Chris Tondre, “By Your Side,” Mp3 Review

Delivering an infectious hook with moving, thick harmonies, Chris Tondre has created a lyrically and aurally pleasing tune with, “By Your Side,” off his upcoming CD, Carry On.

“By Your Side” is a phenomenally sounding song. It opens with an ambient, wah-laden electric guitar complemented by some subtle, impressively processed background guitar effects. Soon after, Tondre’s nice and perfectly produced vocals fill the room with a warm and pleasant tone. The sound is amazing, and the rock/pop lyrics are great, too. In the chorus, complemented with great harmonies, Tondre sings, “Unlike a star that shines alone, you’ve got it all but you don’t know. Open your eyes and find that I am always right here by your side."

The melodies of the first verse and chorus are very unique and really grab you. Tondre’s vocal delivery is fantastic, and we haven’t even gotten past the intro of the song.

Now, kick in the rock ‘n roll.

With a full band and driving guitars, Tondre ventures on. His vocals are still subtly layered with harmonies, but his higher octave singing is much more prominent and is a perfect fit for the song. What I truly like about this piece is that Tondre’s verses are short, and he always get to the chorus quickly. This is not necessarily a required formula for great songwriting. The chorus in “By Your Side” is just so strong that I want to hear it over and over. Tondre doesn’t make me wait, and I like that a lot.

Did I mention Chris Tondre is quite the lead guitarist? He throws in a smooth, melodic solo after the bridge, but again keeps it appropriately brief, jumping right back into the chorus. I know I’ve touted the chorus in this song a lot. However, the best part of the tune has yet to come.

After completing the nicely packaged 3 min. 20 sec. heart of the song, Tondre lets loose on a killer two minute guitar solo with great tone and phenomenal riffs. This guy can play, and Tondre's guitar outro puts the perfect final touch on a fine product.

Though Tondre plays all guitars and sings all vocals on this song, the rest of the band and the recording crew are to be commended, as well. There’s too many to list here, but currently Tondre has the credits listed at his Myspace site.

Or, you could just buy the upcoming CD, which I’m sure has the credits in it, too!

It’s clear from listening to this song that Chris Tondre, a Texan who has transplanted to Los Angeles, has his sights focused on the big prize. With a tune like, “By Your Side,” off the soon to be released CD, Carry On, it just may be within his reach.

Artist Website: www.myspace.com/christondre

Reviewed By: ListenersGeneration.com