Derek and Bubmbleboot seem more cohesive in the middle/solo section. I liked that part. Felt a little Planet X in there.
The song itself is pretty good. Nothing "groundbreaking" but it's solid. It's an improvement in the aspect of writing a song.
I wish Soto would let loose with his vocals. Seems he stays in a restricted place with SOA except for his "yeah!" here and there.
I don't think he has the ability to do much more at this point in his life. Honestly, I don't know much about him so if someone can prove me wrong, I'm open to it. I picked up his Yngwie albums and he doesn't sound remotely the same. I'm not saying that to criticize because I think he was still a teenager at the time, but I've even heard some things from him in the 90s and he still sounded vastly different than he does now.
He's still a pretty good vocalist but that's about it at this point.
I'm oversimplifying and doing some guesswork here, but this is my take: His natural and most comfortable range is high baritone. He can hit some VERY high notes, but cannot sustain singing in that higher register for extended periods. In his younger days, he could get away with it by pushing and straining, and singing in falsetto. But as he has aged, that ability has left him due to just age, wear and tear from improper singing technique, and wear and tear from living a...er..."rock and roll lifestyle" (if you know what I mean). So, he has lost some range and stamina, for probably a variety of reasons.
To me, this has been evidence for a long time. I know Samsara disagrees with me on this, but I will hold up his time in Journey as an example. He was with them in 2006-2007. And while I liked him a lot as a vocalist, I absolutely felt that he was the wrong choice for the band back then, at least in terms of being able to perform the old material (I would have been completely open to hearing a new album with him where they could write stuff that more suited his style and range). I saw them live on that tour when they co-headlined with Def Leppard. He sounded great on some songs. And his stage presence was awesome. But he cheated on a LOT of notes. And even with Deen taking lead vocals on some songs to give him a break, his voice was noticeably losing power and range as the show wore on, and it was clear to me that, although he could fake it for a few songs, that Steve Perry range wasn't comfortable enough for him to make it through an entire set.
Fast-forward a few months to August 2007. There was a fan-appreciation concert for Y&T. I was lucky enough to have my number called to get up onstage improptu and get to sing a song with Y&T. I got up and did Meanstreak. And other than being a bit off-key on the last chorus, I nailed it. But that is a hard song. And I know from previously being in a Y&T tribute band that I do NOT have the power and stamina to comfortably sing a headliner-length set of their material. It just isn't comfortably in my range. Why am I mentioning that in connection with JSS? Because he was at that same show. Immediately after I got off the stage, this curley-haired dude gets up onstage with them, and does the same song and another one. I didn't recognize him at first. But about a verse into Meanstreak, it dawned on me, "Holy crap! That's Jeff Scott Soto! And he's doing the same song I just did!" And here's the thing: About halfway through, he had to pass if back to Dave Menketti for the choruses. And he did the same thing with Open Fire (the next song). Afterwards, I had a guy come up to me and start high-fiving me for how I "wiped the floor" with Jeff Scott Soto. And while I appreciate the compliment, I quickly pointed out to him that I am in no way worthy to be compared to that guy. I just knew from personal experience where the tricky parts were in that song and how to carry them off. I knew that that song (and others in that catalog) is deceptively a lot trickier than it sounds--I just had had the practice and experience to know how to pull it off, even though it might not have been comfortably in my range. JSS didn't, even though he is a lot more talented.
Again, none of that is in any way a knock on JSS. I still think he is a phenomenal singer. And, again--just to be clear--I am NOT saying that my abilities hold a candle to his. I am nothing more than an amateur who occasionally does some covers in a garage band and some occasional small gigs. My voice overall doesn't have the warmth, depth, or range as his. But, without taking anything away from JSS, the above did confirm to me that he likely isn't physically comfortable having to sing for a long, sustained amount of time outside of a certain range. And I think you hear that in the SoA sets (including the Plovdiv set), where his voice gets tired and he loses range and power as the sets progress. That isn't meant to be a knock in him in any way--just my best analysis of what I hear/see, and why.