‘MACBETH, A ROCK OPERA’: Malden songwriter’s dream keeps getting better

Internationally known performer Jeff Scott Soto has now recorded all of the songs for the new digital album

By Steve Freker

The world stretches far and wide, around and back again. Then, often — as we know — it becomes very small. So it was, late last year when a conversation struck up on a cruise ship in the waters of the Bahamas struck a chord — literally — before making it all the way back to Malden.

That one conversation paid valuable dividends for a local songwriter and his two colleagues who came up with a landmark vision for a musical creation, which has swiftly become well-known far beyond Malden. The musical work is “Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a rock opera” and the trio who have spent over a year in its creation bear Malden roots. Greg Cherone is a lifelong Malden resident who has been on his own personal musical journey since the 1970s. Cherone’s creative cohort includes the composers for the digital album, John Bettencourt and Robert Clapp Jr.

“It’s a compelling story of a historical figure now expressed in the dynamic soulfulness that is rock opera. My mission was to present the story so people of all ages can easily understand,” Cherone said earlier this year, when most of the songs began to become available to listeners. “Composers John Bettencourt and Robert Clapp Jr. made this dream come true.”

Cherone’s dream has since been taken to a whole new level, one to which he and his colleagues most likely would have never imagined. Included is the now dedicated website, which can be accessed at www.macbetharockopera.com.

Let’s recall that aforementioned conversation on the cruise ship docked off the Bahamas. On board, along with some passengers and crew, were some high-end “heavy hitters” of the music scene, since this was indeed a rock concert cruise, with nightly performances of well-known acts. So on the ship were a pair of internationally known singers, none other than Jeff Scott Soto and Gary Cherone, who happens to be Greg Cherone’s twin brother and a fellow Malden native.

Jeff Scott is well-known — now internationally — for his work with a number of bands, including performing as lead singer for Journey in the mid-2000s and also with Panther, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Talisman and many others. Soto has released 11 solo albums from 1994-present as well as four “live” albums and two compilation albums. Gary Cherone is flat out famous internationally, the lead singer of Extreme and later Van Halen (and Malden High School alumnus). Extreme took over the airwaves in the spring and summer of 1991 with the #1 Billboard hit “More than Words” and followed with a reign of continued success.

“My brother Gary and Jeff were both performing in separate acts and they were having lunch together one day when Gary brought up my project in conversation,” Greg Cherone recalled. “Jeff was intrigued and wanted to know more and Gary helped get us together.”

“From there it has been just amazing,” Greg Cherone said. “Jeff [Scott Soto] immediately was drawn to the concept and the songs.” After a number of conversations, it was agreed that the internationally known singer Soto would tackle putting his voice to the creations.

Soto and the Cherone-Bettencourt-Clapp trio mixed well, and they compiled an initial four-song set that drew lots of attention on the website and on YouTube. Cherone said that Soto was hooked. It was back to the recording studio.

One of the most well-known singers in the world wanted to record ALL of the songs in the ensemble: 27 in all, in Act 1 and Act 2 combined! Cherone and crew announced this past June that Jeff Scott Soto had finished recording all of the songs and that the mixdown work was underway toward the finished product. Also in June it was announced that the newest website, which is accessible at the website address above, has a feature where visitors can listen to many of the songs on the site.

Another big announcement his past summer was that two other well-known international singers were adding their talents to the mix. Great Britain’s Laura Wright sings the role of Lady Macbeth in the song “It’s Already Happening.” Also, South African singing sensation Abigail Strickland sings the role Weyward Sister in “Fair is Foul.”

Cherone was attracted to Shakespeare at a young age and for years dreamed of a way to combine his affinity for the works of The Bard — particularly “Macbeth” — and music.

Singer-Songwriter Greg Cherone grew up with a variety of musical influences inspired by the ’70s Rock of Queen and other icons. He earned a communications degree from Emerson College and has performed for several years in bands and acoustic duos in the greater Boston area. Music critics have written that “Greg creates Rock and Pop songs with soul and warmth and that his melodies and lyrics showcase unique and dramatic personalities all their own.”

“‘Shakespeare’s Macbeth, A Rock Opera’ is a concept album, a listening experience that has been a lifelong vision of mine,” Cherone said. “My goal with our rock opera adaptation is to update and retell the story in a modern way for a new generation.”

With the help of some initially unexpected contributors and what is sometimes a small world, Cherone’s dream seems to be getting better and better.