Saturday, October 12, 2024

Alexa [st - 1989]

Alexa [st - 1989]

Origin: (Switzerland)

Alexa [st - 1989]


Take a listen on youtube


Line-up:

Alexa Anastasia - Vocals
Paul Sabu - Guitar
Murrill Maglio - Bass
Charles Esposito - Drums
Tommy Rude - Keyboards
Devon Meade - Backing vocals


Tracks:

1. I Can't Shake You
2. We Don't Remember Why
3. Dance This Night Away
4. Wanderlust
5. Let It Rock
6. A Cry Away
7. Cool Wind
8. Heart To Heart
9. Spooky
10. From Now On


Alexa

 Origin: (Switzerland)

ALEXA
Alexa Anastasia
Alexa Anastasia

Discography:

Alexa [st - 1989]st - 1989

Notes:

- Classic female fronted melodic rock with some glorious pompous keyboard moments. Alexa Anastasia was a Swiss beauty discovered by Paul Sabu. The fact is that Paul Sabu and his complete band at the time, Only Child, assisted in the recording of this sole album. Comparable to Saraya and Witness, with her deepish, gritty delivery, her voice sounded uncannily like Sabu's (or is it me?!). As usual Paul Sabu's guitar work shines. Alexa also made two tracks for the soundtrack album ‘Bram Stokers Dracula: The Love Story To Die For’ that are incredible hard to find (if it was released at all). The two tracks ‘For You I'd Die’ and ‘Where Are You’ are just as fantastic female fronted AOR/Melodic Rock like the debut album. The album was re-issued by MTM in 2007 and it would have been great if the re-issue had featured the two tracks but unfortunately it isn’t. Alexa was an artist with strong visual image that missed the boat in 1989 which really was a disgrace really since its an essential album chocked full of fine melodies and unforgettable hooks, and should be sought out at the earliest opportunity. Classic Rock magazine recently said this album was an undiscovered classic. This is the very rare out of print original version on Savage records. -



- Alexa Anastasia, Switzerland. Discovered by Paul Sabu (Only Child; Sabu), this Los Angeles, California-based vocalist Alexa combined hard rock overtures with pop hooks. Sabu produced her debut album, which invited comparisons to Lita Ford and Lee Aaron, but was unable to sell in sufficient numbers to attract wider interest. In 2006, Alexa was reissued by MTM Records."Alexa" is the AOR/melodic rock debut by female vocalist Alexa Anastasia originally released in 1989. Despite baring the name of the Swiss singer, "Alexa" is often considered to have been directed entirely by songwriter/guitarist Paul Sabu who was the driving force behind this project.Indeed the line up that recorded "Alexa" are actually the members of Sabu's late `80s outfit "Only Child" featuring bassist Murrill Maglio, key-player Tommy Rude, drummer Charles Esposito and Paul only on guitars as all vocals were performed by Alexa. Excluding the singer, the rest of the line up cut one of the greatest-arguably-AOR albums of all time, the "Unruly Child" debut, therefore fans of the group should expect that Alexa's album is just as strong a melodic offering. -

Sunday, September 29, 2024

Climb

 Origin: Tokyo (Japan)

CLIMB
Climb
Warren Cromartie - Joe Hamilton

Discography:

Climb [Take a chance - 1988]Take a chance - 1988 (with lyrics)

Notes:

- Best remembered for his successful baseball career as a rising young star with the Montreal Expos, Warren Cromartie earned the affectionate nickname "Cro" and even had a candy bar named after him, a la Babe Ruth. After ten years in the major leagues, at only 30 years old, Cromartie became the first prominent American player still in his prime to sign with a Japanese baseball team. In Japan, Cromartie became a rock star of sorts, winning the coveted MVP award in 1989 and led his team to the Japan Series championship. What most people didn't know was the fact that Cromartie was an accomplished drummer who befriended and jammed with the Canadian rock band Rush - Cromartie's name appears on the back cover of Rush's 1982 album, Signals and he is also thanked in the liner notes. While in Japan, Cro formed an AOR band called Climb with Austrian lead vocalist Joe Hamilton. In 1988, the band put out a limited edition album that was released in Japan only. Cro enlisted a veritable all star lineup for the Steve Klein-produced album including Rush lead singer Geddy Lee; the legendary Detroit session player and producer Bruce Nazarian; Foreigner's lead singer Lou Gramm; David Rosenthal, the keyboard player of the popular rock band Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, who is currently keyboardist and musical director for Billy Joel's band; and award-winning veteran industry vocalist Mitch Malloy. Hit songwriter Russ Ballard contributed a track ("Caught In A Crossfire") as did Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly ("Lonely In Each Other's Arms"). Steinberg and Kelly were writers on Madonna's "Like A Virgin" and Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors, among many other hits. The album Climb is a funky rocking affair with Cromartie in the driver's seat, totally wailing on the drums and leading the band through nine solid tunes that can stand with the best the 80's had to offer. The album has been newly remastered and finally released Worldwide for the first time, with a bonus track, the instrumental version of the single "Girl Like You," that was previously only released in Japan as a 45 RPM single b-side. After hearing the album, one can only wonder what Cromartie could have achieved musically had he not become a baseball star. -



Climb [Take a chance - 1988]

Climb [Take a chance - 1988]

Origin: Los Angeles (USA)

Climb [Take a chance - 1988]


Take a listen on youtube


Line-up:

Joe Hamilton - Vocals, percussion, backing vocals
Warren Cromartie - Drums, percussion, backing vocals

Additional musicians:
Lou Gramm - Vocals
Geddy Lee - Vocals
Bruce Nazarian - Guitar, bass, keyboards
George Terry - Guitar, bass, backing vocals
David Rosenthal - Bass, keyboards, percussion
Jim Bull - Backing vocals
Mitch Malloy - Backing vocals
Kitty Terry - Backing vocals


Tracks:

1. Girl Like You lyrics
2. Adult Situations lyrics
3. Lonely In Each Others Arms lyrics
4. Who's Missing Who lyrics
5. Thinking Of You lyrics
6. Caught In A Crossfire lyrics
7. Rock An A Stone lyrics
8. Try On lyrics
9. Chance lyrics

Sunday, September 22, 2024

The Strand [st - 1980]

The Strand [st - 1980]

Origin: Los Angeles (USA)

The Strand [st - 1980] aor melodic rock music blogspot full albums bands lyrics


Take a listen on youtube


Line-up:

Rick 'Moon' Calhoun - Vocals
Scott Shelly - Guitar, backing vocals
Dean Cortez - Bass, backing vocals
Peter Reilich - Keyboards, backing vocals
Kelly Shanahan - Drums

Additional musicians:
Michael Boddicker - Synthesizers
Lenny Castro - Percussion
Jim Horn - Saxophone


Tracks:

1. Rock It Tonight
2. Long Hot Summer
3. I Like It Like That
4. Just A Little More Time
5. Prisoners In Paradise
6. Stay Away From My Girl
7. Frustration
8. Children Of The Night
9. Dirty Little Girl
10. Can't Look Back

The Strand

 Origin: Los Angeles (USA)

THE STRAND
The Strand
Peter Reilich - Dean Cortez - Rick 'Moon' Calhoun - Kelly Shanahan - Scott Shelly


Discography:

The Strand [st - 1980]st - 1980

Notes:

- “IN KEEPING with Rock candy’s penchant for exposing great, yet relatively unheralded melodic rock music, we now turn the spotlight on an obscure Los Angeles based five piece named, rather curiously, The Strand. Although the name may not be recognisable, some of the band members will be very familiar to fans of sophisticated melodic rock.

The Strand’s origins can be found in a group called Rural Still Life, the very same group that spawned hugely successful multi Grammy winning West Coast AOR stars Toto. In common with Toto the band were also extremely talented players, some having backed Boz Scaggs both live and in the studio. Just like the session players that birthed Toto, they too hatched plans for their own group, quickly securing a deal with Island Records.

Signed personally by Island founder Chris Blackwell (and named by him), the band’s one and only album, originally released in 1980, was produced, not unsurprisingly, by long-time friend and colleague, Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro. The results, as you might reasonably expect, are spectacular, boasting killer songs, jaw-dropping musicianship and superb arrangements, all bathed in a stellar production. Listen out too for vocalist Rick ‘Moon’ Calhoun, one of the greatest, yet largely overlooked, vocalists of the genre.” -

(Notes by Derek Oliver. Back cover of the CD reissued in 2011)

- A five-piece from Los Angeles, the magnificently monikered The Strand comprised Rick ‘Moon’ Calhoun on vocals, Scott Shelly on guitar, Peter Reilich on keyboards, Dean Cortez on bass and Kelly Shanahan on drums, cutting a record that if you were to put the heavier side to Toto with the melodic lilt of Pablo Cruise you'd be somewhere close to imagining just how brilliant the record they recorded together, just over thirty years ago, sounds. With ‘Moon’ Calhoun’s smooth vocal performance topping a clean, crisp and unfussy production job from Jeff Porcaro, there is a dazzling sheen to the songs and musicianship. Perhaps because the members of the band effectively shared the same musical grounding over the years with their CBS signed brothers in arms, heck, a better description could be that this is probably the best hard rock album Toto never made.

These days Scott Shelly lives in Queensland, Australia where he owns a music composition and Production Company that provides original music and production to the entertainment industries, working on computer games, films and TV shows. One of his longest contracts had been composing music for the late Steve Irwin’s hugely popular ‘Crocodile Hunter’ series, but as a child back in North Hollywood, California he grew up with some very musical company, having had Jeff Porcaro and David Paich as high school mates, establishing themselves in bands together at a very young age; one such group being Rural Still Life.

“The first incarnation of Rural Still Life was a four piece jazz combo, with myself on guitar, Steve Leeds on sax and flute, Gary Sherwood on bass, and Jeff Porcaro on drums,” Scott explains. “The second incarnation of Rural Still Life grew out of that and The Merciful Souls which was a Commitments/Blues Brothers type of big band with a horn section that comprised of Jay Sacks, Doug Wintz, Steve Leeds, Frank Szabo, and Scott Page.

“When our keyboard player, Richard Aronson, left to attend Berklee in Boston, Steve Leeds found David Paich as a replacement. We were still all around 15 years old at this point, so Steve Leeds really deserves the credit for introducing Jeff to Paich.
“We started playing a lot of the high school dances and proms in the area then, covering songs by Blood, Sweat and Tears, Chicago, and Mad Dogs and Englishmen. Paich kicked us all in the butt in the best way. He probably wouldn’t remember, but I learned a lot about arranging and piano from David Paich, and consider myself very fortunate to have been in a band with him in those days.”
“The third incarnation of Rural Still Life had players like Steve Porcaro, Carlos Vega, Michael Landau, Steve Lukather, and Dean Cortez in the band.”

Scott had initially been inspired by his mother, an accomplished piano player, and grandfather (who played guitar, banjo, mandolin and organ) and a cousin who used to sing at family reunions (“I was fascinated by how much joy someone singing a song could bring to the party”), but there were a couple of records he heard at an early age that truly led him become a  musician.

“Hearing The Everly Brothers’ ‘Cathy’s Clown’ on the radio in the car for the first time was a key point, but the first two albums I saved up for and bought were Bob Dylan’s ‘Blonde On Blonde’ and Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Are You Experienced?’”

Over the next few years Scott would establish himself as a sought after team player, working alongside the likes of Albert Collins, Warren Zevon, Tom Jans, Randy Meisner, Boz Scaggs and Dan Fogelberg. He even had a brief stint as a replacement for Randy California in a line-up of Spirit. 

“Working with those guys in every case taught me to do my homework, to listen first and talk later whenever possible, to remember that people are paying good money to come see the artist that I'm lucky enough to be playing with, to not be complacent and take anything for granted, and to pace myself on the road.”

On one of his jaunts with Dan Fogelberg, he found himself alongside one Geoff Lieb (aka Jeff Paris). “He’s very smart, very funny, and a scarily multi-talented guy. We spent close to 12 weeks on the road that summer with Dan - one of my favourite tours.”
It was playing in many of these groups that the first seeds of what would become The Strand were sown. 

“Kelly Shanahan played with Randy Meisner, Dan Fogelberg, Tom Jans, and Boz Scaggs when I was with them. Dan Fogelberg’s band at that time included Dave Pearlman on pedal steel, Kerry Hatch on bass, and Tom Kelly (of I-Ten fame, With whom Shanahan also toured when Kelly fronted Fool’s Gold). Boz’s line-up included Dean Cortez, Peter Reilich, Michael Landau, Tommy Funderburk, Vanetta Fields, Paulette Brown, Lenny Castro, and John Madrid. There were a few Boz gigs with 3 guitar players that Steve Lukather, Michael Landau and me, that was huge fun, with Bill Myers on synths, and Jeff Porcaro made it for a few of those as well. My impression at the time, though, was that Steve, David and Jeff were pretty much concentrating on Toto and other sessions.”

In addition to his touring and session work, Scott had also been branching out as a guitar tutor, which would lead him into meeting a young student who would, albeit after his tragic and premature death, become accepted as one of the greatest guitarists of his generation.

“My teacher at Valley Arts Guitar, Al Karnis, asked if I would take a few students on as their ‘rock guy’, and I agreed and found out that I enjoyed teaching,” responds Scott on the subject. “Then I heard through the grapevine that Musonia in North Hollywood was looking for another guitar teacher, so I followed up and met Delores Rhoads. She had been looking for a teacher for her son Randy, and after a couple of gruelling teacher audition hours - she really knows her stuff - Mrs. Rhoads decided that I would do. After a year or so I had to tell her that he knew everything I did and that it was time to look for another teacher to take him to the next level. Randy was the most ferociously dedicated guitar player I've ever met, and an inspiration to millions. It is an honour to have known him.”

It was actually Boz Scaggs’ manager, Irving Azoff, who was the catalyst in The Strand coming together as an entity, as the musicians that would form the group, minus Calhoun, were all a huge part of Scaggs’ band by that point.

 “On one of the Iater Boz tours, his manager Irving Azoff pulled me aside and said that Boz was going to be concentrating on writing for a while and touring less, but that we should consider staying together and try to find a lead singer,” recalls Scott. “I'd been around long enough to understand that if Irving was taking his time to tell you something, it would be a very good idea to listen.”
Shelly then convinced ‘Moon’ Calhoun to join the party. Tulsa, Oklahoma native Calhoun had earned his spurs drumming with The Gap Band and playing sessions with other R&B outfits such as D.J. Rogers, but he had also established himself as a song writer whilst a member of Rufus, by co-penning the band’s biggest hit in ‘Stay’ with Chaka Khan and appearing on the ‘Street Players’ album. He had also written material for June Pointer and Pressure. 

“l had a chance to get to know ‘Moon’ a bit at a party at Tom Jan’s house,” recalls Scott. “I mentioned that we were looking for a singer. Although ‘Moon’ was an amazing drummer and song writer, he sang his butt off as well, so it turned out he was willing to give it a shot.”
Oddly enough, the deal with Island Records was established thanks to some slick networking rather than the band having to shop for a deal. 

“’Moon’, David Batteau (a prolific song writing friend of Scott’s who had been a recording artist himself on A&M and Columbia at various times in the 70s) and I had started writing together and Paul Camarata at Sunset Sound offered us some demo time, which was very kind. We recorded a demo of five songs as I recall, and ‘Moon’ gave a copy of that tape to a friend at Cavallo, Ruffalo and Fargnoli (managers of Earth, Wind and Fire, Little Feat, Weather Report and Reggie Knighton). We weren’t technically even a band at that point, so it wasn’t a case of us shopping the stuff round the labels in LA. It just happened.

"Apparently lawyer involved, Eric Eisner – who worked with Cavallo, Ruffalo and Fargnoli - was friends with Chris Blackwell (head of Island), and Chris was in LA at the time. He asked Eric if he’d heard anything interesting Iately, and Eric played him our tape. Next thing we knew we were being offered a deal with Island. We were signed without a band name – Chris came up with the name The Strand. I’m not sure what Chris Blackwell was thinking of when he suggested The Strand as a name - in the States the first thing that comes to mind is the boardwalk or footpath down along the beach - I just remember thinking that if the president of our label is suggesting a name, we should probably give it serious consideration, unless it totally sucked - which it didn’t - and I bounced it off the guys before giving Chris the OK.”

When it came to who would produce the album it was pretty much a no-brainer to Scott and the band that old friend Jeff Porcaro would come in to do the job. 

“It was a no-brainer. He'd already played on more hit records than anybody else I knew, but there were a few other factors. Kelly and Jeff were very good friends - both great drummers, both of their fathers are drummers, and I knew both of them would probably have a ball working together. Jeff was also my very good friend, and I had been trying to find a way to reciprocate for all he’d done for me. I knew Jeff was getting frustrated at being perceived as ‘just a drummer’ by the guys in Toto - very strong writers, players, personalities - and that if he agree to produce, it might help him with that. He also came up with the idea for the hook on ‘Can’t Look Back’, so that when The Strand album was done, Jeff was officially a producer and a song writer. A few years later, he co-wrote ‘Africa’.”

The album was released in May 1980 with a smattering of initial interest in the industry press, but little in the way of full on promotion. The band toured, but not widely, although one show worth noting is when The Strand opened for the controversial Rod Evans fronted band of nobodies outrageously billed as Deep Purple at Long Beach Arena in August 17th 1980.

“We should have toured a lot more,” acknowledges Scott. “Jeff invited us to open for Toto on a swing through the Pacific Northwest, which was great, and we had a few clubs in L.A. that we played at several times, but that was it.”

“Island was going through a lot of changes and didn’t quite know what to do with us, and I don’t think in retrospect that our managers at the time, though they tried, did either, so sales of the record had been woeful to say the least.”

“After giving it a reasonably good go, ‘Moon’ made it clear that he wasn’t happy singing rock stuff, and wanted to focus again on R&B, which was more his thing, After ‘Moon’ left we tried out a few lead singers, including David Eisley (later of Giuffria and Dirty White Boy), before we found Keith Landry through Jeff, as Keith had toured with Toto as a backing singer, and when Peter Reilich decided to go on tour with Foreigner, I rang Michael Boddicker and started writing with him, with the intention of picking up the second album per our deal with Island and with Boddicker as a member. I thought the songs we wrote were a progression from and an improvement on ‘The Strand’ album. We had re-named the band Citizen by that time and I think we did 6 tunes all up, but Island was going through a lot changes and we just sort of fell through the cracks. Those tracks were never released. Mike Porcaro was on bass by that point, so when David Hungate decided to leave Toto, Mike of course went to play with them. And that was it for us.”

A band (‘The Fire Project’) featuring Landry and Shelly alongside legendary Canadian guitarist Frank Marino and former Jefferson Starship drummer Aynsley Dunbar got close to being signed, but soon fizzled out. Scott was later contacted by Landry again on a country rock project akin to the Eagles. “Keith Landry and Oakley Tyger approached me to co-write some contemporary country rock with them,” comments Scott. “I'd been wood shedding on guitar, writing with David Batteau, and studying composition privately, and was very clear about not wanting to be in another band. And of course, I ended up playing with them for almost two years, almost moved to Nashville, but went to San Francisco instead and got into composing for games. 

Incidentally, another post The Strand/Citizen project Scott was involved with was working alongside ‘Moon’ Calhoun again on Marcy Levy’s ‘Marcella’ album, based on knowing Marcy from her stints with mutual associates. “Peter Reilich shared a house with Richard Feldman, Marcy, and Roger Linn (of the Linn Drum fame). Richard, Marcy, and Roger all co-wrote ‘Lay Down Sally’ with Eric Clapton. Roger invested his royalties in his drum machine, which became very successful. So I actually met Richard and Marcy through Peter, and then found out that they knew ‘Moon’ from Tulsa. Nice people all - I remember that the song ('l Can’t Stand It’) we wrote together came pretty quickly.”

By this point Scott had begun to take a keen interest in scoring for computer game work, but he also became heavily involved writing for film soundtracks, including the original ‘Transformers’ movie. “I discovered that I liked doing work-for-hire composition stuff, and did a lot of material for Paramount in the 80s. A neighbour, Russell Steinberg - a music teacher at USC - gave me an old textbook on composition and orchestration which was a big help, and I owe Steve Porcaro a Thuge thank you for all his tips and help with synths and keyboards over the years. The ‘Transformers’ song (‘Dare’) was a last-minute thing. The composer Vince DiCola rang and asked me to write lyrics to an already completed melody and track. I think they recorded Stan Bush’s vocal the very next night down at Scotti Bros Studios. Stan did an amazing job on that! 

As noted previously by Scott, ‘Moon’ Calhoun quit the band before re-discovering his appreciation for rock music when teaming up with Scott Gorham (who was at the time forming a new band after the break-up of Thin Lizzy) in Western Front, a line-up that also featured guitarist Marty Walsh (later to join The Key), keyboardist Dick Bergman and drummer Darrell Verdusco. Pretty much the precursor for Gorham’s later 21 Guns project, Western Front’s demos highlight the fact that ‘Moon’ still had a perfect voice for hard rock and this was further demonstrated in 1988 when the singer joined forces with his old guitarist pal Michael Thompson to cut the excellent ‘How Long’ album, before Calhoun hooked up with another long-time friend Jeff Paris and this pairing cut some very interesting tracks using the moniker of Moon Over Paris.

However, in September 1994 - having survived years of drinking and drug abuse that had led him into rehab – Calhoun’s life was to drastically and tragically change in extraordinary circumstances when he broke his neck in a freak cycling accident after he had hit a pothole in the road that had thrown him out of the saddle. He suffered life changing injuries. The accident damaged Calhoun’s spinal cord, leaving him seriously disabled.

The Moon Over Paris material sadly remains unreleased, although Jeff Paris has stated that he has every intention of getting it out into the wider public domain at some point in the future.

After touring with Foreigner in 1981, supporting the phenomenally successful ‘4’ album, Peter Reilich (who can also add a tenure in Gary Wright's all keyboard group to his CV) has continued to add to hugely impressive talents to sessions and tours, including a stint with John Waite amongst many others.

Dean Cortez, the elder brother of erstwhile Stone Fury drummer Jody Cortez, went back to session playing, appearing on Joseph Williams’ self-titled debut album in 1981 and the Karizma album ‘Dream Come True’ in 1983, alongside the likes of David Paich, Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro, Tim Pierce and Carlos Vega. He has enjoyed a long association with the Asian-American Jazz Fusion band Hiroshima, having assisted on the band’s early demos and consistently recorded with them on a session basis until becoming a permanent fixture on bass. 

Kelly Shanahan has continued to tour and record with a wealth of other artists over the years and is currently recording a new CD and playing live occasionally with a band called The Ride (featuring Paul Nussbaum, Tim Henderson, Gerrit Folsom and Lori O’Brien) and giving drum lessons to elementary school kids at a music school in Santa Clarita. 

Although Scott’s career has absolutely thrived since he immersed himself in the world of gaming, TV and film work, he continues to play now and again with his current band The Avocado Theory, offering proof, I guessed, that he missed being in a band despite his successes elsewhere.

“Sure, I miss it! There’s nothing like live music. I do get to play a bit now and then here in Australia - there are some amazingly talented and very kind people here - but I guess that for an old guitar player from Sherman Oaks I turned out to be a half-way decent TV and game music composer!” 

So far as his old band’s album is concerned, he’s extremely pleased that it’s finally seen the light of day on CD after all these years. “For something that was thrown together very quickly, I wasn’t unhappy with the album when it first came out. I think we all had fun recording it.” -

(Notes by Dave Reynolds. Nottingham, England. June 2011. CD booklet reissued in 2011)

Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Gary Hughes [Strength of heart - 1990]

Gary Hughes [Strength of heart - 1990]

Origin: Manchester (England)

Gary Hughes [Strength of heart - 1990] aor melodic rock music blogspot full albums bands lyrics


Take a listen on youtube


Line-up:

Gary Hughes - Vocals, guitar, bass, drum programming
Simon Humphrey - Bass, bass and drum programming
David Hewson - Keyboards, synthesizers
Howard Smith - Keyboards
Ian Kirkham - Saxophone
Sandy McLelland - Backing vocals


Tracks:

1. Some Kind Of Evil lyrics
2. Only True Love Lasts Forever lyrics
3. Strength Of Heart lyrics
4. Bringin' All Of Your Love To Me lyrics
5. Big Bad Wolf lyrics
6. Helen's Eyes lyrics
7. Man Behind The Mask lyrics
8. Christine lyrics
9. Hammer Your Heart lyrics
10. Can't Get You Out Of My Head lyrics
11. Photograph lyrics
12. Stay lyrics
13. Vigilante lyrics
14. Helen's Eyes (Reprise)

Gary Hughes

 Origin: Manchester (England)

GARY HUGHES
Gary Hughes
Gary Hughes

Discography:

 Gary Hughes [Strength of heart - 1990] Strength of heart - 1990 (with lyrics)

Notes:

- Gary Hughes (born 5 July 1964) is an English singer. Apart from his work as a solo artist, he is the frontman and main songwriter of hard rock/melodic rock band Ten. He has also worked as a producer and songwriter on Bob Catley's first three solo albums and more recently on Serpentine's third studio album, Circle of Knives. He has also produced Hugo's first album and has appeared on Vinny Burns' The Journey solo album and on the Ayreonauts Only album by the band Ayreon.

Hughes started playing guitar when he was nine years old and a schoolboy at Sale Boys' Grammar School.

His musical career started in 1989 when Hughes released his first album, Big Bad Wolf (renamed and re-released with extra tracks in 1992 as Strength of Heart) through the Polygram Oslo label in Germany and Norway.

In 1992, Hughes signed with the then newly formed Now & Then Records and his forthcoming self-titled album was the first one released on that label.

In 1995, Hughes and former Dare members Vinny Burns on guitar and Greg Morgan on drums begun working on what were to be his third and fourth solo albums. The sessions lead to the formation of the melodic hard rock band Ten.

Between The Robe and Spellbound albums, Hughes released his third solo album named Precious Ones. Precious Ones met with critical acclaim especially in Japan. In 2002, he undertook his most ambitious project yet; the two-album wide rock opera named Once And Future King that was based on King Arthur's myths and legends. The albums were released six months apart from each other and featured the vocals of Bob Catley, Lana Lane, Doogie White, Danny Vaughn, Sean Harris and others.

Hughes wrote and produced Bob Catley's first three solo albums, as well as Hugo's first solo release. Though he has been leading a band for over a decade, he continues to release solo albums as well as working as a songwriter, producer and musician for other artists. His latest release was the 2007 solo album named Veritas which saw a return to his AOR/melodic rock roots, following the Once And Future King project.

In September 2012, Hughes announced on his personal Facebook page that he will be producing and co-writing the new studio album of the band Serpentine. The follow-up album to the highly acclaimed Albion, Isla De Muerta, was released on 20 May via Rocktopia Records, with the band's first EP in 16 years entitled The Dragon And Saint George, following on 4 September. In March 2016, it was announced that his band Ten had signed a new contract with Frontiers Records, for a multi-album deal, starting with the release of Gothica, Ten's 13th studio album in July 2017 and the reissue of the band's back catalogue under the name "Opera Omnia".

In May 2018, he started working on Ten's 14th studio album Illuminati, which was released in November of the same year, through Frontiers Records, while in December 2020, his label Frontiers Records announced the forthcoming release of his seventh solo studio album entitled Waterside and a double CD compilation album featuring tracks from his back catalogue, entitled Decades. Both albums will be released on 12 March 2021. Among the other projects, Hughes is working on a new rock opera project and the debut album of a female singer. -



- Gary Hughes (Born 7 July 1964 in Manchester, England)

Gary is a rock vocalist most famous for his work with the British hard rock TEN.

Gary Hughes is considered to be one of the greatest singer in the AOR/Hard Rock scene. He has been compared to such rock legends as David Coverdale and Robert Plant.

As a solo artist he released until then three albums: Big Bad Wolf (1989), Strength of Heart (1991) and Gary Hughes (1993). In 1995 Gary began to write what he thought would be two new solo albums, but in 1996 he was joined on the recordings by former Dare members Vinny Burns and Greg Morgan. The sound thus became more band-oriented and the band TEN was born. Veteran producer, Mike Stone (Queen, Journey, Kiss) was brought in to oversee and mix the first of the albums, and the band’s self-titled début album, was finished. The album was warmly acclaimed by the fans and press, especially in the UK and Japan, In Japan they were ouselling huge Rock bands reaching sales of 50.000 records.

After less than one year came The Name of the Rose, still today considered by many to be Ten’s best album to date. The title track was voted “Song Of The Year” by the readers of BURRN! in Japan.

The band was then completed with John Halliwell (guitar), Ged Rylands (keyboards) and Shelley (also from DARE on bass).

The following album, The Robe was a huge step forward in the sound of TEN, leading strongly towards epic and majestic atmospheres and influences. Songs like the title track, "Arcadia" and "Ten Fathoms Deep" are considered to be amongst the best expressions of the British hard rock of the 90's. However, their major commercial success - especially in Europe - came with their following album: Spellbound, in 1999.

The record had all the elements which decreed the vast success of TEN within the hard rock fans: melody and class, but also power and epic atmospheres, inherited by the tradition of the British bands of the 70's such as Rainbow, Thin Lizzy and UFO.

A few line-up changes (most notably Steve McKenna taking on bass duties and Don Airey and Paul Hodson later on keyboards) did not really change the musical styles and success of the band that also gathered a great exposure and acclaim with the following release Babylon, a concept album based on a futuristic story of a computer programmer and his tragic love affair.

The following two records Far Beyond the World(2001) and Return to Evermore (2004, which saw the début of the new guitar ace Chris Francis, taking the place of Vinny Burns) served only to solidify the band’s reputation for great music and exquisite arrangements in great melodic hard rock fashion.

To mark the band’s 10th anniversary, a two disc album The Essential Collection was issued in January 2006, comprising the best Rockers and Ballads re-recorded in the style of how the band currently play their music. Ten’s most recent appearance was in March this year at the Atarfe Vega Rock Festival in Spain[citation needed], where they appeared to great critical acclaim along side WASP, Twisted Sister and Stryper.

Ten’s latest album is The Twilight Chronicles. It is a mixture of rock and ballads with a strong atmospheric mood and lyrics that tell tales of love, lust, death, glory, revenge and darkness.

Once again the album has been penned by Gary Hughes, who consistently delivers songs of immense quality and who must in fact rate amongst the worlds most accomplished and consistent songwriters for the last decade. The album is considered to be quite cinematic in nature; it features mighty orchestral passages and boasts all the usual opus of hooks, riffs, haunting melodies and themes that is always expected and associated with any Ten release.

In creating this new album, Ten has risen the standard once again for all other bands of similar following[citation needed]. Ten has now entered their second decade at the top of their genre, and with albums and material of this calibre they will surely be there for a great many years to come. -

Billy Satellite

 Origin: Oakland, California (USA)

BILLY SATELLITE
Billy Satellite
Monty Byrom - Tom Falletti - Danny Chauncey - Ira Walker

Discography:

Billy Satellite [st - 1984]  st - 1984

Notes:

- Billy Satellite was an American rock band based in Oakland, California. They are perhaps best known for composing and performing "I Wanna Go Back," which would later become a hit for Eddie Money. It was also covered by Gregg Rolie on his 1985 self-titled release.

Formed in Alameda, California as a three-person band in the early 1980s, Billy Satellite originally consisted of Monty Byrom (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Ira Walker (bass), and Tom "Fee" Falletti (drums). After playing in clubs in the Bay Area for several months, Falletti invited his friend, Danny Chauncey (Mistress, All-Stars), to join the band on guitar and keyboards.

Billy Satellite rose to the top of the Bay Area music scene. They recorded a studio demo with Phil Kaffel. In 1982 or 1983, they were signed to Capital Records by A&R man John S. Carter.

They recorded their first album at Rumbo Recorders in Los Angeles with Don Gehman producing. Their eponymous album was released in 1984 and included the singles "I Wanna Go Back" and "Satisfy Me". "Satisfy Me" was released first, and charted for six weeks, reaching the position of #64 on the Billboard Hot 100. Released four months later, "I Wanna Go Back" charted for three weeks, reaching the position of #78 on the Billboard Hot 100. Music videos were released for both of these songs. The video for "Satisfy Me" received airplay on MTV.

To support the album, Billy Satellite toured as an opening act for Night Ranger on the Midnight Madness Tour. They then toured with Jefferson Starship.

The band recorded a follow-up album at Good Night L.A. Studio with Keith Olson producing. This time, the process was not as smooth. Olson wanted to bring in session keyboardist Bill Cuomo and session bassist Randy Jackson to play instead of Walker; only the former happened but it still tainted the six-week recording process.

Then, John S. Carter moved to A&M Records, leaving the band without its advocate inside Capitol Records. Carter was replaced by Jimmy Iovine who shelved the nameless album and dropped the band. Byrom recalls, “I didn't listen to the second album for about five years. But when I finally listened to it I kicked myself that it was never really finished. There are some really great songs on there! And we’d actually recorded around two other albums worth of material in our time. We were very prolific."

The lack of their album combined with excesses of the rock lifestyle, caused the band to break up shortly thereafter after just three years.

In 2009, Rock Candy Records remastered and re-released the band's original album as Billy Satellite 1. In April 2016, the band's unreleased follow-up album, II, was released on the AOR Heaven label 31 years after it was recorded.

Byrom went on to form New Frontier which released an album in 1987 through an imprint of Polydor Records. He was also a songwriter for Eddie Money who covered Billy Satellite's "I Wanna Go Back" on his 1986 album Can't Hold Back. Money covered Billy Satellite's, "Satisfy Me" under the title "When You Gonna Satisfy Me" on his 1999 album, Ready Eddie. Later, Byrom formed Big House, a country-soul band that released two records. He also fronted The Buckaroos for thirteen years following Buck Owens' death. He has written songs that were recorded by Rita Coolidge, David Lee Roth, George Thorogood, and the Stray Cats.

In 1987, Chauncey joined 38 Special, staying with them through 2019. In 2019, he began playing live shows with Gregg Allman.

Falletti played with Gregg Allman, among others.

Walker has written songs and played with several acts, including Brian May & Tommy Castro, Steve Miller, Keb’ Mo, Eddie Money, Carlos Santana, and Joe Satriani. In 2002, he recorded with the Trichromes which includes Bill Kreutzmann (Grateful Dead), Neal Schon (Journey), and lyricist Robert Hunter. He also worked on recordings with Steve Earle, David Lee Murphy, Patti Lovelss, Gregg Rolie, Travis Tritt, Lenny Williams, and Lee Ann Wormack. He has produced fourteen albums, including one that received a Grammy Award nomination in 2008. He also performs as a solo artist with his own band and released the blues album Blame Me in 2013.

In 2010, Byrom, Walker, and Falletti were asked to perform in a benefit for guitarist Nick del Drago as Billy Satellite. With no rehearsal or soundcheck, the trio performed at Slim's in San Francisco on January 31, 2010, at what they believed was a one-time reunion. The audience for the benefit included their former manager Marty Cohn who suggested that they continue playing together. Cohn died a year later. Shortly afterward, they went to a studio and recorded a new album in twelve days.

In 2012, Byrom, Walker, and Falletti regrouped to form the band first called Zen Road Pilots and released their self-titled album. They performed in and around Bakersfield, California. Falletti said, "It's like Christmas for me because I'm getting a second chance at something in my life. When we were kids, we blew it. We knew it. We were too full of ourselves and just being silly. Now that we’re grown and everybody’s sober, it’s been a lot of fun." Expanding its members to five people, Monty Byrom and the Road Pilots released their album All These Roads in 2015. -

Billy Satellite [st - 1984]

Billy Satellite [st - 1984]

Origin: Oakland, California (USA)

Billy Satellite [st - 1984] aor melodic rock music blogspot full albums bands lyrics


Take a listen on youtube


Line-up:

Monty Byrom - Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Danny Chauncey - Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Ira Walker - Bass, vocals
Tom Falletti - Drums, percussion
Little John Chrisley - Harmonica


Tracks:

1. Satisfy Me
2. Last Call
3. Do Ya
4. I Wanna Go Back
5. Trouble
6. Rockin' Down The Highway
7. Turning Point
8. Bye Bye Baby
9. Standin' With The Kings
10. The Lonely One

Tuesday, July 16, 2024

Danny Wilde [Any man's hunger - 1988]

Danny Wilde [Any man's hunger - 1988]

Origin: Houlton, Maine (USA)

Danny Wilde [Any man's hunger - 1988]

Take a listen on Odysee

Take a listen on youtube


Line-up:

Danny Wilde - Vocals, guitar
Matt Downs - Guitar
Rick Wilson - Bass
Gordy Gale - Drums
Mel Gaynor - Drums
Wix - Keyboards, accordion, banjo
Phil Ashley - Keyboards


Tracks:

1. Time Runs Wild lyrics
2. Ain't I Good Enough lyrics
3. Wouldn't Be The First Time lyrics
4. Bitter Moon lyrics
5. In A Bordertown lyrics
6. Set Me Free lyrics
7. Every Goodbye lyrics
8. Any Man's Hunger lyrics
9. This Old Town lyrics
10. Contradiction lyrics
11. Too Many Years Gone By lyrics

Friday, July 12, 2024

Tom DeLuca [Down to the wire - 1986]

Tom DeLuca [Down to the wire - 1986]

Origin: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA)


Take a listen on youtube


Line-up:

Tom DeLuca - Vocals, guitar, harmonica, backing vocals
Derek O'Neil - Guitar
Mickey Feat - Bass, backing vocals
Jamie Lane - Drums
Martin Ditcham - Percussion
Danny Schogger - Keyboards
Taylor Rhodes - Keyboards, backing vocals
Gary Barnacle - Saxophone


Tracks:

1. 57 Chevy lyrics
2. Runaway Hearts lyrics
3. Chasing Shadows lyrics
4. Dirty Fingers lyrics
5. Fire In The Night lyrics
6. Down To The Wire lyrics
7. Going The Distance lyrics
8. Stone In Your Heart lyrics
9. Betrayed lyrics
10. Reunion lyrics

 
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