ROBBIE PATTON - Orders From Headquarters (1982)

Requested in "REQUEST & FILL CORNER" section...

English singer/songwriter ROBBIE PATTON got his career-break when he toured as a special guest of Fleetwood Mac. The relationship does not ended there, as many members from the Mac's contributed on Patton's debut album, and here, his second LP "Orders From Headquarters" as well.
Recorded in America, the record has the true US radio-friendly melodic sound the ruled the airwaves circa '82/'83.

Opener "Victim Of Your Love" is pumped by deep bass line, filled with catchy candy-floss keyboards and really good sustained guitars. Patton's vocals reminds me Robert Berry here when he used to be the singer of Hush around the same year.
Follower "Louise" is another terrific commercial upbeat AOR tune with swirling keyboards, 'that' rhythm guitars and a melodic, contagious chorus. If you don't like this track you don't like '80s AOR at all.
The midtempo "Lonely Nights" only could have been recorded in the Eighties, the atmosphere, the vibe, it's all there. All the songs on this album are firmly back-boned by an excellent guitar work by Joey Brasler (Cher). On this track and the next, the hot rocker "Feel The Flow", is particularly remarkable.

Title track has interesting twists in the song structure, again fueled by fat bass line, cool keys and a sumptuous guitar solo.
"Tell Me Goodbye" includes some vintage keyboards and a strong rhythm guitar which carries the song somehow reminding me AORsters Balance, while vocally, Rick Springfield.
"Smiling Islands" was the single, co-written and performed together with Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks. Nice and slow melodic song, not exactly the typical ballad.



"Orders From Headquarters" is one of those LP's that marked "the middle of the first half of the '80s sound"; that is radio-friendly, commercial poppy AOR melodies with a crystal clear production.
This is the kind of records that any fan of the decade love at first listen.
Robbie Patton's "Orders From Headquarters" was finally released for the first time on CD few years ago, but I am very happy with this excellent vinyl rip, cleaned and restored by me.


01 - Victim Of Your Love
02 - Louise
03 - It's Your Heart
04 - Lonely Nights
05 - Feel The Flow
06 - Orders From Headquarters
07 - Tell Me Goodbye
08 - Smiling Islands
09 - All Because Of You
10 - Look Away

Robbie Patton - lead vocals
Joey Brasler - guitars
David Adelstein - keyboards
Robin Sylvester - bass
Kirk Arthur - drums
Alex Acuna - percussion
Kurt Howell - keyboards on 5
Christine McVie - lead vocals on 10
Stevie Nicks - lead vocals on 8
Timothy B Schmit - vocals on 6




ROBBIE PATTON - Orders From Headquarters
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RUBY FAITH & THE WAITING WORLD - Best Of... (2000)

RUBY FAITH & THE WAITING WORLD were one of those bands that criminally never made it big in the American scene. The core of this outfit formed by female singer Ruby Faith, guitarist Tom DaPrato and keyboard player Jay Ahl founded the group at the end of the eighties and seems they were quite popular in the New York State club circuit.
Several major labels were interested in the band's demos but a deal was never signed, and ultimately Ruby Faith & The Waiting World broke up at end of 1993. Anyway, during these years Faith & Co. professionally recorded their songs produced by themselves, and years later were available for purchase at MP3.com on CDr.

It wasn't until the end of the nineties when German label AOR Heaven contacted the band and released "Ruby Faith & The Waiting World : Best Of" in 2000, including a selection of the group's best tracks taped between 1990-93.
Why this awesome band never got signed is beyond me, as the music of Ruby Faith & The Waiting World is pure class radio friendly Melodic Rock / AOR akin Heart, Robin Beck, Witness, Patty Smyth and alikes, not only in sound & style, but also in quality.



You have here a bunch of killer - and no filler in sight - tunes plenty of hooks, melodies and catchy choruses.
Seriously, there's not a weak track on this album very well produced for an indie, and I decided to share it with you all because it's pretty unknown and really, really good material.
Taken from the original CD and ripped by my good friend SebasAOR at maximum quality (thanks mate!), "Ruby Faith & The Waiting World : Best Of" is a joyful listen for any classic late '80s American FF Melodic Rock / AOR fan.


01 - Rat Trap Town
02 - Beautiful Boy
03 - Wild Child
04 - Cry Alone
05 - Chains
06 - Fire In My Soul
07 - Hard Times
08 - White Heat
09 - The Right Move
10 - Time Flies
11 - All In The Name Of Rock

Ruby Faith: vocals
Tom DaPrato: guitars, bass
Jay Ahl: keyboards
Additional musicians:
Ronnie Fagan, Bill Funcheon: drums
Larry Roofberg, Ray Padavano, Bob Faulhaber: bass
Danny Windram: guitar
Tony Ungaro: percussion, production




RUBY FAITH & THE WAITING WORLD - HQ
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ESSENCE (NY) - Essence [unreleased] (1980)

Requested in "REQUEST & FILL CORNER" section...

ESSENCE was active in the tri-state area, NY rock scene since the half of the Seventies to 1982. This was the previous band for vocalist / guitarist Bruce "Butch" Papa, also known as "Dartanyan" before founding Cinema, the group previously featured here on the blog.

Essence's music is strongly influenced by classic progressive bands like Kansas and Styx, both at the peak of their popularity around those years. But we can hear as well a hard rock / pomp touch, a fusion that novel bands such as Journey or Roadmaster were developing at the same age.



Essence entered the studio to record their own songs in 1980, and although it is all solid material, a record deal never surfaced. The group continued playing with success but after some line-up changes, Essence split in 1982.
This is an extremely rare material from my vault, never released. The sound quality is really good, including some little artwork myself made.
RARE


1 - Child Of My Own
2 - Holdin' On
3 - Out All Night Again
4 - Pretenders
5 - Hurts From The Last Time
6 - No Warning
7 - Matty
8 - No More Rain

Bruce "Butch" Papa - lead vocals, guitar
Gary Grill - bass, vocals
George Tebbitt - guitar, vocals
Rich Bifulco - keyboards
Rich Lang - drums, vocals




ESSENCE (NY) [unreleased]
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FX (USA) - In Motion (1987) + In The Sky (1992)

Not to be confused with the Aussie band of the same name, this FX hails from the USA.
The project was founded in the mid-Eighties by keyboard players Douglas Morton and Kevin Monahan while working at E-Mu Systems in Santa Cruz, California, a pioneer Studio in the sampling industry.
Both brought home a lot of new gear - synths, mixing consoles, etc. - to experiment with while producing songs for FX, so the chosen name for the band is not a surprise.

However, their musical style is a mix of poppy Prog / lite AOR with a few Hi-Tech elements focused in an easy listening song format. Morton & Monahan recruited some session musicians and the project morphed into a stable yet 'studio band' christened FX.



The first album "In Motion" appeared in 1987 has a sound reminiscent of UK Synth Rock bands with the addition of stylized pop / new wave touches that bring to mind Canadians New Regime.
There's some sonic experimentation mostly based on rare sounds, but basically these are rock&pop songs with lots of keyboards and synths.



By the early '90s FX turned much more proggy AOR, and palatable for our melodic ears. Saga, '80s Rush, Glass Tiger or the recently featured here The Kite are good examples of FX's sound on their '92 EP "In The Sky".
As you see, the aforementioned are all Canadian acts, and the comparison arrives due the record's pristine playing and production.
This is elegant, delicate stuff with very nice melodies to enjoy.
Both CD's are impossible to find - out of print.




In Motion (1987)
01 - I Disappear
02 - Girl In A Window
03 - Reasons Keep Changing
04 - The Running Man
05 - Quasimodo Sings The Blues (feat. Evan Jiles)
06 - In Motion
07 - Future History
08 - Calling Out On You
09 - Man Or Machine
10 - Solitary Madness
11 - Phoenix Rising (feat. Kevin Monahan)
12 - Phoenix Rising Pt. III (feat. Kevin Monahan)
13 - Phoenix Rising Pt. III (feat. Dave Preshutti)


In The Sky (1992)
01 - I Think It's A Crime
02 - When Will I Sleep Again?
03 - She Loves In Colors
04 - Defenseless
05 - In The Sky

Douglas Morton - vocals, keyboards, sampling
Evan Jiles - bass
Kevin Monahan - keyboards, synths, guitar
Dave Preschutti - guitar
Dave DuCey - drums
Phil Rose - backing vocals




FX (USA) In Motion (1987) / In The Sky (1992)
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THE JAMES PROJECT - Desert Bloom (1996)

James Lawrence Berk is a gifted songwriter and arranger who has worked for numerous artists and composed music for TV / radio commercials and film soundtracks. This rich background in the music business helped James to locate top-notch musicians to crystallize his ambition: THE JAMES PROJECT, the recording of his original songs under his own musical direction.
Berk is the 'orchestrator' on "Desert Bloom", driving all these talented musicians to his vision: timeless Melodic Rock with AOR and rock&pop elements.

"Desert Bloom" is almost an 'unknown' B.E. Taylor solo album, as Taylor carries most of the lead vocals here. If you don't know B.E. Taylor, the singer and his band has released four albums during the '80s, all considered cult AOR pieces. His vocal style is an amazing cross of Michael Bolton and Steve Perry, a truly excellent voice, clear and smooth.
The personnel in the recording includes ex- members of Beau Coup, Jonah Koslen, Three Dog Night, American Noise, Michael Stanley Band, etc., so quality is guaranteed.
Opener "Love Is Forever" is a cool commercial song, a bit poppy but with a catchy chorus. "I Don't Know How" is a good mid-tempo, followed by the warm "Can You Feel It" with a very good performance by Taylor.
But the real first monster track arrives with "Take Me To The River". It sounds like a song off THE STORM's debut, and B.E. like Steve Perry. Awesome track.

"Sorrow In Disguise" seems -at first glance- out of place on this album, but it's a really, really good tune, performed by Anne Cochran. She has a deep voice, and the song wraps you into a tremendous groove.
"Tell Her I'm Home" is a pretty obvious ballad, but the unknown (to me) Gary Grimes sings quite well sporting a very nice vocal timbre.
"Mend My Broken Heart" is a Benny Mardones' type song, thus I love it. Lead singer John Salamon remembers me AORster BJ Thomas at the mic.



The following tracks are the best part of this recording: "Sooner Or Later" is a great duet, B.E. sounds almost exactly like Michael Bolton circa 1985, while "Matter Of Time" is gracious and sweet (another top vocal performance).
"Everything About You" steals the show, a brilliant AOR track, and one of the highlights here. Then we have another pearl in "Take Good Care Of Her Heart" performed by Beau Coup's leader Frank Amato. It's great to hear him again. A Beau Coup lost song! Excellent.
"Promised Land" is gorgeous, tell me if it doesn't sounds like a Pride Of Lions / Jim Peterik tune.

THE JAMES PROJECT "Desert Bloom" is a criminally unknown album appeared in a time when good music was sunken by the abhorrent 'trend of the moment', but it's one of the best Melodic Rock project albums out there, soulful, cohesive and with terrific songwriting and performances.
Highly Recommended.


01 - Love Is Forever [Long Version] (lead vocals: B.E. Taylor)
02 - I Don't Know How (lead vocals: B.E. Taylor)
03 - Can You Feel It (lead vocals: B.E. Taylor)
04 - Take Me To The River (lead vocals: B.E. Taylor)
05 - Sorrow In Diguise (lead vocals: Anne Cochran)
06 - Tell Her I'm Home (lead vocals: Gary Grimes)
07 - Mend My Broken Heart (lead vocals: John Salamon)
08 - Sooner Or Later (lead vocals: B.E. Taylor & Sasha)
09 - Matter Of Time (lead vocals: B.E. Taylor)
10 - Everything About You (lead vocals: B.E. Taylor)
11 - Take Good Care Of Her Heart (lead vocals: Frank Amato)
12 - Promised Land (lead vocals: B.E. Taylor)
13 - Love Is Forever [Single Version] (lead vocals: B.E. Taylor)

B.E. Taylor: Lead and Background Vocals
John Salamon: Lead Vocals
Gary Grimes: Lead Vocals
Kevin Raleigh: Lead and Background Vocals
Anne Cochran: Lead and Background Vocals
Frank Amato (Beau Coup): Lead Vocals
Ed Sarley: Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Robert Fraser: Acoustic Guitars
George Sipl (American Noise): Keyboards and Bass
Andy Kubiszewski: Drums and Percussion
James L. Berk: Programming
John Klayman, Mike Lee: Sax
Oliver Hairston: Background Vocals
Donnie Iris: Background Vocals
Peter Hewlett: Background Vocals
Sasha: Background Vocals

Produced by James L. Berk




THE JAMES PROJECT Desert Bloom
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THE TURN - Reason With Your Heart (1993)

This THE TURN - there's many bands with this name - hailing from the US MidEast, was founded in the late '80s by guitarist Dave Turner and belonged to the CCM Rock movement.
Their musical style fluctuates between light AOR and poppy Melodic Rock with some Hi-Tech touches.

As far I know, "Reason With Your Heart" was The Turn's only album appeared in 1993.
The overall sound is pretty Eighties with a clean, correct production for an indie, where the lead vocals are shared between Turner, bass player Gary Bedell and keyboardist Dan Fritz resulting in a more varied output.



All are gentle songs like opener "I'll Wait", the catchy "Keep On", the lite AOR "Hearts On Fire" with nice keyboards, midtempo "Follow Me" and the sweet ballad title track among the best.
There's nothing memorable (at least for me) on this CD, although it's a pleasant listen. However, I can see why it was requested; it's impossible to find a copy (very limited release) fetching really high prices at auction sites.
One for collectors.


01 - I'll Wait
02 - Keep On
03 - Reason With Your Heart
04 - You Saved Me
05 - Good Times
06 - Hearts On Fire
07 - H2O
08 - Follow Me
09 - Nobody
10 - Shine Your Light

Gary Bedell: Lead Vocals, Bass
Dave Turner: Lead Vocals, Guitar
Dan Fritz: Keyboards, Vocals
Brian Duvall: Drums
Jimmy A: add. Guitar
Steve Griffith: add. Keyboards, Programming, Producer
George Skipper, Paul Bills, Marla Fritz: Backing Vocals


THE TURN - Reason With Your Heart (1993)
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JOHN FANNON (New England) - Demos '91 restored audio

Requested in "REQUEST & FILL CORNER" section...

New England was one of the seminal, guitar-driven AOR acts from the US scene, however, to my ears they were heavily influenced by the British invasion, especially lead singer / guitarist John Fannon vocal style.
After the band break-up, Fannon remained in the music industry playing, composing & producing for others, and occasionally releasing solo material (there's a fresh album out, acoustic/Beatles influenced).

But at the beginning of the nineties John Fannon was planning a solo album that never get materialized.
Only two tracks in demo form surfaced from these sessions (1991), but both surely worth a listen; the AOR magic of "The Way To Your Heart" and the sweet melodic rock midtempo ballad "Your Eyes Are My Eyes".
The original tapes sound quite good, but I have enhanced & cleaned the audio, fixed the "The Way To Your Heart" intro, and did a little, tiny artwork.
Quality AOR/MR material.


1 - The Way To Your Heart
2 - Your Eyes Are My Eyes

John Fannon - Vocals, Guitar
Personnel unlisted



JOHN FANNON Demos '91 restored audio
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ONE EYED GYPSY - ST (2000)

Requested in "REQUEST & FILL CORNER" section...

Quite rare it's this only, self-titled recording by West Virginia quintet ONE EYED GYPSY which existed from 1998 to 2003. Their bio claims to have opened shows for Bad Company, Molly Hatchet, .38 Special, among other major acts.
Despite its year of release (2000), sound & style in "One Eyed Gypsy" is based in late '80s / early '90s US Melodic Hard Rock. The songs are solid and really well arranged / performed.

Favorites include opener "It Takes No Prisoners", a mid-tempo rocker with sharp riffs and a Dokken atmosphere, follower "Give It Up", a catchy melodic rock tune with a Bon Jovi feel circa 7800º Fahrenheit, and power ballad "Not Gonna Fall In Love Again" akin Warrant / Jani Lane.
Talking about the aforementioned vocalists, grand part of One Eyed Gypsy's charm belongs to Ray Whitlock's smooth vocals, a singer previously trained as member of the pretty successful country group Cry Wolf. He plays nice keyboards too, and together with guitarist Tim Kitchen (also producer) are the core of the band.



Other good cuts are the AORish mid-tempo "Waiting For You", hard rocker "In My America" with interesting lyrics about America's violent society, and "Livin' Like You Choose" blending Dokken / Bon Jovi, this time, into one song.
Released by themselves, "One Eyed Gypsy" was quite well produced by guitarist Tim Kitchen, panning some guitar tracks to one side of the stereo spectrum for good effect. Overall mix could be better to provide more tightness to some songs, but this is minor flaw.
Really nice stuff, private release, out of print.


01 - It Takes No Prisoners
02 - Give It Up
03 - Feel Your Love
04 - Not Gonna Fall In Love Again
05 - Waiting For You
06 - Heart Attack
07 - Fix Daddy Broke
08 - In My America
09 - Livin' Like You Choose
10 - Touch Tomorrow

Ray Whitlock: Lead Vocals, Keyboards
Tim Kitchen: Guitar, Backing Vocals, Production
Phillip Osborne: Guitar, Backing Vocals
Randy Morgan: Bass
Bobby Hensley: Drums





ONE EYED GYPSY (here)
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LORIN ROWAN & The Edge - Supply & Demand (1985)

This rare album was requested several months ago; the private 1985 LP release of "Supply & Demand" by LORIN ROWAN & The Edge, a San Francisco Bay Area band.
Rowan and the guys play here that characteristic mid-Eighties American blend of melodic rock with radio friendly poppy melodies and some lite AOR touches.

Despite its indie origin, "Supply & Demand" was recorded with a high production standard, featuring a layered multi-track technique.
Opener 'Waited Too Long' includes a varied kind of guitar sounds, synths, regular plus Simmons drums, and lots of singers performing harmony vocals in the chorus accompanying Rowan's sweet vocals.

'Whatever I Got To Say' has more 'clean' and atmospheric guitar work and a lullaby melody akin Franke & The Knockouts, 'War Games' is not far from Rick Springfield circa 1983, then 'I Spy' could have been recorded by Preview.
'Oh Girl' is poppy little ditty without major pretension, but things get back on track with 'Tell Her You Love Her' with its strong guitars, 'mysterious' synth background and AORish vocals.



I'd said the LP is so scarce that I couldn't find a better Lp-rip than this one, there's some clicks here and there, and even last track 'Golden Boy' is cut at the end. But I think it's enough to enjoy this really nice slice of mid 80s American rock music.
RARE


01 - Waited Too Long
02 - Whatever I Got To Say
03 - War Games
04 - I Spy
05 - Oh Girl
06 - Tell Her You Love Her
07 - Firin' Line
08 - Golden Boy

Lorin Rowan: lead vocals, guitar
Rick Wilson: lead guitar, lead vocals on 1
Mark Stein: bass
Ozzie Ahlers: keyboards, synths
Jeff Myer: drums
add. musicians:
Sterling Crew: synths, guitar
Billy Lewis: drums, backing vocals
Mike Mann: synths, programming
Stephen Fontano: drums





LORIN ROWAN & The Edge - Supply & Demand (1985)


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GREAT KING RAT - Great King Rat [Japan Edition +1] (1992)

Requested in "Request & Fill Corner" section.

Formed by the cream of the Scandinavian Melodic Hard Rock scene from the late '80s / early '90s, GREAT KING RAT included into the lineup vocalist Leif Sundin (later Michael Schenker Group, Treat), guitarist Pontus Norgren (Jeff Scott Soto, The Poodles), drummer Tomas Broman (Humanimal) and Mikael Hoglund (Thunder) on bass, and on this, their self-titled debut featuring guest contributions from talented keyboardist Mats Olausson (Glory, Yngwie Malmsteen, Radioactive et all).

This is the kind of band - and album - where the sound & style is perfectly defined: Great King Rat play the brand of Melodic Hard Rock developed between 1990-1992, that meaning bright, clean production, pristine vocals, melodious yet powerful riffs, subtle keyboard touches and catchy choruses.
Think Hardline, Fate, Gotthard, Jeff Scott Soto's Eyes, TNT, and at places, Mr. Big.

Among the highlights 'Good Times' is a superb slice of catchy melodic rock, the funky 'Woman in Love', 'Ball & Chain', and terrific midtempo 'Take Me Back' with its AORish waves. For a bluesy hard rocker with some Thunder on it, check 'Dirty Old Man Stomp'.



You can hear why Michael Schenker later used Sundin for three albums, and Norgren created such good records with The Poodles, Humanimal, and more.
Top class production sound for this really good slice of early '90s Melodic Hard Rock.


01 - Bright Lights
02 - Good Times
03 - Woman In Love
04 - Ball & Chain
05 - Take Me Back
06 - Follow The Rains
07 - One By One
08 - Dirty Old Man Stomp
09 - Calling For My Angel
10 - Top Of The World
11 - Bad Woman (Japanese Bonus Track)

Leif Sundin (Michael Schenker, Treat): vocals, acoustic guitars
Pontus Norgren (Jeff Scott Soto, The Poodles): guitars
Tomas Broman (Humanimal): drums
Mikael Hoglund (Thunder): bass
Anders Nilsson: keyboards
Mikael Andersson lap steel (on track 6)
Rolf Alex: percussion
Backa-Hans Eriksson: cello (1)
Frans Lugmair: harmonica (7)
Mats Olausson (Glory, Yngwie Malmsteen): keyboards (1, 6)




GREAT KING RAT - ST [Japan Edition +1] (1992)


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TRIGGER - Trigger (1978)

TRIGGER was a four-piece act that rocked the New Jersey / New York circuit during the Seventies. The band recorded a private vinyl at the middle of the decade, but their great opportunity arrived when Gene Simmons presented Trigger to Kiss' recording label, Casablanca.
The deal was done and Trigger's self-titled album released in 1978.

If you take a look at the cover you can see that the image suggested to Trigger by the label has pretty much in common with other Casablanca artist: Giuffria's Angel.
But musically, Trigger is timeless catchy rock 'n roll with high doses of radio friendly melodies. They could be compared with Starz, Legs Diamond, Moxy and John Waite's The Babys.



Despite the year of recording, "Trigger" sounds crisp and commercially close to the refined early Eighties. The album was co-arranged & produced by Corky Stasiak (who worked with Kiss at the time) and together with Jay Messina (Aerosmith, Cheap Trick) and Dennis Ferrante (Alice Cooper) engineered the whole thing. So you know what to expect here.
Most tracks are sung by drummer Derek Remington with his slightly raspy throat, but guitarists Jimmy Duggan (RIP) and Richie House also did lead vocals on a couple of tracks each.
With three well trained lead singers plus bassist doing backgrounds, Trigger develops here as well very nice multi-part harmony vocals.



Apparently Trigger recorded a second album but they fell into oblivion with Casablanca's bankrupt.
Their album - only released on LP - become a collectors hard to find piece for many years, until a British specialized label reissued the disc on CD some years ago.
But this is a rip (not mine) from the original LP which sounds warm 'n nice. I did a scratch cleaning from the original .wav files, but kept some 'typical vinyl little noises' because it adds a special charm to the listening experience.
Quite rare album, packed with lovable, melodic American late seventies rock music.


01 - Somebody Like You
02 - Gimme Your Love
03 - Baby, Don't Cry
04 - Shake It Up
05 - Rockin 'Cross The U.S.A.
06 - Deadly Weapon
07 - I've Heard That Line Before
08 - Beware Of Strangers
09 - I Think I'm Ready
10 - Don't Stop Your Love
11 - We're Gonna Make It

Jimmy Duggan - guitars, vocals
Richie House - guitars, vocals
Tom Nigra - bass, backing vocals
Derek Remington - drums, vocals






TRIGGER 1978
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STEVIE VANN (Lange) - Stevie Vann + 3-track Single (1995)

STEVIE VANN (aka Stevie Lange) born as Stevie Van Kerken in Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). Married to record producer Robert 'Mutt' Lange, in the late '70s Stevie met Chris Thompson while performing backing vocals for a Manfred Mann's Earth Band album.
Thompson approached Vann to form the Melodic Rock band 'Night', releasing two really good albums.
Stevie Vann is a well known vocal coach, including services to Joe Elliot, Atomic Kitten, Robbie Williams, etc. and sung live with Byan Adams, Elton John, Joe Cocker and Brian May just to name few. She also did backing vocals on "When Love And Hate Collide" (Vault version) for Def Leppard.
Additionally, Vann has recorded backup vocals for Manfred Mann, Sweet, Colin Blunstone, Jim Capaldi, Trevor Rabin, UFO, Rick Wakeman and many many more.

Seriously established in the music business, Stevie Vann finally had the opportunity to record her own album as solo artist, co-written and produced by her ex-husband 'Mutt' Lange (Def Leppard, AC/DC), who also sang background vocals. Although their marriage had broken up they still today remain the best of friends.


"Stevie Vann - ST" is a real good collection of classic sounding songs, where Stevie's singing is the star. Powerful, colorful vocals, from straight rockers to emotional ballads.
Production is top notch as you could imagine, with 'Mutt' Lange involved and Mike Shipley (Def Leppard, Winger, Foreigner) engineering. Session musicians are awesome too: Dann Huff, Bryan Adams dueting, Max Carl, Bob Carlisle, and the list continues.

Released through a small label, this CD is very hard to find and a collectors piece. I also included as bonus the CDsingle "I'll Take Your Heart", featuring an edit version of the title cut plus two tracks not present in the main album.

"Stevie Vann - ST"
01. What Would You Say?
02. Prove It [duet with Bryan Adams]
03. The Bigger The Better
04. (Let That) River Roll
05. What In The World?
06. Without Your Love (I Can't Live)
07. Will The Last One To Leave
08. I Thought I'd Seen Everything
09. I'll Take Your Heart
10. If Walls Could Talk

"I'll Take Your Heart" CDsingle:

01 - I'll Take Your Heart [single version]
02 - Mysterious [non album track]
03 - He Won't Let Me Be [non album track]


Personnel :
* Dann Huff - electric & acoustic guitars, bass
* Glenn Worf - bass
* Reggie Young - rhythm guitar
* Lonnie Wilson - drums
* Bosco De Olivera - percussion
* Wayne Stalling - keyboards
* John Jarvis - piano
* Steve Nathan - B3 organ and synths
* Philip Nicholas - keyboards, programming
* Richie Buckley - tenor and soprano sax
* Bryan Adams - vocals on "Prove It" (duet)
* Max Carl - backing vocals
* Bob Carlisle - backing vocals
Mike Shipley - engineer, mixing
Robert John "Mutt" Lange - producer, background vocals

STEVIE VANN Lange ST + 3-track Single
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AIR RAID - Air Raid (CD Reissue 2006)

Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, AIR RAID was active in the East area the for almost the entire Seventies, founded by songwriter, singer and keyboard player Arthur Offen. All members worked at a local recording studio while playing the club circuit.
At the end of the decade, Air Raid was signed by the new 20th Century Fox record division, and they secure the famous Eddie Kramer to produce the debut.

Released in 1981, "Air Raid" is definitely Pomp AOR, absolutely influenced by the sound & style of Styx, accented by Arthur Offen's pipes very similar in to Dennis DeYoung. Just check the melodic "Nowhere Without Your Love".
However, Air Raid is more visceral and rocking in many ways, especially due to Rick Hinkle's raw guitar setup sound and of course, Eddie Kramer.
At places they turn remind me Trillion, on others Giuffria's Angel, and even Freddie Mercury's Queen on the pompous "You're Mine" and the wonderful "Ballad Of Anymore".
As occurs with the genre, there's lots of rare keyboards / proto synths here, name it Mini-Moogs, Prophet V, Polymoog. Last track called "Air Raid / Drill" is a festival of those, and in my humble opinion, ranks amongst the 3 best Pomp Rock songs of all time.



The venture of 20th Century Fox into the record business was really brief, and Air Raid found themselves without promotion and management, and soon broke-up.
They delivered this one and only album, but this is as good as it gets when we talk about Pomp Rock / AOR.


01 - Nowhere Without Your Love
02 - You're Mine
03 - Anything-Anytime
04 - Love The Way You Look To-Nite
05 - Longships
06 - Lovewave
07 - Mystery Man
08 - Soldiers Of Fortune
09 - Ballad Of Anymore
10 - Air Raid / Drill

Rick Hinkle (guitars)
Tom "Tommy" Walker (bass)
Rick Brown (drums)
Arthur Offen (vocals, grand piano, multi-keyboards,12 string guitar)






AIR RAID - CD Reissue 2006 HQ
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JIM PETERIK - The Magical Pen (Camelblue's demo compilation)

JIM PETERIK is one of the living icons from the American Rock scene: member of AOR Gods Survivor, mastermind of Pride Of Lions and prolific songwriter. With his 'World Stage International Records" Peterik is constantly recording, to offer his own penned songs to other artists, publishing agencies and record companies.

I have compiled many of these unreleased demos (professionally recorded) entitling the pack "The Magical Pen", as indeed Peterik is like a songwriting magician. Jimbo sings lead vocals on a bunch, and there's a lot of talented vocalists and players joining him.
To wrap the whole package I did a nice little artwork, and you'll find a brief description on each file inside-tags, but take a look here as well if you are interested:

01 - Gutters Of Gold (duet with Jeff Boyle)
Demo of a song written for Sammy Hagar, featuring Chicago musician Jeff Boyle on the duet vocal. Sammy loved the song, but never recorded it. Joe Lynn Turner, of Rainbow and Deep Purple fame, did record it though for his 2009 Sunstorm album 'House Of Dreams'.

02 - Love Doesn't Get Any Stronger Than This (feat. Blue Miller)
This song features vocals by Nashville singer / songwriter / artist Blue Miller. Words and Music by Jim Peterik.

03 - Tears On The Pages (feat. John Melnick)
Song wrote with Jon Lind, of the Fifth Avenue Band way back when. Vocalist is the awesome John Melnick, formerly of the band Zazu. John sang as well on "Late Night Radio" also posted here. Joe Lynn Turner recorded this song on his Sunstorm project's album 'House Of Dreams'.

04 - Late Night Radio (feat. John Melnick)
The song was pitched to Kansas for their more AOR period back around the 'Drastic Measures' era (1983), but they passed. Words and music by Jim Peterik & John Melnick.

05 - Someone Else's Blues
Peterik performs alone (vocals, guitar, keys) on this demo song dedicated to his sister Janice right before she passed away in 1994. Words and Music by Jim Peterik.

06 - Heart Broker (duet with Cathy Richardson)
Unreleased demo, featuring a duet between Jim and Cathy Richardson, Chicago native female artist, lead singer in The Jefferson Starship.

07 - No Ordinary Miracle (feat. John Wetton)
A track co-written with John Wetton of King Crimson and Asia fame. This is the demo for the song that ended up on Wetton's 2001 'Sinister' album. Words and music by Jim Peterik & John Wetton.

08 - Deep End Of The Ocean (feat. Alice Peacock)
This song was written for the 1999 movie of the same name starring Michelle Pfeiffer, but not used. Vocal by a young Alice Peacock. Words and music by Jim Peterik.

09 - Tender Fire (feat. Jan James)
Lead vocals on this one are by Jan James, former lead singer of Chicago-based band Jewel Fetish. Drums are by the late Kyle Woodring. Words and music by Jim Peterik.

10 - The Day America Cried (feat. Johnny Van Zant)
Peterik wrote this song with Johnny Van Zant (the awesome AOR gem 'Van Zant' 1985) right after the Twin Towers fell on 9/11. Johnny called Jimbo in shock, and after talking for a while this song came out of that. It was released shortly thereafter as a benefit.

11 - Armageddon
Jim recorded this for the hit movie starring Bruce Willis but it wasn't taken. Six-string wizzard Dave Uhrich play a lot of the guitars on it as well.

12 - Holley (feat. Jim Ellison)
A song co-written by Jim Peterik and the late Jim Ellison of Material Issue. Beautiful tune with a very classic sound.

13 - Man Against The World (feat. Toby Hitchcock)
Promoter Paul Braun had asked Jim if there was any way to perform the song at an upcoming show as it was one of his favorite Survivor tracks. Jim asked Toby Hitchcock of Pride Of Lions to learn the song, which he did the day before the show.
The result was a powerful, raw performance. Given the fact that this was the first time Toby had ever sung the song with Jim, and he had only learned it the day before, nobody cared that there were a couple of bobbles. The overall soul of the song was what came shining through.

14 - Forever And A Day
Wrote by Jimbo in Miami years ago. Apart from Peterik, the performers on this beautiful ballad are unknown.

15 - Kick The Door Down (feat. Kelly Ferro)
Unreleased demo, written by Jim Peterik. His niece Kelly Ferro sang the vocal.

16 - Just For You (feat. Kelly Ferro)
Peterik wrote this song with his friend Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon. REO did record it and it ended up a bonus track on "The Essential REO Speedwagon" compilation. Vocals on this original demo by Kelly Ferro.

17 - We Wish (feat. Jeff Boyle) [Live]
Recorded during the 2007 'County Stage / World Stage' acoustic show at the Chicago Street Theatre in Valparaiso, IN. Jim Peterik: guitars, Jeff Boyle: guitars & vocals, Chuck Soumar: percussion, Lisa McClowry: backing vocals.

18 - Christmas Morning
Composed and recorded by Jim Peterik for the fans as Christmas gift, featured at his website some time ago.


That's all folks, enjoy this rare & good material.

click to expand;



JIM PETERIK The Magical Pen
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REFUGEE - Affairs In Babylon [vinyl rip] (1985)

Thanks to Rocky Birboa for helping me to recover this original vinyl-rip

REFUGEE, the brainchild of Canadian songwriter / vocalist Myles Hunter (RIP), released this LP "Affairs In Babylon" in 1985 after an initial indie release under the moniker MICHAEL FURY.
You can read the story and get the album HERE

REFUGEE's "Affairs In Babylon" wasn't released on CD until 2005 by a German label.
Unfortunately, they didn't take as a source the original master tapes, just a wasted & scratched vinyl, and also gently destroyed the original signal harmonics with a cheap processor.
That CD sounds terrible, a classic album like this deserves a better CD reissue.

From a pretty good vinyl rip (courtesy of troynew, thanks my friend), I've tried to get the best audio quality possible, de-crackling, de-clicking and de-noising the whole thing. To my ears, it sounds far better than the aforementioned German CD.
Tracks 1 & 2 are chained in the vinyl, I have left them as a single track to preserve continuity and avoid the typical mp3 gaps. Anyway, included into the file, are both as separated tracks as well: you choose.
320K including re-worked artwork.


01 - Affairs In Babylon
02 - Thunder Of Another Night
03 - Listen To Your Heart
04 - Hot Words *
05 - Dream On Anastasia
06 - Exiles In The Dark
07 - No Survivors, No Way Out
08 - Body To Body
09 - Here We Go Again *
10 - These Are The Good Times


Myles Hunter : Lead Vocals, Guitar
Rob Kennedy : Lead Guitars, Backing Vocals
Howard Helm : Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Martyn Jones : Bass, Backing Vocals
Brian Doerner : Drums
Greg Bociek : add. Keyboards *



REFUGEE - Affairs In Babylon [restored audio] (1985) HERE
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MICHAEL FURY - Affairs In Babylon (1984) restored audio

Myles Hunter (ex Avalon Canada), bassist Martyn Jones and guitarist Rob Kennedy founded MICHAEL FURY (named after a character in James Joyce's short story, "The Dead") in 1979. They did the predictable round of club gigs throughout Canada until split up in 1983.

Hunter met keyboard wiz Howard Helm (ex Zon) one year later and start to play with him the songs he has been written. Together decided to call Kennedy and Jones back, and with the addition of drummer Dave Mihal reform MICHAEL FURY.
An initial demo was picked up by a local small label and the result is "Affairs In Babylon", released in 1984.

MICHAEL FURY toured constantly throughout the country, but they began getting an identity crisis as people mistook the group name 'Michael Fury' for Myles Hunter himself.
To compound matters the label tried to push the band as a solo act. This didn't sit well to the group (Hunter included), then a major US label offers a deal to the band, they brought back the rights to the album and signed a new contract.
The disc was re-mixed and re-recorded for the most part, and modified with new songs, "Affairs In Babylon" was re-issued under the band name REFUGEE, with new drummer Brian Doerner (Helix).

As REFUGEE, Hunter & Co. released another album in 1987; "Burning From The Inside Out". Both REFUGEE releases are considered classic '80s AOR gems by fans of the genre (I totally agree).

But let's talk about this MICHAEL FURY album.
For the re-release of "Affairs In Babylon" under the Refugee moniker, 5 tracks were replaced by 5 new ones, and what a new songs!, the best they ever recorded in my opinion, the Refugee release is far superior, with an updated remix job and the new tracks getting big production. A classic indeed.

However, the exclusive 5 songs on this LP are very good too, and that's why I am posting here the original MICHAEL FURY recording. Besides, this album is really hard to find.
The sound is not so 'big' (self produced and mixed), and more direct than lush and polished. According to Hunter, he still prefer some of the original FURY's versions instead of the later re-recorded as REFUGEE.
As example; 'These Are The Good Times' (later popularized by Eric Martin, but written by Mr. Hunter) features completely different arrangements here.



Maybe not many readers will be interested in this post (Michael who?) because this album version is unknown and rarely mentioned on some specialized rock magazine / website. Big mistake, since "MICHAEL FURY - Affairs In Babylon" is a collector's item, and contains very good '80s Melodic Rock / AOR music.
Ripped from vinyl (never released on CD), de-crackled and de-clicked by myself, including artwork.


01 - Affairs In Babylon
02 - Through The Thunder Of Another Night
03 - Pictures And Prints *
04 - There's Gonna Be A Fire Tonight *
05 - These Are The Good Times
06 - (Janie) Here We Go Again
07 - Hot Words
08 - ... And We All Go Down To The River *
09 - White Wine And Roses *
10 - Love Comes Down *

Tracks marked with * are exclusive to this LP


Myles Hunter : Lead Vocals, Mustang (¿?)
Martyn Jones : Bass, Vocals
Rob Kennedy : Guitars, Vocals
Howard Helm : Keyboards
Greg Bociek : Keyboards on 6
Dave Mihal : Drums
Bear : Percussion, Noises & Effects




MICHAEL FURY - Affairs In Babylon (1984)
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VA - Elektra AOR Collection [Japan only] (1993)

Request fulfilled, hard to find

Some time ago a reader requested some early material from John David Souther, who in very late '70s changed his artistic name to J.D. Souther releasing the stupendous You're Only Lonely LP. His previous albums are not easy to find, but digging deep in my collection something appeared.
And it's this rare compilation only released in Japan (limited quantities) in 1993 by Elektra / Warner Records, including tracks from their AOR / Westcoast artist roster.

"Elektra AOR Collection" is wonderful compilation featuring some of the finest Westcoast artists from the late '70s / early '80s - the golden age of the genre. You can't go wrong with cats of the stature of John O'Banion, Bruce Roberts, Robbie Dupree (tracks from his 1st and 2nd albums) or Bill Champlin.
However, most of them are well known by AOR fans, and the real find here are the songs from J.D. Souther, plus the excellent Rupert Holmes, Andrew Gold and Terence Boylan.



All the albums from where these tracks are taken have been reissued on CD, but today are almost impossible to find. So this is a great chance to have on CD quality these hard-to-get tunes.
"Elektra AOR Collection" is a collectors piece and a stunning set of songs to enjoy.
MEGA RARE.


01 - John O'Banion - Love you like I never loved before
02 - Andrew Gold - Lonely boy
03 - Carole Bayer Sager - It's the falling in love
04 - Bruce Roberts - Cool fool
05 - Robbie Dupree - Steal away
06 - Terence Boylan - Don't hang up those dancing shoes
07 - Rupert Holmes - Full circle
08 - Andrew Gold - That's why I love you
09 - John David Souther - Black rose
10 - Robbie Dupree - Saturday night
11 - Bill Champlin - Sara
12 - Terence Boylan - Shake it
13 - John David Souther - It's the same


VA - Elektra AOR Collection 1993
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JOHN PARR - Walking Out Of The Darkness [single] (2007)

Requested in "Request & Fill Corner" section.

"Out of the Darkness" has been written and recorded specially for the Doncaster Rovers Football Club.
The song is played to herald the entry of the teams onto the pitch at the start of each home match.
The other track, "Dream On", was written by John Parr in tribute to Rovers legend Alick Jeffrey.
Typical Parr signature on both tunes, rare single, not for sale. I love this man's music.


1. Walking Out Of The Darkness (The Rovers Anthem)
2. Dream On (dedicated to Rovers legend Alick Jeffrey)


ENJOY IT HERE
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LYNN ALLEN - Lynn Allen (1992)

Requested again, hard to find

LYNN ALLEN should be one of the most long lasting bands from the American melodic rock scene. Formed in the early '80s, despite the revolving door of group members but carried by singer / songwriter Billy Peiffer at front, the band continues active to this day.
Perhaps the key is that Lynn Allen always stayed independent, managing their gigs and releasing albums by their own. After some years of hiatus Lynn Allen returned in 2007 with a record edited by an European label, but retaining the entire artistic control.

Hailing from Davenport, Lynn Allen was recently inducted to the Iowa Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame. In the mid-Eighties for a brief period the group lived in Los Angeles and opened for Ratt, Great White or Warrant, with a major record deal at front of the door. But never happened and the guys returned to their hometown.

Lynn Allen's third album (self-titled), also known as 'The Pink Album', always has been their more hard to find.
Released through the small private label Red Pump, the CD virtually sold out after its release (they are very popular in US Quad Cities region) and never reissued. A shame, as "Lynn Allen" (1992) is one of their best.

Cuts like 'Surprise, Surprise', 'Drive Me Crazy', 'Once In A Lifetime' (not the Firehouse song but sounding a lot like 'em) and 'Poisoning Of The Rain' are pure American Melodic Rock bliss.
They harden the sound a bit in 'Love Slips' or 'Electric Sister' yet all the time extremely melodic and catchy. 'Pick Up The Pieces' and the strong 'Jesse' are the slow moments, being the latter a tune that easily could have been a hit on par with Poison or Tesla power ballads.



With solid songs, musicianship and a really good production for an indie, "Lynn Allen" is a lovely slice of American Melodic Rock in its true essence.


01 - Surprise, Surprise
02 - Drive Me Crazy
03 - Love Slips
04 - Jesse
05 - Electric Sister
06 - Poisoning Of The Rain
07 - Once In A Lifetime
08 - Daze Gone By
09 - Pick Up The Pieces

Billy Peiffer: vocals, guitars, keyboards
Terry Murphy: guitars
Johnny Williamson: bass, backing vocals
Tommie Guild: drums, backing vocals






LYNN ALLEN - Lynn Allen (1992)
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CHET THOMPSON (Hellion) - Slamnation (1992) + bonus

It's time for some rock n' roll here...

A guitar student of Randy Rhoads in his teens, CHET THOMPSON is one of the most underrated (and unknown) American axe-man. He shined as main guitarist in Hellion's prime time, and recorded various solo albums.
"Slamnation" was the first under his own moniker, but in fact this is a 'real band' comprising the talents of Dave 'Animal' Spitz (Great White, Paul Sabu) on bass, Stet Howland (W.A.S.P.) and the amazing Neil Thomas at the mic.

Recorded in 1992 but released in 1996 only in Japan, "Slamnation" shows Chet Thompson's mastery on the six-strings via sharp melting riffs and stupendous solos, but this is not a 'flashy guitar man' album.
This sounds like a true, tight Classic American Hard Rock band delivering eight monster stomping rockers. Neil Thomas owns a raspy & powerful set of pipes especially designed for this type of music, and the rhythm section is a blast.

"Sweet Lil' Sister", "Don't Wanna Dance", "Rock-A-Bye Love" or "Heaven's Burnin´" will rock your socks off in the best Skid Row meets Ratt meets W.A.S.P. Californian tradition of the genre. There's no place for ballads here, this is pure hot US Hard Rock.



I have added four tracks as bonus from Chet's second effort for you to check his incredible skills on the electric guitar, from the same school of Randy Rhoads, George Lynch, Eddie Van Halen, etc.
Top notch Classic American Hard Rock.


01 - Sweet Lil' Sister
02 - One Shot
03 - Red Hot Lover
04 - Don't Wanna Dance
05 - Time Bomb
06 - Heaven's Burnin'
07 - Fever
08 - Rock-A-Bye Love
09 - Ashes
10 - Happy Feet
11 - Tocatta
12 - Superstitious Sex Queen

Neil Thomas - vocals
Chet Thompson - guitars
Dave Spitz - bass
Stet Howland - drums





CHET THOMPSON Slamnation
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