TOMMY FUNDERBURK – Anything For You

Mr. Funderburk has a solo album out? Oh yeah? “The” Tommy Funderburk? Who the hell is Tommy Funderburk? Know him or not, Tommy Funderburk has a lengthy resume as one of the most hired background singers in rock. His talents have been sought by such bands as Motley Crüe, Whitesnake, Boston, Yes, Steve Lukather, Richard Marx, Rick Springfield, Starship, REO Speedwagon, Coverdale/Page, Jon Anderson, and many others. Whew, impressive indeed! The question is can such a highly regarded background singer come out of the shadows and take center stage as a capable lead singer?

No question, Tommy delivers a strong vocal performance on this album. His style is much akin to another fellow label singer, James Christian (House Of Lords). The only real complaint is that it’s delivered with content that most Metalheadz will have a hard time coming back to for more. It’s not that the material is awful; it’s just that the songs are probably a little more commercial then most Metal Express fans would like. Since the words “love,” “you,” and “our” show up in six of the ten track titles, the end product is really not that much of a surprise. The gamut of the music offered here runs in the vein of classic American AOR vocalist Richard Marx, and the majority of these tracks would fit comfortably on FM radio stations throughout the States. If that was Frontiers Records’ intention, then on that level they might have succeeded.

The release starts off in fine fashion with the opener “Learning How To Love,” with its prominent guitar rhythm, lead guitar, and Tommy’s multi-layered arena rock chorus. For a moment, it feels like something special is forthcoming, but then the album rests on its heels with mediocre tracks like “Remember Our Love,” “Anything For You,” and “To Say You Love Me”. Unfortunately, even the addition of established Frontiers Records’ session men like Grossi and Scattolin can neither keep the material interesting nor provide additional “bite.”

Richard Marx fans can rejoice, as this release might fill the void until the next Marx album, if any, comes out. Others probably won’t find much replay value here and should proceed with caution.

Lineup

Tommy Funderburk: Vocals
Fabrizio V.Zee Grossi: Bass, Keyboards, Samples and Loops, Production
Arny Rothstein: Keys
JM Scattolin: Guitars
Rob Vanni: Lead Guitars
Joachin Cannaiuolo: Drums
Biggs Brice: Drums
Phil Brown: Additional Guitars