Richard Marx - 'Inside My Head' - (frontiers) 4/5

US based soft rocker Richard Marx has become something of an institution with the more AOR types of rockers. Ever since his big break came in the late 1980's with a string of US chart busters, such as his seminal single 'Hazard', he has built up a loyal following worldwide and is still bringing out quality records in his trade mark feel good laid back rock style.

This double album is his latest release and is a sort of semi compilation work, bringing together a number of tracks from a couple of download only albums such as 'Emotion Remains' and 'Sundown' along with a few other odd songs he seams to have had laying around.

All in all this is pretty standard Richard Marx fare. Late night chilled out ballads such as Through My Veins and Loved rub shoulders with some very listenable light weight rockers such as Over My Head, Always On My Mind and Come Running... metalheads and the like my find it a bit forgettable, but anyone with a taste for the early works of Elton John, Tom Petty and The Eagles will find a lot here to entertain them.

Chuck in the fact that Mr Marx had a bit of a talent for songsmithery; turning out catchy hooks, intelligent lyrics and hummable melodies and for anyone who likes their rock on the soft side this one has a lot to offer.

Highlights? well this album is pretty good over all, and there is any track that strikes you as duff, but my fave cuts have to be the hard edged rocker All Over Me and the funky groove workout of Scars.

Worth checking out if you like good solid soft rock

For Fans Of... Tommy Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, House Of Lords....

John Taglieri - 'Lucky #9' (Leap Dog Music) 4/5

This is the ninth album from cult US country rocker John Taglieri, and what a little gem this six tracker is. Currently available as digital download only from all your normal online outlets, this mini album is a very sweet and very listenable selection of ear friendly soft rock tracks that blend aspects of Americana, country rock, rock and roll and folky singer songwriter sensibilities into one very engaging whole.

Cuts like the tender and plaintiff Dying Alive, the old school rock and roll work out of Losing Me and the catchy sub pop Make Me Believe as jump out from the speakers and give the listener a big friendly hug that leaves yours ears with a very warm and satisfied glow.

With a voice that has hints of Roy Orbison and a song writing style not unlike the great John Fogerty, Mr Taglieri, who played most of the instruments himself, has with Lucky #9 is one helluva pleasant record that should win him new fans and admirers worldwide and make his existing followers very happy indeed.

Very Good Indeed.

For fans of... John Fogerty, Steel Blue Rose, Grinderswitch, Creedance Clearwater Revival.

Jeff Scott Soto - 'Damage Control' (frontiers) 3.5/5

New Yorker Jeff Scott Soto is definitely a guy who gets around a bit. So far he has sang for the likes of Journey, Talisman (the Swedish rock outfit, not the UK reggae band), Yngwie Malmsteen and a fair few more, sang sessions for every one from Brian May to Lita Ford and even done sond tracks for TV shows like Biker Mice From Mars and the movie Rock Star; and he still has found time to put out a string of twelve solo albums, of which this is the latest.

Now it cannot be denied that this guy as a great voice and knows how to use it to maximum effect. There are eleven cuts on offer here ranging from hard edged power ballads like If I Never Let Her Go and How To Love Again through to some great hard edged rockers like Krazy World and Look Inside Your Heart. Ok it does get a little bit cliche and cheesy in places, but there is still enough good stuff on show here to keep the interest going. Add in the fact that Mr Soto is aided and abetted here by the likes of Y&T's Dave Meniketti and Night Ranger's Joel Hoekstra and you do have an enjoyable if not exactly earth shattering album.


In short, a good effort that the AOR fans will love and the rest will find interesting at least.


Worth a quick look


For fans of... Journey, Drivin' and Cryin', Loverboy, Night Ranger, etc....

Michael Thompson Band - 'Future Past' (Frontiers) 4/5

Micheal Thompson is a bit of a legend on the session scene, starting off as the 'house' guitarist for the TV series Fame, hes gone on to be the hired gun of choice for the likes of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart and a whole galaxy of other household names. But he still finds time to record and tour with his own outfit The Michael Thompson Band, and this is MTB's latest album.

Now I'm find this one a bit of a strange one. One the whole its fairly typical west coast stadium AOR, all Toto-U-like big ballads and Journeyesque light weight radio friendly rockers. Stuff that I don't dislike, but stuff I tend to use as wall paper music whilst chilling out reading and doing the house work rather than actively listen too. However there are three factors here that lift this record above the ordinary and have earned it an extra mark. First up we have some excellent song writing, tracks like the anthem Here I Am and the power ballad When You Love Someone are all raised above the bog standard by some first rate arrangements, and some fine attention to detail. Secondly there is the vocals of Larry King, here is a guy with a distinctive voice and someone who knows how to use it dodge cliche, just check out his delivery on Beautiful Mystery, it is indeed stunning.

Finally there is the guitar work or Mr Thompson himself, if you ever wonder why this guy is in so much demand as a session player just skip through this album, every track features guitar work that can only be regarded as superb, it is technically impressive without resorting to show off widdling, sympathetic to the song and compliments the music perfectly. My personal fave section being the rock and blues fueled solo on Gypsy Road, a slice of lead work that sends a shiver right down my spine.

All in this album has a lot to recommend it.

Well worth checking out.

For fans of... Toto, REO Speedwagon, Mecca, The Magnificent etc....

Sunstorm - 'Emotional Fire' (frontiers) 3/5

This is the third studio album from Sunstorm, the latest project from former Rainbow / Deep Purple frontman Joe Lynn Turner, a guy who was perhaps one of the the most distinctive voices of the 1980's. Now I was a huge Rainbow fan back in the day, and whilst I did tend to prefer the Dio fronted version of Blackmores boys, Mr Turner did much to win me over, especially on the Straight Between The Eyes album, and I even like that album he did with Purple. So whats this one like then?

Well I'll confess that I'm finding this one enjoyable rather than mindblowing. This is nothing to do with Mr Turners vocals, his power, range and distinctive inflections are all still here and just as engaging as they were back in the early 80's. However the rest of Sunstorm are most definitely not Rainbow, they do try and in a few places such as tracks like The Higher Your Rise and Torn In Half they almost succeed in invoking the ghost of the Difficult to Cure album, but a lot of the rest of this album sounds a little like a Journey or Foreigner tribute band. Thats not to say this record isn't well played and produced by talented musicians, it's just that I've always preferred to hear Mr Turner when he leans on it a bit and belts them out, but on many of the songs on offer here, such as Emily, Follow Your Heart and Lay Down In Your Arms Sunstorm tend to be content to cruise along in AOR safe mode and as a result Mr Turner never gets out of third gear and his power and talent is a little wasted. The result is to me at least a fair bit of listener frustration, I know Sunstorm are a good band, I just wish they would lean on it a bit more and give Mr Turner some good old school rock he can really get his throat around.

Still, this is an old 80's headbanger talking, and I'm sure stadium rock nuts will find a lot here to satisfy them. Horses for courses and all that.

Competent, but nothing too special

For fans of.... Journey, Foreigner, House Of Lords, Work Of Art, Mecca.....

Sonic Station - 'Sonic Station' (frontiers) 4.5/5

Sonic Station is a new project assembled by Swedish guitarist and songwriter Alexander Kronbrink, and is his attempt to recreate the classic West Coast AOR sound of acts such as Mr Mister, Chicago and Kenny Loggins. To this end he assembled some of the great and good of the Swedish rock scene around him and recorded this the projects debut album.


Now in his drive to recreate the classic soft rock sounds of 30 years ago Mr Kronbrink has delivered the dream perfectly. Using no fewer than sixteen other musicians on the project, including four separate lead vocalists, he has forged a record that is a perfect tribute to those times. I Wish I Could Lie To You - a track that features some excellent vocals from his collaborator Marika Willstedt - has hints of Heart at their most commercial about it, The sax lead Hold On To Me is pure Christopher Cross, The Most Beautiful Fear is a haunting ballad that Foreigner would have sold their souls to have penned, Never Let The Sunshine Die is a cut that wouldn't sound out of place on a classic Toto album.... And so it continues, there's even few couple of nice more uptempo rockier cuts like You Have To Let Me Go and Running Through The Night to keep a bit of beat going and counterpoint the slower tracks.


Now there is nothing here to excite my inner metal head, or titillate my progressive rock side, but as for a slice of nice chilled out late night glass-of-wine-in-a-darkened-room listening this album is pretty cool. in fact I'll go as far to say its one of the best in this genre I've heard for a while now. The whole album intelligent and completely devoid of cheesy cliche, expertly penned by writers who have a real love of this genre and performed by a group of musicians of the highest caliber.


There is still a fair market for this sort of stuff world wide and I can see Sonic Station becoming the Toto of the new millennium.


Very very good indeed


For fans of... Heart, Toto, Xorigin, Work Of Art, Journey, Mr Mister, Christopher Cross, Chicago.....

Mr Big - 'Live From The Living Room' (Frontiers) 3/5

This one is interesting, based on a live acoustic set recorded live for Japanese TV last year, this is the eleventh live album from LA rocker Mr Big, and no less than the seventh to be recorded in the land of the rising sun. (A pretty impressive output from a band who have only managed to chalk up 7 studio albums in their entire career), Now I know the whole unplugged thing has been around and popular for a while now, but my jury's still out on the whole concept. Occasionally it can work, other time it can come over a bit flat and be to quite honest as entertaining as watching paint dry.

With a set thats based mainly around tracks from the bands most recent studio opus 'What If...' with a few old classics like Voodoo Kiss and To Be With You thrown in as crowd pleasers, this one isn't to bad. Surprisingly the high point of this one is the guitar work of Paul Gilbert, stripped of his fx units and power drills his playing comes over as solid and inventive and with none of the hysteronic widdle and twiddle he has become renowned for. Hats off to the rest of the band as well, Mr's Sheehan, Torpey and Gilbert all put in some good solid and technically good performances, which go to show they have lost none of the style and swagger that made Mr Big one of the more interesting outfits of the late 1980's.

However, no mater how proficient this album is, there is still some thing lacking, there's no real 'wow' factor. Take Around The World, a track that features some fine interplay between Mr Gilbert and Mr Sheehan, as good as the performance is you end up think that was 'nice' rather than 'bloody hell that was great'. And that holds true for most of the album. There are a couple of stand out moments however, Stranger In My Life is the true stand out cut on offer, just because of the shear quality of the song writing, nd the aforementioned Voodoo Kiss, toned down a little from the rocking original comes over with a nice sleazy groove; but that's it for highlights I'm afraid, the rest of the record is ok, but damned ordinary. That is until the encore cut of Nobody Left To Blame, when the band return plugged and show all the drive and fire the rest of this album lacks.

Over all I think you have to be a real fan of Mr Big or acoustic style sessions in general to get the most out of this one, everyone else should try before they buy.

Competent, but nothing that outstanding.

For fans of... Mr. Big and unplugged sessions

Mecca - 'Undeniable' (frontiers) 4.5/5

Back in 2002 the debut album from Mecca caused a bit of a stir in melodic rock and AOR circles, then since the band finished a lengthy road trip in 2005 the band have been strangely quiet, to the extent that some fans were on the verge of sending out search parties. However Mecca had not been abducted by aliens or been victims of an ill advised boat trip into the Bermuda Triangle. They had in fact been ensconced way in darkened rehearsal rooms and recording studios slaving away on new material. And now at last they have finally got around to issuing this their second album.

So was the wait worth it? Now I gotta admit I can be quite cynical when it comes to stadium rock and AOR. After all my taste for this sort of stuff was formed in the heady days when the likes of Toto, Boston, Journey, Foreigner, Saga and the likes were experiencing their finest hours, so the bar in my mind has been set very very high, and I tend to be a bit down on anything that doesn't match those exacting standards.

However against all expectations I am finding Undeniable a very enjoyable listen indeed, even if the over all sound is a little Mr. Mister, a band I never got on with back in the day. Vocalist Joe Vana has a sweet voice that reminds me of Totos Bobby Kimball in his heyday and his son Joey on the guitar is a fair talent that has hints of Boston main man Tom Scholtz  in his playing.

It think its the fact that this material has been six years in the making is the real pay off here. Even the power ballads, of which there are several on show come over as interesting listens. Just take the sublimely subtle picked riff on Deceptive Cadence or the crisp and crunchy backing on Did It For Love as a couple of examples, these are tracks that are well thought through, not by the numbers work outs thrown together.

In other places the intelligent interplay of instruments and the texture of the soundscapes on offer are pretty noteworthy. Numbers like From The Start, with its great twin lead section, the soaring title track and the riff heavy Closing Time with its quirky and restrained synth motif all hold the attention throughout. And all truly great AOR records should have a true rock out number, and this one is no exception, for we have W2W a number that kicks off with a riff that wouldn't sound out of place on a Kiss album and a seriously cool widdle and shred solo (no kidding!!), and blends them into a song that sounds like Boston at their best.

In short there is not a weak moment on offer here, and this is an album that I know will stand the test of time.

Very Highly Recommended

For fans of... Boston, Toto, Mr Mister, Journey, Saga etc...

The Magnificent - 'The Magnificent' (frontiers) 4/5

The Magnificent are a new project out of Scandinavia, formed around the core duo of  Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus) and Torsti Spoof (Leverage) and this is their debut release.


Now anybody picking this one up expecting Leverage style power metal sensibilities or Circus Maximus style prog metalisms is in for a bit of a shock. This album is full on no holds barred stadium rocking melodic AOR in the style of Asia, Europe, Loverboy, House of Lords et al. and to be honest as far as melodic stadium rock stuff goes it is better than most.


Where this album scores over many of the other melodic stadium rockers is the simple fact The Magnificent has left the rock dial set at a higher level than the cheese dial. OK a lot of the tracks on offer are standard light middleweight radio friendly rockers, but they are still rockers. Even softer tracks like Loves On The Line which in the hands of many could have become fairly forgettable filler tracks of AOR blandness, we still have a cracking driven riff and a nice intense widdled guitar solo to maintain interest.


Then we have the quality of the songsmithing. Tracks like Bullets and Tired Of Dreaming come over with the same vibe as those first three classic Asia albums, even to the extent of invoking the spirit of the legendary John Wetton in both the lyrics on offer and the vocal delivery. (The later of the aforementioned pair even has a Steve Howe style solo). Hey, even the pair of power ballads on offer Angel and Smoke and Fire manages to avoid falling too far into the cheese trap thanks to some inspired arrangements, tasty riffage and solos to die for.


Other highlights include the anthemic Harvest Moon (not the Neil Young track), Satin & Lace with its Vow Wow inspired riffs and neat keys lead solo and the Loverboy-esque Lost.


Over all this album is quite impressive and one that should keep fans of Melodic rock very happy indeed.

For fans of... Asia, Loverboy, Europe, Drive She Said, House Of Lords.

Fergie Frederiksen - 'Happiness Is The Road' (frontiers records) 5/5

2010 was a tough year for former Angel / Toto vocalist Dennis 'Fergie' Frederiksen. in the June he was diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer, only given a slim chance of survival and facing a period of painful and exhausting treatment. So in order to give himself something positive to work on he set out to record 'Happiness is The Road' an album that could well have been his final work. Now just over a year on Mr Frederiksen is experiencing better times. The cancer is in long term remission and the product of those dark days is at last released.

Now its a bit of cliche to say that often a persons darkest hour is their finest, but it is one that so often holds true. 'Happiness Is the Road' is a truly remarkable album, musically its typical US stadium rock, but I'm convinced that it is one that will be hailed along side the likes of Toto 4, Journey's 'Escape' and Styx's 'Paradise Theater' as one of the true great albums of that genre.

It's not just that this album is superbly played and produced, but that Mr Frederiksen is giving one of the most powerful and emotional performances I have ever heard. From beginning to end this record is a real spine tingler, it takes the listener on the real roller-coaster ride of feelings this guy must have been going through as he wrote and recorded it. Tracks like The Future Ain't What It Used To Be and Elaine with their lyrics of an uncertain future and lost opportunities, are delivered with a heart felt passion that brings a lump to the throat of even this most skeptical of power ballad hating rockers. Then others such as the title track, The Saviour, Angel (Mirror To Your Soul) and First To Cry are real life affirming no regrets uplifting numbers that still dampen the eyes, but this time with tears of joy. Whats more at no point does this album ever get morbid or depressing, but retains a positive vibe through out. It is indeed refreshing that in a world where emotion in rock is all to often over played and false, we have at last an album that speaks from the heart to the heart without ever having to fake it.

Add in the fact that musically this album is dripping AOR sensibilities that hat tips the likes of Toto, Journey, Foreigner, etc without ever becoming derivative or cliche and you have a work that is something very very special indeed and an album that is all set to become an all time classic.

for fans of.... Toto, Angel, Styx, Loverboy, Journey, House of Lords, etc...

Work Of Art - 'In Progress' (frontiers records) 4/5

There is a lot of good stuff coming out of Sweden at the moment, so far this year we have had some killer product from Royal Republic, In Solitude, Sister and now pop-proggers Work Of Art are here with their second studio album to show us that not only does Sweden still rock like a good 'un, but they can do it in all genres.

Coming from the same starting point of the likes of Asia, Magnum and Saga; In Progress is one of the best pop-prog albums I've come across in a good few years. The opener The Rain sets out Work of Arts stall in fine style and the rest of the album keep up the pace, even the odd p*w*r b*ll*d like Once Again is saved from lighter waving naffness by some tasty guitar work and some epic key changes.

Highlights include the synth driven stomp of Never Love Again, the Magnumesque Eye of The Storm, with its off the wall moog solo; the Styx influenced Call On Me and the surprisingly headbangable Emeile. however for me the best track on offer here is Until You Believe, which has a touch of the Cheap Tricks about it.

No doubt about it, you'll have to go along way to find an album in this genre that is this good and this memorable. Highly Recommended.

For fans of... Magnum, Asia, Cheap Trick, Saga, Styx, etc...

Xorigin - 'State Of The Art' (frontiers records) 3/5

There is a place where AOR, prog rock and hard rock meet, and if you look at that point carefully there you will find Norwegian outfit Xorigin. Now as far as I can make out, this lot have been around for a good few years, but have only just got around to issuing their debut album. And I gotta say its not a bad effort.

Sounding like a multi band horror smash between Europe, Loverboy, It Bites, Vow Wow and Glory; State Of the Art is a nicely performed 11 song package with some great cover art work. Over all it reminds me of American melodic rock legends Drive, She Said, especially on tracks like Too Late, Crying For You and The One For Me. And that leads me to my main issue with this album. just like Drive, She Said, you know there is a damn fine hard rock band in here somewhere, but they just don't quite deliver the goods when you want them to. Everything is a little to restrained and too controlled. Where as Europe, Loverboy and especially Vow Wow really knew how to cut loose and rip it up from time to time; Xorigin just tend to play it a little too safe. While this restraint works well on softer more AOR type numbers like Said And Done and In The Blink Of An Eye, when it comes to the rockier tracks like Gina, your just wishing they would live a little more on the RAWK side and really give it more stick.

Still this IS an old metal head speaking, and over all the album is very pleasurable and contains a really nice surprise in the form of What Love is All About, which sounds like Big Generator era Yes, and is a track worth getting the album for in its own right.

In conclusion - Try before you buy, unless your a real AOR head.

For fans of... Yes, Asia, Journey, Glory, Europe, Drive She Said

Toby Hitchcock - 'Mercury's Down' (frontiers records) 3.5/5

With US proggers Pride of Lions taking a couple of years out, it is inevitable at the solo albums would come crawling out of the wood work - and so we have this effort from vocalist Toby Hitchcock to keep the fans deck happy until the Pride reforms.

First impressions are that Mercury's Down is a tad more commercial than POL. This is less Asia / Mystery and more Toto / Journey so to speak. Not that that is a bad thing on the whole, I'm not adverse to a little stadium AOR once in a while, and as stadium AOR albums go this isn't a bad one.

You have some fantastic rock out tunes on this album, Strong Enough features some guitar work to die for, If It's to Be (It's Up To Me) is a belting feel good anthem in the Journey mode; 'I've got what it takes now, I'll make my own breaks now...' - whilst Just Say Goodbye hits home with all the power and verve of a classic Night Ranger track. And there can be no doubting that Mr Hitchcock has the perfect voice for the genre, he comes over like a pumped up Steve Perry meets Lou Gramm on steroids; supreme power, perfect control and pitch perfect.. All good stuff.

OK there a couple of tracks where where this album sinks towards stadium rock cliche, most noticeably on the  inevitable power ballad One Day I'll Stop Loving You (lighters at the ready people) and on the opening sections of the John Farman-esque A Different Drum. But thankfully those moments are more than off set by tracks such as Tear Down the Barricades and the title track closer.

In short a worthy addition to the canon of AOR must haves

For fans of... Journey, Toto, Survivor, Night Ranger, Loverboy