Agent - Agent

Tracks :-

Heartbeat
I Can't Hold Back
This Could Be The Night
She Trusted Me
On The Radio
Can't Stop
Change Of Heart
Surrender
Blame It On Love
Headlines
Just Between The Two Of Us (Bonus Track)

Total playing time : 42.03 m:s

Produced by : Agent
Label : Escape Music Ltd.
Year : 1996

The original release of this album was recorded back in 1986 with Rick Livingstone (of Storming Heaven) on vocals. Agent are signed to Escape Music now and due to release some new material shortly. From what I remember from a couple of recent interviews it's was the guys at Escape who suggested re-recording the album, which is regarded by some as a bit of an AOR classic.

If you look through the reviews that I've done so far for Mood Swings, you will note the high proportion of Now And Then releases. Of course, Now And Then aren't the only UK label specialising in AOR/Melodic Rock, Escape Music are now on the scene. To maintain a sense of fair play, I've been itching to review some more Escape releases (Heartland III is the only one previously reviewed). This review is the first step in that process.

Two paragraphs and I haven't mentioned the music yet ! Survivor are one of my favourite bands and are an obvious comparison. Throw in some early Michael Bolton and some Drive She Said, and possibly some Richard Marx, into the melting pot and you get the picture.

First, let's deal with the uptempo numbers, which tend to have a bouncy quality. Uptempo highlights are opener Heartbeat, This Could Be The Night and best of all Surrender. The other upbeat numbers On The Radio, Can't Stop and Headlines aren't quite so convincing. The rest of the songs fall into the ballad and semi-ballad categories. To these ears, this is the area where Agent excel. Virtually all of these deserve a mention. I'm going to pick out She Trusted Me and Blame It On Love as the best of the bunch.

The last track is a ballad called Just Between The Two Of Us. This bonus track didn't appear on the original release of the album. Agent don't seem to have taken much notice of the changing musical trends between recordings, as this one fits in perfectly with the rest of the album.

I don't have the original release of this so I can't make comparisons. From what I've read elsewhere the main benefit of this version is the improvement in production that the intervening years have allowed. It appears that it's fairly difficult to tell the two singers apart.

Agent are due to release some new material soon. This has served as good appetiser. I hate artists re-recording new versions of old songs for new albums, but when the band actually re-record the whole album I don't see any valid reason for complaint. In fact, if it wasn't for Escape's re-release of this album, I would never have heard this album and that would have been a shame.

Rating : 8

Amen - Aguilar

Tracks :-

When You Need Love Tonight
Why Don't You Wanna Stay
I See The Blue In The Sky
I'm A Man
Feel The Joy
Soul Man, Funky Man
Lost Child
Make My Day II
Shine On
The Magic Of K-1

Total playing time : 45:31 m:s

Produced by :- Manfred Ehlert and Donald W. Richards
Label : Blue Martin Records
Year : 1996

Amen is a studio project consisting of Manfred Ehlert and Marc Storace, with Glenn Hughes as a special guest. I have to admit that I wasn't familiar with Manfred Ehlert's previous work until I did the review of the Glenn Hughes Greatest Hits CD a few updates ago. A track from Amen's first album appears on the CD. Marc Storace I remember from his days in Krokus.

I haven't any Krokus records and it's been quite a while since I heard any of their material. So it was rather surprising that Marc's vocals were so instantly recognisable. Comparisons ? Well, names that spring to mind are the guy from Nazareth and Bon Scott. Maybe he doesn't actually sound like either of these, but his voice has that rasping quality associated with these two.

Opener, When You Need Love Tonight, is fairly standard melodic metal. Why Don't You Wanna Stay is better. Things are slowed down for the 3rd track, I See The Blue In The Sky. It's got a bluesy feel and there's an organ chirping ( or whatever organs (of the musical variety) do) around in the background at times, which I think adds greatly to the song in a subtle manner. It's back uptempo for I'm A Man which is as uninspiring as it's title.

As you can probably tell, the first batch of songs are competent rather awe inspiring. Then Feel The Joy kicks in and I start to get excited. This is followed by Soul Man, Funky Man and I'm still impressed. Why ? The title gives it away. Things have gone all funky. In my notes I've written Dan Reed and The Distance are being the respective comparisons. With a title like Lost Child I was expecting the next song to be more slow blues. And to start with this is what we get, but just after the one minute mark the band go into turbo mode and this turns out to be the heaviest song on the album.

Marc then hands vocal duties over to Glenn Hughes for Make My Day II. Tyketto did it with Standing Alone and Jamie Kyle did it with Bed Of Roses, now Amen with Make My Day. Re-recording songs from previous albums is something musicians seem to be quite keen on. I don't mind radical rearrangements or acoustic versions of previously electrified songs, but with all these songs it's more a case of 'spot the difference'. Listen very closely to both versions of Make My Day and you might be able to detect that the new version has the synths slightly higher in the mix and it does fit in with the general sound of the album. I have to say that I prefer the original version. Of course, if I didn't have the earlier version, I'd probably be picking out this power ballad as one of the album highlights.

It's back to Marc for Shine On which picks up the pace again with another funk metal style workout. The album finishes in uptempo mode with The Magic Of K-1, which is best described as Final Countdown style keyboards and a relentless beat of the type which reminds me of Queen.

It took me a while to get into this album. At first I thought Marc's voice was too 80's metal for my tastes. But now that I've lived with it for a couple of months, I've changed my mind. This one has been a bit of a grower. If I kept a log of how often I played each album, the log would show that Aguilar (it's Spanish for eagle apparently) has been paying regular visits to my CD player. Ignoring the, IMHO, unnecessary re-recording of Make My Day, a couple of below par songs (When You Need Love Tonight and I'm A Man), stop me giving a higher rating, which most of the songs deserve. If you're into Melodic Metal, then it's worth checking out.

Rating : 7/8

Heartland - Bridge Of Fools

Tracks :-

Tomorrow Won't Wait
Castles In The Sand
Where The Pieces Fall
I Will Wait For You
Elena
Front Page News
Only A Heartbeat Away
Not Til Heaven Falls
Hardworking Man
Feels Like Magic
Still Got My Feet On The Ground
Don't Let The Fire Die

Total playing time : 50.26 m:s 

Producer : Steve Morris
Label : Escape Music Ltd
Year : 1997

It's been about a year and a half since the last Heartland album and now they're back with a new one. Heatland III was one of the first albums that I reviewed in Mood Swings. In that review I had Heartland labelled as a band of second division players. So, to be perfectly honest, my expectations for this one weren't that great. I was expecting another competent enough, but ultimately flawed, album.

The first track, Tomorrow Won't Wait, fades in and it looks like I could have been wrong. I didn't like the production/sound on Heartland III, especially on the uptempo numbers. This time out, they've got the production well and truly sussed. This FM/Whitesnake style number blasts from the speakers and this time round the bottom end thumps the message home.

The second track, Castles In The Sand, has me thinking back to singer Chris Ousey's old band, Virginia Wolf. This would make a good single and in years gone by it might have actually been a hit. I could go on describing the album track by track, but I'd run out of new things to say and you'd get bored. So I'll be a bit more selective from here on in.

Elena is a slow to mid-tempo number that would be at home on a Foreigner album. With it's glorious chorus, you'll be hitting the repeat play button on the remote before you move onto the rest of the album. The following track, Front Page News, is very Smuggler's Blues (by Don Henley) and adds some variety to what's on offer. By the time Hardworking Man arrives it's back to Foreigner mode again. Don't Let The Fire Die finishes off the album well. Whereas the previous couple of tracks see the band going off the boil slightly, this is Heartland going over the finish line at full speed.

I haven't heard the first two Heartland albums, but this is miles better than Heartland III and I suspect this their best album to date. As previously Chris Ousey's voice is the star of the show, but this time Steve Morris's production and the songs provide a suitable platform to show it off at it's best.

Rating : 8/9

Pokerface - Life's A Gamble

Tracks :-

Ordinary Day
Missing In Moscow
For You
Scars
Hearts Gone Crazy
Read Between The Lines
Run
Road To Paradise
Make Me A Believer
Looks Like It's Over

Total playing time: 44.27 m:s

Year : 1996
Label : Escape Music Ltd
Producer : Kenny "Kaos" Loney

If I tell you that the album features Kenny Loney (Project X) and Darcy Deutsch (ex-Prism), this may help some of you. I have to admit that they're new names to me. However I do recognise the name of Paul Dean from Loverboy at the mixing desk. So was it a case of "Lovin' every minute of it" ? (groan.....)

Well, no. Mentioning the word "ordinary" in the opening song title was perhaps prophetic. That's my overall impression of this album. It's just so ordinary. Not good, but not particularly bad either.

I've already mentioned Loverboy and it looks like I'm going to continue to use them as the reference point. Pokerface occupy the same musical territory - commercial hard rock. However, they're not as polished as Loverboy. I'm not particularly keen on the vocalist. He tends to adopt a higher pitched metal style especially on the choruses.

The fact that Kenny had a hand in writing it and the presence of Paul Dean means that it's not surprising that the Loverboy song "For You" makes an appearance. It not a bad version, but it really doesn't add a new perspective to the original.

The other songs worth a mention are the uptempo "Read Between The Lines" and the album highlight "Make Me A Believer". If there had been a few more songs in the class of the latter, I'd have a lot more enthusiasm for this album.

Rating : 5/6

Shout - Shout

Tracks: -

Breakin' All The Rules
Love Is A Drug
No More Lies
Stuck In The Middle
If It's Love
Rip It Out
Heartbeat
Rockin' In Stride
Bad Girls
Madness
Tonite You're Mine
Lady Ice
The Riddle Song

Total Playing Time: 54.02 m:s

Year: 1997
Label: Escape Music Ltd
Producer: Tom Soares & Drew Ferrante

As well as releasing new recordings, such as Heartland, the Escape label have been plundering the past and re-releasing quite a few older albums. This has turned up gems like Agent, Dakota and Aviator. This album was originally released in 1987 using the title "Finger On The Trigger".

The band steers a course of metallic melodic cock/party rock in an 80s vein. It's been done before and it's been done better. The album isn't helped by a somewhat murky sound, which hides the singer partially in the background.

The album starts off well and I'd pick out the second track "Love Is The Drug" as the best song on the album. The rest of the album never really capitalises on the reasonably favourable impression created by the opening cuts.

This falls into the same category as the Pokerface album. It's OK and you'd probably dig it out occasionally and have a listen. But why waste your time (or money) listening to it, especially when the label that released this, Escape Music Ltd, have so many better quality albums on offer. And if you want to listen to this type of music, go get your old Kiss albums out.

Rating: 5/6

Pod - Hung

Tracks :-

Freight Train
Roger's Theme
The Pain Duplex:
	Part A Deception
	Part B Love
Face Potatoe'd
In Fo Ma Shun
One World Mind
Sync
One Day Ten Year's Ago
Nothing

Total Playing Time : 42:45 m:s

Label : Escape Music Ltd
Year : 1997
Producers : Steve DeAcutis & Ed Collins

This one was recorded in 1993, but is only now seeing the light of day. With a name like POD, a grunge look album cover and some distinctly trendy song titles, I would have written these lot off as grunge and ignored them, if I'd been browsing through the racks at the local record shop. That would have been a big mistake.

In a mega review writing session, that has seen me wading my way through Pokerface, Shout and to a certain extent Alliance, it's time to start enjoying myself. This album is a real surprise - the 'find' of 1997 (so far).

If you like your melodic music to rock out on the heavy side then the opening duo are for you, with Eyewitness and elements of Dream Theater the reference points.

Dream Theater crop up again in part A of "The Pain Duplex", before we switch into a bluesy swing complete with swirling Hammond organ for part B. This is followed by a funk style instrumental with some heavy guitar superimposed.

In Fo Ma Shun is my favourite track from the album and continues where Roger's Theme left off. Heavy rock with a sense of melody.

"One World Mind" changes pace again with a Hootie style, but heavier. "Sync" is the guys playing it straight with a no nonsense rock tune.

"One Day Ten Years Ago" slows it down again with an acoustic workout that brings Tyketto to mind. "Nothing" finishes off in a similar style to way the album started.

The great thing about this album is the way the quality is maintained throughout. If you like melodic music to rock hard, such as Eyewitness, Giant, Harem Scarem or Dream Theater, then check this one out.

Rating: 9

Vision - Till The End Of Time

Tracks:

Surrender To Love
Season To Change
Open Up Your Heart
Look In Your Eyes
From Birth To Eternity
Till The End Of Time
Not Foolin' Me
River Of Love
I Belong To You
Just Take A Walk
Out Of Love
Goodnight

Total playing time: 49:42 m:s

Producer: Eric Lars Mattsson
Label: Lion Music Ltd
Year: 1997

Vision might not be a name you're familiar with. The main man in Vision is guitarist Lars Eric Mattsson. Lars has worked on a variety on projects and also released a series of solo albums. One of these albums was "Lars Eric Mattsson's Vision" which featured Conny Lind (now with Amaze Me). This is a follow up and is a return to the more melodic music that featured on that album. Lars plays all the instruments. The majority of the vocals are handled by Randolph Meyers, but Bjorn Lodin (ex-Baltimore) sings lead vocals on the more rocking material (Season To Change, From Birth To Eternity & Not Foolin' Me).

One of Lar's previous albums was an instrumental (1991's The Exciter) and the biography also mentions Mike Varney, so I was expecting every song to be merely an excuse to launch into a mind numbing solo. Thankfully this isn't the case, although you can tell that the songwriter plays lead guitar.

Starting with a blast of Hammond style organ is always going to predispose me to a favourable reception to an album. Surrender To Love kicks off the album in a style that features a mixture of Deep Purple, Glenn Hughes and Rainbow. In fact all the uptempo rockin' numbers display these influences.

Elsewhere there's a healthy sense of melody to most of the other material. For want of better comparison I'm tempted to use Roxette. It's more to do with the catchiness the songs, although on I Belong To You there's a hint musical similarities.

I'll just mention a couple of other songs. River Of Love is a mixture of sitar and Hammond organ. Just Take A Walk is the Scorpions with a Hammond. 'Just take a walk, fly to the moon' has been buzzing around my head for days and is my favourite track.

So everything is going well, until we reach the last two tracks. The ballad, Out Of Love, is one of the weaker tracks on offer. The album finishes off with 'Goodnight' which is just one huge cliché.

So how do I sum this album up? I enjoy listening to this. Well, to be more accurate, I enjoy listening to this up until the last couple of tracks. It's a pity because a stronger ending would have edged them to a full 8 rating.

Rating: 7/8

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

Silent Witness - Silent Witness

Tracks:

Can't Keep From Falling
Living In A Lie
Pouring Rain
I'll Wait
Tell Me
Take Me Back
Don't Let A Good Thing Slip Away
Get Right Back
Wrapped Around Your Finger
Make This Night Last Forever

Total Playing Time: 41:32

Producer: David Prater
Label: Escape Music Ltd
Year: 1997

I don't know anything about these guys apart from the fact that the singer, Robert Mason, sang on the first Lynch Mob album and to be perfectly honest that doesn't help me very much.

Do you hanker after the days when Bon Jovi were Slippery When Wet and Van Halen were Jump-ing around the charts? Yes? Well then rejoice, because Silent Witness are a melodic hard rock band with a commercial flavour that will take you back to the 80s when Bon Jovi, Van Halen and co were ruling the rock roost. Somehow Silent Witness manage to breathe some life and energy into a tired musical genre, where it's all to easy dismiss new bands as mere copyists.

Can't Keep From Falling sees the band setting out their wares from the off. An infectious chunk of melodic heavy AOR with a big, harmonies laden, chorus.

The rest of the album continues in a similar fashion with a couple of power ballads thrown in. Not all the tracks match the quality of the opening cut, but the standard is generally maintained throughout. This makes picking out highlights difficult.

Take Me Back is also worthy of a mention. Walk into a room just as Take Me Back is starting and you'd swear Van Halen were playing. Sadly, it's been a while since VH sounded this good.

Half way through and it's time for a power ballad (Tell Me). With these types of band I find that the ballads are usually cheesy and I'm surprised to find this keeping my interest throughout.

If you like your AOR to rock or your hard rock to have a commercial flavour, then check out this album.

Rating: 8

Fair Warning - Go

Tracks:

Angels Of Heaven (Album version)
Save Me
All On Your Own
I'll Be There (Album version)
Man On The Moon
Without You (Album version)
Follow My Heart
Rivers Of Love
Somewhere
Eyes Of A Stranger
Sailing Home
The Way You Want It
The Love Song

Time: 58:24 m:s

Year: 1997
Label: Zero Corporation
Producer: Fair Warning

I bought this at the same time as the Harem Scarem album. If we only take into account the first two Harem Scarem albums, then the bands are operating in fairly similar musical territory. However, the approaches to writing a new album are completely different. For the first 3 albums at least, Harem Scarem modified their style for each album and by doing so were taking risks. In Fair Warning's case, each new album is a chance to hone their song writing and musicianship, whilst not deviating from the formula they established on their debut.

I've got the debut album, which has had praise heaped upon it. When I first got it I played it virtually non-stop. It's classy heavy AOR. A few years further on and prior to having a listen whilst writing this review, I can't remember the previous time I listened to it. It's a good album, but lacks that extra special ingredient to make it a truly great album.

If you've heard previous Fair Warning albums, then you know what to expect. As far as style goes, nothing much has changed. But that's not the end of the story. Quite simply, Fair Warning have got better. The songwriting is more consistent on this album. They're a few steps closer to hitting their peak.

The musicianship is solid throughout, but, as usual, Tommy Heart's vocals steal the show.

Angels Of Heaven is a strong opening track that grabs your attention. It's easy to see why this one is earmarked as a single. Save Me continues the album's good start. I'll Be There is back uptempo again after the semi-balld of All On Your Own. It's got that U2 vibe that Diving For Pearls used to good effect. Although Man On The Moon has got a good chorus, this sees the band going off the boil for the first time on the album.

Without You is a bit more laid back. This mid-tempo number is one of my favourites. It's tracks like this where the band aren't trying to force things, that they really shine. Follow My Heart continues the laid back approach by using acoustic guitar to drive this one along. The band are hitting a high spot on the album. Rivers Of Love and Somewhere are both epic sounding power ballads. The latter lets the side down a little.

Eyes Of A Stranger is a complete change of pace. The string section get an outing on this one. With a tendency for FW's material to all sound similar, it's a welcome departure. I think it works well in the context of the album, but maybe wouldn't stand up so well on it's own.

You have to wait until virtually the end of the album to arrive at the heavy AOR gem called Sailing Home. A definite highlight. The last couple of songs, both slower numbers, are OK, but suffer in comparison to Sailing Home.

When I initially wrote this review, my parting comment was that Fair Warning had just about hit their peak and I couldn't foresee myself buying another Fair Warning album. A few more listens down the line, I think there's still room for the guys to squeeze a bit more out of the formula, perhaps by varying the formula itself slightly on a few songs next time. I'm not normally one for chopping songs out of albums, but I feel that one or two songs less could have make the album a more enjoyable listening experience. Those few quibbles aside, this is a good album and it would fit nicely in any Melodic Rock collection.

Rating: 8

Harem Scarem - Believe

Tracks:

Believe
Die Off Hard
Hail, Hail
Staying Away
Baby With A Nail Gun
Morning Grey
Victim Of Fate
Rain
I Won't Be There
Karma Cleansing

Time: 41:31 m:s

Producers: Harry Hess & Pete Lesperance
Label: Warner Bros. Canada Ltd.
Year: 1997

First of all, a bit of background. Just over a year ago when I was first setting up my web site, Harem Scarem had just released 'Voice Of Reason'. All the reviews of that album kept mentioning the brilliance of the first two albums. So, instead of buying VOR, I bought the first two. The first album is impressive - a prime example of commercial rock. However, it was the second album, Mood Swings, which made a lasting impression. So much so, that I was inspired to use the title for my web site. I think the combination of melody & power is just about everything I could want from a hard rock album. My thirst for HS continued & I bought VOR soon afterwards. It was a major disappointment - HS heading off into Grunge territory.

Early reports talked of the band returning to a more 'Mood Swings' sound on this album. Later reports said that it was more a mixture of MS & VOR. My appetite suitably wetted by the prospect of more Mood Swings type material & doubt that it would ever get a UK release, was enough to get me on the phone to my favourite mail order record store placing my order for this Japanese import. So, was it worth the high price of a Japanese import?

First song, Believe, starts off proceedings in an uptempo fashion. It's similiar to Mood Swings material, but is a touch rawer sounding in places. During the choruses it's back to familiar ground with the high class vocals I expect (& take for granted).

Die Off Hard is the first single. This will sound familiar to Mood Swings owners, as it would easily fit on that album.

Next up is Hail Hail. This one starts off with some Billy Joel/Supertramp style keyboards. Veering into power pop, I can't make up my mind about this one. Early posts to the HS mailing list picked it out as a highlight.

Staying Away sees Darren taking on lead vocal duties. This is the type of melodic hard rock I want to hear HS perform. When a guy who is as good a singer as this normally does backing vocals it's easy to see why the vocal parts on HS albums are just so great. My favourite track on the album.

How could you write lyrics for a song called 'Baby With A Nail Gun'? The answer is that you don't. It's the chance for guitarist Pete to show us what he can do. Thankfully, this isn't the bore that most instrumentals are.

Morning Grey has a quirky rhythm. Too left of centre to get my approval. I'm told that Jellyfish are a reference point for this. Looks like I won't be rushing out to investigate Jellyfish. To me, it just sounds like yet another band jumping on the bandwagon and incorporating some Beatles influences.

Victim Of Fate is more of what I'm after. It fails to live up to the high standards set on Mood Swings, but it's one of the better offering here. There are hints of VOR at times.

Rain is an acoustic guitar driven ballad, which never really gets above average.

I Won't Be There harks back to the first album. Again it fails to command your full attention.

Last up it's 'Karma Cleaning'. This is the title track on the Canadian & US releases of the album. A continuation of the direction taken on VOR, it's therefore surprising that I think it's one of the better cuts.

This album is a combination of MS & VOR. As such, it doesn't work for me. I think VOR is the direction that HS would like to take. Maybe they see themselves as the Canadian answer to Oasis. There's definitely the potential for greater commercial success, compared to restricting themselves to the AOR/Hard Rock market. The problem is that they've established themselves as an AOR band and have a fan base in this genre. VOR didn't meet with the approval of most fans and didn't break them in pastures new either. This time they've attempted to keep the existing fans onboard. I know there's a trend towards shorter albums, but perhaps the brevity of this album hints at a period of indecision within the band.

This is about half of the type of HS album I'd like to hear. Based on the first two albums, especially when the second album was partly the reason for me naming my web site 'Mood Swings', I have high expectations for any HS release. As a result of these high expectations, this is a disappointment. I don't expect Mood Swings part II. In fact, I'd have more respect for the band if they had continued along the same lines as VOR, even though I wouldn't have like the result. On each of the previous albums, the band managed to virtually re-invent themselves. It had to end sometime. This album sees HS looking backwards, instead of forwards. I believe (err... groan), that it's possible for HS to combine all the styles from the first three albums into something that they can take into the future. Believe isn't that combination.

Rating: 7

Aviator - Aviator

Tracks:

Front Line
Back On The Street
Don't Turn Away
Wrong Place Wrong Time
Never LetThe Rock Stop
Come Back
Magic
Can't Stop
Too Young
Every Schoolboy Knows
Through The Night
Woman In Love *
Holding On *

Time: 50:48 m:s

Year: 1997 (Original release 1986)
Label: Escape Music Ltd
Producer: Neil Kernon

There are certain albums that are held in high esteem in the AOR world. This is one of them. Of course, these 'classic' albums don't always live up to the hype when you finally get to hear them. My most recent experience of this was the Spys double CD. To be perfectly honest I'm still wondering what all the fuss was about.

This isn't the case with Aviator. This album richly deserves it classic status. First time out this wasn't available on CD. Escape have re-released the album on CD, with a couple of bonus tracks thrown in for good measure.

I could give a track by track account of the album, but it would probably end up with me running out of superlatives. So I'm going to skip a few, but that doesn't necessarily say anything about the quality of those songs, just that I couldn't think of anything interesting to say about them. If I had to pick one song that lets the side down, then I'd go for the last song on the original release Through The Night. Even then I think it's more a case of me looking for something to whinge about, rather than any genuine complaint.

It's over 10 years since this was released and it's therefore no surprise than my first attempt at describing this is 80's Melodic Rock. It is Nightranger meets Rick Springfield, with a hint of Survivor on the tracks were the keyboards move up in the mix. I've just bought Rick Springfield's Best Of album to replace a worn out cassette of Living In Oz, so that might partially explain where that comparison came from. The overall sound and production, not surprisingly, have a 80s feel and if you were being harsh you could describe it a sounding slightly dated.

I found out recently that the first track on this album was the inspiration behind the naming of 'Frontline', the Swedish AOR/Westcoast magazine. Ola & Par were obviously impressed. So am I. Don't Turn Away is a prime example of commercial hard(ish) rock. Never Let The Rock Stop features a sound that's not a million miles away from techno era ZZ Top.

Wrong Place Wrong Time is the first time the Rick Springfield comparison crops up. It's another excellent example of commercial hard rock. Magic and Too Young are Rick Springfield meets Survivor. Can't Stop and Every School Boy Knows both feature the Rick Springfield approach to hard rock. Just in case any of you have Rick written off as a wimp rocker, let me tell you he knew how to crank it up, yet maintain a commercial edge to the music.

Of the two bonus tracks, Holding On is the best. It's slightly different to rest of the material in that it features a Foreigner/Survivor sound. This mid-tempo number proves that bonus tracks can be every bit as good as the tracks that made it onto the original release.

For once, you can believe the hype. This is a bona fide classic.

Rating: 9

Robert Hansson - Too Much Ain't Enough

Tracks:

Too Much Ain't Enough
Starfall
Hurdy Gurdy

Year: 1996
Label: Trebor Records

Total Playing Time: 10:55 m:s

Robert Hansson is the lead guitarist with Swedish hard rock band 'Human Race', who've been making a good impression on reviewers with their Deep Purple/Rainbow influenced music. Obviously not content with working hard to promote the band, Robert has spent some time creating this mini-CD of instrumentals. At this point I should probably mention that my collection isn't exactly choc-a-bloc full of instrumental albums - even Vai and Satriani are missing.

First and title track Too Much Ain't Enough is a jazz/rock fusion number. Starfall slows the pace down and gets all moody and melancholy.

The third song has the somewhat less than appealing title Hurdy Gurdy. It starts off with some interesting, vaguely Arabic, strings that I liked, but the Arabic feel gets left behind as the song progresses. It is the fastest paced song on the album and the combination of synth strings and guitar works fairly well, making it my nomination for the best track on the CD.

By the end of the first song I'm convinced that Robert knows a thing or two about playing the guitar. The other two songs merely confirm this. As a showcase for Robert's undoubted musical ability, this CD works well. As a CD that I'd regularly put in my player, I'm not so sure. I could say the same thing about any of the few instrumental albums I own. I always think that this is the sort of music you put on when trying to impress your friends with the quality of your hi-fi i.e. when listening to the hi-fi itself rather than the music its reproducing. Maybe if I was a musician myself I'd have a different opinion.

If you're into instrumental albums, or a Human Race fan, then this might be worth checking out. The final rating probably reflects my lack of enthusiasm for instrumentals, rather than any problems with the album itself.

Rating: 6

In Denial - In Denial

Tracks:

2025
Nothing At All
Free
Till The End Of Time
The Well
You're The One
We Must Change
Peace
Constant Change

Total Playing Time: 37:09 m:s

Year: 1997
Label: J Bird Records
Producer: In Denial

With the way the music scene has been going over the past couple of years, you could almost be forgiven for thinking that straightforward hard rock has vanished without trace. I know that I've found myself listening to more AOR and any hard rock has been either the result of digging deep in the depths of my record collection or catching up on back catalogue stuff on CD. However, it now looks like hard rock could be in for a revival with the emergence of bands like Velocity, November and now In Denial.

Whereas November have a faint modern twist, In Denial are playing it straight. The result is an album which might not be ground breaking, but which is entertaining.

2025 is a good start to the album with the band setting the scene for the rest of the album. In Denial certainly like to let their guitarist loose on most of the tracks. However, it never gets to the point of self-indulgence.

Nothing At All continues in a similar fashion.

Free adopts a more riff based approach which reminds me of Diamond Head circa Death & Progress.

Till The End Of Time sees the band turning their hand to a power ballad. This proves that the band is equally competent on the slow numbers.

We're into the riff territory again for 'The Well'. Its maybe the first song that I'd say lets the side down slightly. 'You're The One' mixes The Black Crowes with HM and it doesn't work for me.

Just when you think that 'We Must Change' is the second ballad, at the mid-point the band pick up the pace. In fact, the couple of pace changes in this song help to make it one of the better tracks.

Having added some elements of heaviness on We Must Change, 'Peace' too has it's Metallica influences.

Constant Change is a return the style of The Well/You're The One which I'm not so keen on.

So maybe there are a couple of tracks that I wouldn't get wildly excited about, but overall this is an album that In Denial should be proud of. I know that there has been some record label interest in the band. Based upon what I've heard here, I'm sure someone will have the good sense to give them a deal.

Rating: 7

Stratovarius - Visions

Tracks:

The Kiss Of Judas
Black Diamond
Forever Free
Before The Winter
Legions
The Abyss Of Your Eyes
Holy Light
Paradise
Coming Home
Visions (Southern Cross)

Total Playing Time : 61:01

Year: 1997
Label: Modern Music Records
Producer: Timo Tolkki

I've been aware of Stratovarius for some time, but to be honest I was always of the opinion that I wouldn't like them. I was in my local record store a few weeks ago, having a browse when I spied this. I was actually looking for something else, but as is usually the case, none of the record stores here in Belfast had any if the albums I was after. I'd love to be able to just walk into a record store, pick up the album I want and buy it just like all those Spice Girls and Oasis fans. Sadly, practically every album I buy is through mail order, which means an agonising wait for the package to drop through my letterbox. Anyway, that day in the record store I just had to buy something and came away with Stratovarius.

I'd describe Stratovarius as mixture of the techno metal of bands like Queensryche and Conception and the neo-classical approach of Malmsteen. Mr Malmsteen hasn't made it into my collection yet. Queensryche's Empire must rate as one of my most disappointing purchases to date. I just can't see where all the rave reviews came from. The Conception album I have has some nice Al Di Meola style guitar passages, but doesn't visit my CD player that often. So buying this was a bit of an experiment on my part.

Kiss Of Judas is a strong opener. It's a mid-tempo rocker that certainly grabs your attention right from the start.

The vocalist has a voice in the higher reaches of the scale, but that's not surprising for this style of music. There's a hint of accent, but this is so common place these days, that I don't really notice anymore.

Black Diamond is played at breakneck pace. OK, I know that this is part and parcel of this style of music, but I half expect one of the instruments to win the race and finish the song way before the rest of the band. The pace continues unabated on Forever Free.

Before the Winter slows it down to power ballad pace and features some interesting keyboards and plucked string effects.

They crank things up again to 'faster than light' pace on Legions. This is the best fast 'n' furious effort so far.

The Abyss Of Your Eyes (don't ya just love that title) has the band adopting a more sensible pace. It's a combination of the instrumentation plus the lyrics, but when the singer sings the line about catching his breath, I always expect him to finish it off with the line 'with confidence and self-control' which is from a song by my favourite prog rockers Dream Theater.

Holy Light is an instrumental which features no surprises and is a romp through all the styles and tempos featured on the rest of the album.

This is followed by the excellent Paradise, which rocks out big time and could give prime time Scorpions a run for their money. My fave tune on the album. This is followed another ballad called Coming Home.

With a band like Stratovarius, you just know that there is going to be an epic track lurking somewhere on the album. Here, the 10 min title tack is saved until last. I enjoy listening to this track, but it has to be said that it is cliché ridden - loud and quiet passages, tempo changes and even a deep voiced spoken section. The voice-overs may well have some of you rolling about laughing. At the end it is almost like a national anthem with layers of vocals/choirs and the majestic sounding music.

I don't know how this compares with previous Stratovarius outings, but most other reviews I've read seem to agree that this is their best effort to date. One review I've read gave this a 10/10 rating. If this is you preferred style of music then I can see where that could come from. I'm going to be more conservative in my rating.

One interesting point is that the album features a video clip of Kiss Of Judas which is compatible with Windows based PCs. I'm almost tempted to give them an extra point for this, because I think it's an excellent way of making use of the extra space on the CD.

Rating: 8

Brad Darrid - Brad Darrid

Tracks:

Coral Stones
Guilt Trip
If Loves Not Enough
Friday Night
Broken
Only One
Trying To Forget
Misery
Midnight Train
Dancing In The Streets
Given Up
The Jester, The King

Label: Escape Music Ltd
Year: 1997
Producer: Paul Laine

Total Playing Time: 50:48 m:s

A couple of years ago, when the man himself was at the height of his powers, I'd have been tempted to dismiss Brad Darrid as an unnecessary Bryan Adams clone. OK, so I've mentioned him. I toyed with the idea of writing this review without mentioned Bryan Adams, but that would be too much like hard work. It would be like trying to write a Shadow Gallery review and not mentioning Dream Theater i.e. virtually impossible.

Now that Bryan appears to be past his 'Use By' date and going downhill faster than Franz Klammer ever used to, I'm more inclined to give this a chance. Musically and vocally, Bryan Adams is the major reference point. Further refinement of the description could well include mentions of Jon Bon Jovi and to some extent Jude Cole.

Coral Stones is a good beginning and shows the BA influence right from the start. I can't think of anything interesting to say about the following rocking Guilt Trip and mid-tempo rockers If Love's Not Enough and Friday Night other than - think BA. Similarly, with the ballads Broken and Only One.

Trying To Forget has a mid-West feel that mixes you know who with Jude Cole. These Days era Bon Jovi gets added to the underlying formula on Misery. Midnight Train reminds me of the Jimmy Barnes song 'The Last Frontier'. A brass section and female backing vocals add some variation on Dancing In The Streets.

Giving Up is an unremarkable ballad. The album either finishes off with a poignant ballad or a complete wimp out, depending upon your point of view, with The Jester, The King.

My highlights would all be selected from the mid-tempo rockers and I'll pick Coral Stones and Misery as two of my favourites.

This has been on the other side of a tape with Radio Silence, which has been receiving heavy airplay in my car. It doesn't reach the excellence of Radio Silence, but I haven't been fast-forwarding it either.

Rating: 7

Radio Silence - Radio Silence

Tracks:

Primitive Man
Don't Hold On
Convertible Car
Let It Rain
Radio Silence
Big Wide World
Tower Of Strength
God Only Knows
Mighty High Horse
Love In A Stranger's Arms
The Last Frontier
Can't Stand Still

Label: Escape Music Ltd
Year: 1997
Producer: Alistair Gordon & Andy Macpherson

Total Playing Time: 51:16 m:s

The sweeping comparisons that I've seen to describe Radio Silence's music are Mike & The Mechanics and Foreigner. Having listened to the album for a while I'm going to add the name of 80's pop icons Go West. Although the lightweight pop/rock of Mike & The Mechanics is the type of stuff I don't mind hearing on the radio, it's not what I'd normally consider buying.

The kick-off track is lacklustre and not what I'd have picked as an opening track. Don't Hold On sees the boys setting their stall out firmly at the pop end of the AOR spectrum. More than anything else this hints at the type of classy sounding material that gets unleashed later on.

Convertible Car's quirky rhythm and blasts of saxophone place it firmly in the 80s. It's a bit of a love or hate it song. I'm afraid the hate it opinion is beginning to dominate.

Let It Rain whisks you away to a more relaxing place and sets you up for the title track. Radio Silence is the type of pop semi-ballad that 80s luminaries such as Go West would have dominated the charts with.

Up until the 5th track, the pseudo-funk workouts and pop ballads have been pleasant listening, but perhaps wouldn't set the world alight. Then the band put that convertible car they were singing about earlier into top gear and start travelling at top speed. Big Wide World's funky arrangement and blasts of brass transform the whole listening experience. Some saxophone makes an interesting alternative to listening to lead guitars.

Tower Of Strength had me racking my brains. It sounded very familiar. At one point I thought it was a cover of a Heartland song. It took a long time to figure out that it was featured on the Hard RoxX/Escape sampler disk from a while ago. An excellent AOR tune.

God Only Knows and Mighty High Horse maintain the quality of the output.

If you had told me whenever I started Mood Swings that I'd find myself getting excited about a pop/funk tune that wouldn't be out of place on a dance floor I'd have doubted your sanity. However, I keep selecting Love In A Stranger's Arms as the album highlight.

Both The Last Frontier and Can't Stand Still keep you interested right to the end of the album.

Primitive Man and Convertible Car both let the side down at the start. I'm also not that happy with having 3 ballads, albeit good ones, all stuck so early in the album. Maybe a few tweaks in the running order would have sorted these problems.

Perhaps it's just that I'm enjoying listening to something different to normal, but a cassette with this on it has had virtually permanent residence in my car cassette player most of the month. If you're looking for something at the pop end of the rock spectrum, then I have no qualms about recommending this.

Rating: 8

Innocent - Innocent

Tracks:

Say It Ain't True
Pray For The Rain
Love Is No Stranger
Walk The Walk
Hand Of Time (Angie)
Some Kinda Lady
These Are The Words
Eyes Of A Stranger
Why Do We Kill
Love Ain't Pretty
Carry The Torch
White Boy's Dream (hidden track)

Year: 1997
Producer: Jesse Bradman & David Sikes
Label: Escape Music Ltd

Total Playing Time: 52:26 m:s

Escape seem to have a secret horde of melodic hard rock bands stored away somewhere. Innocent are a bunch of guys who have been in bands like Nightranger, Boston etc. In this respect they beg comparisons with fellow Escape act Alliance. Special guests Marty Friedman, Jeff Watson & Brad Gillis spice up those guitar solos.

Of the two Escape releases reviewed this month, the other being Blackstone, this one initially grabbed my attention. However, the Blackstone album has grown on me and this one has been overshadowed by it.

The band play melodic hard rock/AOR and the majority of the songs work for me. My favourites being opening duo - Say It Ain't True & Pray For Rain, the Fair Warning like Eyes Of A Stranger, the Kiss/glam Love Ain't Pretty and the cigarette lighter waving anthem Carry The Torch. Comparison-wise the best I can come up with is Damn Yankees. Unfortunately, the two rockers - Walk The Walk & Some Kinda Lady, both let the side down as far as I'm concerned.

As you can see from the relatively long list of favourites, I like quite a few of the songs. The remainder of the songs sound decidedly ordinary in comparison and overall I'm left with the impression that the album lacks that extra special ingredient needed to lift it above the 'worth considering' category.

Rating: 6/7

Higher Ground - Keep On Walkin'

Tracks:

Keep Walking
Make It Right
Through The Eyes Of Love
Dangerous Games
Reason
The Big Life

Label: ProActive
Producer: Michael Rosman
Year: 1997

Total Playing Time: 27:01 m:s

Higher Ground and ProActive are both new names to me. ProActive has Nick Shilton (Deputy Editor Frontiers) at the helm. Higher Ground are 5 young Swedish guys with a clean cut image that makes me think they've got their sights on the charts.

The blurb that came with this mentions that the band have been compared to Toto. Whilst I'll admit that Toto & Westcoast fall within the Melodic Rock banner, it isn't one of the areas that I've explored extensively. As coincidence would have it, I bought Toto's Tambu album a few weeks ago, to add some variety to my collection. I still haven't made up my mind wither I like it or not. So Higher Ground were always going to have their work cut out to impress me.

Keep Walking features a Westcoast/AOR sound. By the time we arrive at the second track, Make It Right, the Toto influence is really shining through. Through The Eyes Of Love seems to follow on naturally, but at a slightly slower pace. Dangerous Games shows a slightly more AOR approach. I've enjoyed all the tracks so far, but I'll pick this one as the album highlight.

The band then decides to slow things right down with Reason. At this point I kind of switch off. I've got exactly the same problem with the some of the slower numbers on the Toto album. I think we're into the areas that have prevented me from wholehearted embracing Westcoast. It's a shame, because I was really enjoying it up to this point. The final track lifts the pace again.

Higher Ground recorded the majority of this live in the studio, with just the luxury of adding the vocals and some guitar parts later. I think the idea behind this release is to wet our appetite for the full album. There is certainly enough on display here to make me think that the full album will be well worth a listen. While we are waiting for the full album, this is worth checking out, especially for Toto & Westcoast fans.

Rating: 7/8

Higher Ground's 'Keep On Walkin'' CD E.P. is now available by mail order direct from ProActive for #5.99 (UK), #6.99 (Europe) or #7.99 (Rest of the World) including post and packing. Cheques or International Money Orders should be made payable to 'ProActive Records Limited' and sent to 8 Arnold Mansions, Queen's Club Gardens, London W14 9RD, UK.

Blackstone - Blackstone

Tracks:

Chill
Kiss The Fire
Act Out Your Fantasy
Trouble In Paradise
Runaway
Been There, Done That
Livin' To Ride
Land Of Denial
Word Comes Tumbling Down
Schizophrenic
Blame It On The Night

Producer: Paul Dean
Label: Escape Music Ltd.
Year: 1997

Total Playing Time: 53:09 m:s

Blackstone features Paul Dean, Mike Reno has a hand in the song writing and the additional musicians are mostly members of Loverboy, therefore guess what I expected this to sound like. If you were to describe the overall sound of the album, then Loverboy's name is to the fore, but there are few surprises as well.

The first 4 songs start the album off in rocking fashion. Act Out Your Fantasy wins my vote as the best of these. With titles like Kiss The Fire & Act Out Your Fantasy it's like being transported back to 80s. If it is profound lyrics you are after, then you'd better look elsewhere. After 4 rocking tunes it is time for a ballad in the form of Runaway.

At this point I was expecting the band to continue on from where track 4 had left off. But instead we get a slab of funk metal called Been There, Done That. Just when you're recovering from the shock, then band hit you Livin To Ride. The title gives it all away. This Little Caesar style uptempo rocking number is all about black leather and cruising on the highway.

Land Of Denial adds more funk to the equation, this time Aerosmith style. World Comes Tumbling Down mixes David Lee Roth with Loverboy. Schizophrenic again reminds me of Loverboy.

The last track, Blame In On The Night, is a slow burning groove rocker that is prime-time Loverboy and easily steals the crown as the standout track on the album. I can just imagine a video featuring some cool dude in a long dark raincoat wandering through the dark mean streets of an American city with the steam rising off the pavements observing the seedier side of life unfolding.

An easy option for anyone reviewing this album would be to latch onto the song title Been There, Done That. In one sense, that really sums up the album. It has all been done before, but Blackstone do it well and deserve some credit for that. Despite all the clichés, I like it.

Rating: 8/9

Dream Theater - Falling Into Infinity

Tracks:

New Millennium
You Not Me
Peruvian Skies
Hollow Years
Burning My Soul
Hell's Kitchen
Lines In The Sand
Take Away My Pain
Just Let Me Breathe
Anna Lee
Trial Of Tears
   i. It's Raining
   ii. Deep In Heaven
   iii. The Wasteland

Label:EastWest Records America
Producer: Kevin Shirley
Year: 1997

Total Playing Time: 78:12 m:s

This is the one album that I've been looking forward to all year. If you look through my reviews, you'll notice that Dream Theater's Images & Words is the only album to get a full 10 rating. Even Harem Scarem's Mood Swings didn't reach those dizzy heights and that one was partly the inspiration behind the naming of my web site. (I think a re-examination of some of my review ratings is in order because I don't quite understand how that happened.)

Last time out on a full album, Awake, the band had a slight change of emphasis and a heavier style, which made them sound a bit like 'Metallica with keyboards', emerged. As a result I think DT fans can be split into two camps - the metalheads who prefer Awake and the prog & AOR heads that prefer Images & Words. I'm firmly in the latter grouping. In the interviews prior to the release, then band talked about a return to the more melodic style of Images & Words.

Making maximum use of the space available on a CD, this album clocks in at the 78 min mark. This makes sitting down listening to it all the way through a mammoth task, never mind trying to review it. Dream Theater's music and lyrics tend to get examined in minute detail. It also takes repeated listens for DT albums to reveal their subtleties. Having listened to it for a couple of weeks here is what I think.

The album gets off to a good start with New Millennium. The 8:28 epic is instantly recognisable as DT, but as I'm sure I'll say quite a few more times during this review, the sound isn't as intricate as you would expect for a Dream Theater track of this length. Some reviews of the album that I've seen say that on this album DT reveal their influences. In this case, a Rush influence is to the fore.

You Not Me is DT playing in straight down the line, giving us an uncomplicated rock song. A quick glance at the writing credits for this one reveals one Desmond Child as a co-writer. I don't know about you, but this is one collaboration I wouldn't have envisaged. Still, I like the results, even if it's not quite traditional DT.

Peruvian Skies starts off in Pink Floyd fashion. This quiet beginning gives you the chance to listen to James's singing. On the previous outing, Awake, I think the vocals sounded forced in places. Here they sound more natural and I'm happier with the vocals this time. As you'd expect the band pick up the pace throughout the song and at the end the sound is Metallica-like.

Hollow Years has the band adopting perhaps the most AOR style that I've heard.

On Burning My Soul we're most definitely back in traditional DT territory, circa Pull Me Under & Take The Time. This what I expect from a DT album. On the lyrics front I love the opening lines - "A thorn in my side, a chip on my shoulder, a lump in my throat, the size of a boulder"

The Hell's Kitchen instrumental shows a Steve Vai influence. It's fairly unremarkable and does nothing more than act as a prelude to the following track which it runs into.

Line In The Sand is one of the songs that quite a lot of the pre-release chat focused on, because it features Doug Pinnick from King's X. At 12 mins long it's certainly the type of song we all look for on a DT release. It sounds like a curious mixture of Rush, Dream Theater and King's X. There's a nice little jazzy bit that I like stuck somewhere in the middle of it all. In case you're wondering, Doug's contribution is vocals during the chorus. Doug's soulful voice adds some texture to the overall sound, but it seems strange hearing his voice on a DT tune for the first few listens. It feels rather like an afterthought, as the song could survive perfectly well without it. That's just nit picking on my part, this is one the album highlights.

Take Away My Pain is another slowish song.

On Just Let Me Breath the band are showing their influences again. This heavy duty number, features blasts of Hammond and you'd could be forgiven for thinking you were listening to a new Deep Purple album. Musically this one disappoints, but the lyrics provide some interest, especially the verse:

"A daily dose of eMpTyV, Will flush your mind right down the drain, Shannon Hoon and Kurt Cobain, Make yourself a household name."

I don't know about that, it wasn't until I read one of the other reviews that I found out who Shannon Hoon was and hopefully I'll forget again very soon.

With a couple of slow numbers already under their belt, DT hit us with the album's ballad. I&W had Wait For Sleep, Awake had The Silent Man, FII has Anna Lee. This largely piano driven tune is the best DT ballad to date.

The album finishes off with a 13 min, 3 part epic, Trial Of Tears. This one only really grabs my attention when the instrumental section starts, which is highly unusual for me. Vague Rush and Pink Floyd influences are at work again. It has grown on me, but the trouble is that if you play the CD in the correct track order, how often are you going to stick with it all the way to the end to hear this song ?

With the exception of New Millennium, all the lyrics deal with negative themes. One of the things I liked about I&W was the positive messages in the lyrics.

In terms of the overall DT sound, the album is more guitar oriented than previous outings, the keyboards are still there, but are taking a back seat.

Phew....... So we've been all the way through, track by track. Do I like it? - yes. Am I disappointed? - Well in the first draft of this review I said yes to that question, but now I'm inclined to say no. I've had a listen to both Awake and I&W whilst reviewing this. FII doesn't send a shiver down my spine like I&W does, but I get a feeling that if I want to listen to some DT, and I don't choose I&W, then I'll reach for this one in preference to Awake.

In quite a few of the reviews of this album I've read, the critics are disappointed. The main reason appears to be the lack of complexity. This is all amusing because, when the previous two albums were released, the reviewers all complained about DT writing pieces of music rather than writing songs. With this album DT have crafted some good songs, but the critics still aren't happy. Although it doesn't cut it compared to I&W, I like FII and I'm sure it will figure strongly in my Top 10 for 1997.

Rating: 8/9

Threshold - Extinct Instinct

Tracks:

Exposed
Somatography
Eat The Unicorn
Forever
Virtual Isolation
The Whispering
Lake Of Despair
Clear
Life Flow
Part Of The Chaos

Producers: Karl Groom & Richard West
Label: Giant Electric Pea
Year: 1997

Total playing time: 67:06 m:s

Even though I always quote Dream Theater's Images & Words album as being my No. 1 album, I'm not a big fan of Progressive Metal. Part of the problem is Dream Theater themselves. Quite a few bands seem to draw heavily on their influence and it's very easy to dismiss virtually all Progressive Metal bands as being mere DT clones. It's therefore unusual for me to buy this type of album. But I guess I was feeling in a 'Prog Metal' mood when I was buying the latest DT and came home with this as well.

I find a good way of reviewing albums is to make a tape and play it in the car. I had a couple of quick listens to this when I first got it and picked out 2 or 3 songs. These then filled in some time at the end of my DT-FII tape. I then mentally filed this under 'DT clones' and virtually ignored it until I decided to include a review of it in this update.

Now that I've had a chance to listen to the complete CD again, I think I may have been a bit hasty in my initial assessment. When Threshold decide to riff it out, I hear more Metallica than DT, but Threshold also have a healthy respect for melody.

The 3 songs I put on the end of the DT tape were Eat The Unicorn, Virtual Isolation and Part Of The Chaos. Having listened to the album a great deal more since then, I still stand by these as the album highlights. Also worthy of a mention are the albums two lighter moments Forever and the acoustic Clear.

This doesn't hold my interest in the way that a Dream Theater album does, but I suspect that if Progressive Metal is your favoured genre of rock, then they don't come much better than this and you'd probably give this a 9 rating.

Rating: 7

Arcara - A Matter Of Time

Tracks:

Gunshy
Lost In Time
Eternal Affair
Never Tell Your Dreams Goodbye
Walk Away
Fight Ain't Over
A Matter Of Time
Blond & Blue
Far Cry From You
Let It Ride
Love In The First Degree
Believer

Producer: Steve DeAcutis
Year: 1997
Label: Escape Music Ltd.

Total Playing Time: 56:45 m:s

I've reviewed quite few Escape releases now. Prior to this one, the POD album was my favourite. Well, there's a new entry straight in at No. 1 in my Escape chart. In fact, I think this is No. 1 in my 1997 chart.

Arcara is another Escape duo. Not content with pairing off Chris Ousey and Kenny Loney, they've got together Russell Arcara (ex-Prophet/Surgin) and Steve DeAcutis. Guess what, it took me a while to figure out where I'd seen the name before, in fact it didn't click until I'd typed it the previous paragraph, but Steve DeAcutis was a member of POD.

Like quite a few of the Escape releases, this one fits into the heavy AOR/melodic hard rock category. What sets this apart from the crowd is that Russell Arcara has a great voice and Steve DeAcutis has penned a collection of memorable songs.

Comparison wise I'd say that Eyes meets Harem Scarem is fairly good description.

Gunshy is a big beat to start off the album. What strikes me straight away is that Russell sounds a lot like Jeff Scott Soto. Although I don't always love all the projects he gets involved with, I think JSS has one of the best voices in Rock.On Lost In Time the big vocal harmonies kick in, that's where the Harem Scarem comparison comes from.

By the time Eternal Affair starts I'm beginning to wonder why I've never heard any of Russell's work before. It slows the pace down, but the chorus 'socks it to ya' in style.On Never Tell Your Dream Goodbye the pace is again slower during the verse, but picks up for the chorus. It's the type of song I can imagine fitting on an Eyes album.

On Walk Away I initially thought that the guys had let the quality slip, but it has grown on me. Fight Ain't Over has a slightly different feel, with some organ sounds coming into play and a more relaxed overall atmosphere. The title track, A Matter Of Time, reminds me of RTZ.

Blonde & Blue is straight ahead hard rock which I'm sure I'd be less keen on if it was handled by someone less qualified in the vocals department. Far Cry From You is a power ballad which is the first song where my attention starts to wander. Let It Ride doesn't get my attention back.

With Love In The First Degree I'm focused on the music again. Believer sees the band trying something slightly different by using funky/jazz guitars and Jeff Scott Soto springs to mind again.

Some of my fave albums are by Harem Scarem, Giant and Eyes. All these are characterised by great vocals (both lead and backing), plus guitar players which know how to rock out without getting self-indulgent. Arcara share these characteristics, so it's maybe not so surprising that I'm raving about this one. I wouldn't say that it's perfect. There are a couple of numbers which let the side down, but there are enough good songs to fit onto one side of a C90 tape.

Rating: 9

The Distance - The Distance

Tracks:

I Wanna Have It All
Brighter You Burn
On The Tail Of A Hurricane
Life Got In The Way
Loose Control
Woman In Your Head
Human Race
Something My Heart Has To Take
Written In Stone
Hand In Hand With Love
One More Second Chance

Year:1997
Producer: Kenny Kaos Loney
Label: Escape Music Ltd.

Total Playing Time: 46:11 m:s

The Distance brings together Chris Ousey (Heartland/Virginia Wolf) and Kenny Loney (Pokerface/Loverboy). For me this is really a case of extremes. Heartland's third album is a very strong contender for the best Escape release so far award, whereas Pokerface's album is fighting it out for the wooden spoon. I was therefore interested in what the duo could do together. I assume the idea behind the project was to let Chris exercise his vocals on some harder edged material.

For some reason I was determined to have a downer on this one. I was convinced that the sooner Chris started work on a new Heartland album and forgot all about this one the better. I think Chris Ousey has a great voice and I was sure that he would lift a couple of the songs above average. This all went through my head before I even placed the darned thing in the CD player.

After the first couple of tracks, I get that 'I told you so' feeling. Then the guys raise their game on the third track. By the time they get to Loose Control they have hit their stride and maintain it through Woman In My Head to the catchy Human Race. The last two tracks also make a favourable impression. With Chris Ousey's distinctive vocals it's no surprise that I am going to describe this as sounding like Heartland, but with a more hard rock approach.

I've always thought that Heartland had a tendency to sound a bit like Whitesnake, principally due to fact that Chris Ousey's voice is similar to a certain Mr Coverdale. Whereas Heartland never quite managed it, here Chris and Kenny have managed to make me think it's '1987' all over again on the track 'Hand In Hand With Love'.

Before I wrote this review, I had a quick listen to Heartland's last album and I've got to say that I prefer it to this. The more AOR based material gives Chris Ousey's voice more of a chance to really shine. If you're waiting around for the next Heartland album to come out, then it could be worth your while investigating this one.

Rating: 7/8

38 Special - Resolution

Tracks:

Fade To Blue
Lust Can't Leave You Alone
Deja Voodoo
Find My Way Back
Changed By Love
After The Fire Is Gone
Miracle Man
Shelter Me
Homeless Guitar
Saving Grace
She Loves To Talk
Trouble
Shatter The Silence

Label: SPV Recording
Year: 1997
Producer: Joe Hardy, Don Barnes & Danny Chauncey

Total playing time: 60:11 m:s

The last time I remember paying much attention to what 38 Special were up to was around the time of 'Wide Eyed Southern Boys'. Some time after that I bought a greatest hits/best of album that contained tracks like Hold On Loosely etc. My other recollection of 38 Special is that when one of my friends heard some of that album he said something along the lines of "They sure love their guitars, don't they !".

38 Special have been quiet for some time. During this period they have been working with Jim Peterik of Survivor fame. Survivor are one of my favourite bands, so I was interested in finding out what this album turned out like. From the stories that have been floating about, I gather that this is actually the outcome of the second batch of recordings. The first batch of songs is supposed to have been very AOR. I can't remember who wasn't happy (band or record company), but the band returned to the studio for another shot at it.

Whilst I can still identify that unmistakable 38 Special sound, it's clear that they've been trying out new variations on the theme. In fact, I've read that the band describes this as their most varied album to date.

Just Can't Leave You Alone starts off in typical 38 Special style, but whereas in the past it would have been electric guitars, this one is driven along by acoustic guitars. Similarly After The Fire Is Gone. Fade To Blue has a country rock vibe a la Steve Earle and Shelter Me is dangerously close to New Country.

If you're in any doubt as to identity of the band, the big guitars come out for Deja Voodoo and Trouble as the band blast their brand of Southern Rock at you. Homeless Guitar follows more traditional Southern Rock patterns. A slow but gradual built up leads to the inevitable guitar workout. I like it. The bar room boogie of She Loves To Talk I don't like.

The AOR meet Southern Rock vibe that produced the likes of Hang On Loosely is back in evidence on Find My Way Back and Miracle Man. As you'd expect I like these two.

Of the two ballads, Changed By Love and Saving Grace, the latter works best. It is a beautiful acoustic guitar ballad. I'm just surprised to find this kind of material on a 38 Special album.

This is the first review I started writing this month. I got to end of the 3rd song and gave up. Several times I came back to start working on it again, but couldn't summon up the enthusiasm. They say that perseverance pays off and with this album, it is true to a certain extent. During the additional listens required to write this review, I've warmed to this one. To use yet another cliché, they say that variety is the spice of life (I apologise for using the S**** word). However, I think that the variety on offer here is part of the problem I'm having with this album. My old dinosaur brain can't cope with 38 Special doing something different to what I remember them for. Maybe I should have caught up on some of their older material instead.

Rating: 6/7

Natalie Imbruglia - Left Of The Middle

Torn
One More Addiction
Big Mistake
Leave Me Alone
Intuition
Smoke
Pigeons And Crumbs
Don't You Think
Impressed
Wishing I Was There
City
Left Of The Middle

Producer: Phil Thornalley
Label: BMG
Year: 1997

Total Playing Time: 55:48 m:s

So Beth the Babe from Aussie soap Neighbours has put out a record. I have to admit that when I first found out that Natalie had put out a record my expectations weren't exactly high. With predecessors like Jason Donovan, Kylie & Danii Minogue and Craig MacLachlan it didn't seem like there would be too much to look forward to for rock fans.

So, apart from the single, what persuaded me to buy this ? I saw Natalie on the Chris Evans TV show performing Torn, with just the guitar player from the band for backing. The girl can actually sing !!!

Natalie has gone for 'rock chic' rather than 'disco diva'. In the comparison stakes, the names that crop up are Alanis, Meredith Brooks and a hint of Bjork.

Like it says in the lyrics of one of the songs - I'm impressed. This album is actually quite good. If you thought that she'd be a one hit wonder with Torn, well, with songs like Intuition, Wishing I Was There, and City up her sleeve, we should be hearing and seeing a lot more of Miss Imbruglia.

Apparently, it took quite a bit of persuading to convince Natalie to try a singing career. She should be happy with the results. Maybe not of universal appeal to all Mood Swings readers, but worth checking out for the more open minded.

Rating: 8

Del Amitri - Some Other Suckers Parade

Not Where It's At
Some Other Sucker's Parade
Won't Make It Better
What I Think She Sees
Medicine
High Times
Mother Nature's Writing
No Family Man
Cruel Light Of Day
Funny Way To Win
Through All That Nothing
Life Is Full
Lucky Guy
Make It Always Be Too Late

Label: A&M Records
Year: 1997
Producer: Mark Freegard

Total Playing Time: 50:05 m:s

Del Amitri's brand of radio friendly guitar driven pop rock has always been the type of stuff I like to hear on the radio. However, this is the first time I've actually bought any of their albums. With their frequent excursions into the charts, I'm sure most readers will already be familiar with what Del Amitri sound like. Del Amitri play mid-western pop, so think Jayhawks, Brett Walker, Jude Cole etc , but with a poppier feel.

The song writing is of fairly consistent quality throughout. The highlights are Not Where It's At, Some Other Sucker's Parade and the mellow Lucky Guy. I don't know about you, but I don't think Not Where It's At and Some Other Sucker's Parade are best singles that Del Amitri have ever written. Therefore, I think the album is filled with competent, but relatively unexciting and anonymous songs. Low points are High Times with it's absurdly high-pitched chorus and the discordant Cruel Light Of Day. Funny Way To Win, with it's Southern Rock approach, could have been one of the best songs on the album, but is totally ruined by the reappearance of those high-pitched vocals.

I can't help but think that there are better examples of Del Amitri's work out there. I'll have to check out some of the earlier albums.

Rating: 6

Tygers Of Pan Tang - Crazy Nights/The Cage

Crazy Nights					The Cage

Do It Good						Rendezvous
Love Don't Stay					Lonely At The Top
Never Satisfied					Letter From LA
Running Out Of Time					Paris By Air
Crazy Nights					Tides
Down And Out					Making Tracks
Lonely Man						The Cage
Make A Stand					Love Potion No.9
Raised On Rock					You Always See What You Want To See
						Danger In Paradise
						The Actor
Bonus

Slip Away						Life Of Crime
Stormlands						Love's A Lie
Paradise Drive					What You Sayin'
						Making Tracks (Extended Mix)

Producer: Dennis Mackay				Peter Collins
Time: 49:00 					51:41
Label: Edgy Records1997/MCA 1981			Edgy Records 1997/MCA 1982

My interest in Rock music dates back to around the time of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) at the start of the 80s. Along with Def Leppard, Saxson and Iron Maiden, the Tygers Of Pan Tang were at the forefront of the movement.

Back then I was a poor student and I had to make do with listening to tapes of sessions etc made from the Friday Rock Show on Radio 1. The reissue, by Edgy Records, of all 4 TOPT albums on CD seemed like an ideal opportunity of revisiting my long lost youth. I started buying the albums in reverse order, but I looks like I've stopped after Crazy Nights.

Crazy Nights

Crazy Nights features John Sykes on guitar and Jon Deverill on vocals, along with the TOPT stalwarts of Robb Weir on guitar, Rocky on bass and Brian Dick on drums.

Back in '81 I would have probably have listed the TOPT in my Top 10 bands. Well, my tastes have changed more than I thought over the years, because, other than saying that this is a prime example of the NWOBHM, I'm really struggling to say anything positive about this album. The 'best' tracks are Running Out Of Time, Crazy Nights and Lonely Man. The standout track on this reissue is Stormlands, which was included on a 12" single included with the first pressing of the LP. This is about the only track that hints at what the TOPT were capable of.

Rating: 4

The Cage

In 1982 John Sykes departed to join Thin Lizzy, to be replaced by Fred Purser who had previously been with punk/new wave band Penetration. It seemed like a strange choice at the time.

For this album, the band went for a more commercial sound and I seem to remember the metal press screaming sellout at the time. In fact, this is the TOPT's finest hour. It represents a quantum leap forward from the bog standard metal workouts of the previous albums. All my favourite TOPT tracks are on this album.

On this album there is a huge infusion of melody into the Tygers work. The first 3 tracks are all crunchy anthems that still sound good. Then it's Paris By Air and the band give us their crowning moment. Right from the acoustic guitar at the start, this hook laden number oozes class. This must surely be one of the all time great metal singles.

As far as hit singles were concerned, the closest TOPT ever got was their metalised version of the old standard Love Potion No.9. Why did metal bands always have to pull stunts like this to have any chance of getting in the charts ?

Of the 2 versions of Making Tracks, which features a drum pattern 'borrowed' from Adam & The Ants, on offer, its strangely the extended mix that I prefer. Best of the other bonus tracks is Love's A Lie which follows a similar path to Danger In Paradise.

I was surprised how well this album has aged. Still worth checking out.

Rating: 8

Dakota - The Last Standing Man

Hot Nights
Somebody's Hero
Water (Inst.)
Mama Teach
Only Game In Town
Run With The Wind
Struggles With The Wind
The Last Standing Man
Little Heartbreaker
Finding You Tonight
Over In A Minute
This Voice
Methods Of Modern Madness

Producers: Jerry G Hludzik & Rick Manwiller
Label: Escape Music Ltd.
Year: 1997

Total Playing Time: 52:21 m:s

On the Mr Lucky album, Dakota included two original members Jerry G Hludzik and Billy Kelly. This time, Billy Kelly has departed, leaving Jerry as The Last Standing Man. Judging by the song writing credits, keyboard player, Rick Manwiller, appears to have stepped into the gap left by Billy Kelly's departure.

I used the expression AOR meets Westcoast to describe Mr Lucky. This time I'll simply use AOR, although there are possibly still hints of Westcoast. The band have beefed up their sound on this album. Last time I used Survivor, Toto and Agent as comparisons, but in this more forceful mood, they maybe aren't as relevant. Imagine those bands rocking out a bit more (I said 'a bit', they haven't turned into Metallica!), and that might be closer. Whilst I'm talking about comparisons, I should mention that last 3 tracks really bugged me for a while. It finally stuck me - Jerry's vocals sound similar to Billy Joel. It's only on these last few tracks that I ever notice.

Last time I reviewed a Dakota album, I had a few harsh words to say about the high level of the vocals in the mix. This time they have achieved a more natural balance. Sometimes I think it can be dangerous to let a band handle the production themselves, simply because they are too close to the project to always be objective, but Rick & Jerry have done a good job here.

The song writing quality is consistently good and there's not a filler track in sight. The middle of the album (Run With The Wind, Struggles With The Heart, The Last Standing Man, Little Heartbreaker & Finding You Tonight) is particularly strong. Although I don't want to get into a track by track description, I'll just mention a couple of things. I like the jazzy playout on Only Game In Town. I'll pick out the title track as the album highlight. In fact, if I ever get around to selecting a Top 10 songs list for 1997, this one will be a strong contender for the No.1 slot. Come to think of it, the album will probably be in my Top 10 as well, although the No.1 position has already been grabbed by Arcara.

Rating: 9

Thoughtscape Sound - '97 Sampler CD 2

King Of Hearts - Land Of Dreams
Cy Curnin - Mayfly
Janey Clewer - I Married An Angel
Jeff Larson - Coffee At Midnight
Stephen Housden - Celtic Warrior (edit)
Fee Waybill - Surprise Yourself
Bill Champlin - Bad News (previously unreleased)
Broken Voices - Lessons In Love
King Of Hearts - In So Many Words
Bill Champlin - After The Love Has Gone (live)
Cy Curnin - Day To Day
Bruce Gaitsch - Nova
Stephen Housden - Seaspray
Jeff Larson - This Morning In Amsterdam
King Of Hearts - We Don't Talk Anymore (previously unreleased)
Broken Voices - Into Your Arms

Year: 1997
Label: Thoughtscape Sounds
Total Playing Time: 72:27 m:s

Record company samplers are a good way for a label to promote a number of acts act the same time, but can sometimes be a bit a mixed bag where the tracks are concerned.

King Of Hearts get 3 songs, 2 of which are from their All That Matters album. If you're working your way down my reviews page, then you'll already know that the two album tracks get my seal of approval. Their third contribution is a cover of Sir Cliff Richard's We Don't Talk Anymore. If they covered just about the only decent song that Cliff ever did, Devil Woman, I'd be a lot happier.

Cy Curnin isn't my cup of tea. His acoustic style tunes fall into the 'pleasant' category.

Janey Clewer's blend of country/folk meets singer/songwriter pop is one of the better tracks on offer.

The first couple of times I listened to this album, I probably skipped the Jeff Larson tracks halfway through. Acoustic music to chill out to, but I've got to be chilled out in the first place to hack it.

Stephen Housden, ex Little River Band, and Broken Voices member gives us a couple of instrumental offerings. More mood music than guitar histronics, I'll have a review of the album next month.

Fee Waybill, of The Tubes fame, donates a slice of Westcoast class to the compilation.

Bill Champlin, ex Chicago, is the first song to pick up the pace. The harmonica gives it a bluesy feel. The live version of After The Love Is Gone works fairly well, but it's a bit on the wimpy side for me.

Broken Voices features Stephen Housden & Graham Goble together with Susie Ahern and hail from Australia. Just from listening to the music I'd have guessed that they came from somewhere a lot closer to home. The lush vocal harmonies remind me of Irish pop folk band Clannad. I can't really understand why they call themselves Broken Voices, because the vocal harmonies lift the songs into the something special category. Watch out for a full album review next month.

Bruce Gaitsch's Nova instrumental falls into the beautiful and atmospheric category.

Well, that's just about every track covered. Perhaps a few too many tracks on the mellow side to suit my personal taste, but a good showcase for what Thoughtscape Sounds have to offer.

Rating: 7/8

King Of Hearts - All That Matters

In So Many Words
Land Of Dreams
The Night The Angels Cried
Working Man
My Desire
Don't Call My Name
No Matter What
Closer To The Edge (remix)
Stranger In A Strangers Town
I Surrender All
Midnight Crossing
After The Love Is Gone
Lovin' Arms (live in Tokyo)
Broken World (previously unreleased)

Label: Thoughtscape Sounds
Year: 1997
Producers: Bruce Gaitsch, David Cole & Tommy Funderburk

Total Playing Time: 66:30 m:s

King Of Hearts have released two albums on European label Westcoast & both have been well received. Several times I've been tempted to buy one of those albums. However, from the reviews I've read, I've always felt that the music would be too sugary for my tastes.

Tommy Funderburk & Bruce Gaitsch will be familiar names to many of you, as they are accomplished session musicians & I'm not even going to attempt to list the projects they've been involved in.

There could well be more appropriate comparisons from the world of Westcoast, but I'd say Drive She Said and Richard Marx are a couple of names from my own collection that give some idea of where KOH are coming from. Neat & tidy AOR with the type of infectious chorus's that many a band would cut off their collective right arms for.

The first 9 songs all sound good to me. I tried to select a few tracks from this batch as the album highlights, but I was in danger of listing all 9. However, I'll pick out Stranger In A Strangers Town as my favourite track on the album.

After this point I switch off to a certain extent. I all goes a touch too mellow for me, although I like the final song and it is usually enough to keep me listening until the CD ends.

I can't compare this with previous releases, but I do know that I've been missing out on some cool music by ignoring King Of Hearts

Rating: 7/8

Drowing Not Waving - Look At It This Way

Panic Stations
Drowning Not Waving
Waiting For The Rain
I Used To Be...
Hell's Heart
Not Dead Yet
Crying Blood
Caution: Abnormal Geometry
Backwards In The Fast Lane
The Dark Side Of Your Smile
Alexander's Sigh

Producer: Hill McKin
Year: 1997
Total Playing Time: 57:41 m:s

DNW are Andy Bassett and Roy Mcloed, both of whom were in a band called Big Chill who released an album on MFN in 1992. This independent release sees the guys have another shot at the big time.

Panic Stations starts matters off well and sounds kinda like It Bites' Calling All The Heros with a hard rock attitude.

DNW is a lumbering slice of rock that sounds like Def Leppard in a bad mood. For some bizarre reason the vocals remind me of Tears For Fears.

Third song in and we get a 8:14 epic. Featuring a nifty bassline, this song easily steals the show and is the standout track on the album. As with the previous 2 tracks, the band seem to have created a thoroughly modern rock sound. It's a combination of 80's pop meets melodic hard rock. They even manage to pull off the long track business, because I'm certainly not clock watching when listening to this.

On I Used To Be the pace slows down. The song does improve toward the end, but it takes too long getting going. The first few times I listened to the album my interest started to decline after track 3, writing the rest of the album off as average British hard rock. A few more listens & I think that this was probably at bit harsh. It's simply the case that rest of the album is overshadowed by the opening tracks.

Hell's Heart adopts a blues flavour. A 80's synth bass and drum pattern introduces Not Dead Yet. The blues swing of the acoustic Crying Blood will have your finger's clicking, before the electric part kicks in.

If I tell you that mainman Andy Bassett is also a guitarist then you probably won't be too surprised that a song with a title like Caution: Abnormal Geometry is an instrumental. The guitar sails over a synth strings and piano backing. Unlike most instrumentals I usually sit this one through to the end.

The next couple of songs, Backwards In The Fast Lane and The Dark Side Of Your Smile, are hard rock. Closing track, Alexander's Sigh, is a ballad and I assume that Andy's son was the inspiration.

I really like the opening trio and I'm certain that I'll play this album for these tracks alone. These are also the most recent tracks the band have written, so the future looks good for DNW. Next time, and I'm convinced there should be a next time, more Drowning Not Waving/Waiting For The Rain style material would be very welcome.

Rating: 7

This independent release is available via mail order:

- Cheques for £12.00, made payable to Andrew Bassett,

Drowning Not Waving,
Andy Bassett,
156, Loxley Road,
Malin Bridge,
Sheffield, 
South Yorkshire,
S6 4TE,
United Kingdom.

To find out more, email Andy at a.h.bassett@sheffield.ac.uk

Or, check out the DNW web site: http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/road/xmk67/dnw.html

Kevin Chalfant - Running With The Wind

Running With The Wind
She's Waiting
Save Me Tonight
Anywhere The Wind Blows
Love Changes Everything
Wild Thang
Hurricane
If This Is Love
Learning To Fly

Producers: Chas Standford & Kevin Chalfant
Year: 1997
Label: Clique Records

Total Playing Time: 39:20 m:s

One of the first, in fact probably the first, albums that I reviewed for Mood Swings was The Storm's Eye Of The Storm. Most definitely, one of the best albums of 1996. When I heard that lead singer, Kevin Chalfant, was releasing a solo album, I've got to admit I wasn't that excited. I expected an album stuffed full of ballads, with perhaps a nod towards Michael Bolton territory.

When I finally got to hear this, I was pleasantly surprised. Although this description doesn't apply to all the songs, my one line description of the album would some something like - "Bad Company take on board a Hammond organ player and belt out some Bryan Adams songs, with, of course, the guy from The Storm on lead vocals." This album is all about uncomplicated blues/soul based rock that's simply about enjoying the music.

Running With The Wind has a hint of the ZZ Tops about it. It sets the scene for the rest of the album nicely. Little Caesar's Chain Of Fools as a possible comparison.

She's Waiting eases the pace nicely & the Hammond organ first comes into play. A blues based ballad.

Save Me Tonight would certainly give BA a run for this money in the good time rock 'n' roll party rock stakes.

Anywhere The Wind Blows is again good time party rock.

Love Changes Everything is the first full on ballad and gives Kevin's voice a chance to take centre stage without all the other instruments screaming for your attention. If I tell you that it oozes the same class that The Storm do, then you'll know it's top notch.

Wild Thang is perhaps the song that spawned the Bad Co meets BA comparison. The heaviest offering.

The combination of acoustic guitar and swirling Hammond works a treat on the mid-paced Hurricane. My favourite song on the album. The chorus could well be buzzing around your head for days.

If there is one song that comes close to sounding like The Storm then it is If This Is Love. This semi-ballad is yet another winner. This time a saxophone get solo duties.

Learning To Fly chugs along nicely with a ZZ Top meets Bad Co groove. It's a good enough end to the album to have you hitting the repeat button on your remote to hear the whole album again.

My one criticism of the album is that, at only 40 mins long, its one or two songs short of what I expect these days.

OK Kevin, now you've had some fun, how about getting back into the studio with your mates in The Storm and giving us album number 3.

Rating: 8

Aztec Jade - Frame Of Mind

The Calling
To Believe
Mad Not Crazy
Desperate Land
Nosferatu
Atlantis
Regatta Fugue II
Stained
Gates Of Babylon
Requiem

Label: CMG
Producer: Scott MacPherson
Year: 1997

Total Playing Time: 42:25 m:s

When bass player, Bryan Kowalski, first got in contact ask me to link to the bands web site, he described AJ's music as like "Dream Theater/Fates Warning, but more "Hooky"". Well, that's a description that I can't improve upon.

I'm a big fan of Dream Theater, but, for the most part, I've been less than impressed by the legions of progressive metal copycats that the band seem to have spawned. However, Aztec Jade has managed to add their own twist to the formula. With an average song time of 4:20, and not extending beyond 5:12, the band expressive themselves more succinctly than just about any other progressive metal band I can think of. As a result of this relative brevity, the band keep the songs focused and they do sound "more hooky".

Musically, Dream Theater are the main reference point, but with more keyboards/synths than DT have been using of late. The singer has a more obviously progressive style voice than James LaBrie.

The band sticks to a conventional progressive/DT formula throughout the album. Although there are the expected tempo changes etc, most of the songs fit into the mid to up-tempo category. There is a tendency for the songs to all sound 'samey' after a while. Of the opening 4 songs, To Believe works best. Noseratu slows the pace slightly and the slight variation on the formula is welcome. I'd describe both Atlantis and Regetta Fugue II as having a Pomp/military feel to them and could be described as DT meets Asia. Stained is back to the formula established on the opening songs, this one is lift by a better than average chorus. Just in case you were wondering, Gates Of Babylon isn't a cover of the Rainbow song. Requiem finishes matters off well as it is one of the more memorable songs.

Aztec Jade have created an accessible progressive metal album and have avoided the trap of becoming yet another 'DT tribute band'.

Rating: 7

The Great Kat - Guitar Goddess cd/ Live at The Expo Of The Extreme video

What's the slogan the American used for their anti-drugs campaign a few years ago - "Just Say No". When I found an email from The Great Kat's sister and PR agent, Karen Thomas, in my inbox offering me review copies of The Great Kat's work, I ticked the yes box before I'd visited her web site. When I later took the time to visit the site, I thought "What the hell have I let my poor innocent CD player in for!"

Kat started out as a Juilliand Graduate Violin Virtuoso, but clearly those long hours of practising took their toll on her mental state. She's turned into a guitar brandishing dominatrix playing (& inventing!) cyberspeed Metal/Classical music.

Guitar Goddess

Kat storms her way through 4 tunes in 8 mins. If you remember back to the good old days of vinyl & what happened when you put on an LP after playing a single, but forgot to change the speed from 45 to 33 rpm, then that's cyberspeed. The 2 classical cuts fare 'best' in this lust for speed.

Half a lifetime ago when I was 16 or 17, I might have thought this was cool, now it just think it's funny. This is so left of centre compared to the normal stuff reviewed in Mood Swings that I'm not even going to attempt to give this a rating.

Live At The Expo Of The Extreme

Metal has attracted its fair share of nutters over the years. Kat is another one to add to the list. Over a frenzy of death metal/cyberspeed noise that Kat calls music, we get to see Kat on stage in her leather outfit indulging in various antics such as whipping her 'slaves', having her toes sucked by her 'slaves' etc. I suppose this might appeal to those teenage boys that like to shock their parents by having posters of Kat on their bedroom walls.

You've probably guessed that I think The Great Kat is completely out of her tree. To be fair, this sort of stuff simply doesn't appeal to me & I should have done a bit more research before agreeing to review these. You can make up your own mind by visiting her web site http://www.greatkat.com.