Monday, February 10, 2014

8084 - Satisfaction Guaranteed (1991)

8084 - Satisfaction Guaranteed (1991) CD
Requested in "REQUEST & FILL CORNER" section...

Hailing from the US East area, 8084 released three very nice Melodic Rock / AOR albums during 1987-91. The band is still active and presented a disappointing comeback record nine years ago, but this "Satisfaction Guaranteed" from 1991 is a really good one.
More an EP than a full length CD, "Satisfaction Guaranteed" packs seven tracks but in fact two are intros, starting with "Elevator Intro", a fun parody of Aerosmith's famous hit, and followed by the first proper song, the bombastic title track with sharp guitars and a tongue-in-cheek attitude reminding me Autograph.

"Telephone Intro" precedes "Call Me", a bright melodic rocker with an AOR coat full of magic, the latter styling more accentuated on the midtempo ballad "Surrender", another highlight.
The guitar driven "Animal Logic" is the hair metal / rocker on the CD, before ending with the acoustic "Fade Away" in the mould of Tesla or Extreme, an emotive song dedicated to the band's former keyboardist who was killed in a car accident 1989.

8084 - Satisfaction Guaranteed (1991) back cover

"Satisfaction Guaranteed" is a very hard to find album, and this is not the best rip of the world (I don't own the CD) but at least all tracks are complete, much better than other copies with cuts circulating the net.
Very Good stuff.


01 - Elevator Intro
02 - Satisfaction Guaranteed
03 - Telephone Intro
04 - Call Me
05 - Surrender
06 - Animal Logic
07 - Fade Away

Randy Smith: lead vocals, keyboards
Andre Maquera: guitar, backing vocals
Frank Barnes: bass, backing vocals
Andy Hanscom: drums, percussion




8084 - Satisfaction Guaranteed
.

Wednesday, February 05, 2014

TOMMY MORRISON BAND - Cry To The Sky (1985)

TOMMY MORRISON BAND - Cry To The Sky (1985)
Requested in "REQUEST & FILL CORNER" section...

British singer / songwriter TOMMY MORRISON started his career in the seventies as part of several bands, and then in 1979 was signed to Real Records recording a solo album co-produced by Paul Rogers (Bad Company, Free).
Years after he formed the TOMMY MORRISON BAND and the small label Otis Records was interested in the material of the group. Ed Stasium - known for his work with The Ramones and later Living Colour, arrived from New York to produce the debut album from the band; "Cry To The Sky".

Released in 1985, this obscure LP has little in common with the mid-Eighties sound. This is mostly first half of the decade melodic rock with a pinch of Brit-pop in it: quite good riff driven rockers such as "Simone", "Local Station", the catchy "Breaking Promises" and the more modern "Easy Street", mixed with slow numbers like "Just Lately" and the sweet ballad "That's Where I Go Wrong".
"Cry To The Sky" is not the seventh wonder, but it's extremely hard to find and was steadily requested by many readers on this blog. Audio restored by me.
Very Rare.


01 - Amber Lights
02 - Just Lately
03 - Local Station
04 - That's Where I Go Wrong
05 - Simone
06 - Breaking Promises
07 - Don't Worry
08 - You Call The Tune
09 - Easy Street
10 - Go Free

Tommy Morrison - vocals, guitar
John Watchman - guitar
Brian Edwards - bass
George Defty - drums
Frank Gibbon - keyboards
Steve Thompson, John Hogan - guest guitar




TOMMY MORRISON BAND Cry To The Sky
.

Monday, February 03, 2014

PETER FRAMPTON - The Art Of Control (1982) Remastered

PETER FRAMPTON - The Art Of Control (1982) Japanese remaster
PETER FRAMPTON is mostly knows for his seventies hits, however during the next decade the British released a bunch of very good albums, being the AOR oriented 'Premonition' my favorite, and also 'When All The Pieces Fit', already presented HERE.

But there's a 'black sheep' in his '80s discography: the 1982's "The Art Of Control". Perhaps because it's mentioned by Frampton itself as his least favorite own album, the record never was issued on CD until 2008.
This happened in Japan with this remastered SHM-CD which sounds superb, packaged in a paper sleeve reproducing the original LP artwork.
According to Peter, his record company forced him to make a commercial, radio-friendly album that he felt didn't sound like a 'Peter Frampton album'. I respect his thoughts, but for me "The Art Of Control" is great.
Great because it's totally '80s. Just take a look at the artwork cover: is it there something more '80s than that?

PETER FRAMPTON - The Art Of Control (1982) Japanese remaster back cover

Produced by Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Zeppelin, Kiss), the intention was to craft a bunch of rockers easy to the ear. These songs are a cross between a young Rick Springfield, Billy Squier and Eddie Money, while sonically at places reminds me Ace Frehley's / Kiss album, not strange as Krammer produced it as well.
"The Art Of Control" is fun and typically Eighties, and I like it a lot. My wasted vinyl is a proof of it.


01 - I Read The News
02 - Sleepwalk
03 - Save Me
04 - Back To Eden
05 - An Eye For An Eye
06 - Don't Think About Me
07 - Heart In The Fire
08 - Here Comes Caroline
09 - Barbara's Vacation

Peter Frampton - vocals, guitar, keyboards, guitar synth
Mark Goldenberg - guitar, keyboards, background vocals
John Regan - bass
Harry Stinson - drums
Ian Lloyd, John Dworkow - background vocals
Eddie Kramer - background vocals, producer


PETER FRAMPTON The Art Of Control SHM-CD
.