HOT NEW AOR REVIEWS

UPDATED 8TH OF APRIL 2000

ED JAMES 'Meet Ed James'
(JAM RECORDS)

ED JAMES is another multi-instrumentalist with an interesting release. Ed comes out of North Carolina and has appeared on a bunch of compilation CDs before releasing his first CD 'Meet Ed James'. Now he has been able to release a CD with 13 original songs on which only Ed is playing and singing. Musically it is Power-Pop as Ed likes to call it. I rather call this CD a good mixture of early 80s Melodic Poprock, AOR and some modern 90s pop/rock influences. But most of all this is prime-time 80s melodic poprock a la early RICK SPRINGFIELD, NELSON ('Life'), MICHAEL MORALES, KYLE VINCENT…

The CD opens with "Here we go", a good typical 80s uptempo melodic poprocker (like early 80s RICK SPRINGFIELD meets last NELSON). The song is very short, but is quite catchy and also features a great guitarsolo. Following track "Just kissed you goodbye" is a 70s typed poprocker (like RASPBERRIES, KYLE VINCENT, NICK GILDER…). "The face on mars" is up next, this is a bit weaker rocker.

Happily, then we get to hear one of the best songs on this CD. The song is called "Turn it around" and this is fantastic classy 80s midtempo AOR like a cross between ALIAS, MICHAEL MORALES, KYLE VINCENT ('A night like this') and NELSON ('Life'). This wonderful track also features many lovely harmonies as well as some catchy hooklines. Up next is the melodic poprocker "Say you do!" (early 80s RICK SPRINGFIELD, EDDIE MONEY, DANNY WILDE…).

Although the chorus of "Green M&Ms" is very melodic, the song itself is a bit too much 90s pop/rock oriented which will not please any AOR fan. Though Ed is back with some good early 80s melodic poprock again on the songs "Party at Joe's", "Who's gonna tell the king?" and "Frustrated" (all in the early 80s style of aforementioned act).

Then comes the best track of ED JAMES, namely "Hold on me". "Hold on me" is superb Classic early 80s AOR/Melodic Poprock/Radiorock which sounds like a cross between RICK SPRINGFIELD's "Jessie's girl" and PREVIEW. Man, this song is totally awesome and needs to be heard by anyone who likes this type of early 80s AOR rock. "Hold on me" has that perfect radio-ready sound of the early 80s and would have been big-time in the USA back in that period. Anyway, I wish more bands/artists would writenagain such songs, so this style would come back again.

Nevertheless, ED JAMES has got a lot of potency to be played on the radio nowadays, because his songs are timeless. The songs I haven't mentioned yet are "With you" (nice semi poprockballad), "High maintenance girl" (bit silly 90s pop/rock) and the closing track
"How as I to know?". This final track is a wonderful strong midtempo AOR tune like early KYLE VINCENT and the last NELSON record. If you like any of the mentioned acts, then you realy need to check out ED JAMES at:
http://members.aol.com/EdWorld and e-mail him at: edjames@attglobal.net

Rating: 8/10

 

BADWOLF 'Knock it down'
(PB RECORDS)

BADWOLF was a Melodic Hardrockband from Madison, Wisconsin, USA. They released two CDs during the time they existed. The first CD 'Knock it down' was released in 1993 and featured some brilliant classy 80s typed melodic rock like a mixture between DOKKEN, TYKETTO and HEAVENS EDGE. There were 15 songs on 'Knock it down' and you can now only get two separate CDs through mp3.com of this album. The first 8 songs of 'Knock it down' are available on the first mp3 CD and I can inform you that this is the best part of the album.

Opener "Never enough" is classy 80s melodic rock all the way and moves into BRITTON, LOUD'N'CLEAR, DOKKEN, TYKETTO territory. Next track "Lion tamer" is in the same style, although I smell a WINGER, HEAVENS EDGE similarity over here. Then there's "Crying in the dark", a superb AOR chorus can be heard in this song. That chorus features perfect super melodic vocal harmonies and this song is in the same style as the recently signed Frontiers signed acts TEER and TALON/VOXEN as well as MILLENNIUM, EYEWITNESS and EMERALD RAIN. A bit weaker, simpler groovy rock is the following song "Do what you want" (mix of WINGER and EXTREME).

Things are back into classy 80s melodic rock on the next tune "Rock and run away". The groovy melodic rocker "Stevie's lost again" has a pretty nice chorus. Next up is "I can't give you love", one of the many highlights of the first part of this CD, because this is a fantastic classy 80s uptempo AOR/Melodic Rocker like 80s DOKKEN, VON GROOVE. The song
has that perfect cheesy 80s sound, but also features a wonderful long guitarsolo at the end of this CD. The first part of the CD closes with "Push and shove", a simpler uptempo party MHR song like DIRTY BLONDE meets HEAVENS EDGE. So, these above mentioned 8 songs of 'Knock it down' are nowadays available as Disc 1 through the band's mp3 site at:
http://www.mp3.com/badwolf

But the original 'Knock it down' CD featured another 7 songs and those are available as Disc 2 via mp3.com This second part of the CD is not as good as the first part of the album. Still also this is quality melodic rock.

My favourite songs on Disc 2 are definitely "Secrets on the air" (great midtempo melodic rocker with again lovely harmonies and a sound close to DOKKEN and TYKETTO), "Little miss angel" (uptempo melodic hardrock like LOUD'N'CLEAR) and closing track "Cry of the wolf" (another 80s typed classy melodic rocker). I prefer Disc 1, which features the best songs of the band and is a big recommendation to anyone who likes the good old fun melodic rock of bands such as DOKKEN, TYKETTO, HEAVENS EDGE… Both discs are available through their websites at: http://www.mp3.com/badwolf, but also the original CD 'Knock it down' is still available through http://www.hotterthankarl.com/Badwolf The story isn't over yet, just read the review below!

Rating: 8,5/10

 

BADWOLF 'Sleeping dogs lie'
(PB RECORDS)

In 1995 BADWOLF released their second CD titled 'Sleeping dogs lie'. Happily, the band didn't change their style at all and so again we can hear some great 80s typed melodic rock. The best songs on 'Sleeping dogs lie' are the first 3 songs ("Armed and dangerous", "Tell your story walking" and "Two sides of one equation") and "High horse". Songs like these can easy compete with the likes of PASSION RISK, ATTRACTION, LOUD'N'CLEAR, DANGER DANGER, DOKKEN, Y&T…

The rest of the CD is a bit weaker, but still enjoyable melodic hardrock like a mix between early SKID ROW, WINGER and WARRANT. This second CD of BADWOLF is available as a DAM CD through the band's websites at: http://www.mp3.com/badwolf and http://www.hotterthankarl.com/Badwolf In 1997 BADWOLF played their last show and
soon after the book was closed for BADWOLF and the bandmembers went on to do other things. A few months ago BADWOLF launched their mp3 site and hopefully this will lead to a reformation of the band and maybe new recordings. For now, check out their site and order their CDs now! E-mail the band at:
cthomas@facstaff.wisc.edu

"Standard" audio CDs (i.e. not the CD-ROMs sold through mp3.com) of "Knock It Down" and "Sleeping Dogs Lie" are also available from the Badwolf web site at a very low cost.

Rating: 8/10

 

CRAZY NATION 'This is...' (VINYL MASK)

CRAZY NATION is an English band whose Melodic Hardrock is quite comparable to SUGARTOWN and SANTERS. The only thing is that the production of their debut CD is not really strong, but the music counts and in this case these guys sure have some great material on offer. The CD opens with "Fade", a fantastic uptempo AOR/Melodic Rocker with lovely harmonies and a superb catchy 80s hookline. This song is close to acts like DANNY DANZI, MILLENNIUM, VOXEN/TALON, SANTERS…

Next track is a surprise, because it is the DAVID LEE ROTH cover "Just like paradise", a great uptempo melodic rocker and covered very well. And actually the rest of the CD moves a little in the same style, so we get good to hear good quality guitar orientated Melodic Hardrock with catchy choruses. My favourite songs, besides the killer opener, are "Heartbreakin" (this great melodic rocker reminds me a lot of the old English band RAGE as well as RAINBOW), "Fire", "Passion" and "Crimes of Cleopatra". CRAZY NATION is a good melodic hardrockband, and with a better production this band could even turn out to be one of the best in the UK. Fans of mentioned bands really need to check up this band at:
http://crazynation.iuma.com and e-mail them at:
frontman@frontman.eurobell.co.uk or CrazyNation@blockofpaint.clara.net

Rating: 8/10

 

AXIS 'Dos caras de una moneda' (INDEPENDENT)

AXIS is a Cuban AOR band settled in Miami, Florida. The lyrics are in the Spanish language and because also the music is very much AOR based, I can easily compare this band to the high-class Mexican AOR bands CODA and TERCER ACTO as well as the Spanish AOR bands LA FASE and JUPITER. There are 10 songs on the CD and it is not AOR all the way, because the band also has some Latin influences in a few songs, but never it gets Latin all the way, so be sure to read on!

Opener "Extrano corazon" is a great midtempo AOR/Melodic Rocker with some Latin influences towards the end of the song. Following song "Mira" is then a bit too much Latin and moves into the RICKY MARTIN style, but from the next track on it is only pure AOR/Melodic Rock. Next up is the 80s typed melodic AOR rocker "Descubriendote" which moves in CODA territory. The wonderful AOR ballad "Te necesito" follows and this song belongs to the best songs of the CD. After the semi melodic rocker "Temor" we get to hear the best song of the whole CD. This is the superb uptempo AOR rocker (classy 80s
style) "Vida" which would make CODA proud if they had this song. "Vida" has the perfect sound written all over and will attract every AOR fan, although the lyrics are Spanish (which I don't mind at all). The acoustic Spanish AOR ballad "Togue de amor" follows this killer AOR track.

The CD continues with "Apocalipsis", a nice melodic rocker a la TALISMAN (the Swedish version). Up next is the fantastic AOR song "Sheila" which is similar to early FM and even FRANKE AND THE KNOCKOUTS comes in mind hearing this song. Only shame about this song is the sax that shouldn't be there, but the harmonyvocals during the killer chorus make this all up. The CD closes with "Nada seras", a nice semi melodic rocker. AXIS is
a great new AOR/Melodic Rockband, a must for fans of bands like CODA, TERCER ACTO, LA FASE… More info can be found at their website:
http://www.oocities.org/sunsetstrip/hall/1086 and e-mail them at: jp5150@bellsouth.net

Rating: 8,5/10

 

CHANGE OF HEART 'Continuum' (ESCAPE MUSIC)

CHANGE OF HEART has done it again! 'Continuum' is the follow-up to their wonderful debut CD from a few years ago and I can easily inform you that this new one is even better, because it is totally filled with classy 80s hookladen AOR a la SIGNAL, early FM… The CD contains 12 songs and right from the start until the last seconds of the CD you are hooked to a brilliant piece of AOR.

The CD starts with "Call to prayer" which is the intro for the actual opener "Blinded", a superb classy 80s hookladen uptempo AOR tune that sounds very much like the debut of FM 'Indiscreet' from 1986). This opening tune is one of the best songs on the CD, but actually every song on this record is fantastic pure AOR. Songs like "I don't want to be lonely", "You can't hide", "Say that you want me" and "Run from the storm" and "Mysteries" are all superb uptempo hookladen AOR tunes in the early FM style.

Besides all these uptempo tunes, the band also takes a few steps back and throws in a ballad and a midtempo song. The ballad is called "When love gets in the way", a superb start with some beautiful 80s AOR keys and a chorus right into 80s LOVERBOY and SIGNAL territory. The midtempo AOR tune is very strong and is one of the best songs of the CD, very strong harmonies over here. There's only one weak song and that's the midtempo melodic rocker "Take me for a ride", but the rest is totally classic 80s AOR. This CD can not be missed by any AOR fan, get your copy asap!

Rating: 9,5/10

 

URBAN GUERILLAS 'Cloud above my head' (INDEPENDENT)

Australia's Urban Guerillas follow up their 1995 debut album "Just A Lifetime" with this new platter which is hard rock similar to L.A. GUNS, TESLA, GREAT WHITE, RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS, AEROSMITH and some early seventies bands. The production is raw and the guitars are always cranked up to full power.

This is a fifteen track album that is quite enjoyable but nothing truly outstanding, I get the feeling though that live this band really kick arse, as the songs show that the band mean it, there's nothing wrong with their music at all, the songs are often fun and quite catchy and apparently the band are kicking up a storm down under. If you would like to find out more about Urban Guerillas then email stewa_k@arch.usyd.edu.au or visit http://www.urbanguerillas.com

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

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