TOM DE LUCA had success as songwriter during the '80s, unfortunately not the same happened with his recording artist career. Tom got a contract with major label Epic and his debut album Down To The Wire was ready to be released in 1986, but due to some record company troubles only the initial, limited batch of the album hit the stores.
Many tracks for a supposed second album were already taped, some in a pre-production form, but of course, the sophomore opus never materialized. Some kind of myth among AOR fans is that already there's a second Tom De Luca album released under the title "Captured", but in fact it's a collection of the aforementioned demos, more or less. Less I'd say, because De Luca demoed more songs later, where the great Mike Slamer (Steelhouse Lane, Seventh Key) was involved.
I have compiled here all these songs under the title "Captured / The Sessions", all finished tracks with pre-production quality, all unreleased. Well, 3 were included as bonus tracks in the Down To The Wire reissue (featured here on the blog), but the demos are slightly different, especially the mix.
The overall sound quality is excellent - I've cleaned some noises, studio clicks, etc, plus myself-made artwork - and the material is highly enjoyable stuff for all melodic rockers out there. A collectors item.
01 - Strongest Heart 02 - Take It Like A Man 03 - Don't Need Your Kind Of Love 04 - Only The Young 05 - Love Train 06 - Let Me Know 07 - Shotgun Wedding 08 - Suicide City 09 - Can't Stop Love, Can't Stop Money 10 - You're My Religion 11 - Still I Want To Fall 12 - Captured 13 - Guilty 14 - Kickstart My Heart 15 - Tragedy 16 - Searching For That Something 17 - Raised On Love
"Life At... 10 P.M.", the one and only album from Norwegian act 10 P.M. is an obscure, indie release much sought after by collectors fetching sidereal prices at eBay. 10 P.M.'s style is Euro AOR but not flooded by fluffy keyboards / sweet choruses known from Scandinavian acts. Their music tends to be more elaborated and expansive, with three of the tracks here around the 6-minute mark. This also suppose a slightly progressive orientation, yet on the lighter side of the spectrum.
With that in mind, "Life At... 10 P.M." features really interesting compositions such as title track, midtempo 'The Last Note' (perhaps the best song here), 'Tears In The Night', and the short, acoustically based 'Tears In The Night'. On the more commercial side, and adding a touch of melodic hard rock we have 'Easy Come', 'Bridges', 'Leaving The Body', or the heavier 'Time Can Tell'. There's also listed as bonus track a full length version of the title track including additional guitar solos and piano arrangements.
While "Life At... 10 P.M." isn't a catchy, 'instant AOR' record, it's a quite interesting opus. The problem with this album is the disparate production, and at places, the mix, something understandable as it was recorded on a very scarce budget at hand on previously used analog tapes. Not so long ago it was reissued with a 'remastered sound' where several flaws were corrected, like tape hiss, buried bass lines, etc. This is the "Life At... 10 P.M. / Remastered" version, rare as hen's teeth.
01. The First Sunrise (intro) 02. Easy Come 03. Life At P.M. [radio edit] 04. Bridges 05. The Last Note 06. Leaving The Body 07. Time Can Tell 08. Future Dreams 09. Tears In The Night 10. One Track Jack 11. Tears In The Night 12. Life At 10 P.M. [full length – bonus track]
Henning Glommen: vocals Patrik Olsen: guitar Tommy K.: keyboards, piano, bass Fin Nass: drums
"Surrender" is the second album from JOSHUA, the band of talented American shredder Joshua Perahia. Regarded as one of the best Melodic Hard Rock records released by an American band during the '80s, "Surrender" should have sold millions if the recording company had been properly promoted the band.
"Surrender" was originally issued in 1985 on vinyl only, and although the US public barely noticed the release, the album did it well in Japan and Europe, where Kerrang Magazine ranked the LP #1 for weeks. This vinyl version of "Surrender" was posted on the blog 7 years ago, and requested again. But I think it was most suitable to present now the CD version of the album. By 1992, Perahia received an offer to re-record "Surrender" with a bigger production budget and the promise of an international edition / distribution.
Joshua re-worked the whole thing from the scratch: everything was re-recorded with the exception of Jeff Fenholt's vocals. There's new guitar solos, some different rhythm tracks, new drums, multi-layered choruses, etc. The CD reissue also features the additional track "Show Me the Way" with Robyn Kyle Basauri (Red Sea) on vocals. Robyn's leads were also added to "Loveshock", originally performed by Ken Tamplin.
The songs on "Surrender" are superb. With a strong hard rock foundation, all are built on terrific melodies and catchy AOR choruses. Just take as example the soaring opener "Surrender Love" with its biting guitar riffs, stabbing keys and wonderful verses showcasing Fenholt's top vocals. The chorus is to die for with all the '80s charm over it. "Your Love Is Gone" is a melodic hard rock gem, same with the new cut "Show Me the Way" (with a little 'American Whitesnake' in it) and the more mid-tempo oriented Yardbirds' cover of "Heart Full of Soul". There's more hard rockin' numbers in between, like "Back To The Rock" or the kickin'"Loveshock", not ordinary compositions for sure plenty of substance and great musicianship.
While many still prefer the "Surrender" original recording (which included some Simmons electronic drums typical of the era) this re-recorded version is equally great. It's more professionally done and sounds vibrant and punchier.
The CD was reissued several times, always with a different artwork. This is the out of print Japanese edition from 1994 quite rare and hard to find. "Surrender" is a superlative piece of US American Hard Rock that deserves a distinguished place in your collection.
01 - Surrender Love 02 - Heart Full Of Soul 03 - Your Love Is Gone 04 - Stay Alive 05 - Rockin' The World 06 - Back To The Rock 07 - Hold On 08 - Show Me The Way 09 - Loveshock 10 - Rockin' The World (reprise)
Joshua Perahia: Guitars, Bass, Backing Vocals Jeff Fenholt, Robin Kyle: Lead & Backing Vocals Patrick Bradley: Keyboards Loren Robinson: Bass Craig Ostbo, Joe Galletta, Joe Tafoya: Drums Eric Tuttobene, Ken Price, Bryan Fleming: Backing Vocals
PRiSM were one of Canada's AOR pioneers for sure. The band never found a stable line-up, but all their recordings are prime examples of quality melodic rock, with an accentuated AOR inclination with each record released. In 1981, presumably by the band's new label (Capitol) wishes, original singer Ron Tabak was fired, replaced by Henry Small for the 6th album wisely entitled "Small Change". It was not only a change at the mic, but also in the general musical approach, more commercial and radio friendly AOR.
For this matter, external songwriters and future super stars were brought in, like Jim Vallance & Bryan Adams contributing the lead single "Don't Let Him Know", a wonderful fluffy AOR tune with a killer chorus. Both Vallance & Adams also wrote the brilliant AOR ballad "Stay", very much in the REO Speedwagon style. "Turn On Your Radar" is classic, lightweight CanCon mid-tempo AOR, the punchy "Hole In Paradise" is pure Melodic Rock Heaven, and "Rain" a dreamy ballad with great atmosphere. The Bruce Turgon (later in Shadow King and Foreigner) penned AOR rocker "Heart And Soul" keeps you moving with style, in the intense "When Love Goes Wrong" Henry Small sounds like a young Mark Free, while Prism does a very cool rocking rendition on Jimmy Rodgers'"In The Jailhouse Now". The album ends with the Foreigner / Sheriff sounding semi-ballad "Wings Of Your Love", adorned with pianos and nice bluesy guitars.
Although it scored a couple of US Top40 singles and went platinum in Canada, "Small Change" incredibly wasn't properly released on CD by Capitol years after. The now defunct -and great- German label ATM picked up the challenge and released this (and follower 'Beat Street') on CD for the first time in 1997 (there's also a Renaissance reissue) including 6 bonus tracks. These are the prev. unreleased "Cadillac Club", the rocking "N-N-N-No!" from the previous recording and four alternate takes / mixes from the main album. Honestly, I hear few differences, the most noticeable are the louder guitars on "Heart And Soul". All are included here in my file, but the main "Small Change" is ripped from the rare promotional only, special limited edition, remastered version. There's only few copies of this one on vinyl and CD. Classy!
Limited Edition remastered: 01 - Don't Let Him Know 02 - Turn On Your Radar 03 - Hole In Paradise 04 - Rain 05 - When Will I See You Again 06 - Heart And Soul 07 - Stay 08 - When Love Goes Wrong 09 - In The Jailhouse Now 10 - Wings Of Your Love ATM label bonuses: 11 - Cadillac Club 12 - When Will I See You Again (Alt. Version) 13 - Heart Ans Soul (Alternate Version) 14 - Stay (Alternate Version) 15 - Rain (Alternate Version) 16 - N-N-N-No!
Henry Small: vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards Lindsay Mitchell: guitar, vocals Allen Harlow: bass Rocket Norton: drums
As promised, here's JOHN WARREN's "One Heart", the follower of the recently posted 'Private Motion'. Even more AOR oriented than its predecessor, "One Heart" delivers stupendous melodic tunes on "The Chosen Few" and "Rain Down On Me" in the vein of Steve Overland's FM, soft Westcoast tracks like "Another Side Of You" or "Show Me A Way" and his usual Hi-Tech numbers in "Don't Give Up" and "I Get This Feeling". Title track "One Heart" is an elegant midtempo AOR, while "We Danced All Night" reminds you those mid-eighties soundtrack catchy songs.
Added as bonus, two unreleased tracks: another song recorded by Warren for the television medical drama 'General Hospital' entitled "Into The Fire", and the private demo "I'll Come Around", a ballad in the 'John Farnham' style. Very Good stuff - Out Of Print.
01 - Rain Down On Me 02 - I Get This Feeling 03 - The Chosen Few 04 - Another Side Of You 05 - Hard World 06 - We Danced All Night 07 - The Rules Of Her Heart 08 - One Heart 09 - Show Me A Way 10 - Don't Give Up BONUS: 11 - Into The Fire [GH OST unreleased] 12 - I'll Come Around [private demo]
John Warren - Lead and Backing Vocals Andrew Gold: All Instruments, Backing Vocals Joe Turano, Rosemary Butler - Backing Vocals
Canadians SAGA are one of the more long-lasting bands still active, with almost forty years in the business and the same amount of records to their credit. And better than that, Saga never has released a bad album. Saga's foundation always has been progressive rock yet with a distinctive, melodic touch. They always cleverly slightly tweaked their sound at different stages of their career to fit the times, without selling out the identity of the band.
During the '80s Saga infused to their polished sound a strong Melodic Rock feel complete with swirling keyboard lines and catchy choruses. For their seventh studio album, Saga signed with Atlantic Records with the aim to finally conquer the US market. "Wildest Dreams" is the more commercial Saga album ever, with a huge, bombastic, big budget glossy production handled by guru Keith Olsen. With stylings reminiscent of Mr. Mister and a mature Starship, but also the typical Canadian sound of the era (Frozen Ghost, Glass Tiger Honeymoon Suite) the album is plenty of great poppy AOR tunes. All songs are good with title track amongst my favorites including the elegant "Chase The Wind", "Don't Put Out The Fire", "Angel" and the breezy "Only Time Will Tell".
Despite its quality and the many potential singles "Wildest Dreams" went quite unnoticed in the US, but the album sold really well in Saga's more successful markets like Europe and their native Canada. The CD become a rarity for many years as Atlantic refused to give the rights to the band for a reissue.
This is a rip from the USA edition (the hardest to find) which sounds million times better than the European press by BMG/Bonaire. I don't know why, but I have tested many copies of the latter and they weren't bright as this Made in USA by WEA Manufacturing Inc. I added as bonus "Perfect Stranger", the song recorded by the band around the same time for the motion picture 'Johnny Be Good', a track never appeared into any Saga album (and a quite rare soundtrack). Enjoy Saga's "Wildest Dreams" - one of the first albums recorded DDD - a true product from the second half of '80s.
01 - Don't Put Out The Fire 02 - Only Time Will Tell 03 - Wildest Dreams 04 - Chase The Wind 05 - We've Been Here Before 06 - The Way Of The World 07 - Angel 08 - Don't Look Down 09 - Perfect Stranger (Johnny Be Good OST)
Michael Sadler - vocals, keyboards Jim Crichton - bass, keyboards & synthaxe Ian Crichton - guitar, shadow midi guitar systems & synthaxe Curt Cress - drums, percussion
Aussie band ROXUS fronted by singer Juno Roxas was without a doubt one of the best Melodic Rock acts ever emerged from Down Under. They only released a full length album, an EP and some singles, but all these include some real gems in the genre. Someone requested here a supposedly 'unreleased 2009 album by Roxus', but it never existed, at least not recorded that year.
In 2010 vocalist Juno Roxas announced a series of shows in Melbourne and other Australian cities performing the band's classics and some songs written back in a day but never presented to the fans. So there's no 'new 2009-10 album', but a bunch of great songs never heard / published before: "The Paris Sessions". The title does not refer to the French city, these are demos recorded and produced under the supervision of AOR icon Jeff Paris tracked down in America at the beginning of the '90s, where Juno Roxas moved later to pursue a songwriter career.
Some of these tracks surfaced some time ago amongst collectors and fan websites, but I assure you not with this audio quality, besides we have here many songs never presented in the world wide web before. Take as example the great Melodic Rocker "Love Me, Do Me" with a really Americanized sound, which somehow reminds me Damn Yankees. Or the re-worked long version of "Body Heat" (a winner) with the 'Jeff Paris treatment'. Another rarity is the original demo of the band's biggest hit "Where Are You Now", featuring Robin Randall (Mark Free, Venus & Mars) and Steve Hopkins (Mark Free) on keyboards, while James Christian (House Of Lords) and the superb Diana Dewitt (Venus & Mars) did backing vocals. This version is far superior than the finally appeared in Roxus' album / single.
And we have more from the Paris Sessions: killer rocking, melodic unreleased tunes such as "What You Don't Know", "Stop Playing With My Heart" or "Invisible Man". To make it more juicy, I have included into the file more rarities; the hard to find original '89 single version (Australia only) of "Stand Back", the b-side "Borderline", unreleased live versions of "Bad Boys" and "All Right Now" (Free cover) which I believe were recorded at MTV studios, and even a Juno Roxas' performance from the 1987 movie 'Mull' (never released soundtrack). Very good stuff, a true collectors item directly from my archives. Enjoy!
01 - Love Me, Do Me (Jeff Paris session demo) 02 - What You Don't Know (Jeff Paris session demo) 03 - Invisible Man (Jeff Paris session demo) 04 - Body Heat [long version] (Jeff Paris session demo) 05 - Stop Playing With My Heart (J. Paris session demo) 06 - All The Way (Jeff Paris session demo) 07 - Don't Stop (Jeff Paris session demo) 08 - Where Are You Now (original demo ft. J. Christian) 09 - Borderline (Where Are You Now b-side) 10 - Stand Back (Aussie original '89 single version) 11 - Spaghetti Wire (unknown session) 12 - Body Heat (unknown session) 13 - Bad Boys (Live - unreleased) 14 - All Right Now (Live - unreleased) 15 - Juno Roxas Hold On (from the 1987 movie Mull)
Requested in "Request & Fill Corner" section... Michael O'Brien had his moment at the end of the '80s when he sign a deal with a major label subsidiary to release his first solo album. The self-titled debut was a great solid AOR cd with killer tunes, being one of the ballads a minor hit. At this point I should clarify that this Michael O'Brien is not the Christian artist with the same name. He's overly often confused because the CCM singer also released his debut in 1995 self-titled, that's why 'our' O'Brien debut is also known as 'Oceana' (the subsidiary label name) to avoid misunderstandings.
The truth is that 'our' O'Brien disappeared as main artist from the face of Earth during the Nineties. Seems Michael has concentrated his efforts as booking agent, songwriter & recording engineer in his own recording facility, and meanwhile tracking down on tape his music.
In 2001, after 11 years since his debut, "It's About Time!" was published via a very small indie label. The rockin' AOR is gone, this is a very mellow Adult Contemporary disc, mostly a ballad album. "Change Your World", "I Never Let You Go" and "Thank God For You" are gentle AORish tunes with very nice guitars (acoustic and electric) and subtle keyboards. Think Nelson's 2nd album. "The Angel For You", "So Far Away", "Why" are extremely soft ballads, really really light. On "Sacred Town" Michael goes for the acoustic style, while "Still On My Mind" is very poppy. The remake of the Beatles' classic "Let It Be" is surprisingly good, isn't a song easy to cover successfully.
"It's About Time!" is an album light as a goose neck feather, very calm and personal. Even the production is tiny (not thin) on purpose, giving to all instruments the necessary room to be clearly heard. A real 'personal' recording: all songs & tracks performed, written (minus 1), produced, engineered & mixed by Michael O'Brien. Some songs are simply beautiful. As most indies out there, this is an extremely rare, out of print album. Thanx to my friend totalaor for this one!
01 - Change Your World 02 - I Never Let You Go 03 - The Angel For You 04 - Let It Be 05 - With You 06 - So Far Away 07 - Still On My Mind 08 - Why 09 - Sacred Town 10 - Thank God For You
This Austin, TX band DOUBLETAKE one and only rare album "So Many Roads" (private release) has fetched ridiculous prices at auction sites in the past. I have mixed feelings about this one. Sometimes gets me bored, sometimes I enjoy most the tracks. They sound like a mix between FIREHOUSE, WORRALL and TALL STORIES to give you an idea, but not so 'commercial'.
The good thing about this Doubletake album is the interesting song structure based on melodic rock of course, but not the typically that you expect. "Living In A Black And White Movie" has an articulated bridge sounding dangerously grunge, however it's very melodic and the song works. But "Julia" is a great tune, one of the highlights here, highly melodic with tight vocal harmonies and strong guitar parts. A very, very good song. "People" is better than you might think at first listen. Acoustically layered, sounds a lot like NELSON. Good one.
"Mistake" is a simple rocker but skillfully arranged, again, different from the usual in this genre. Title track "So Many Roads" is a slow-motion tune with very nice guitar solos and a sax part that fits the tune perfectly, complementing the 6 strings. I like this one, to listen with a bottle of bourbon at hand. With a very good and accurate production for an indie, the band took almost a year to record this disc, and everything sounds polished, well mixed and mastered as well.
"So Many Roads" was re-issued not so long ago, but ironically the transfer sounds flat compared to the original press by BillPaso Records. This is a CD-rip from the original 1993 release (not 1997 incorrectly announced in the reissue), including artwork. Rare.
01 - Intro 02 - Living In A Black And White Movie 03 - She's Got The Love 04 - Julia 05 - People 06 - She's Hopin' 07 - The Call 08 - Mistake 09 - I Can't See Tomorrow 10 - Night Games 11 - Don't Wanna Dance Alone 12 - So Many Roads
Brett Axelson - Lead vocals, bkg vocals, guitar Mark Russell - Guitars, keyboards, bkg vocals Brent Samperi - Bass, percussion, bkg vocals Paul Schulz - Drums, percussion, bkg vocals guest musicians: Joe Morales - sax on 'So Many Roads' Chip Bolan - keyboards Theresa Tyll - girl on phone John Viehweg - percussion, bkg vocals
From now, all request & fills goes in this post Comments. If you need an album or a single track, request it here, if you have it, be kind with other readers, upload the file and post the link here as well. Access to this page will be placed at the right column ------> (the "CLICK HERE" neon sign) It will be opened in a new window.
Check this section regularly. You'll find many albums uploaded by readers, not present on the main blog ...
Chicago based 21 SUMMERS was a curious band for sure. Perhaps not for their music - a mix of melodic rock / power pop and AORish new wave - but for being the world's first 'video band'. 21 Summers was created by guitarist & composer Reid Brody who in the mid-80s worked at a post-production video studio in Chicago. Brody thought at the time that video-clips and MTV were the future in music industry, and he founded 21 Summers with this idea in mind.
Indeed, still unsigned and never having played live, 21 Summers put together a five-song video demo - not just 4-track tape like all bands - highly professionally made including computer effects, a must for the era. So Brody, instead of distributing an audio-cassette tape to all record companies, armed with his videos, went directly to MTV. The band was selected for the MTV's "Basement Tapes" competition where new unsigned bands presented a video for a 'video battle'. Winner would get a record contract with Elektra and music equipment.
21 Summers qualified for the finals, but didn't won. However, a record label from Denmark 'MEGA Records' were very interested in the band and they secured the release of the self-titled LP "21 Summers" in Europe. But the label wanted a more 'punchy' sound so the album was remixed and the guitar solos - performed by a soon to be famous player (more on this below) - where put higher in dynamics.
Anyway, this "21 Summers" featured here is the original 1985 mix, finally made available at the band's website some time ago. This is a little more 'sweet' than the Danish 1986 (LP only) release, delivering a strong new wave feel that many American bands were experimenting with in the mid-Eighties. In one way or another, "21 Summers" never did much for me... it's a cool album with some good songs, nothing spectacular.
This "21 Summers original mix", apart from the different cover art, includes 3 tracks not present in the 1986 Danish LP: the poppy 'Let It Be Linda', and the dance mix / extended versions of 'Come Closer' and 'I Am the One', two of the best songs on the album.
21 Summers were an unlucky combo in all aspects. Reid Brody also designed an innovative guitar for the era: the 'dual mode guitar', consisting of two opposite necks (one 6-string, the other 12-string) at either end of the guitar body with a belt pivot to spin the instrument and change the neck. This created a great visual effect. The guitar is pictured on the album cover (click on it for bigger size).
In 1982 Brody presented his double-guitar to Dean Guitars for a possible signature model, but it was rejected under the statement 'your guitar is a carnival item!' Few months later on MTV in the famous video for the song 'Legs', ZZ Top was playing spinning guitars much like Brody's. Guess who made that guitars for ZZ Top... yes, Dean Guitars.
Even more, guess who was the soon-to-be-famous guitar solo's player on "21 Summers"? A guy credited in the LP under the name Mike Batio. Yes, the guitar shredder later known as Michael Angelo (Batio) and famous for his... double neck guitar. Brody's best idea was stolen by various, and he never received the credits despite of patenting his spin guitar. And regarding the videos predating the LP / cassettes / CD in the future, he was not overly wrong. This idea was discussed by various record companies after MTV exploded. But they had a problem: portability. VCR's were too much heavy! Rare
01 - I Am the One 02 - Little Girl 03 - Linger 04 - Come Closer 05 - I Am Missing Elaine 06 - Let It Be Linda [extra track] 07 - Walk Away 08 - Tumbling Down 09 - Once in a Lifetime 10 - Dream 11 - We All Get What We Want in Time 12 - Come Closer (Dance Mix) [extra track] 13 - I Am the One (Dance Mix)[extra track]
Requested in "Request & Fill Corner" section... American born Michael White started his career at the end of the seventies as member of underground L.A. bands such as 'The Boys' (alongside pre-Dokken George Lynch and Mick Brown), 'L.A. Rocks' with W.A.S.P.'s Randy Piper, and in Nikki Sixx's pre-Motley 'London'. Looking for a more classic sound Michael formed 'The White', his own band.
Mixing originals with Led Zeppelin covers, the group toured extensively throughout North America, and at the mid eighties White signed a deal with Atlantic Rec. for an album to be recorded in Germany with producer Mack (Queen, Billy Squier) behind the desk. Alongside his band, many well names contributed with the recording (although uncredited in the credits), as Danny Bilan (Moxy), Randy Piper (W.A.S.P), Alan St. Jon & Bobby Chouinard (Billy Squier).
"Michael White and The White" was released in 1987, but a bad promotion and the explosion of the L.A. Metal scene sank the disc. Occurs that Michael White plays classic rock heavily influenced by Zeppelin and vocalist Robert Plant in particular. On many parts throughout the album, Michael sounds like a Plant's clone. And a good one. It's true, some songs here (and the general atmosphere) definitively have a Zepp style, as the rocking "Matriarch", the beautifully orchestrated slow tune "One Good Turn" or the spacey "Psychometry" (where White, apart from Plant, recalls Kingdom Come's Lenny Wolf). This isn't a bad thing, on the contrary, all these tracks are magically written and performed.
But Michael White and The White also plays commercial '80s American Melodic Rock here; the catchy "Fantasy", the keyboard filled "Radio" or the incredibly smooth "I Know You Need Someone", one of my favorites here. On the radio friendly "Deja Vu", White goes AOR-rock, and "Dirty Dancer" rocks with a melodic sense.
"Michael White and The White" is a really good album in my book, including finely crafted songs, much better than you can appreciate at first listen. Production is truly good, with a slick '80s sound and a classy vibe. The album was released for the first time on CD -remastered- in 2003 (now out of print) with the legend 'and the White' on the cover.
original album cover
This file is the 2007's digital only re-issue called 'LP version' (?), featuring on the cover Michael White's moniker alone. There's a flaw on the track "Psychometry" around 3:18 min. (it happens on all the copies distributed of this reissue), but does not affect the listening experience. A praiseworthy album, pretty unknown and hard to find.
01 - Fantasy 02 - I Know You Need Someone 03 - Bring On The Night 04 - Matriarch 05 - One Good Turn 06 - Psychometry 07 - Deja Vu 08 - Jumpin' The Fence 09 - Radio 10 - Dirty Dancer
Michael White: Lead & Backing Vocals Claus Heuser: Guitars Phil Bolenz: Guitars Rick Dellefield: Keyboards Steven Wissnet: Bass Curt Cress: Drums Session musicians (uncredited); Danny Bilan (Moxy): Drums Bobby Chouinard (Billy Squier): Drums Scot Gaines: Bass Alan St. Jon (Billy Squier): Keyboards Randy Piper (W.A.S.P.): Guitars Paul Vincent (Meat Loaf): Guitars
Hailing from Denmark, TOYS OF JOY is basically a duo formed by songwriters Henrik Launbjerg and Hans Egestorp, who recorded the single 'When The Rain Falls' at the very end of 1989. The band got signed by a local label and subsequently released a full album titled "One Of These Days", regarded as one of the finest debuts of the year. The CD soon becomes out of print and since then collectors piece among AOR fans.
On these smooth tunes, Launbjerg / Egestorp captured the truly essence of American FM radio soft AOR better than many native US musicians. The absolutely outstanding opener "Watching Your Moves" remains in my book as one of the better 'feelgood' AOR songs ever. The breezy, sophisticated 'Some People' is another personal favorite. Is there Mr. Mister playing here? Very, very close in sound & style. Launbjerg's voice reminds me of Richard Page: perfect pitch and tone, an underrated vocalist with tons of class.
'When The Rain Falls' is a magical ballad, a lot like a Jay Graydon's Planet 3 track. Perfect song and melody. Then you have "Can't Get Nobody Else", with its intelligent guitar arrangements is pure class. Then "Let It Out" is a catchy, sing-along tune with a huge chorus, what a great song! In fact, the whole "One Of These Days" is fabulous with terrific & beautifully arranged songs and a 10/10 production job.
Recently Toys Of Joy's original indie label has resurrected this little masterpiece with a fresh reissue, and here I am bringing it to you @ maximum quality. I can't recommend you "One Of These Days" enough. It's High class AOR. Just don't miss it.
01 - Watching Your Moves 02 - Hold On 03 - Bring On The Night 04 - One Of These Days 05 - Some People 06 - When The Rain Falls 07 - Can't Get Nobody Else 08 - Make A Difference 09 - Let It Out 10 - Leaves
Henrik Launbjerg: vocals Hans H. Egestorp: guitars, keyboards, programming Morten Bolvik: keyboards Steffen Qwist: guitar Lars Elswing: bass Jakob Iisager: drums
How about some classic hard rock stuff, and with a personal favourite? "Built To Destroy" is the best MSG album - in my opinion - of their early era. Features Schenker's finest fretwork and the return of Gary Barden as frontman. For this album keyboardist Andy Nye has more presence both in the playing as in the songwriting, which redounded in a more commercial sound.
As happened with many albums in this genre during the eighties, there was a different mix for the American audience. This edition consists of both, exquisitely remastered on a single CD. The first nine tracks are the British version, which features the classic Euro Schenker sound, while tracks 10-18 are the noticeably different American version, with more prominent keyboards, enhanced drums and a much more melodic feel. According to the liner notes, Schenker himself preferred the American version. This expanded edition allows the listener to choose. I like both, as the remastering job has done miracles with these tapes. This CD really sounds terrific.
Gary Barden - vocals Michael Schenker - guitars Chris Glen - bass Andy Nye - keyboards Ted McKenna - drums Derek St. Holmes - vocals on Still Love That Little Devil [US Mix]
CAPTIVE HEART was a pure American AOR / Melodic Rock band from Chicago, one of the many that arrived too late into the scene but deserved the stardom. They recorded this bunch of songs in 1991-92 to land a U.S. deal, but you already know what happened after those years. Luckily a German label released the tapes in 1996 as "Home Of The Brave", a year later issued in Japan plus the bonus track "Time Out". And what an impressive material it is.
Captive Heart strongly reminds me of Signal (Mark Free's band) and Survivor on some compositional structures. Rick Tratar is a really good, second-to-none singer, accompanied by very talented musicians. We have classic sounding AOR wonders such as "Outlaw", the awesome "It's Too Late" or the smouldering "Over You Over Me". Title track "Home Of The Brave" has that lovable pulsating midtempo we all love (hints of House Of Lords), while "Can't Stop" is a soaring melodic rocker plenty of harmony vocal layers.
On the softer side "Shattered Dreams" is really American with its anthemic refrain, the soulful "Just One Touch" fits in the good power ballad mould, and "´Til The End" is a compelling slow acoustic number.
"Home Of The Brave" is rarely seen in many AOR / MR favorite's list, but largely deserves the honor. I remember reading in a magazine some members of Captive Heart stating this recording as pre-production demos, something that you won't notice at all. I can't imagine what they would have been able to deliver with a full-fledged production budget. This is classic stuff really well composed and performed, with all the magic mojo from the golden years of the genre. Very Recommended.
01 - Outlaw 02 - It's Too Late 03 - Home Of The Brave 04 - Shattered Dreams 05 - Over You / Over Me 06 - Helpless 07 - Just One Touch 08 - Can't Stop 09 - Heartache 10 - Ride Of Your Life 11 - 'Til The End 12 - Time Out (Japanese Bonus Track)
Rick Tratar - lead and backing vocals Chuck Kawal - guitars, bass, backing vocals Tim McGovern - guitar, backing vocals Scott Bahry - keyboards, drums, backing vocals Paul Balsamello - bass Guy Dominick - bass, backing vocals Steve Moss - drums, percussion, backing vocals
One of the living icons from the American Rock scene, through the years JIM PETERIK has written / co-written some of the most memorable songs from the genre: 'Vehicle' by the Ides Of March (on which he sang lead vocals), the entire Survivor catalogue from 1980-1993 (he was co-founder and keyboardist) including 'Eye Of The Tiger', hits for .38 Special, Sammy Hagar, Tommy Shaw, John Wetton and countless more. Since the middle nineties Peterik founded 'World Stage International Records" to professionally record his penned tunes and offering them to other artists, as well help new talents to raise into the spotlight.
At the beginning of the new millennium 'Jimbo' released this album simply entitled "Jim Peterik and World Stage", featuring long time friends such as Don Barnes of 38 Special; Johnny Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd; Dennis De Young of Styx; Cathy Richardson of Love Janis; Buddy Guy; Tom Keifer of Cinderella; Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon, Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger and a lot more.
This is a wonderful collection of songs spanning Peterik's enviable ability to write diverse rock music ranging from Melodic Rock to Classic Rock and all its variants. As special bonus, I have added "Armageddon", written & recorded by Jimbo & World Stage for the famous movie of the same name but it wasn't taken by the film producers. A must have.
01 - Fade To Blue (Don Barnes) 02 - Can't Say It Loud Enough (Johnny Van Zant) 03 - To Miss Somebody (Dennis De Young) 04 - Diamonds For Stones (Cathy Richardson) 05 - Vehicle (Buddy Guy) 06 - Zig Zag (Tom Keifer & Rick Neilsen) 07 - Changed By Love (Don Barnes) 08 - We Wish (David Carl & Jeff Boyle) 09 - Working Blue (Anthony Gomes) 10 - Antenna (Margaret Becker) 11 - Eye Of The Tiger (Jeff Boyle) 12 - Between Two Fires (Kevin Cronin) 13 - 'Till It Shines (Henry Paul) 14 - Long Road Home (Kelly Keagy) 15 - From Here To Hereafter (C. Richardson) [bonus track] 16 - Armageddon (Jim Peterik) [non album bonus]
Jim Peterik - Guitar, Percussion, Lead Vocals Mike Aquino (Mecca), Jeff Carlisi, Pat Buchanan - Guitar Mike Brignardello, Clem Hayes, Mark Hill, Bob Lizik - Bass Ed Breckenfeld, Steve Brewster - Drums, Percussion Danny Chauncey - Keyboards, Programming Christian Cullen - Keyboards, Organ, Wurlitzer Jimmy Nichols - Keyboards, Piano, String Arrangements Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) - Guitar on 6 Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick) - Drums on 6 Don Barnes - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Mandolin Margaret Becker - Lead Vocals Jeff Boyle - Lead Vocals David Carl - Lead Vocals Kevin Cronin - Lead Vocals Dennis DeYoung - Lead Vocals Anthony Gomes - Lead Vocals, Guitar Cathy Richardson - Lead Vocals Kelly Keagy - Lead Vocals Tom Keifer - Lead Vocals Buddy Guy - Lead Vocals, Guitar Johnny Van Zant - Lead Vocals Bob Bergland - Sax Joel Hoekstra - Guitar, Talk Box Cathy Braaten, Yvonne Gage, Robert W. Johnson - Backing Vocals ... and a lot more
As requested, here's the other Noriyuki Makihara's 'American WestCoast Ttribute' CD released simultaneously in 2007: "Songs From N.Y.", presented many years ago on this blog. Again the 'who is who' from the WestCoast / AOR scene were recruited to perform Makihara (Japanese songwriter) songs translated to English, this time arranged with a 'New Yorker feeling'.
Now we have Peter Beckett (PLAYER), Alex Ligertwood (METRO), Kelly Keagy (NIGHT RANGER), Richard Page (Mr. MISTER) and Mark Jordan amongst other lead singers, accompanied by talented session musicians not only from the Californian scene, but also from Nashville and New York. Production and performances are top notch, a relaxing album to enjoy these gifted voices and light AOR / smooth WestCoast / poppy songs. Japan release only - Out Of Print
01 - Tom Keane: Star Ferry 02 - Nathan East: 24hr Supermarket 03 - Frankie Jordan: Such A Lovely Place 04 - Alex Ligertwood: Far Away, Far Away 05 - Stephen Bishop: Anytime I Want To 06 - Bill Cantos: Milk 07 - Peter Beckett: Stripe! 08 - Kelly Keagy: Penguin 09 - Mark Jordan: Happy Dance 10 - Richard Page: Tag Team 11 - Jamie Jones: On This Winter Night
Keyboards: Tom Keane, Bob James, Timothy Drury Guitar: Charlie Mangold, Aaron Fleming, Hiram Bullock Piano: Don Grusin Bass: Will Lee, Eric Stern, Nate Brown, Drums: Omar Hakim, Vinnie Colaiuta Strings: Matt Funes, Alyssa Park, Eric Hosler Background Vocals: Jill Dell' Abate, Terry Wood, Bernadetta Barlow, Bill Cantos, Joseph Williams ... and many more
This is a re-vamp from one of the very early posts on this blog (we are celebrating the 10th Anniversary of hardrockaorheaven.blogspot.com this year... time flies!) an album especially recommended for collectors.
ANDY TAYLOR's "The Complete Non-Album Recordings" is an unofficial compilation of all the former Duran Duran guitarist '80s singles not appeared into any of his solo albums. There's many tracks recorded for movie soundtracks, a couple of unreleased cuts, and a contribution to Rod Stewart's solo album, the rare and hard to find "Lost In You (Extended Version)" with much more guitar licks from Taylor.
After leaving Duran Duran, Andy Taylor has always shown his 'rock side', along with Power Station and solo releases. This is a great single collection, a must for soundtrack collectors and '80s music fans.
01. Take It Easy (Rock Mix) - American Anthem OST only - 02. When The Rain Comes Down - Miami Vice II OST only - 03. Angel Eyes - American Anthem soundtrack only - 04. Dead On The Money - Tequila Sunrise soundtrack only - 05. Be Good To Yourself - F. Miller cover (never released) - 06. Wings Of Love - American Anthem soundtrack only - 07. Suffragette City - David Bowie cover (never released) - 08. Take It Easy (Extended Version) - American Anthem OST 09. Winner With You - Stone Cold Sober ltd. ed. EP - 10. Lost In You (Extended Version) - Rod Stewart 12" only -
Andy Taylor: Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards Terry Bozzio: Drums Steve Jones: Guitar Bryant Simpson: Bass Paulinho Da Costa: Percussion ... and many other session musicians
Requested in a comment... RTZ (Return To Zero) began as collaboration between ex- Boston members Brad Delp and Barry Goudreau after the recording of the classic "Orion The Hunter" (Goudreau's project) album, where Delp did some vocals as guest. Some demos were done (mostly with "Orion..." members as back up band) but shelved.
Around '88 Delp contacted Goudreau to work together again and RTZ was officially founded. They had a lot of material and Barry's studio available, then dozens of tracks were demoed. RTZ signed a contract but the debut album (titled Return To Zero) was delayed until 1991. As group, RTZ only performed a national tour and then disbanded. Many of the songs discarded from the 1989-90 sessions were packaged into the 1998 release "Lost".
By 2003, a recording label asked the duo to release their recent album "Delp & Goudreau" in Europe, and Goudreau compiled more demos from the very early sessions of RTZ to make a double CD offering. That's "Lost And Found": the RTZ '80s unreleased recordings on one CD, plus "Delp & Goudreau".
I've never been a big fan of their self titled debut, but these 'old tapes' are pretty good classy mid-Eighties AOR. The first 4 tracks are the best, obviously the ones recorded circa 1985-6, very good stuff. Also 'Winners And Losers' has an '80s strong scent (reminds me of FRANKE AND THE KNOCKOUTS).
There's also some pleasant songs more 1980-83 oriented, and a couple from the late '80s sessions, being 'Power Of Love' the highlight. As for the "Delp & Goudreau" disc, well, this album was relentlessly destroyed by critics. The truth is it ain't half bad. A 'personal album' if you want, mostly for BOSTON die-hard fans.
These '80s lost tunes were reissued later in the U.S. under the title "Lost In America", but this European double pack has become very hard to find nowadays. In my opinion, "Lost And Found" is a very nice slice of upbeat American rockin' AOR, and worth a place in your collection. I've added a bonus; 'Dangerous', originally the Japanese bonus track for the '91 debut Return To Zero. Good Stuff.
"Lost and Found" : 01 - One Step Away 02 - Fool For Love 03 - Such A Fool 04 - Rise Above It All 05 - Social Disease 06 - I'm On A Roll 07 - Rock The Night 08 - Winners And Losers 09 - Power Of Love 10 - Show Me 11 - Better And Better 12 - Dangerous (Japan bonus track)
"Delp and Goudreau" : 01 - What You Leave Behind 02 - Hands Of Time 03 - Let It Roll 04 - Out Of My Hands 05 - Keep On Runnin' 06 - Everyday 07 - I Need Your Love 08 - The Rhythm Won't Stop 09 - Reconciliation 10 - My One True Love
Requested in "Request & Fill Corner" section... When vocalist and guitar player Paul Kantner left Jefferson Starship in 1984, the group disbanded. Grace Slick and lead vocalist Mickey Thomas continued on simply as Starship. Kantner was looking for new horizons, and soon joined forces with his former Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship bandmate Marty Balin who was playing live with his own band. The duo agreed to form a band with a new sound, and for the purpose they called the also ex Jefferson Airplane bass player Jack Casady. KBC band (Kantner-Balin-Casady band) was born, and after a 6-month writing period, the group ink a deal with a major label. Their lone self-titled album was released in 1986.
"KBC band" is a pretty different beast from the typically mid-eigthies stuff. It's commercial, yes, including catchy poppy AOR tunes with heavily-layered vocal harmonies, some bombastic electronic drums and tons of synthesizers, but lyrically has some kind of defiantly message and musically the band adds saxophone (heavily compressed) dueling with the guitar. On some tracks the vocals are shared between Kantner and Balin, but it's Marty Balin who handles almost all of the lead vocals, resembling on many parts his stupendous solo albums from the beginning of the eighties.
Opener "Mariel" is a catchy rock&pop song that somehow sounds British to my ears, maybe 'cos the political lyrics (Kantner was an activist at the time). "It's Not You, It's Not Me" was the first single and a minor hit in the charts, which attracted airplay on AOR radio. Written by Van Stephenson, this is a beautiful mid-tempo tune with an anthemic chorus and a melodious guitar / sax interplay. "Hold Me" is a slow track in the Americana style with a fine guitar work and sweet vocals by Balin, a bit long to my tastes. On the classic rockin'"America" the vocals are shared again for good effect. This song recently found renewed interest (due to the lyrics) after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The uptempo "No More Heartaches" is one of my favorite songs on the album, an urgent uptempo AOR track full of synths and a ridiculously catchy chorus. This song alone worth the entire disc. "Wrecking Crew" is another winner. It is embedded with that '80s magic impossible to resist. Poppy AOR ready for the radio - Love it -. "When Love Comes" is a re-make of a song previously done by Balin on his 1983 solo album 'Lucky'. The KBC Band version has a more classic rock treatment but with the addition of lush keyboards and electronic drums to update the sound to the mid-eighties style. "Dream Motorcycle" is a simple but infectious pop-rocker with a catchy melody, a bit overwhelmed by a wall of sax though. The album ends with "Sayonara", an affected and beautifully performed melodic power ballad, full of class and style, another of my favorites here.
Ignored or unknown for most Adult Oriented Rock collectors, with great production and a big sound, "KBC band" is a succulent dish of mid-Eighties brilliance, including some memorable AOR moments (specially on the second part, or 'B' side). By the way, this is a rip at maximum quality from the not so easy to find CD edition of this album. Highly Recommended.
01 - Mariel 02 - It's Not You, It's Not Me 03 - Hold Me 04 - America 05 - No More Heartaches 06 - Wrecking Crew 07 - When Love Comes 08 - Dream Motorcycle 09 - Sayonara
Marty Balin – lead vocals, rhythm guitar Paul Kantner – lead vocals, rhythm guitar Jack Casady – bass Mark 'Slick' Aguilar – lead guitar, background vocals Tim Gorman – keyboards, synths, background vocals Keith Crossnan – saxophone, background vocals Darrell Verdusco – drums, background vocals
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