Brian McDonald - Wind It UP

1. Wind It Up
2. Head Back Home
3. Words Come So Easy
4. I Don't Wanna Want You Touch
5. When The Lightening Strikes
6. The Night Heaven Falls Down
7. The Rhythm Of Money
8. Somewhere On The Highway
9. If I Could Only See You Now
10. Just A Heartbreak Away
11. Amnesty
12. The Hope One Child Can Bring

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Total Playing Time: 50:14 m:s

Review date: 12/08/2000

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Whenever you borrow heavily from other artists the one hope you've got, to stop critics flaming you for plagiarism, is to create a top notch product to win them over. When I heard the MTM sampler from last year with a the title track from this album on it, I was less than convinced.

With my flame-thrower at the ready, I put this album in the player and prepared to give it a scorching. To my surprise I've ended up liking the album. If you haven't guessed so already by the mention of the two main influences, the album is full of catchy arena rockers with pristine production.

"Wind It Up" hits you with big vocals and a big chorus on this opening track. And yes, the Def Lep influence is present. Brian really sets the scene for the rest of the album on the two opening tracks. "Head Back Home" is an uptempo AOR tune, but this time with the Winger influence present. If the first couple songs have maybe lacked that killer touch then "Words Come So Easy" increases the infectiousness factor, giving the first genuinely memorable tune. "I Don't Wanna Want Your Touch" is a ballad that could have been lifted off Hysteria. For "When The Lightening Strikes" it's back uptempo.

"The Night Heaven Falls Down" is a big sugary ballad. In this area of potential boredom, the great vocal harmonies keep the listener interested. "The Rhythm Of Money" has a big guitar sound when they kick in. This tune is bit on the catchy side and one of my favorites on the album. The dominant influences get pushed to the side for "Somewhere On The Highway" which sounds like Nelson meet Foreigner which is a good combination in my book. Nelson could well come to mind again when listening to "If I Could See You Now".

Whereas previously the Winger influence has always been mixed with a little Def Lep, it gets to shine through on its own on "Just A Heartbreak Away" and "Amnesty". Yes, "The Hope One Child Can Bring" is the predictable closing ballad.

This album doesn't exactly push forward the frontiers of melodic rock and a cynical old reviewer like me might well be tempted to dismiss it as mere plagiarism. In fact, the whole project oozes so much class that it is difficult to do anything other than enjoy the music.