"Veritas" means "truth," and that's an appropriate title for this record, because listeners always know what they're getting with Gary Hughes: classy, melodic hard rock with elegant symphonic touches. The man with the smoky voice pulls very few musical punches. In fact, almost a decade after his previous solo album, the British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer returns with a disc sonically linked to many of his other musical projects. There are echoes of Magnum's Bob Catley (for whom Hughes wrote and produced three albums), Hughes' work with the band Ten and his two-part Once and Future King rock opera based on the myths and legends of King Arthur.
For some reason, though, the production falls flat here, rendering some of the strongest songs on Veritas slightly less powerful than they could be. And despite a slew of musicians, songs like "Time To Pray" and "The Everlasting Night" are still missing the big background vocals of Hughes' best work (which arguably came while he was in Ten). On the other hand, "See Love Through My Eyes" and "The Emerald Sea" are among the best songs in his canon.
Hughes' music isn't for everybody. Some listeners no doubt will consider many of the dozen songs on Veritas too sterile or middle-of-the-road for their tastes. But fans of the man should find plenty of what they're looking for.
Track Listing:
1) Veritas
2) See Love Through My Eyes
3) In My Head
4) Time to Pray
5) Wide Awake In Dreamland
6) I Pray For You
7) Synchronicity
8) Strange
9) All I Want Is You
10) I Know It's Time
11) The Emerald Sea
12) The Everlasting Light
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