Wednesday, November 25, 2009

ONE TWO - Hvide Løgne (1990)

ONE TWO - Hvide Løgne
Female AOR band from Copenhagen, Denmark.
"One Two" consisted of the two lead-singers,Cæcilie Norby and Nina Forsberg and the guitar player Søren Bentzen (who also wrote most of the music) as stable members.

Their '86 self-titled enjoyed great success in local charts, getting massive radio airplay and 2 singles released.
To the next album, Søren decided to give the group a melodic rock&pop approach. Roxette was ruling the world...

I think they have achieved their goal, 'Hvide Løgne' sounds fresh and listenable, like a female Mr. MISTER or the stylized side of STARSHIP, and sometimes, the poppy version of HEART.
Mostly sung in danish language, the inclusion of some songs written in english denote the intention to enter the UK market.
They try it with the next and final album, but fails, and the group dissolves.
Nina Forsberg have since recorded some albums with her modern rock band, Cæcille Nordby has turned to a jazzy style.

For fans of melodic rock/pop AOR, with an emphasis of quality female vocals, 'Hvide Løgne' is a recommended listen.


01 - Det Er Sent Nu (It's Late Now)
02 - Den Bedste Tid (The Best Time)
03 - Jeg Ka' Gi' Hva' Du Vil Ha' (I Can Give You...)
04 - Hold Fast
05 - Hvide Løgne (White Lies)
06 - Cadillac
07 - Good Times-Bad Times
08 - Alt For Længe (Too Long)
09 - Flygtning (Fugitive)


Nina Forsberg - vocals
Cæcilie Nordby - vocals
Søren Bentzen - guitar
Henrik Poulsen - bass
Rune Olsen - drums
Frank Stangerup - keyboards



ENJOY

Monday, November 23, 2009

SANKT PETERBURG II - Enchanted, Bewitched (1996)

SANKT PETERBURG II - Enchanted, Bewitched
SANKT PETERBURG II was a melodic rock / AOR band born in the former Soviet Union in 80's.
This is their second and final album, featuring some cool songs (some not), sung in russian language. Check the tune below.

I will not dwell in my comments, because this polish journalist, Nicolo, did a complete and informative review (in english) about this band on his site:
Read more about this recording HERE.
And the band bio HERE.

A rarity...


01 - Russian Star
02 - A Step To Meet
03 - Enchanted, Bewitched
04 - Russians
05 - Forget Me
06 - Mystery
07 - Two Roses
08 - Rise Up!
09 - Sacred Love
10 - Hey, Country
11 - Fewer Words
12 - May God Protect You
13 - Bonjour, Madame!
14 - Remember These Years




SANKT PETERBURG II - HERE

Saturday, November 21, 2009

HAROLD FALTERMEYER - Top Gun score [unreleased] (1986)

HAROLD FALTERMEYER - Top Gun score
As you may know, this is not a movie score music blog.
This will be the only one ever posted here, because it's special.
It belongs to the # 1 icon movie of the eighties, and remains unpublished.

Harold Faltermeyer's score couldn't have complimented the film any better.
His work defined the 80's style of action scoring, heavily synthesized, tuneful and rhythmic.
It was years ahead of everything in it's genre for the time.
This music score was the first to be performed and recorded DDD on the polyphonic 16 bit stereo Synclavier Digital Music System.

The project started jointly with Giorgio Moroder, with the idea to also compose catchy AOR / arena rock songs to complement the incidental music.
But Faltermeyer left the project (apparently due to differences with producer JB) and the Top Gun score incomplete. That's why never was released.
Some tracks were re-recorded for the film, but Harold's takes are far better.

I've made my own version of this score.
Sources vary; most of them from a very rare big Harold demo folder I own, containing true gems like rock&pop songs used in different OST and never released in any format, rejected scores, amazing demos and the aforementioned Top Gun unreleased score.
Also some tracks ripped (not by me) from the 5.1 DVD version of the movie.
Not included here any song / version present in the official V.A. soundtrack. Just the unreleased stuff.
As bonus, Giorgio Moroder's 'Radar Radio', the first song playing on the jukebox at the end of the film, song only appeared as b-side of the movie promo vinyl single 'Take My Breath Away' by the band Berlin.

There's a CD bootleg release of this soundtrack (german I think), but miss many songs.
Recently I've seen another double-boot on eBay, including my 'Radar Radio' rip! (posted in my AOR Treasures Vol.10 compilation).
Hope you enjoy my version, I didn't followed the movie's sequence, my tracklist order is just according to my taste.
Some track names may differ from the bootlegs, like 'Flying Again' = 'Get Back In The Saddle', 'New Mission = Mission Briefing', etc.
That's how they are labeled in my archives.

All tracks are original 320 Kbps files.
Artwork designed by me included.




01 - Opening Theme (2:39)
02 - MIG 28's (1:42)
03 - Viper's Dog Fight (2:08)
04 - Flying Again (3:20)
05 - Duke Mitchell's Story (1:09)
06 - Goose's Death / Goodbye Goose (1:49)
07 - Negative G Pushover (3:22)
08 - Who's Side Are You On / Never Again (3:30)
09 - Top Gun Anthem [film version] (3:45)
10 - Dog Fight #3 (2:38)
11 - Mighty Wings [instrumental] (1:40)
12 - Still Awake / Can't Sleep (2:07)
13 - Take My Breath Away [instrumental] (1:40)
14 - MIG's Dead Ahead (3:00)
15 - Flat Spin (4:26)
16 - New Mission (2:28)
17 - Memories (2:50)
18 - Great Balls Of Fire [demo] (2:33)
19 - Radar Radio [G. Moroder feat. Joe Pizzulo] (3:38)




UPDATED HERE

Friday, November 20, 2009

STEAMROLLER - Dead Man's Tan (1994)


Someone requested some hard rock on this pages.
This swedish band has released a couple of albums, as far I know only published and distributed in UK, and now out of print.

Hard Rock (melodic) style, good riff fueled rockers and laid back acoustic ballads.
Best song: 'Minute By Minute', with a catchy melodic chorus.
Title track offers a sticky riffing, while 'Blue Light Lady' has AORish pretentions.
The ballads 'Flowers In Her Hair' and 'Absence' aren't bad at all.
But some fillers can be found. The cover of the classic 'Jailhouse Rock' is awful...

Anyway, a decent rarity, well played and produced.
Bassist Pontus Egberg later gained international success as part of LION'S SHARE and THE POODLES.


1 - Dead Man's Tan
2 - Back On The Stage
3 - Why
4 - Shotgun Wedding
5 - Blue Light Lady
6 - Jailhouse Rock
7 - Flowers In Her Hair
8 - It's Your Turn
9 - Minute By Minute
10 - Rivers Of Agony
11 - Absence
12 - Half A Bottle

Fredrik Jansson: Vocals
Paul Humble: Guitar
Pontus Egberg: Bass
Bo Sundberg: Drums



DOWNLOAD

Thursday, November 19, 2009

JIM FOSTER - Power Lines (1986)

JIM FOSTER - Power Lines
Maybe you remember a later 70's - earlier 80's canadian band FOSTERCHILD. Especially their ''On The Prowl' album its a very nice fm oriented rock.
The group disbanded circa 1982, and founder member JIM FOSTER become artistic producer.
By '85, signed a contract with RCA for recording a solo album with the help of renowned canadian musicians like Paul Hyde, Marc LaFrance, Dave Pickell (BRYAN ADAMS, DARBY MILLS, GLASS TIGER), Doug Edwards (PAUL JANZ, FIRST SHOT), Daryl Burgess (DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH), and many more.

Musically, the album range from rockin' AOR tunes like 'It's Up To You', 'Where Were You' (my fav. song) or the midtempo 'Maggie', to catchy melodic rock tunes like ''Quicker Than The Eye' or the opener 'Dancin' On The Power Lines'.
If you like RICK SPRINGFIELD and eighties' canadian style, don't miss this.

Long time deleted and out of print, only vinyl, this is a pretty good rip (thanx totalaor!) from a rare bootleg CD edition, including artwork.
Still sounds fresh after 23 years...


01 - Dancin' on the power lines
02 - Saved by night
03 - Do it to me
04 - Maggie
05 - Quickier than the eye
06 - It's up to you
07 - X-ray eyes
08 - You've got my number
09 - Where were you


Jim Foster - vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards
Doug Edwards, Vern Wills - bass
Dave Pickell, Scott Goodfellow - keyboards
Daryl Burgess - drums
Tim McGillveroy - percussion
Paul Hyde, Marc LaFrance, Nancy Nash, Lori Paul - backing vocals
and more...


JIM FOSTER - Power Lines

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

SECRET ADMIRER Soundtrack (1985)

SECRET ADMIRER Soundtrack
I don't post entire soundtracks, less even if it's available in stores.
But this one, requested by a reader, never was released on CD and of course, the vinyl is out of print. So censors: f@ck off.

Good movie, good songs.
Many can be found in the artists main albums, but I've left the vinyl rip as it is.
My expanded version contains the tracks that didn't appear in the official soundtrack, 'Opening Theme' by Jan Hammer and Autograph's songs heard throughout the film.

This record it's so hard to find, that even in the internet a small artwork photo can't be located.
So I made my own cover art based in the original LP sleeve I've seen some time ago (and didn't bought it :[ ).
Enjoy...


01 - Jan Hammer - Opening Theme *
02 - Van Stephenson - No Secrets
03 - Tony Carey - The First Day Of Summer
04 - Kim Wilde - The Touch
05 - Don Felder - She's Got a Part Of Me
06 - Van Stephenson - You've Been Lied To Before
07 - Klymaxx - Meeting In The Ladies Room
08 - Nik Kershaw - You Might
09 - Rosemary Butler & Arnold McCuller - Just A Dream Away
10 - Timothy B. Schmit - Leaving It Up To You
11 - Jan Hammer - Finale
12 - Autograph - Take No Prisoners *
13 - Autograph - Deep End *
14 - Autograph - My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Isn't Me *

* Extra tracks



Re-POSTED HERE
.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

JEF SCOTT - Ten Stories (1986)


JEF SCOTT, guitarist and vocalist, had fronted various L.A. area bands during the 80's, most notably his own Jef Scott Group.
At the beginning of the '90s he was the leader of the band THE MEN, which released an album on a major label and spot a minor hit single.


This one (and only?) solo record from 1986 is an extremely rare album, as far I know, only pressed in limited copies as promo, but never released.

Jef's voice is warm and clear, as the whole album, very well produced by Bill Pfordresher (AMBROSIA).
The style is a friendly commercial american rock / AOR (altough I think he's an australian born), plenty of guitar (he was pleased to play everything he wanted), melodic and catchy.
If you like JIMMY DAVIS, TOM DeLUCA, and why not, BILLY CHINNOCK, this is for you.

As said, a rarity, requested by a reader.
Thanx RM for this one! I miss you amigo...


01 - One by one
02 - I want my city sleep
03 - Mega-millonaire
04 - You are the only one
05 - Relative to you
06 - Graceland
07 - Only you
08 - I'm only sleeping
09 - New found power
10 - It's not funny anymore


Jef Scott : Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards
Jay Schellen (Unruly Child, Hurricane) : Drums
Bryan Hitt : Percussion, Drums
Jeff Forehan : Synthesizer


JEF SCOTT - Ten Stories

Thursday, November 05, 2009

NORIYUKI MAKIHARA - Songs From L.A. (2007)

NORIYUKI MAKIHARA - Songs From L.A.
Noriyuki Makihara is a top japanese male pop artist, in the early 90's debuts as performer/songwriter in a local TV show similar to American Idol.
His songs ranked high in the Asian charts, and has managed to maintain a high level of popularity for almost 20 years.
Many has been translated into other languages, like the ones featured in this compilation, some kind of an 'occidental tribute'.

La crème de la crème of the WestCoast scene was recruited for the recording, like Tommy Funderburk (AIRPLAY), Bobby Kimball & Joseph Williams (TOTO), Jason Scheff & Bill Champlin (CHICAGO), Tom Keane, Michael Landau, Tim Pierce, etc.

Production and performances are top notch, a relaxing album to enjoy gifted voices and light westcoast/AOR/pop songs.
Japan release only.


1 - Bobby Caldwell: Answer
2 - Tommy Funderburk: Darling
3 - George Duke: Yes
4 - Jason Scheff: Love Letter
5 - Robbie Dupree: Under The Doogwood Tree
6 - Kim Carnes: It's Clear Sky Again Today
7 - Joseph Williams: You're My Angel Falling...
8 - Justin Andres: 'Cause You're My Treasure
9 - Bill Champlin: North Wind
10 - Timothy Durly: Home Sweet Home
11 - Bobby Kimball: Red Nose Reindeer


Keyboards: Tom Keane, Timothy Drury
Guitars: Michael Landau, Tim Pierce, Michael Konan
Bass: Lee Sklar, Noel Freeman, Justin Andres
Drums: Stephen Litrownik, Larry Williams
and more...



RE-POSTED HERE
.