Striking out on his own first among his bandmates, guitarist Ty Tabor's first solo release quietly released via mail order to fan club members in 1996 stands tall next to his longtime partner dUg Pinnick's initial solo offering, Massive Grooves..., as a concentrated shot of all the things Tabor fans would want: a laid back atmosphere, Beatles-esque vocals (John Lennon in Ty's case), and his distinctively sinuous guitar playing, and Naomi's Solar Pumpkin succeeds in delivering just that.
Like Massive Grooves, there's a novelty to hearing so much of someone's writing and playing that's normally balanced out with two others on early solo albums to help cover the spread of any songwriting deficiencies and to keep the memory of any clunkers overly rosy. I think that, on the whole, Ty is a better composer and writer than anyone else in King's X and it especially shows on his first two solo albums (Moonflower Lane is basically Naomi's Solar Pumpkin Remastered): alternating between understated foot-tappers like "I Know Everything", "Had to Move", "Boy to Man" and "Hollow Eyes" and layered ballad-type pieces in "Without You", "That's All", and "Walk With My Love", Tabor displays a level of competence at power-pop that is rarely seen. Handling all instruments himself and keeping the runtime tight, Tabor produces an excellent little piece of melodic hard rock.
B+
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