Cherry St. - "Monroe" (plus 3 bonus tracks)
                                                                                                                                        Released through Perris Records in 2004
                                                                                                                                                         www.perrisrecords.com

THE BAND:
Unavailable



TRACK - BY - TRACK:
1.) "Dogtown" -This track opens with a fairly standard hard rock intro section.  For the pre-verse and verse section the band lets Marq's vocal lines carry the song.  For the verse Marq stutters the vocal lines which added s a lot of accents to the vocal arrangement.  During the pre-chorus section the song almost takes an AC/DC feel.  Leading into the chorus and them running underneath it is a very cool bass line.  The main chorus sections are very laid back with a huge vocal hook laced within them.  There is a minor guitar solo that connects the second chorus to the third verse that was almost over powered by the rhythm guitar.  The main guitar solo section was turned up a little more than the minor solo.  There is a small lead guitar scale that runs underneath the outro chorus section.  
2.) "One More Tonight" -The guitar tracks of this song have a very Angus Young feel to them.  At times the vocal accents of the verse have a very Phil Lewis sound to them.  In the fashion the guys wrote the build up section between the verse and chorus was very cool and filled in several empty spaces that would have other wise been there.  The chorus was keep very short.  The bass line has a very solid feel and really lets the bassist expresses his musical talent.  There are a few lead guitar licks during the solo section where the lead guitarist incorporated the guitar rhythm into the solo.
3.) "Break Me" -The intro to this track has a very Krokus/AC/DC feel to it. There is a section of music during the intro where the bassist and guitarist play the same rhythm kicking the verse section in.  The vocal lines of this track lets Marq express why he is on just about every tribute release that has ever been released.  After the first chorus section there is a lead guitar solo.  The musical section of the guitar solo just consisted of drums.   
4.) "Joker's Wild" -This track opens with a very dark sounding guitar riff.  The intro section consisted of a lead guitar scale.  The main guitar rhythm of the song has a very late eighties feel to it.  It sounds like they added a little bass to Marq's vocals in the studio.  This worked very well with the key the song was written in.  After the first verse the band breaks the song down leading into the guitar solo.  The lead guitar solo runs underneath the ending chorus.
5.) "Bite The Bullet" -The guitar intro of this track opens with a very Angus Young feel.  There is a small lead guitar scale that connects the intro to the verse.  The bass line underneath the verse section made the verse section.  The backing vocals of the chorus though very short had a nice effect on the song. 
6.) "The War Is Over" -This ballad opens with a very clean sounding guitar.  It does not that very long for the musical hook to grab you.  The band let's Marq's vocal lines of the verse carry the song.  Marq really gets a chance to show his vocal ability on this song.  All I can say is this is one of the greatest ballads I've heard in a very long time!!!
7.) "Comes Around Goes Around" (bonus track) -This track opens with a huge drum fill.  The main guitar arrangements of the verse sections are very laid back in a melodic metal fashion.  The chorus sections are very laid back with huge eighties style hooks.  The ride cymbal is miced very well and has a nice crisp sound too it.  At times through the chorus Marq's vocal accents have a very Vince Neil feel from Motley's "Theater Of Pain" days.  The guitar solo set up and written perfectly for this song. 
8.) "Soft & Slow" (bonus track) -This track opens with an eighties style guitar arrangement and lead guitar scale.  Because of the micing on the hi-hat plus the twelve-note rhythm the hi-hat almost over powers the rest of the musical arrangement.  The chorus sections where arranged in a very simple fashion, with a solid rock 'n' roll feel.  The solo is classic eighties style heavy metal.  There is a very small breakdown section after the lead guitar solo.
9.) "Push & Shove" (bonus track) -For the intro of this track Marq gets to express his vocal ability.  The Pre-verse was written in standard 4/4 time then changing to a twelve-note arrangement for the verse section.  In the fashion the backing vocals are set up on this track would make it a great song to perform live.  The solo had a very laid back feel to it. 


    Marq Torein is one of the most sought after vocalist for a tribute release, and it doesn't take to long after hearing the first track of "Monroe" to see why.  The nine tracks off of this release are in the vein of Bullet Boys, Roxx Gang, and several other groups from that genre.  For me the ballad alone makes this CD worth buying.