DOMINOE - The Key [remastered + bonus tracks] (1990)

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

One of the best Melodic Rock / AOR bands coming out from Germany during the Eighties was without a doubt DOMINOE, founded by great composer, musician and producer Robert Papst.
From the beginning, the idea for this outfit was to combine the catchiness and muscle of the melodic rock genre with fluffy, commercial rock&pop sounds.
After the success of their debut album, and specially the single "Here I Am" featured in a TV commercial, Dominoe were signed by Virgin / RCA for their next CD: "The Key".

"The Key" has all the ingredients to be a MR / AOR fan staple: superb choruses, vocal harmonies and bouncy instrumentation, all wrapped in a lush production courtesy of Robert Papst (now a highly requested producer / engineer) and soundtrack guru Harold Faltermeyer (Top Gun).
The awesome "Angel Don't Cry", the melodic rock heaven of "Lonely Nights" an "In The Heat Of The Night", the killer title track "The Key", the lights-in-the-air ballad "Keep The Fire Burnin´", the AOR delicatessen of "Comin’ Home" are just hits after hit.
Of course you have the re-recording of the mega-scorer "Here I Am", which ranked in the top-40 German chart for 25 consecutive weeks.



This greatly recorded and produced gem of an album needed a contemporary remaster, but more for the excuse of bonus material than a sound uplift, as the original release already sounded superb.
But I'm glad they did it, because the bonus tracks on this remastered reissue are top notch as well: the non-album tracks "Into The Fire" and its AOR pulse ala Overland / FM, the classy sensibility of "Dance To Somebody" (clearly inspired by ELO) and the instrumental "Harolds Anthem".
Plus, we have terrific remixes of "Keep The Fire Burnin´" and two versions of "Angel Don't Cry", all quite different from the originals and where you can hear the 'anthemic' hands of Harold Faltermeyer behind the desk.
Dominoe's "The Key" is a MUST HAVE with capitals.


01 - Angel Don't Cry
02 - In The Heat Of The Night
03 - Satellite
04 - Keep The Fire Burnin'
05 - Rock Noon
06 - Comin' Home
07 - Lonely Nights
08 - Leisure Town
09 - I Wanna Die For You
10 - The Key
11 - Here I Am
BONUS TRACKS:
12 - Into The Fire (non-album track)
13 - Dance To Somebody (non-album track)
14 - Satellite [early version]
15 - Angel Don't Cry [Rock Mix]
16 - Harolds Anthem [instrumental]
17 - Keep The Fire Burnin' [Maxi version]
18 - Angel Don't Cry [Eclipse mix] (Bonus Track)

Jörg Sieber - Vocals
Marc Schiegl, Günther Skitschak - Guitars
Johnny Rohde - Keyboards
Fred Neudert - Bass
Rick Shulz - Drums
Robert Papst - Guitar, Vocals, Production
Harold Faltermeyer - Synths, Production




DOMINOE The Key [remastered + bonus]
.

ANDY BAUM - Listen To The Bad Boy (1987-88) extra track version

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

Austrian singer / songwriter ANDY BAUM was part of several local bands at the beginning of the Eighties such as Hallucination Company and Stonehenge. The latter won a battle of the bands competition in Liverpool, UK, becoming the first Austrian band to tour through Great Britain.
Then around 1984, Andy Baum went solo with his own band 'The Trix'.

After some successful singles, Baum recorded his first full length CD "Listen To The Bad Boys" in '87, winning the 'Austrian Grammy' for best young artist. Soon, Andy released a new penned single, "Still Remember Yvonne", which ranked in the top 10 chart so "Listen To The Bad Boys" was re-issued including this track.
This is a CD-rip from this 2nd press of the album.

Andy Baum's style is wimpy European AOR with stylized melodic rock / poppy sensibility, all crystal-clear produced and arranged. Sometimes his vocals reminds me Mitch Malloy or Rick Springfield, while his band / instrumentation, Canadians Glass Tiger.
Indeed, on many places, "Listen To The Bad Boys" recalls the classic Canuck sound of the era: catchy choruses, synth infusions and cutting clean guitars. There's some cheesy numbers, but overall all tracks are really enjoyable.
One of the best cuts is Andy's version of "I'm In It For Love", originally performed by James House on the movie Fire With Fire (1986).



Due to Andy Baum & The Trix success, "Listen To The Bad Boys" was later reissued all over Europe entitled 'Set The Night On Fire', but including less songs and different running order.
As said, this is a CD-rip at maximum quality from the original Austrian 2nd press of the album, featuring the extra track "Still Remember Yvonne".
Good one and out of print.


01. Still Remember Yvonne *
02. Talk To Me
03. Only A Whisper
04. She
05. You Don't Love Me Anymore
06. Shine On
07. I'm In It For Love
08. Set The Night On Fire
09. Men In The Street
10. Mirror Mirror
11. I'm Lost Anyway
12. My Love

Andy Baum - Vocals, Keyboards, Guitars
Helmut Bibl - Guitars
Polio Brezina - Keyboards
Lukas Filz - Bass
Harry Stampfer, Peter Kolbert - Drums
Othmar Klein - Sax
Karin Raab Kathy Sampson - Backing Vocals




ANDY BAUM Listen To The Bad Boy
.

LAVA - Prime Time (1982)

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

LAVA was founded around 1977 in Årdal, Norway, by Svein Dag Hauge (guitars) and Per Hillestad (drums), starting as an instrumental jazz rock band with several line-up changes through the years.
After two LP's, for this third effort "Prime Time" and with the addition of talented bass player / arranger Rolf Graf and singer Egil Eldøen, Lava changed their musical approach to a more commercial delivery, something that eventually developed into a Westcoast / AOR affair in albums to come during the Eighties.

"Prime Time" still shows the refined, elaborated arrangements from Lava's origins, but this is a record strongly influenced by earlier TOTO, Airplay, Steve Lukather first works, etc.
The musicians in Lava are (the band is still active) widely known for their session work for many Scandinavian artists from the most diverse genres, but also melodic hard rock acts such as Fate, Aina, Tindrum or Ole Evenrude to name some, so expect top notch quality in this department.



Lava's "Prime Time" is specially recommended for lovers of delicate Westcoast AOR, humming smooth sounds.
Very rare LP never released on CD, with a restored audio done by me.

01 - Hard Times
02 - Juliet
03 - Empty Shadows
04 - 2.12
05 - Prime Time
06 - Late At Night
07 - Tea Beat
08 - Holiday

Egil Eldøen - lead and backing vocals
Svein Dag Hauge - guitars
Per Kolstad, Geir Langslet - keyboards, synthesizer
Sigurd Køhn, Arne Frang, Torbjørn Sunde - horns
Rolf Graf - bass
Per Hillestad - drums, percussion
Sidsel Endresen - backing vocals




LAVA Prime Time
password:Camelblue
.

AEROSMITH - Fly Away From Here [Japanese Maxi-Single] (2001)

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

The discography of Hard Rock masters AEROSMITH is well known and reachable, but I am posting this rare Japanese maxi-single because it was requested by a reader, and it's really hard to find (out of print).

"Fly Away From Here" was the hit power ballad from the Just Push Play album, featured here in four different versions, being the 'rock mix' and the 'orchestral mix' my favorites.
The really interesting number is "Face", not included into the main album and exclusive to this CDs. Also we find a very good live version of "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" recorded at Cape Canaveral, FL, in 1998.
A collector's item.


1. Fly Away From Here [radio remix edit] (4:25)
2. Fly Away From Here [album version] (5:04)
3. Fly Away From Here [rock mix] (4:25)
4. Face [non-album track] (3:07)
5. Fly Away From Here [orchestral mix] (4:26)
6. I Don't Want To Miss A Thing [live] (5:16)

Steven Tyler – lead vocals
Joe Perry – guitar, backing vocals
Brad Whitford – guitar
Tom Hamilton – bass
Joey Kramer – drums
Jim Cox – piano on "Fly Away From Here"
Paul Santo – Kurzweil on "Fly Away From Here"


Get it HERE
.

DAVID LONDON (Fergie Frederiksen) - ST (1981)

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

As you may know, AOR fans, Dennis FERGIE FREDERIKSEN, one of the greatest voices of all time for the genre passed away last January 18.
Lead singer of pillar acts like Trillion, Le Roux or Toto, as well as a background vocalist for Survivor and countless more, his distinctive vocals were one of the most recognizable ever.

After leaving Trillion, Frederiksen recorded many songs for movie soundtracks, and then got signed by Casablanca Records for a solo album. The label wanted a more easy-to-remember name, so Fergie recorded his debut under the 'David London' moniker.
As a little humble tribute to his legacy, here it is the self-titled LP (never pressed on CD) "David London". It's not his best work, but maybe the hardest to find, as the vinyl only was released in Scandinavia.



There's nice power rock&pop numbers driven by a good guitar work by Fergie's long-time friend Mark Christian, with occasional AOR touches courtesy of Alan Pasqua's (Van Stephenson, Stan Bush) keyboards.
This is a good vinyl transfer done and cleaned by myself many, many years ago.
We will miss you Fergie. R.I.P.

01 - Somebody's Got My Someone
02 - Destination Zero
03 - She's Hot
04 - Idol Maker
05 - Walk In The Room
06 - Keep Playing Around
07 - Live Your Own Life
08 - Suicide Dance
09 - Baby's In Love
10 - Weakness

David London (Fergie Frederiksen): vocals
Mark Christian: guitars
Alan Pasqua, Don Schmidt: keyboards
Howie Epstein: bass
Jimmy Hunter: drums
Steve Forman: percussion
Richard Page, Stan Forber, Jim Haas, Jon Joyce: backing vocals




DAVID LONDON (Fergie Frederiksen) 1981
.

GUNS 'N ROSES - Make My Day!

GUNS 'N ROSES, yes, why not? Every hard rockin' household already should have, in any format, some songs from Axl & Co. 
But maybe not - even the most rabid fans - this rare bootleg printed in Luxembourg (!) entitled "Make My Day!".



This CD includes a selection of Guns 'N Roses studio outtakes, demos and live recordings with a decent sound quality (all stereo), where we can find a really raw version of "Paradise City", "Nice Boys [Don't Play Rock 'N Roll]" or "Welcome To The Jungle", but also songs never officially released.



There's two versions (electric and acoustic) of the Jagger / Richards classic "Jumping Jack Flash", a cover of Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel", an interesting instrumental "Blues Jam", and more.
It's curious to listen "November Rain" solely featuring Axl Rose on vocals & piano, but also the version of this hit song on electric guitar only.
A collector's item.


01 - Jumping Jack Flash (Electric Version)
02 - Reckless Life
03 - Heartbreak Hotel
04 - Shadow Of Your Love
05 - Welcome To The Jungle
06 - Move To The City
07 - Jumping Jack Flash (Acoustic Version)
08 - November Rain (Piano Version)
09 - Nice Boys [Don't Play Rock 'N Roll]
10 - Whole Lotta Rosie
11 - Blues Jam (Instrumental)
12 - One In A Million
13 - November Rain (Guitar Version)
14 - Paradise City (Raw Version)
15 - Instrumental Jam

Axl Rose – lead vocals, piano
Slash – guitar
Izzy Stradlin – guitar, backing vocals
Duff McKagan – bass, backing vocals
Steven Adler – drums, percussion


GUNS 'N ROSES Make My Day!
.

NASTY IDOLS - Gigolos On Parole (1989)

Swedes NASTY IDOLS were mostly known for their good couple of early nineties dirty sleaze / glam albums, but the guys debuted in 1989 with this "Gigolos On Parole", a Scandi Melodic Hard Rock / AOR effort full of melodic guitar riffs and keyboard flourishes.
Until today, the band openly discredits this CD as they don't feel it represents the Nasty Idol's musical style at all. Probably that's the reason why not a single song from "Gigolos On Parole" was included into their 'Best Of' compilation.

Well, they did an awesome job for a group of musicians who 'does not like' this genre.
Just check the AOR stabs of "Lonely", the ballad "Don't Walk Away" or the Alice Cooper cover of "No More Mr. Nice Guy" which in Nasty Idols' hands reminds me of Steve Plunkett's Autograph.
The Scandinavian Melodic Hard Rock of "Can't Get Enough", "Must Be Love" or the killer "She's On Fire" has more in common with the likes of Stage Dolls or Return than the sleaze that Nasty Idols would develop later.



Although nothing ground breaking, I largely prefer this Nasty Idols' musical style of "Gigolos On Parole" over the glammy sleaze to come. Never reissued, the original copies of this CD are sold in the range between 70 and 100 € at online auctions.
Last December 5, 2013, frontman Andy Pierce, the last remaining original member of the band passed away suddenly at the age of 45. RIP.


01 - Intro
02 - Gimme What I Want
03 - Can't Get Enough
04 - No More Mr. Nice Guy
05 - She's On Fire
06 - Interlude
07 - Shy China
08 - Must Be Love
09 - Lonely
10 - For The Good Time
11 - Don't Walk Away

Andy Pierce - Vocals
Jonnie Wee - Guitar
Roger White - Keyboards
Dick Qwarfort - Bass
George Swanson - Drums



NASTY IDOLS Gigolos On Parole
.

GLEN BURTNIK - Slaves Of New Brunswick (1991)

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

Born in North Brunswick, New Jersey, GLEN BURTNIK's musical journey began as session musician during the seventies recording for well known acts, but he become highly requested as songwriter amassing credits that have seen his songs performed by artists from the most diverse genres.
Signed to A&M Records in the mid-eighties, Burtnik (also known as 'the hitmaker') released two lovable AORish discs but failed to make much of an impact. Then in 1989 he was called by Dennis DeYoung to replace Tommy Shaw in the reconstituted Styx, recording and contributing half of the songs on the Edge Of The Century album.

While recording the album with Styx, Burtnik started to plan a side project focused on his first love: the New Jersey sounding Rock 'N Roll.
With a multicolor bunch of colleagues from diverse genres including the likes of Dave LaRue of Dixie Dregs, Jim Babjak from The Smithereens, David Prater on drums (yes, the talented producer of FireHouse, Night Ranger, etc.), Tony Shanahan (Patti Smith Band), and many more, Glen formed the 'Slaves Of New Brunswick', to record his own penned compositions about the New Jersey city / music history.
So this is not strictly a Glen Burtnik solo album, but for memorabilia it is mentioned as such.
"Slaves Of New Brunswick" was released in 1991 in limited quantities, only marketed in the New York / New Jersey area.



The project / record was named as a homage to New Brunswick, New Jersey's music scene which has been the home to many notable rock bands. New Brunswick is a center for underground music, a scene that thrives on semi-legal live shows in residential basements.
These shows are host to not only local bands, but indie / major bands side-projects from across the country and the world. Numerous self-managed (DIY) bands from New Brunswick have gone on to receive broader acclaim.

Requested by a reader, I was in doubt to post this album here because it isn't exactly musically related to the motto of this blog (AOR / Hard Rock); what we have here is seventies styled Rock 'n Roll with the typical New Jersey area sound, yet really melodious with a strong American Classic Rock vibe and not far from the Dixie Dregs' manner.
Anyway, it's a cool rockin' collection of very good tunes, quite enjoyable and melodic.
Straight from my archives (not my rip), "Slaves Of New Brunswick" is the hardest to find Glen Burtnik album, out of print and fetching $199.99 at Amazon.
Includes detailed info inside.


01 - Exit Number 9
02 - The Girls I Grew Up With
03 - Rock N' Roll Queen
04 - Riding The Avenue
05 - Kinky
06 - Shout Out At The Indian Queen
07 - Seven Minutes In Heaven
08 - Losing Your Hair
09 - Easton Avenue Fever Dream
10 - When Kathy Spoke
11 - Slaves Of New Brunswick

Glen Burtnik: vocals, guitar
Lenny Kaye, Bernie Brausewetter, Steve Jones: guitar, vocals
Jack Shepherd, Gary Ambrosy, Jim Babjak, Ken Dubman, Terry Hughes, Sid Gottleib, Norm Roberts: guitar
Donna Dior, Matty Hahn: keyboards, vocals
Bill Lenk, Bobby Gordon, Ernie Scott: keyboards
Greg Kozak, Jed Downhill: fiddle
Gordon Wells: pedal steel guitar
Nancy Wertheim: harmonica
Tony Shanahan, Dave LaRue, Bill Cherensky: bass
Bob "Rock" Bianco, David Prater, Mark Sacco: drums
David DeLuca: percussion
Judy Wilson, Steven Conte, Patti Maloney,The Gripweeds, Bob Levy, Donna Rachel, Terri Paul: vocals
... and more




GLEN BURTNIK Slaves Of New Brunswick
.

GEORGE HILLS (Canada) - Dancing With A Stranger (1991)

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

Few things I know about Canadian singer GEORGE HILLS and his sole (?) album "Dancing With A Stranger" released in 1991. Nothing on the net, then I searched in my magazine collection: zero results.
Then let's talk a little about the music included on this rare CD.

Hills' songs are firmly planted on the American / Canadian commercial Rock&pop, light AOR sound typical of the era. The melodies, vocal harmonies and ear-friendly instrumentation are quite well arranged in the mould of the likes of Jimmy Harnen & The Synch (George's vocal register reminds me Harnen a lot), Beau Coup, Stan Meissner, Worrall, etc.
There's some nice guitar work on the uptempo tracks, keyboards (including pianos) on the calmer numbers, and as said, fine harmonies, although Hill leads aren't the most distinctive in the world.

GEORGE HILLS' "Dancing With A Stranger" is a cool one, requested many times in the Request & Fill Corner and finally it's here.
Uber-Rare.


01 - Dancing With A Stranger
02 - Doesn't Have To Be That Way
03 - Mystical Lady
04 - Spark Me Your Love
05 - Road To Your Door
06 - How Will I Know
07 - Soft Sweet Town
08 - Center Stage
09 - Leanne
10 - Images

Personnel: unknown




GEORGE HILLS Dancing With A Stranger
.