ALAN FREW (Glass Tiger) - Wonderland (2000)

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

Glass Tiger's singer ALAN FREW second solo album "Wonderland" arrived several years after his debut, six years exactly, in 2000. The previous years were dark ages for Alan's soft rock & poppy melodies, but here the man return with strong compositions.

"Wonderland" is perhaps musically more mature, reflective, and adds a touch of light West Coast AOR to the proceedings. You can hear this on the ethereal "That's Life" or "Everything Must Change", as example.
There's delicate melodious tunes in "Home", the title track or on the more classic rock oriented "I Could Never Lie To You" adorned with vintage organs, while "Colours Of Friends And Places" provides a poppy happiness.

I still remember finding opener "Open For A Friend" a bit insipid at first glance, but after repeated listens I discovered a wonderfully constructed song with a marvelous melody and a great vocal performance by Alan.
My favorite track, though, is "All I Ever Wanted", the cut which more brings to mind Glass Tiger's commercial AOR dynamics.



Alan Frew added to "Wonderland" 4 bonus tracks: two Glass Tiger hits (perhaps added for new listeners to remember him) and two cuts from his previous solo album.
Although Frew's first album Hold On recently featured here is regarded as his best solo, I enjoy "Wonderland" more because it's more varied and inspired - for the most part - in his '80s work with Glass Tiger.
An album that incredibly grows in you with repeated listening sessions.


01 - Open For A Friend
02 - Lipstick
03 - Home
04 - I Could Never Lie To You
05 - Mother
06 - Wonderland
07 - All I Ever Wanted
08 - Colors Of Friends And Places
09 - A Rose In My Book
10 - That's Life
11 - Everything Must Change
12 - Everybody Sing
BONUS TRACKS:
13 - Someday (Glass Tiger)
14 - My Town (Glass Tiger)
15 - So Blind (Alan Frew '94)
16 - Falling At Your Feet (Alan Frew '94)

Alan Frew - vocals, guitars
Rick Tait - keyboards, percussion
Chris McNeil - drums
Steve Lucas - bass
Richard Evans - keyboards
Stuart Cameron, Kevin Breit, Neil Chapman, Tony Vanderburgh, Mike Francis - guitars
Lisa Dalbello, Michael Shotton - backing vocals




ALAN FREW (Glass Tiger) - Wonderland (2000)
.

ALAN FREW (Glass Tiger) - Hold On [Canadian edition] (1994)

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

Canadian singer / songwriter ALAN FREW enjoyed worldwide success fronting Glass Tiger in the second half of the '80s, touring all over the world. When the band split at the beginning of the Nineties it was time for a solo career, and the first fruit was this "Hold On", recorded & released in 1994.

This is a pretty different affair than the guitar driven last Glass Tiger album, much more poppy with light AOR moments and some Hi-Tech in the Canadian style.
There was successful singles in the happy "Healing Hands" and the soft "So Blind". In fact, grand part of the record is pretty soft rock with a poppy, laid back feel.



"Hold On" was quite hard to find until the end of the past decade when it was reissued due fan's demand. It's a nice, gentle and relaxed album with cool melodies and pristine production.
Ripped at max quality including artwork, plus as bonus the remix version of "Healing Hands".


01 - You're The One
02 - Healing Hands
03 - It Always Feels The Same
04 - Hold On
05 - I am With You Tonight
06 - Learning To Fly
07 - So Blind
08 - Once Upon A Time
09 - Cloud
10 - If Only I Could Dream
11 - I Wonder Why
12 - Falling At Your Feet
13 - Healing Hands (Remix) [bonus track]

Alan Frew - lead & backing vocals, guitar
John Jones - bass, keyboards, guitars, backing vocals
Jim Cregan, Tony Vanderburgh, Al Connelly - guitars
Chistopher Garcia - bass
Steve Ferrone - drums
Mick Fleetwood - drums, percussion
Karen Hendrix, Lisa DalBello, Mickey Dolenz, Laura Harding - backing vocals




ALAN FREW Hold On [Canadian edition]
.