The core of Talisman is Swedish bass player Marcel Jacob and American singer Jeff Scott Soto. Both have a past as members of Swedish guitar hero Yngwie Malmsteen's band. They formed Talisman in 1989 and the rest of the lineup (guitars & drums) has been revolving quite a bit.

When they released their first album they scored something of a hit in Sweden with "I'll Be Waiting" which is a great example of their ability to come up with tasty melodic rock.

In the mid 90s they also formed a new band called Human Clay, where they in the best dr Frankenstein manner basically made new songs around bits and pieces of old rock classics and released two albums ("Human Clay" 1996 and "U4IA" 1997).

A bit of background on the Talisman releases is that "Cats And Dogs" is their sixth studio album (unless you count "Humanimal", that came as a part 1 & 2, as two albums). The previous albums are "Talisman" (1990), "Genesis" (1993), "Humanimal" (part 1 & 2, 1994), "Life" (1995) and "Truth" (1998).

They also have released two live albums ("Five Out Of Five - Live In Japan" in 1994 and "Live at Sweden Rock Festival" in 2002) and a couple of compilations ("Besterious" and "Best Of Talisman" both released in 1996).

Myself, I was fortunate enough to catch them at Sweden Rock Festival in 2002 where they recorded their second live album. The show just confirmed what a bunch of great musicians they are andthat Soto is a natural frontman.

The lineup on "Cats And Dogs" is actually a revival of the classic lineup with Fredrik Åkesson on guitar and Jamie Borger on drums. I think this shows an aim to go back to the classic Talisman sound and their special take on melodic rock. Groovy rhythms, delicious vocal harmonies and fast and flurry guitar playing.

Let's have a look at some of the tracks off the CD. "Break It Down" sounds like something right off "Humanimal" with its intense tempo with a great bass groove. As always the track is deliciously topped with marvelous melodic harmonies. One of the highlights off the new CD. We also get more mellow ballad-like moments as in the intro of "In Make Believe". It soon takes off in a more uptempo fashion. Soto adds some of his trademark vocal harmony work with layers and layers of backing vocals added to the chorus.

"Sorry" is another one of the more mellow tracks, and for those that have learned to love Talisman's way of producing pop rock this is pure AOR heaven. Had it been the 80s this would have been on the radio for sure. Or possibly, put it in the hands of any boy bands aimed at the teen market, drop the guitar solo, and it will be on the radio anyway! ;)

"Love Will Come Again" starts out with yet another groovy bass line backed by a steady drum beat. Then a very Van Halenesque rhythm guitar comes in. A great Talisman track. On "Outta My Way" Marcel Jacob plays a mindnumbing bass intro displaying his signature sound. There are also sections on this track where Jacob's bass guitar locks in with Åkesson's guitar in incredibly fast runs. Great musicianship, but perhaps sounding a little too much like guitar practice time for the Talisman boys? ;)

This CD will certainly appeal to the Talisman fans, as it features a little of everything that have made them a name on the contemporary AOR/melodic rock scene already. Where the previous CDs have had more of a consistent direction or even a theme (as was the case on "Humanimal") this one is quite diverse.

It goes from more heavy progressive tracks with fast and flurry neo-classical metal solos to more straight melodic rock and even some pure pop. A little for everyone you might say. Great to see the classic lineup back together again!