JOHN MILES BAND - Transition [Krescendo CD reissue] (1985)

Requested in "Request & Fill Corner" section...

By 1984, John Miles' career was stagnant.

Thanks to his friendship with Jimmy Page, he signed a contract with the subsidiary UK label (now defunct) "Valentino" for a new album.

Although John had initially considered producing himself, it was decided to use Trevor Rabin, (formerly of YES and composer of the music for the film 'Armageddon').

The band flew to L.A. and began to recording.

Unfortunately, due to Rabin's commitments, only two tracks were laid down but what tracks they were!

"Blinded" is truly an epic track. It starts ballady before getting heavier as it builds up to the chorus where John delivers the lyrics with plenty of gusto and emotion. The tune is extremely powerful and has a great guitar solo.

The second Rabin-produced track was "I Need Your Love". This song is a superb midtempo AOR ballad filled with beautiful keyboards.

John and co. returned to the UK and teamed up with Pat Moran at the Rockfield Studios in Wales. While Trevor’s production added a lot of sophistication, Moran allows the band to shine through without the interference of too much slick production.

The album was to be called "Transition", credited as "John Miles Band" acknowledging that it was very much a group effort. While John appeared on the front picture sleeve with dictionary style printing, a group picture appeared on the reverse.

"Transition" is a really good rock / AOR album, totally commercial '80s american-radio style.

Miles sings with passion, and the band sounds fabulously tight: Bob Marshall on bass and monster drummer Barriemore Barlow (Jimmy Page, Whitesnake, Yngwie Malmsteen).

And contains 'Blinded', one of the best spine-tingling ballads of all time.

It is a crime that never has been released on CD.

This is a rip from the unofficial CD edition by Krescendo bootleg label.

If you own "Transition" on vinyl, grab the file anyway, includes the bonus b-side & artwork, and it's ripped at maximum quality (320K).

Recommended.

01 - Once In Your Life

02 - Run

03 - Blinded

04 - You're The One

05 - I Need Your Love

06 - Hard Time

07 - Who Knows

08 - Don't Lie To Me

09 - Watching Over Me

10 - Good So Bad (Bonus Track, b-side)

John Miles: Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards

Barriemore Barlow: Drums, Percussion, Bckg Vocals

Bob Marshall: Bass, Guitars

Casey Young: Keyboards programming

Andy Thomas: Keyboards programming

Thanks Martin!

TRANSITION here