Alliance - Alliance

Tracks :-

True Meaning Of Love
Sleepless Nights
Second Chance
Turn Around
Rosie's Cantina
So All Alone
Best Of Me
(The World Is) Changin'
Endless Nights
You've Changed
Hurts So Bad
Find A Way

Total Playing Time : 62:34 m:s

Label : Escape Music Ltd
Year : 1997
Producers : all the guys in the band

Alliance came into existence when Sammy Hagar went off to join VH. It features Gary Lauser (ex S Hagar), Gary Pihl (ex S Hagar & Boston), Alan Fitzgerald (ex Nightranger) and Robert Berry (ex GTR), so it's a 'supergroup' of sorts. Of course, getting a group of famous musicians together isn't always a guarantee of a good album.

For some reason I'd been under the impression that I didn't like Robert Berry's voice. I think I can trace this back to hearing some of his solo stuff, possibly on one of the Frontiers front cover CDs. Whilst I still not in love with it, he does the business on this album more than adequately.

This album was released in Japan last year with a different track listing and a different mix. From the other reviews I've read, the general consensus seems to be that the Escape version is superior.

With the musicians involved you know that the playing is going to be spot on, the only questions that needs to be answered is - "Are the songs up to the job?".

Given the history of those involved, the music is the, as expected, slick melodic rock that's an amalgamation of the sounds of their previous outfits. The band doesn't have a distinctive sound of their own. On the song front it's a similar story. Whilst I'm listening to the songs I think they're quite good, but once they've finished I couldn't tell you much about them. The Foreigner-esque opening duo being amongst the exceptions. Other highlights include (The World Is) Changin' and You've Changed.

First time through I had this tagged as competent, but stuck firmly in the average to quite good rating level. A few more listens down the line and you start to think, "this is actually quite good". It's been a busy month and I haven't had the time to listen to this as much as I'd like before writing the review. I get the feeling that this will require quite a few more listens before I decide if it does or doesn't deserve the considerably higher ratings that its been receiving elsewhere.

If you're prepared to sit through a few minutes of silence, there are a couple of hidden tracks waiting to reward the patient.

Rating: 7