CRASH (Mikael Erlandsson) - Crash (1993)

Requested by a reader

Swedish vocalist Mikael Erlandsson achieved fame & fortune with Last Autumn's Dream, and more recently as well with Lover Under Cover, Heartbreak Radio, Salute and several projects. He also enjoyed considerable popularity in Scandinavia as solo artist during the '90s (some of his albums posted here on the blog), but his career started in the late Seventies.

First, Erlandsson was part of a punk (!) band playing drums, later he switched to keyboards for the group The Studs while perfected his songwriting skills. In the mid-80s joined pop band N'Gang for the first time as frontman / vocalist, with a hit single in Swedish radio and an Eurovision Song Contest participation.
Then in 1991 formed CRASH with brothers Eliasson (drummer Lars and guitarist Jan, who later was part of Danish rockers Push).

Crash released their debut "Crash" in 1993 with the aim to capitalize the American Melodic Rock success at that time, so expect here a collection of tunes in that vein.
"Do The Dance Dirty" opens with an urgent riff and a catchy chorus, followed by 'Close At Hand', a pure melodic rock track with a delicious multi-part harmony vocal work. The ethereal ballad 'Eyes Don't Lie' is perhaps the more 'Scandi sounding' song on the CD, and it's a really good one.

Then on tracks like 'Angina' you can hear Crush replicating the USA sound of the genre being this one akin White Lion (check the guitar swirls), same with 'Through The Shadows' (very Extreme), or the acoustically filled 'October 18' much in the vein of Mr. Big's More Than Words. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as many groups were doing the same, and Crush are pretty good at it.



Only released in Sweden, this is perhaps the lesser known work of Mikael Erlandsson's career. He never recorded a bad album - solo or with a band - and "Crash" is a quite solid melodic hard rock CD as well.
Well produced, composed and executed, "Crash" is a worthwhile addition to your Melodic Hard Rock collection.


01. Do The Dance Dirty
02. Close at Hand
03. Eyes Don't Lie
04. Save The World
05. Angina
06. Through The Shadows
07. Stranger's Kiss
08. Six String and a Highway
09. October 18
10. Livin' On Lovin'
11. Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin cover)

Mikael 'Micke' Erlandsson - vocals, keyboards, percussion
John Melander - bass, percussion, backing vocals
Jan Eliasson - guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
Lars Eliasson - drums, backing vocals
with:
Micke Oijwall - keyboards, backing vocals
Ulrik Arturen - backing vocals




CRASH (Mikael Erlandsson) - Crash (1993) HERE
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ONE TO ONE - 1-2-1 (1988)

Created by Ottawa based songwriter / producer /musician Leslie Howe, ONE TO ONE was a successful '80s Canadian duo completed by female vocalist / songwriter Louise Reny.
Both worked on Alanis Morissette's first two albums and helped to her upcoming stardom.

ONE TO ONE recorded 3 albums, the first more synth-pop oriented, this second effort "1-2-1" in the same vein but adding classy Canadian Hi-Tech lite AOR touches akin Device, Angela And The Rude, Transvision Vamp, etc
Then they released a third and last in the early Nineties changing their name to One 2 One.

"1-2-1" is an entertaining, cool 88's poppy album from the Cancon factory, well composed and produced, techie, but including hot guitar solos and keys.
The catchy first single 'Hold Me Now', 'Not A Love Song' (featuring a rocking guitar solo), the joyful 'Do You Believe', the excellent 'Inside These Eyes', and the fine mid-tempo AORish 'Heading For Zero' are among my favorites.



Despite of the good sales and nomination for three Juno Awards, ONE TO ONE never impacted into the US market, and all their albums are really hard to find, especially this '1-2-1' CD version.


01 - Hold Me Now
02 - Love Child
03 - We've Got The Power
04 - Do You Believe
05 - Heading For Zero
06 - Inside These Eyes
07 - Victorious
08 - Voices Cry
09 - Life Is So Easy
10 - Not A Love Song

Louise Reny - vocals
Leslie Howe - guitars, synth bass, keyboards, programming
Frank Levin - keyboards


ONE TO ONE - 1-2-1 (1988) HERE
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NEW FRONTIER - New Frontier (1988)

Formed by renowned musicians from the American music industry, NEW FRONTIER cut this one and only, self-titled album in 1988. Despite of being released by a small record label, "New Frontier" smell 'major production' from every corner. There's the great Richie Zito at the producer's chair, also playing additional guitar and keyboards.

Frontman in New Frontier is no other Monty Byrom from AORsters Billy Satellite, on bass Glenn Letsch (Montrose, Gamma, Jonathan Cain Band), keyboardist David Neuhauser (Lance, Eddie Money), and you have contribution from the likes of John Keane, Martin Page, Tommy Funderburk, Timothy B. Schmit, and more.
Impressive cast, and some impressive songs as well.

These musicians have played on countless albums and bands, and varied, different styles. So it's not surprising to find divers tunes on "New Frontier". Overall, the first half (Side A) is melodic rock / AOR / radio friendly with sound ranging from John Waite to Nelson. Then Side B is bluesier, bringing to mind .38 Special more AORish moments.
The song 'I Think About You', written by Michael Bolton & Martin Briley in the early '80s, feels like a Eddie Money song from the era.



With all members busy into several projects / session work / songwriting for other artists id the industry, New Frontier resulted short lived, but leave this easy to ears, melodic album with that '80s imprint all over.


01 - Under Fire
02 - American Dream
03 - Love Is Stronger Than The Heart
04 - Change For The Better
05 - Standing In My Tears
06 - Lonesome Blues
07 - I Think About You
08 - Motel Rain
09 - Burning The Page
10 - Riverboat Man

Monty Byrom: Lead Vocals, Guitars
David Neuhauser: Piano, Hammond B-3, Synths, Vocals
Glenn Letsch: Bass, Vocals
Marc Nelson: Drums
with:
Richie Zito: Additional Guitars, Keyboards
Paulinho Da Costa: Percussion
John Keane: Drums
Larry Williams: Sax on 7
Martin Page: Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Tommy Funderburk, Joe Pizzulo, Timothy B. Schmit, Maxine & Julia Tillman Waters: Backing Vocals



NEW FRONTIER - New Frontier (1988) HERE
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SECRET ADMIRER Soundtrack (1985)

This is a re-post from many years ago as it's heavily requested.
The soundtrack of SECRET ADMIRER never was released on CD and of course, the vinyl is out of print.

Secret Admirer is a good movie, typically '80s and featured a bunch of cool songs.
Now many of these tracks can be found in the performing artists main albums (some remastered), but I've left the vinyl rip as it is, with a good sound.
My expanded version contains the tracks that didn't appear in the official soundtrack, 'Opening Theme' by Jan Hammer and the 3 Autograph songs heard throughout the film.



This record it's so hard to find, that even in the internet a small artwork photo can't be located.
So I made my own cover art based in the original LP sleeve I've seen some time ago - and didn't bought it :(
Enjoy.


01 - Jan Hammer - Opening Theme *
02 - Van Stephenson - No Secrets
03 - Tony Carey - The First Day Of Summer
04 - Kim Wilde - The Touch
05 - Don Felder - She's Got a Part Of Me
06 - Van Stephenson - You've Been Lied To Before
07 - Klymaxx - Meeting In The Ladies Room
08 - Nik Kershaw - You Might
09 - Rosemary Butler & Arnold McCuller - Just A Dream Away
10 - Timothy B. Schmit - Leaving It Up To You
11 - Jan Hammer - Finale
12 - Autograph - Take No Prisoners *
13 - Autograph - Deep End *
14 - Autograph - My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Isn't Me *

* Extra tracks, not on the LP



SECRET ADMIRER Soundtrack (1985) HERE
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WAKEFIELD - Wakefiled (1985)

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

WAKEFIELD was one of these US bands that despite its quality never got a recording contract with a major label, but mostly due to their location. Formed in the mid-Seventies in South Dakota, Wakefield was a popular act in the area playing venues from Canada to Kansas, and Colorado to Illinois.
When they recorded this, their self-titled LP released on a small private label, Wakefield were offered to distribute the album nationally with the condition to tour nation-wide to support it. At the time all band members got a family firmly established in South Dakota, so the potential opportunity for major exposure was declined.

"Wakefield" appeared in 1985, and the music packed inside has the typical mid-80s US melodic rock sound with influences ranging from Night Ranger to REO Speedwagon, with some little Pomp on it plus a hard rock touch as well.
Very well composed & arranged, there's variation through the nine songs recorded at Catamount Studio in Iowa, produced by the band & Tom Tatman obtaining a very good, fuller sound.
Wakefield officially disbanded in 1987, but all members, still living in South Dakota, reunite from time to time for some shows.



Over the years, "Wakefield" has become a collectors piece, with original LP's being sold for 3-digit dollar amounts. It's a really nice, melodic album.
I did a little clean-up on this vinyl-rip to obtain the best possible sound quality.
Rare.


01 - Don't Throw Your Heart Away
02 - You're Gonna Find Out
03 - Hard Nights
04 - It's A Beautiful Day
05 - One Of A Kind Lady
06 - I Want You
07 - Animals
08 - Tara
09 - Living Dangerously

Evan Jones - keyboards, vocals
Geoff Gunderson - guitar, vocals
Jeff Koller - drums, vocals
Dave Horan - bass




WAKEFIELD - Wakefiled (1985)
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RICK SPRINGFIELD - TAO (1985) Remastered

Known for his straight and immediate melodic rock tunes, RICK SPRINGFIELD changed the general approach with his middle-eighties record "TAO". With a production and arrangements technically & sonically far beyond its year, the album was unleashed on the world at the end of 1985.
It was a stellar departure from anything Rick had ever tried before: elaborated hi-tech AOR melodies with a complex musical background, a heavy mix of processed guitars, synthesizers, vocal effects, sampling and drum machines.

"There is a lot going on, you can really hear it. We covered it with a lot of guitar and bass. TAO is still my favorite album" said Springfield. And although I love his previous records, "TAO" is my favorite too.
This one has all we love from the '80s; compressed drums, 'that' reverb and keyboards galore.
But there's much more than sonic bombast here. Rick offers deep and rich lyrics like a warning about the devastation of the planet on "Walking On The Edge", social revolution in "Celebrate Youth" (a hit in Germany), the search for spiritual truth on "The TAO Of Heaven", and the somber perspective of "Dancing The World Away".



Simply put, "TAO" is one of the greatest AOR albums from the Eighties. Behind the wall of super-produced sounds we still find top notch musicians like drummer extraordinaire Mike Baird, Pino Palladino on fretless bass, or the exquisite Tim Pierce on guitar, who also co-wrote the great opener "Dance This World Away".
You must have TAO in your collection, and be sure that is this remastered version.


01 - Dance This World Away
02 - Celebrate Youth
03 - State Of The Heart
04 - Written In Rock
05 - The Power Of Love (The Tao Of Love)
06 - Walking On The Edge
07 - Walk Like A Man
08 - The Tao Of Heaven
09 - Stranger In The House
10 - My Father's Chair

Rick Springfield: Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Synths, Emulator
Tim Pierce: Guitar, Synthesizer [Gr707]
Pino Palladino: Bass
Mike Baird: Drums
Mike Fischer: Percussion
Mitchell Froom: Keyboards, Synths, Samplers, Effects
Nicky Hopkins: Synthesizer [Dx7, Jx-3p]
Jeff Silverman: Synthesizer [Gr707]
John Phillip Shenale: Synthesizer [Oberheim 8, Dx7]
Tom Kelly, Tommy Funderburk, Mike Seifrit, Richard Page: Backing Vocals




RICK SPRINGFIELD TAO Remastered
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SURRENDER DOROTHY - Surrender Dorothy (1992)

American melodic hard rockers SURRENDER DOROTHY arrived a little too late into the scene with their self-titled 1992's debut album, but glad they did it.
While the band was formed in the '80s, they had no luck with a major label singing. However the group managed to record this album and release it by themselves.

This New Jersey band - including guitarist Rocco Mazzella, previously in Tangier - were really good at their game: polished US melodic hard with that late '80s feel and polished production for the genre as it was used circa 1990-91.
While Woody Joe Orner's vocal timbre recalls Danger Danger's Ted Poley (check out opener 'Fire in the Sky') the album's overall sound oscillates between Damn Yankees and Night Ranger.

With titles like 'Rock City', 'Hit and Run' (one of my favorites), or the keyboard filled "Just Another Nuthin' (You Are)" you can expect fun rockers with pumping bass lines, slick riffs and catchy choruses - all members contribute harmony vocals.



Of course there's a power ballad (and a good one) in 'Only the Night', and slightly bluesy rockers such as 'Nature of the Beast'. For the end, Surrender Dorothy delivers their more elaborated track in 'Faith Healer' with interesting passages.

A quite unknown band from the late American Melodic Hard Rock movement, talented and solid in songwriting and performances.


01 - Fire in the Sky
02 - Sittin' Pretty
03 - Only the Night
04 - Rock City
05 - Hit and Run
06 - Nature of the Beast
07 - Just Another Nuthin' (You Are)
08 - Long Legged Sadie (Back Street Lady)
09 - When My Baby's Not My Babe
10 - Faith Healer

Woody Joe Orner - Lead Vocals
Richie Mahn - Guitars, Vocals
Rocco Mazzella - Guitars, Vocals
Mike Kost - Bass, Vocals
Karl Monahan - Drums, Percussion
Bill Saltzer - Keyboards, Vocals


SURRENDER DOROTHY - Surrender Dorothy (1992)
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BENNY HESTER - Perfect (1989)

Released in 1989, BENNY HESTER's album "Perfect" is one of the best examples of the American '80s CCM Lite AOR. With a career staring in the Seventies and with a FM rock / Soft Rock / Wast coast touches, Benny's music was widely popular especially in the second half of the '80s.

Aiming for the Adult contemporary charts, "Perfect" is far from its title, yet easily listenable and very enjoyable. The style of the music and the year of production demanded a pristine, crystal clear output and that's exactly what you'll find here.

Handled by expert Bill Baumgart behind the desk, the recording label secured the presence of top notch session musicians, like Toto's Jeff Porcaro at the drum kit, Neil Stubenhaus on bass, etc.



With a balance of synth-driven rockers and smooth power ballads, songs like the upbeat "Headlights On The Highway" (my favorite), the dynamic "If You Die Before You Die", "Two Good Reasons" (akin John Waite solo), or the sweet title track (with a West Coast feel) are among the best cuts here. There's a surprisingly hot guitar solo on the rocker "Passion, Possession, Position", another good one.
A nice, cool late 80s album.


01 - Headlights On The Highway
02 - Before You Know It
03 - If You Die Before You Die
04 - Perfect
05 - Hungry World
06 - You Weren't Meant To Live Your Life Alone
07 - Two Good Reasons
08 - This One's For Keeping
09 - Passion, Possession, Position
10 - Shall We Gather At The River

Benny Hester - Lead & Background Vocals
Jeff Porcaro - Drums
Pete Pfiefer - Percussion
Marty Walsh - Guitars
Neil Stubenhaus - Bass
Aaron Zigman, Tim Heintz - Keyboards
Bob Carlisle, Bill Baumgart, Allison Beech - Background Vocals


BENNY HESTER - Perfect (1989) HERE
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HAVEN (Rose Coppola) - ST (2000)

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

HAVEN was a Melodic Hard Rock consisting of female singer Rose Coppola and guitar player John McCarthy.
Taking the name from thier native town (New Haven, Connecticut), during the nineties the band performed & opened for many national artists: Blue Oyster Cult, Kansas, Steelheart, LA Guns, XYZ and more.
Seems Rose Coppola is a well known vocal teacher as well, as she released the popular 'Rock Your Vox Vocal Performance Instructional DVD' and has trained bands such as Zebra and Winger for their debut albums' harmony backing vocals.

HAVEN never made it big or inked a record deal, but managed to release by themselves the collection of all their nineties recordings in this self-titled CD (now impossible to find).
The material ranges from American Melodic Hard Rock to radio-rock oriented tunes. The quality in sound varies as these tracks were recorded between 1990-1999 in different studio facilities.
Songwriting is strong for the most part, being my favorites the more rockin' ones as the tongue-in-cheek opener "Me", "Crazy For Lovin' You", and specially the choppin' guitar driven "Really Good Times".
There's a good poppy oriented track in "Crawl Back To Me" and a good cover of "Love Hurts" made popular by Nazareth.
The ballad "Don't Cry It's Only Thunder" is one of the best produced tracks here, complete with orchestrations and a really good vocal duet between Coppola & McCarthy.

HAVEN had potential, and although some tracks are not completely well mixed, you guess the great product they would able to deliver with a proper producer tweaking the knobs.


01 - Me
02 - Crazy For Lovin' You
03 - Really Good Times
04 - Crawl Back To Me
05 - Shaman Lies
06 - Understood
07 - Shake Me Down
08 - Seven Million Stars
09 - Hollywood
10 - Love Hurts
11 - Don't Cry It's Only Thunder
12 - Waiting For Love To Come

Rose Coppola - Vocals
John McCarthy - Guitars, Vocals
Nick DiMichino - Bass
Wayne Sobotso - Drums
Additional Players:
Al Spinelli - Keyboards
Scott Cunningham - Drums
Mark Dirini - Bass





HAVEN (Rose Coppola)
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