AOR: Anteater's Guide To The Best Of 80's Melodic Rock
 

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10+ AOR Guidepost Reviews

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I am not a huge AOR fan but I do like a couple of albums and a few songs. Fair play to you for starting a thread like this.

Q5- When The Mirror Cracks
Berlin- Count Three and Pray

Not quite AOR but they teeter on the genre precipice and are genuinely great albums.

Haha, the main point of contention for a thread like this is separating AOR from hair metal. As a result, there won't be any Ratt or Guns N' Roses or whatnot. :love:

In any case, anything I post here is subjective: there are probably going to be loads of albums that people will think I should have mentioned that probably won't see a shred of recognition here.

Oh, and Q5 are awesome. Thanks for the recommendation Lee!

I think the only AOR I can stand is Angel's first album.

But that came out in 1975 I won't hold my breath on it being included.

:)

The album was patchy but this is a great song. Alcatrazz featured Graham Bonnet (Rainbow) and one Steve Vai too.

10.

Phenomena – S/T (1984)

1. Kiss Of Fire (4:54)
2. Still The Night (3:28)
3. Dance With The Devil (4:44)
4. Phoenix Rising (4:44)
5. Believe (5:53)
6. Who's Watching Who (3:41)
7. Hell On Wings (3:56)
8. Twilight Zone (4:14)
9. Phenomena (2:06)

Where better to start on our odyssey into 80's overindulgences that a concept album featuring lead vocals from the former mid 70's singer/bassist of Deep Purple?

That said, Phenomena itself was certainly an interesting..phenomenon when it reared it's head initially in the early 80's. So much so that Kerrang! magazine and a variety of other publications ran front-page stories on it. It's both a band and a multimedia project created primarily by Wilfried Rimensberger (the founder of Metalhammer magazine), his brother and a few other producers in order to tell some kind of batshit horror story through audio/visual media. The result of their collaboration was a revolving door that would bring in bucketloads of prominent musicians over the years (such as Queen guitarist Brian May and former King Crimson vocalist John Wetton), as well as the creation of a film script which would gain interest from various prominent actors and actresses over the decades, including Sean Connery!

This debut recording, however, is arguably the strongest musically of the Phenomena six-album discography (thus-far), so we'll focus on that.

AOR is a rather troublesome acronym for many people -- nobody seems to know exactly what it stands for (generally either Adult-Oriented-Rock or Anthem-Oriented-Rock). The style's trademarks are all over this record though -- slick production, razor sharp guitar, multilayered vocals for both lead and backup vocalists, etc. Plus there's that general 80's reverb hangin' around which sounds so damn cool to these 2010 tired-of-fuckin'-Autotune ears. Quite oomphy indeed!

Although these nine songs are supposedly telling the story of a certain supernatural phenomenon taking place, you probably won't care too much about the lyrics when Glenn Hughes is on the mic: his voice is one of the most distinctive and well-timbred in the world of 80's melodic rock. His delivery is often accentuated by floating keyboards and the ever-present guitar bravado of Mel Galley, and the songs aren't half bad themselves. In particular, 'Still The Night' is one hell of a mid-tempo rocker and 'Dance With The Devil' features a heavily processed fiddle which sounds utterly deranged but becomes extra awesome when the guitar comes in a bit later and follows the same melody line. Excellent!

Basically, this record has a vaguely campy haunted quality to the proceedings, kind of like Journey gone Dead Can Dance in a weird way. That's not to say any of it isn't cheesy, but there's a certain gregariousness at work here that lets Phenomena weather their decade a little better than most of their contemporaries. And that, friends, is why you should give this debut record a look-hear. It's as credible an introduction to AOR as you are going to find!

Brilliant review! I'm determined to get my hands on Phenomena now.

As you mention, the AOR acronym is a troublesome one - and for me too as I have no clear idea of what it actually means, but I do indulge in some bands that I believe are AOR on occasion, like Boston and .. ehr, Toto, so I'll keep an eye out for your next reviews. ;)

my only real question is will Phil Collins or Don Henley get top spot? Seuseudio or Boys of Summer?

9.

Magnum – On A Storytellers Night (1985)

1. How Far Jerusalem (6:26)
2. Just Like An Arrow (3:23)
3. On A Storytellers Night (5:00)
4. Before First Light (3:52)
5. Les Mort Dansant (5:48)
6. Endless Love (4:30)
7. Two Hearts (4:24)
8. Steal Your Heart (3:59)
9. All England's Eyes (4:47)
10. Last Dance (3:44)

I've got to hand it to the British -- few did the whole Arena Rock thing better than they did twenty five years ago. While America was on the verge of being enraptured by crap like Bon Jovi and Stryper, the U.K. had kickass groups like Magnum to lead the AOR vanguard, and it's telling indeed that they made it to my list here: 1985's On A Storyteller's Night is one of the decade's arena rock pinnacles, blending Queen-like theatrical pomp with gorgeous keyboard atmospherics to paint some rather interesting pictures in the heads of prospective listeners, me included!

For starters, look at the album cover by fantasy artist extraordinaire Rodney Matthews: fucking fantastic! It brings to mind all sorts of fantastical allusions, from bards and beasts to those wonderfully darksome yarns that the Brothers Grimm would make famous in their collections.

As for the songs, highlights for me include the anthemic title track (Keep your night light burning!), which builds wonderfully for about a minute and a half before leaping into such a fist pumping calling card, and the strangely medieval 'Les Mort Dansant', groteque yet gallant thanks to the powerful yet emotive voice of lead singer Bob Catley and keyboardist Mark Stanway's soundscaping. It's a pretty balanced decimal set all in all however, with certain songs that seemed to have been salivated for radio rotation like the fun yet atypical 'Just Like An Arrow' yet others, such as the mid-tempo kicker 'Before First Light', represented a slightly more restrained, textured approach to late night highway blazing. Not bad either way though!

This was the first and only album that Magnum would record under FM Records, which is rather interesting: the production work (thanks to Thin Lizzy producer Kit Woolven) is surprisingly immaculate for 1985 and fittingly larger than life for the songs present here. I would have liked to hear a few more records recorded under these conditions, but alas it was not to be.

On that note, although Magnum would go on to release quite a few albums after this one (including one in 2010), I can't really say that they ever cut another record that hit just as many right buttons as On A Storyteller's Night. It's their claim to fame that happened to hit just the right year in order, and as a result we look back on it as a classic in the oft-ridiculed genre of AOR today: it does everything right for fans of the genre and packs just enough punch in the songwriting department to interest other audiences.

I won't beg or anything, but I consider this essential listening for anyone who wants a taste of the better side of 80's melodic rock. Happy hunting!

Magnum were never considered an AOR band here at all and whilst they did make some typical AOR tracks, they were tagged as 'pomp' rock over here which was a form of progressive but melodic rock.

Their first few releases whilst not strictly Prog per se certainly don't fit the classic 3 minute verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus sound that is typical of AOR. Their sound courtesy of mainman and only songwriter guitarist Bob Clarkin was full of ambient keyboard soundscapes and tempo changes.

1986's Vigilante is probably their most commercial record and a much better example of their AOR sound (IMO) although it is generally regarded as their worst album and it is indeed crap.

Magnum have a loyal and cult following here and 1982's Chase The Dragon is generally held up as their best album (and quite rightly so). 1988's Wings Of Heaven is where they really went out of their way to make radio friendly tracks (especially as they had signed to the major Polydor at this time) and suffered as a result. However that album does have 3 of their finest ever songs in Wild Swan, One Step Away and the 13 minute mini classic Don't Wake The Lion.

Nice to see at least one other fan around though :)

8.

FM – Tough It Out (1989)

1. Tough It Out (5:33)
2. Don't Stop (3:55)
3. Bad Luck (4:07)
4. Someday (3:58)
5. Everytime I Think Of You (4:38)
6. Burning My Heart Down (4:02)
7. The Dream That Died (4:37)
8. Obsession (4:09)
9. Can You Hear Me Calling (3:40)
10. Does It Feel Like Love (4:22)
11. Feels So Good (4:09)
12. Let Love Be The Leader (3:45)
13. Love Lasts Forever (3:52)
14. This Could Be The Last Time (3:44)
15. Hurt Is Where The Heart Is (3:58)
16. Everytime We Touch (4:46)

And coming up at number eight -- I present one of the more intriguing British/American crossover melodic rock groups to hit the airwaves back in the 80's, a band whose sound is almost as straightforward and honest as their market-friendly moniker....FM!

Despite how obviously the bunch was marketing themselves, it's difficult to deny that there is quite a bit of appeal to FM's larger-than-life bombast, a trick to the trade if you will. For one thing, vocalist Steve Overland is one of the three or four most vivacious individuals to get behind the mic for this sort of music, a monster who pulls out so much panache and theatrical beltage that he's almost unparalleled. He's got a bit more power than Journey's Steve Perry and a bluesier, less annoying delivery than people like Michael Bolton or Jon Bon Jovi...which is probably why these guys are quite tolerable while other bands in the same genre might induce more blatant cringing.

Anyway, 1989's Tough It Out was the sophomore followup to their reasonably successful 1986 debut Indiscreet. Evidently it didn't do as well as the band wanted though, so they changed over to record label Epic and went to the U.S. to lasso in the help of studio wizard Desmond Child to help them craft the sound they wanted. He did a damn good job too - everything sounds cushy as fuck.

This record, for me at least, represents what might have been if Bon Jovi had a better vocalist and songwriting team. Not every track is a winner, but when 3 out of 4 songs are catchy and headbagin' in a 16 set, you know somebody is doing something right. Overland's voice soars over slick guitar and keyboard leads, bringing some real weight behind arena rousers like the classic title track and some of the particularly catchy ballads such as 'The Dream That Died' and 'Hurt Is Where The Heart Is'.

I won't say this will chart high on too many people's radars, as most people have a low tolerance for the cheese+sappy 80's equation in general. For those of you with thicker skin however, I guarantee this album might end up charming you more than you expect.

Oh, and it's an AOR classic too, for better or for worse.

I have On a Story Teller's Night and Chase the dragon, enjoy both records

7.

Dan Reed Network – S/T (1988)

1. World Has A Heart Too (1:17)
2. Get To You (4:17)
3. Ritual (4:24)
4. Forget To Make Her Mine (4:08)
5. Tamin' the Wild Nights (4:14)
6. I'm So Sorry (4:27)
7. Resurrect (5:42)
8. Baby Don't Fade (4:55)
9. Human (3:40)
10. Halfway Around The World (4:36)
11. Rock You All Night Long (5:45)
12. Tatiana (2:47)

One of the more interesting crossover bands from the 1980's, Dan Reed Network are often considered to be a 80's rock/hair-metal fan's interpretation of early Faith No More, RHCP, or even Living Colour -- in other words, funk rock mixed with AOR. Tight, punchy basslines lead songs that get either weird or anthemic depending on the track itself, and the whole shebang is more eclectic and interesting in retrospect today than people might understood back when these guys debuted.

History-wise, the band is interesting too: formed in Portland, Oregon, they were signed AND initially produced by Derek Shulman, who is perhaps better known for his lead vocals and guitar work for Gentle Giant back in the 70's. Furthermore, this was one of those rare arena rock albums that Rolling Stone magazine awarded 4 stars to upon release. Guess it got ol' Robert Christgau's blood pumping or something?

Understandable of course - these songs are all quite good, with a few even bordering outright genius in places. Initial highlights to a new listener will be the Mike Patton-esque swaggerfest 'Get To You' and the New Wave blitz of 'Ritual', both of which were singles that catapulted this self-titled to success in the first place. Still, there were plenty of rock albums from the 80's that had a great single or two, but you won't see most of those albums making this list. So what makes Dan Reed and his big-haired compadres so special?

For one thing, the funk elements infest everything here to at least some degree, even the sappiest ballads. The titular Dan Reed is factor numero dos that really works here: he sounds like a cross betwee Prince and Axl Rose, with a tighter baritone than the former and a bit more laugh than the latter. His charisma is such that even the formulaic becomes entertaining, and the usual cynics of 80's everything can be converted without too much trepidation due to his presence.

So therefore, as potentially cringeworthy as a funk rock/metal - AOR hybrid sounds, Dan Reed Network really made it work back in 1988, and in my humble opinion it still sounds utterly fantastic today.

I could never get on with Dan Reed Network at all :(

I presume you have heard this:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ALggAYUkNo...ns_320kbps.jpg

Oh and this one even though it is not really what U.F.O were about:

http://991.com/newgallery/UFO-Misdemeanor-295931.jpg

Lol Lee, that one is my #1!! Nobody did AOR better than Strangeways in my opinion. :)

Oh, and that UFO track is certainly interesting. I wouldn't have expected them of all groups to transition to the 80's all too well at all!

6.

Tim Feehan – S/T (1987)

1. Where's The Fire (4:57)
2. Listen For The Heartbeat (4:17)
3. Vanna (4:00)
4. Loveline (4:28)
5. Read Between The Lines (3:47)
6. Mean Streak (4:21)
7. The Painter (5:00)
8. One Step Away (4:23)
9. Isolation (4:13)

In the 1980's, it wasn't a walk in the park to escape AOR. This is because when there weren't hair metal bands pouring out power ballad after ballad, there were usually mullet-donning people with vaguely unmemorable names merging West Coast pop with big-arena production of AOR and getting it on your T.V., commercials, movies, everything. However, for every two dozen wannabe singer-songwriters that attempted to take over the world from 1980 through the early 90's, there was usually one or two such individuals who upped the ante just a bit more than their contemporaries, usually due to better written songs, better arrangements, vocals, etc.

One of these exceptional individuals, in my humble opinion, is a Canadian producer/singer-songwriter named Tim Feehan, who through this 1987 debut proved that he could do the Adult Contemporary game better than pretty much anyone else in the business. Musically, he comes across as a mix between the atmospheric melodic sense of a group like Mr. Mister/Simple Minds and the songwriting kick of such institutions as Sting and Go West at their best.

That being said, such a sonic concoction can be a good or bad thing depending on what kind of listener you are. To enjoy AOR-lite of any kind requires zero preconceptions, an ear for hooks and production, and a strong tolerance for cheese and excessive reverb. If you meet these criteria, then you'll find a lot to like here: opener and initial single 'Where's The Fire' takes a punchy drum-machine cadence, Tim's confidant delivery and the occasional stratospheric keyboard and forges the elements into one of the better songs from the A/C spectrum of popular music. It later would gain notoriety for being the main theme to cult classic 80's film The Wraith.

The other eight tracks are highlights in their own way though. 'Loveline' is reminiscent of The Police with its tremolo picking echoes, but laced by an odd-metered synth note that gives this MOR some sparkling edge in terms of rhythm. On the more laid back side of things, 'Listen For The Heartbeat' is probably my favorite of the quiet storm pieces here due to its refrain. It reminds me of the stuff my Dad would pop in during car rides when I was a toddler in the early 90's, stuff that still sticks with me all these years later: pop music on the radio these days just doesn't have atmosphere anymore. Things were different a generation or two, once upon a time...

Again though, I know that this album is a hard sell for many of you. The idea of listening to Adult-Contemporary of any kind (unless its for the laughs like the stuffz of Rick Astley) might seem to be an inward betrayal to your usual tastes. Still, in terms of what the hallmarks of an 80's West Coast pop-rock AOR album was -- big keyboards, spacious production, layered vocals, anthems galore -- I consider this album to a particularly excellent representative of the style, if not THE best of all time.

Those tolerant of romance, "dated" production and who don't mind the periodic guilt trip down memory lane will find Mr. Feehan enduring. The rest of you, stay tuned for sleazier stuff coming later on!

I love the track Where's The Fire and first heard it from the cheesy B movie The Wraith which has a decent AOR/Rock soundtrack so I wouldn't mind checking out that album ;)

The Wraith by Various Artists : Reviews and Ratings - Rate Your Music

80`s melodic rock or soft rock as I like to call it, is without doubt one of my favourite rock genres and this thread covers some of the lesser known or not so well remembered artists.

I`ve always been a fan of Magnum, as throughout their discography you hear a huge amount of the bands that influenced them such as Styx and Foreigner etc. They were a unique band, as they were doing an English take on what was a very American sound, a sound that has largely always been unpopular and shunned upon here in the UK. I think "On a Storyteller`s Night" to be a great album but their classic album is "Chase the Dragon". Apart from these albums, the rest of their discography doesn`t really match upto their American rivals of the time.

5.

Asia – S/T (1982)

1. Heat Of The Moment (3:54)
2. Only Time Will Tell (4:48)
3. Sole Survivor (4:51)
4. One Step Closer (4:18)
5. Time Again (4:48)
6. Wildest Dreams (5:11)
7. Without You (5:07)
8. Cutting It Fine (5:40)
9. Here Comes The Feeling (5:40)

When you think of 80's rock, there are a few albums that come to mind to nearly everyone who was growing up around that time. For a lot of people, those albums would probably consist anything by Journey, Survivor or possibly Van Halen after Sammy Hager took over lead vocals.

And yet despite the prominence of groups like those, in 1982 the top selling record in the U.S. was the draconically adorned self-titled from a bunch of prog. rock dinosaurs who decided to form a supergroup together. Thirteen years later, this same album would be 4x Platinum and even in the 2000's it gets referenced quite a bit in television and other media.

I'm talking about Asia's 1982 debut of course, which for a brief moment in time took over the world with a punchy little lead off single called 'Heat Of The Moment', and thus cemented itself in the DNA of popular culture forevermore. :laughing:

So, a few of you are probably thinking as you read this -"Considering how well known this album is, why is it #5 over bands like Magnum?"

Well, for one thing, this album is still considered to be the single best selling AOR album of all time. It's prominence and subsequent influence over music for the rest of the decade is nearly inescapable, and therefore I consider it essential listening for those with an interest in this kind of music. And secondly, despite your average person's preconceptions about this album, it's one of the most instrumentally technical efforts in the 80's melodic rock canon thanks to presence of Yes's Steve Howe on guitar with his razor sharp improvisation, John Wetton (formally of King Crimson) with his bass and Carl Palmer of ELP on the drumkit. Helluva lineup all in all.

Putting it simply, Asia is arena-prog. The endless jamming you'd expect from a prog. band gets to raise its head now and then amongst nine relatively straight up pop-rock songs, and thus a contrast is created between the musicians and the songs themselves: they seem simple on the surface, but below the main melody line you'll be surprised at how busy some of what you hear is. Geoff Downes's keyboards certainly add to this impression with how he colours these tracks, like the opening flourish to 'Only Time Will Tell' or his work on 'Without You'.

John Wetton's vocals are the only thing that I could really see driving off melodic rock fans -- his timbre doesn't really fit this kind of music too well even at the best of times. However, even that perceived weakness ends up being part of the charm as you listen, contributing to a distinctive sound that not even Asia themselves were able to really capture again in their subsequent decades-long career. Probably because the songs would get more and more formulaic until John Payne took over as lead vocalist in the early 90's and brought some of the progginess back.

My verdict: forget 'Heat Of The Moment' (unless you already love the song that is) and give the rest of the record a fair shot. Regardless of what others might say, this is an early melodic rock classic that deserves its place in history as much as anything else you'll find.

4.

Journey – Raised On Radio (1986)

1. Girl Can't Help It (3:50)
2. Positive Touch (4:16)
3. Suzanne (3:38)
4. Be Good to Yourself (3:51)
5. Once You Love Somebody (4:40)
6. Happy to Give (3:49)
7. Raised on Radio (3:50)
8. I'll Be Alright Without You (4:49)
9. It Could Have Been You (3:37)
10. The Eyes of a Woman (4:32)
11. Why Can't This Night Go on Forever (3:43)

Although it's to be expected, I suppose I'm in that rather small camp of eclectic individuals that actually thinks highly of much of Journey's recorded material throughout the years, from their Santana-esque jazz-rock early albums through their superstardom AOR stints of the 80's.

However, its the latter of these eras that gets all the ridicule from many professed "real" music fans, and I think that's a rather ignorant point of view to have unless you know a band inside and out. What tends to be the case is that a lot of smart people know Journey about as far as 'Don't Stop Believin' and subsequently write off everything else the band did, which is a tad hypocritical: what if I decided that Pulp was a shitty band just because I wasn't the biggest fan of "Common People"? Childish...right?

Anyway, if you asked anyone who grew up in the 80's or looked back on those times today, Journey were generally considered to be the most popular and well known AOR band in the commercial spectrum. The reason for this can be traced back to a lineup change in the late 70's when the group ditched the jazz influences and brought in an unknown young tenor named Steve Perry to take the reins on the mic, and the results were astounding - Journey would rule FM radio to one degree or another from 1980 through 1986 with four major releases (Departure, Escape, Frontiers and Raised On Radio). The last of these releases is #4 on my list for a rather good reason - I consider it the group's most underrated release and a wonderful showcase for the band on quite a few songs that haven't been milked to death via overexposure. Oh, and it's a pretty damn nice slice of melodic rock as well.

Raised On Radio was this commercial juggernaut's swansong twenty-some years ago, and there are a number of things about it which stand out compared to their earlier, more popular recordings. First of all, American Idol judge Randy Jackson plays bass throughout the album, and he's pretty fucking good, elevating tracks like 'Once You Love Somebody' and 'Suzanne' from memorable adequacy into ideals that few bands reached songwriting-wise from the same time period.

Second of all, vocalist Steve Perry had more creative control on this album that on any other beforehand: he produced everything and had a hand at crafting all eleven tracks, and as a result I think the album has a certain consistency to it that Escape and Frontiers don't completely possess, probably because those albums were so single-oriented compared to this one.

I guess what I enjoy most about Raised On Radio though how fluid the songs sound from number to number: people who might not think much of Journey might find it interesting to hear an album where Perry isn't overemoting as much and Neal Schon's guitar shears through the proceedings like a scythe through swaths of wheat, yet at the same time there's all these other little touches (such as the harmonica featured in the title track) that make you think this band was flexing some against the confines of their particular style. It makes you wonder where they might have gone if A. They kept this lineup into future releases and B. They had shifted their focus to less commericial territory later on.

Oh well. This album won't convert people who already hate Journey into rabid acolytes, but I can certainly say that it will annoy those people less than anything else the band cut after 1980, and as far as AOR goes its among the best executed I've heard out there.

3.

Saga – Worlds Apart (1981)

1. On the Loose (4:11)
2. Time's Up (4:05)
3. Wind Him Up (5:47)
4. Amnesia (3:27)
5. Framed (5:43)
6. The Interview (3:52)
7. No Regrets (Chapter V) (4:42)
8. Conversations (4:45)
9. No Stranger (Chapter VIII) (7:08)

1981: The Year Of The Music Video. MTV launches on August 1st and pretty much every person below the age of 30 with a television set in the U.S. would be watching it before too long. The format? Music video after music video, 24 hours a day, following one another like Rubix cubes down an assembly line, broken up on occasion by commercials and annoying looking VJs who would introduce the videos. Thanks to this network, many an unknown band, good and bad alike, would explode into the spotlight and rule a radio station near you for a few weeks with just one or two hit singles (accompanied by music videos) under their belts.

For Canadian AOR/progressive rock crossover band Saga, that hit single was "On The Loose", a cantankerous concoction that blended gratuitous proggy pomposity with the sheen of a good first generation New Wave beat. The video, detailing a guy getting incarcerated and subsequently breaking out of jail, wasn't too bad compared to some of the visuals accompanying other seminal MTV singles (Video Killed The Radio Star....ughhh!). But I have Saga at #3 for a reason: "On The Loose" is merely the opening act for Worlds Apart, a nine-song extravaganza of atmospheric awesome...as well as one of the best early 80's examples of how eclectic poppy arena-oriented music could be given the opportunity to prove its mettle.

If you were aiming for the top in the 1980's, you needed to have one (or more) of three things - a major label, a proven track record, or a helluva lot of novelty value. Saga had something of the first criterion: Portrait were owned by Epic Records who in turn is owned by Sony, but Portrait weren't exactly raking in the dough off anyone under their umbrella beyond female-led act Heart, so we'll rule that possibility out. Checkpoint #2 is impossible as well because everything that Saga did before Worlds Apart was too overtly progressive to gain any real airplay.

Therefore, we are left with novelty value as the main reason Saga hit it big for a couple of years in a decade of commercial overindulgence, and that's not too far from the truth. After all, nobody else who was on MTV at the time sounded like Saga: their closest contemporary would be Rush circa Permanent Waves and beyond.

Being a crossover record of sorts, Worlds Apart has appeal beyond the AOR/melodic rock spectrum. Songs such as 'Time's Up', which sets up themes of directionless despair against a funky synthetic groove and the flailing paranoia of 'Framed' both bring Talking Heads and some of David Byrne's solo material to mind tone-wise while 'Conversations' would strike listeners as The Human League gone baroque.

Still, the makings of a grand AOR are record are built right into the instrumental makeup of the recording: the guitar playing sizzles from lead to lead throughout these compositions, leaping like a fat tuna right out of one's speakers thanks to the production work by synth-pop mainstay Rupert Hine. His glossy, often indulgent layering, a feature that might be considered a detriment for some other band, actually brings out the best in these songs, especially in the case of the 7-minute 'No Stranger', a number that feels content to plod along upon the twinkling of a keyboard motif before kicking up past the 2 minute mark into a killer finale...as well as being my personal favorite among the tracks here.

It really was a no-brainer for #3: Saga walked a fine line between the commercial and artistic for Worlds Apart and ended up crafting not only one of the best pop albums of the decade, but a set of songs that easily surpasses most of the melodic rock that would follow throughout the decade.

Unfortunately, the band passed into relative obscurity soon after their followup album to this one, Heads Or Tails, putting an end to their 15 minutes in the spotlight. Such is the world of popular music. In quoting "The Interview", track numero seis-

Lights have dimmed and times have changed
And the world is watching a different stage.
Don't you think it's time we had a younger face?

Enjoy!

Great review on the Asia debut album which is full of stellar tracks. Sadly they would never reach the heights of the debut again and the rest of the John Wetton era became very formula like.

Surprised on you choosing "Raised on Radio" Its got some good material on it. But behind both "Escape" and "Frontiers" in terms of quality. Hell...not only do I think of "Frontiers" as the best Journey album, but one the greatest rock albums of the 1980's and its an album I still constantly play.

Keep up the great reviews.

2.

Dare – Out Of The Silence (1988)

1. Abandon (4:36)
2. Into The Fire (4:53)
3. Nothing Is Stronger Than Love (4:42)
4. Runaway (4:30)
5. Under The Sun (6:14)
6. The Raindance (5:24)
7. King Of Spades (4:45)
8. Heartbreaker (3:39)
9. Return The Heart (5:10)
10. Don't Let Go (5:58)

In the wake of Thin Lizzy's mid 80's breakup, keyboardist Darren Wharton wasn't quite ready to call the music industry quits. A husky and interesting singer in his own right, Wharton assembled himself a new band and dove headlong in the world of area rock under the moniker Dare, landing a record contract with A&M within a year or so and letting lose a debut record, Out Of The Silence, in 1988...and nobody cared. Tis' a common story in the music biz: a big successful band breaks up and the ex-members all go off to become part of bands and projects that never do as well as the original group.

In the case of Dare however, the lack of commercial success really was particularly unfortunate...because as far as arena rock goes I can only think of one or two bands who cut a recording as fine as this one. The fact that it was ignored at the time, even by self-professed fans of arena rock, is an utter travesty.

Furthermore, although Dare continues to exist and create music today, never again would they cut a record quite as appealing, catchy or interesting as this one. As the cliche phrase goes, "it's a one time thing".

Sonically, this record isn't too different from any other AOR record you might run across in terms of instrumentation: you have the cheesy guitar leads, the uncomplicated punch of the 80's drum sound, etc. etc.

The key to this album's success, as well as the reason why it's #2 on my list, lies entirely with Darren Wharton himself. His keyboard work is pretty nice in a rhythmic sense, but it's when he embellishes it in near gridlock against the excellent production work, his beautiful rasp, and finally the arrangements themselves that Out Of The Silence comes alive. Just listen to that opening line from 'Abandon' that weaves between the first verse and subsequent bridge/chorus. Fuckin' classic from start to stop, and worth the price of admission in and of itself. Or how about the Gilmourian 'Under The Sun', clocking at six minutes yet justifying it's run time with flying colors? Hell, even "filler" songs like 'Runaway' and 'Heartbreaker' could have been the radio's plague back in the day when considering how infectious they are. Madness indeed!

Throughout the 1980's, moreso than even the U.S., the United Kingdom produced some of the best rock-oriented music of the decade, from post-punk to New Wave to early alt. rock. With records like Out Of The Silence around, I think you can add AOR to that list of genres where my homeland got shortchanged, because it's just one damn good song after another.

Looking for atmosphere? Heartfelt sentiment with some catchy songs to back it up? Great production? It's all here kiddies.

And yet there's still one band that who reigns far above these blokes in the realm of 80's AOR....and who have never been surpassed since...

Great review as always, Ants :) Looking forward to seeing what your numero uno will be!

1.

Strangeways – Native Sons (1987)

1. Dance With Somebody (4:26)
2. Only A Fool (4:44)
3. So Far Away (4:58)
4. Where Do We Go From Here (4:00)
5. Goodnight L.A. (5:03)
6. Empty Streets (4:22)
7. Stand Up And Shout (3:30)
8. Shake The Seven (4:36)
9. Never Gonna Lose It (4:49)
10. Face To Face (4:42)

The big kahuna of AOR canon isn't something I can fully do justice to in a short review. I could languish endless praise upon the flawless production work courtesy of John Punter (Roxy Music, Japan), who turned all ten songs throughout Native Sons into larger-than-life aural monsters. I could pontificate for centuries at the merits of signing on vocalist Terry Brock (who in the 80's was one of the music industry's best kept secrets) and his phenomenal work throughout this album despite the fact it was the first time he had performed lead vocals on a studio recording. The rest of the band kicks ass too: brothers Ian and David Stewart are top-class in their guitar and bass-work respectively, while drummer Jim Drummond brings it all together into groove heaven, even managing to steal the show at times.

At the end of the day though, my praises are arbitrary: these were the songs that got me into AOR and flipped some kind of switch inside of me that made me hunger for anything else even remotely like it. Funny thing is though, I still haven't found a band since that initial acquisition of this record (and the equally excellent 1989 follow-up Walk In The Fire) that hits all the cylinders like Strangeways do.

Every track here is a devil, a killer, a classic. You won't catch me saying that too often, but it's the truth in this case. Hell, had the damn album been marketed properly, anything here would have blown everything on the charts away back in 1987. Yet in a recording full of standouts there are three pieces which might have even dethroned Journey in popular consciousness (crazy as that might sound) - 'Where Do We Go From Here' is a blistering hair-metal/AOR hybrid with an unbelievably good chorus, 'So Far Away' is easily the best ballad ever cut to sonic posterity in the world of FM-rock, while 'Empty Streets' cuts straight to the bone of what a good mid-tempo slugger is supposed to be, but goes a step further by bringing some surprisingly poignant lyrics to the table. It helps that the riff sounds gorgeous too!





For one reason or another though, Strangeways never did become particularly successful back in their heyday despite their amazing material. Plenty of live gigs were had in Scotland and a few other places, but besides Derek Oliver of Kerrang!, nobody seemed to give a shit...and that's one helluva tragedy, folks.

I remember seeing a retrospective article in Rolling Stone (or some other big mag.) about two years ago that said that if any band could have changed the tides of popular music in the late 80's from moving to grunge and kept AOR going strong into the 90s, Strangeways would have been the group to do it.

For the most part, I agree with that assertion from a publication I usually think is off somewhere in cuntville. AOR as a genre needed a kick in the ass to stay interesting and relevant to a fickle audience, yet nobody was willing to give a hand to a group that could pull such a thing off like this bunch. 1980-1986 were melodic rock's prime years, and in every year subsequently up until the grunge explosion in 1991, FM rock/metal would become less and less prominent before vanishing completely from the world stage. One can only wonder how things might have changed if Strangeways had just been given a chance on radio.

Alas, it was not to be....and thus another splendid gem got lost in the ever changing world. That's all folks!

I'm disappointed - no Styx or REO Speedwagon?

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto

I agree "Kilroy Was Here" was a great album!!! As was most stuff by Styx.

Lol, Styx and REO Speedwagon? Really guys, come on! Styx haven't done a good album since 1978 and REO are easily outclassed by Foreigner and Huey Lewis and The News for the whole "bar band" schtick. And lets not even get started on quality comparisons: Toto, Yes and Rick Springfield could have easily made my thread for some of their stuff, so they'd all be getting a mention from me before anything else.

Stay tuned for a couple of Overtime posts over the coming weeks.

Yes indeed. I reviewed this a while back in my journal, and while I found it slow to start (other than the opener) it certainly developed. When I was listening to it for the review (first time) I couldn't get my head around why this album is so revered in AOR circles, but by the time it had ended I definitely understood. Great album. Overland is a god. Steve that is, though his brother on guitar ain't no slouch neither.

I am also a big AOR fan. All the big names : Journey, TOTO, Boston, Foreigner, mid-eighties Heart, Saga, Mark Free, Bad English, Survivor, Mr. Big, Boulevard, Giant, David Pack...
But also some lesser known bands :
Blackjack (with a young Michael Bolton) :


Stingray (from South Africa, very Queen-inspired) :


JATO :


Caryl Mack :


Nexx (from Spain) :


Life On Mars (very Heart-inspired) :


Queen Of Spades (german duo, feat. the great Curt Cress on drums)


Rachel Rachel (an all female band) :


Bootcamp :


Alien :


Robby Valentine (from the Netherlands, inspired by Queen, in a similar way as his fellow countryman Valensia) :


Martee Lebow :


Randy Jackson's China Rain (known for his contribution to the band Zebra) :


Murderer's Row :


Lombard (from Poland, they are big in Poland) :


Grzegorz Skawinski (frontman of polish pop band Kombi, one of the most popular bands in Poland) :


Alyson Avenue (band fronted by the current Nightwish singer) :

The intro to "empty streets" is very similar to Marillion's intro to 'sugar mice' :

Strangeways - "empty streets"


Marillion - "sugar mice"

You know, it most certainly is!

I think it's the other way around though, as Native Sons predates Sugar Mice by atleast a year. :P

I'm actually surprised that Strangeways are so highly rated on here, I always saw them as very average as far as the 1980s AOR scene went.

Never a huge fan of Virginia Wolf always sounded too much like Whitesnake for me but this is a good song, actually they were much better than Whitesnake. Vocalist Chris Ousey's voice was far better suited to AOR than David Coverdale's.


Virginia Wolf - Livin' On A Knife Edge - YouTube

Any chance that you'll update this thread?

He's doing his top 12 albums of this year in the albums reviews thread, so I'd say he'd be concentrating on that for now...

Ah and there's you who writes 12 album reviews a day! Let's hope he can adopt your work ethic.

Yeah, I'll update this thread eventually. I'm still pretty happy with my current AOR rankings, but there's plenty of 80's gems I haven't reviewed yet. :P