Musical Style: Melodic Hard Rock	Produced By: Ken Tamplin
Record Label: Frontline	Country Of Origin: USA
Year Released: 1988	Artist Website: Shout
Tracks: 9	Rating: 75%
Running Time: 37:28

After getting his start with the melodic metal band Joshua in the mid-eighties, Ken Tamplin departed the group following its European tour in support of the album Surrender when he felt the Lord leading him in a different direction.  Proceeding to put together Shout after meeting guitarist Chuck King (Idle Cure) through an ad in a Los Angeles area classified paper, Tamplin finalized the bands line up with the addition of former Joshua bassist Loren Robinson.  The name Shout was arrived at, in Tamplin's words, due to the fact, "We're supposed to shout and make a joyful noise unto the Lord.  We're definitely shouting it out and saying what the Lord wants us to say."  It Won't Be Long is Shout's 1988 debut on Intense Records. 
 
On It Won't Be Long Shout combines slick radio friendly hooks with edgy metal flavored guitars to create a commercially accessible melodic hard rock sound.  Tamplin handles all lead vocal duties with his warm and smooth sounding voice and combines with King to comprise a formidable guitar team.  Robinson performs capably on bass, but the underplayed drumming of Dennis Holt (AD) does not quite make the grade.  Keyboardist Mark Hugonberger accentuates the bands sound without unnecessarily dominating it.

It Wont' Be Long features a sleek and highly polished almost overproduced production job.  While the rhythm guitar comes across full and crisp, it could have been beefed up a bit on several tracks.  The lead guitar is clean and discernable.  The bass sound is adequate, but the drums do not always stand out in the mix as they should.

"Never Stop" opens the album in a commercial hard rock direction.  After fading in to a combination of rhythm guitar and keyboards, the rhythm guitar plays a reduced role in the mix as the song reaches its first verse.  The rhythm guitar returns to its place of prominence, however, as "Never Stop" picks up in pace for a catchy chorus carried at an upbeat tempo.  "Never Stop" deals with perseverance and never giving up no matter what obstacles cross our path:

Now can't you see, Oh that I'm racin' time
It's on with the goal
Another uphill climb
Follow the heart, satisfy the soul
I'm movin' on, headin' along well you know

A crunchy rhythm guitar backed by a punchy bass line drives "Winners Or Losers" through its first verse before vocal harmonies help give the songs superlative chorus an anthem-like feel.  A tight sounding guitar solo brings out the best in a song reinforcing the importance of love and acceptance:

In God's eyes, winners or losers we're all the same
Can't we try loving each other without all the blame

The albums title track begins to a beautiful minute long Spanish influenced acoustic guitar solo.  Once the rhythm guitar abruptly kicks in hard and heavy, vocal harmonies shout "Go! Go!" before "It Won't Be Long" advances through its first verse in up-tempo fashion.  The rhythm guitar, on the other hand, takes a backseat in the mix as the song reaches an acoustic laced chorus reinforced by vocal harmonies. 

Keyboards slowly propel the catchy power ballad "Find A Way" through its first verse as the rhythm guitar fades in and out of the mix.  As the song attains a strong commercial flavored chorus, it is underscored by a crisp sounding rhythm guitar.  I wish the band had built upon an instrumental passage limited to a few seconds of rhythm guitar.

With its restrained rhythm guitar sound and weak pop flavored chorus, the groove flavored "Dancin' Round The World" does not quite make the grade.  A very fine fast fingered guitar solo is not enough to put the song over the top.  It does not help matters that the lyrics to "Dancin' Round The World" are on the trite side:

There's groovin' dancin' to the beat tonight
And we will set those feet to flight
There's swingin' and swayin' to the music tonight
Get our hands and feet blazin' like a firelight
 
Introduced to a drum solo, a crunchy rhythm guitar carries "Shout" forward in an energetic manner before it peaks for a resounding chorus with a catchy refuse to go away hook.  Lanny Cordola (Guiffria, House Of Lords) makes a guest appearance on lead guitar and contributes a killer fast fingered pull-out-all-the-stops guitar solo.
 
The vocal harmonies commencing "Showdown" give way to a hard rocking rhythm guitar sound underscored by a punchy bass line.  Slowing at the start of its first verse, "Showdown" gradually gains momentum until it reaches a chorus accentuated by smooth sounding vocal harmonies.  Robinson furnishes a bass guitar solo before vocal harmonies twice repeat the phrase "showdown-ghost town".  Several seconds of the albums best high-octane lead guitar work ensues.  "Showdown" also touches upon the second coming:
 
Showdown comin' round
Runnin' for cover when the trumpets all sound
Yea a ghost town's what'll be found...
Like a thief in the night where will you be found
Ghost town died with a sound, we'd better slow down

A crisp rhythm guitar takes the commercial hard rocker "Timeless Love" through its first verse at a mid-tempo pace until it gains momentum for a chorus with a good catchy hook.  An instrumental break limited to a few brief seconds of rhythm guitar does not quite make the grade.

"Without You" proves one of the albums least compelling tracks.  After a restrained mix of rhythm guitar carries the song forward, it hits a wall upon attaining a quirky chorus backed by a way too prominent mix of keyboards.  "Without You" does feature an interesting instrumental passage carried by a cool seventies influenced combination of rhythm guitar and organ.

It Won't Be Long proves a solid debut from the talented Southern California melodic hard rock band.  The album highlights three great songs in "It Won't Be Long", "Shout" and "Showdown".  And while there is some filler in "Dancin' Round The World" and "Without You", everything else holds up quite well.  Please note that It Won't Be Long is aptly named in that at only 9 songs and forty minutes it is a bit on the short side.  On the other hand, it is the quality and not necessarily the quantity that counts.  And as a result of delivering its share of quality, It Won't Be Long opened a door for Tamplin to record two more albums with Shout in addition to several solo efforts over the next two decades and a critically acclaimed project with Lanny Cordola under the name Magdallan.

Review by: Andrew Rockwell

Track Listing: "Never Stop" (3:58), "Winners Or Losers" (3:42), "It Won’t Be Long" (4:21), "Find A Way" (4:49), "Dancin’ Round The World" (3:13), "Shout" (4:19), "Showdown" (4:02), "Timeless Love" (4:36), "Without You" (3:42)

Musicians
Ken Tamplin – Lead Vocals & Guitars
Chuck King – Guitars
Loren Robinson – Bass
Dennis Holt – Drums
Mark Hugonberger – Keyboards

Guest Musicians
Lanny Cordola - Guitars

Also Reviewed: Ken Tamplin – Wake The Nations

Reference List
Rocker, Randy and Christy Arnold. "Shout Interview With Ken Tamplin." Take A Stand (November 1988): 1-2.
"Shoutin' In Your Face- A Talk With Ken Tamplin." Heaven's Metal 19 (1989): 4-6.