of the drums with Nothing Gets Me High, the album’s first track. As the lyrics state, ‘It’s the start of the day, a beautiful day’, you sit back and enjoy the ride that Robert is about to take you on. New Life Story is comprised of 11 songs which each take their turn in taking you on a journey. From the Wallflowers-esque Hard Concrete to the funky beat of Angel Like You, each song has it’s own unique identity and it works. The tales of life’s hardships in Loaded Gun and Hey Son, the uplifting title track, New Life Story and a story of an man not wanting to be forgotten in Shrinking in LA intertwine beautifully and make this record shine.
Bottom line, this is a really good record. Self-produced and mixed, Robert takes you all the way through this valley of life’s ups and downs. Do yourself a favor and get it now! As the title track goes, ‘You’ve got the world in your pocket and it looks like you’re ready to go’. So go get it.
1. Nothing Gets Me High
2. Dragged My Heart Away
3. Torn Down Inside
4. Angel Like You
5. Loaded Gun
6. New Life Story
7. Shrinking in La
8. Hard Concrete
9. Hey Son
10. So Much to Lose
11. Living in a Corner of My Head
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