Dare - Out of the silence

This is the debut album from the UK band Dare, and also in my opinion their best effort. It's very melodic, the song writing is strong and the production is good considering this album isn't that fresh anymore (released in 1988). Keyboards play a strong role here, and they are the elements that make this album sound very atmospheric. Singer Darren Wharton has a hauntingly brilliant voice perfectly suited for the material. The rest of the band doesn't shine too much, but they all make excellent contributions as a team to the whole package. Vinny Burns (later in the band Ten) is the lead guitarist here, and his solos fit the tracks quite well. I remember trying to get hold of the singles for this album, as the B-sides contained excellent tracks not included on the LP/CD (for example songs called "Valentino" and "Love is the price"). When this CD was re-released not long ago, I took it for granted that these B-sides would appear on it. But, no. Almost criminal not to include them and I really can't understand why! It's hard to pick some favourite tracks off this album, as I think they are all good. By the way, Brian Cox (the keyboard player, who was with the band until the split in 1992) is nowadays Dr Brian and currently works at the CERN laboratory in Geneva. He has received many awards for his work in publishing science. Quite a change of direction, eh?

Atlantic - Power

1994 was not an easy time for any band in the AOR genre, and I think that's the main explanation that this album didn't get the success it deserved.  Batteling with increasing Grunge popularity, anything melodic did have a hard time. It's truly a forgotten slice of AOR perfection.  For me, this is the genre at its best. This was the band's only release, though I've heard somewhere that they've plans to release a new album in the near future (let's hope for it!). All elements that make a great melodic rock album are here; upbeat rockers with pumping bass lines like the opening track "Can't hold on" and "Power over me" to great ballads such as "It's only love". This album was out of print for some time, but was finally reissued in 2008 by Escape. Featuring a digitally remastered sound as well as a never before released bonus track ("Hearts on fire"), I consider this a must buy for ANYONE into AOR.

Starship - Knee deep in the hoopla

Now classic songs like "Layin' it on the line", "No way out" and "Find your way back" showed Starship moving closer to the mainstream after years as Jefferson Airplane and then as Jefferson Starship. Starship was one of those underrated 80:s bands that produced great music and adjusted very smoothly during this great decade. This is pure 80:s for me, and pure feel-good music! This album is a lot more than the superhit "We built this city". In fact, most tracks are really good. Two of the song writers here include Bernie Taupin (Elton John's songwriting partner) and Martin Page. Personal favourites are "Before I go" (keyboards played by Peter Wolf who also played on Heart's self-titled album from 1985), "Desperate heart" and "Hearts of the world (will understand)". The latter should definately have been released as a single! "Sara" is a great, beautiful ballad. Released in 1985 and wayyy better than their previous album "Nuclear furniture". Grace Slick, with her unmistakable voice, was 46 years old at the time of release.

Strangeways - Any day now

If your mind is set on a true AOR experience, then don't expect to find it here. Strangeways of old, with their now classic albums "Native sons" and "Walk in the fire", provide this. This release however, drastically changed my view of the band's music. Released in 1997, it mainly followed the sound of the 1994 release "And the horse". I wasn't too big a fan of the forementioned, but this one I found a great deal better. If you forget about the old Strangeways AOR-sound for a moment, this is quite good. It's definately an album suited for late night listening, as it's very atmospheric and on the soft side. Listen to tracks like "Blue line" for example, and you see what I'm talking about.

Heart - Passion works

Released in 1983, this was the last album to be released before the hugely successful self-titled album "Heart" in 1985. It was also the last album under their contract with Epic. If the production of this one had been slightly better (like their albums from the late eighties), it would definately have become more successful. I don't think this album gained the band many new fans, but the songs are actually not bad. Actually, I find it underrated. Songs like "How can I refuse" (a single the unfortunately failed to crack the top 40), "Language of love" (a slow-rocker) and "Blue guitar" (another slow-rocker) are really good. "Johnny moon" is another song that grew on me after a few listens. That track somewhat reminds me of the chorus in "Seven thunders" from Dokken's debut album "Breaking the chains" (also from 1983...imagine that) and a track from Strangeway's "Any day now". And oh, "Allies" was written by  THE Jonathan Cain of Journey!

Dokken - Dokken

Released as a come-back album in Japan 1994, and a year later re-released in the rest of the world with the title "Dysfunctional". Hearing the latter release first, I had great expectations as Dokken was one of my favourite metal bands of the eighties. I remember being disappointed of the modernized sound of this album, as it was a long way from the sound of the classic Dokken albums. It had some of the old Dokken elements, though. The guitar riffing of George Lynch is easy to recognize, as of course is the voice of Don Dokken. 2 or 3 of the tracks might even had fitted on a Dokken album of old ("Too high to fly" and "Long way home"), while the rest was clearly a step towards a more modern approach. The Beatles-like vocal harmonies for example was clearly a new move. Anyway, this 1994 release was in my opinion a bit better than "Dysfunctional". The sound and mix is a bit more "rough", which makes it heavier sounding and leans more towards the old Dokken sound than the re-release.

Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force - Marching out

I remember my first encounter with Mr Malmsteen's music, watching the music video for "I'll see the light tonight" on MTV in the mid-eighties. I was totally, and I mean totally, blown away by his blistering guitar playing! I also loved the sound, the dark sound with some classical influences thrown in. Yngwie has released a whole bunch of albums since then, but I still rate this album among the best. I think there was more magic in his first 3 albums, and his playing sounds a bit more inspired and "fresh". Released in 1985, this was his second album after his nearly all-instrumental self titled first album. Yngwie has always managed to get talanted musicians into his band, and this album shows no exception to that rule. The voice of Jeff Scott Soto (later in Eyes, Talisman) fits perfectly to the songs, and this was a very important album for his career. The Johansson brothers, Anders (drums) and Jens (keyboards, later in Dio and Stratovarious) both do an amazing job. Jens in particular, classically influenced in his playing, makes an excellent contribution to the sound and feel of this release. Last, but certainly not least, is Marcel Jacob (later in Talisman) on bass. What an amazing bass player this was! Truly missed by his fans all over the world. Personal highlights on the album are the forementioned "I'll see the light tonight", "Disciples of hell" and "Soldier without faith".

BB Steal - On the edge

Def Leppard are not really known for releasing albums very often. Pyromania 1983, Hysteria 1987, Adrenalize 1992 are just examples of that time frame. 1993 the Leps released "Retro active" with a collection of covers and some B-sides, e.g. nothing new to feed the fans. Their next release didn't see the light of day until 1996, when "Slang" came out (reviewed on this site). So, luckily then, some guys released an album in "true" Def Leppard sound, maybe the sound many fans wanted to hear on "Slang". This is "On the edge" by BB Steal, released in 1994. The "stadium rock" feel is very much present here, and the harmonies and songs works perfectly. The production is not quite as good as on the last Leppard albums, but, honestly, who cares when the songs are this good?

Journey - Raised on radio

This was the first Journey album I ever heard. Maybe it wasn't the best one to introduce me to the world of Journey music, as no other Journey album sounds like this one. Very radio friendly at the time (hey, look at the title..), and I'm sure some Journey fans were put off by the sound on this one. It doesn't rock (with few exceptions), but it does have a strong collection of songs. This resembles more of Steve Perry's solo album "Street Talk" (1984) than for example "Frontiers" (1983). Released in 1986, it was the last album the band recorded before calling it quits (this time, at least). This truly is a favourite of mine. I just love the feel of it. It's got soul! Steve Perry sounds better than ever on this one, Jonathan Cain does fantastic keyboard work and Neal Schon delivers his solos with passion. This album didn't see the classic members Steve Smith (drums) and Ross Valery (bass), instead these positions were filled by session musicians Larrie Londin and Randy Jackson (future American Idol judge). One track I like in particular is the haunting, almost mystical sounding track "Once you love somebody". I kept going back to this track for weeks after first hearing it! Other highlights are "Girl can't help it", "Suzanne" and the last ballad "Why can't this night go on forever". A classic! I'm not sure all Journey fans would agree, though.

Mark Spiro - Now is then, then is now

This is truly a fine example of good Westcoast/AOR. Following the 1994 album "Care of my soul", this has a lot more energy as "Care of.." was more laid back and in the vein of his latest efforts. "Now is then.." was followed by "Devotion" and "The stuff that dreams are made of", both very good albums, but I tend to think this one is the best. Starting with the track "All the love we kill" end ending with "Midwestern skies", all tracks are good and there are no fillers. A beautful collection of melodic songs with haunting melodies by the master Mark Spiro.