To go through the history behind this music would take too long. In fact it might be more interesting to come at this as something new and fresh. Think of Slama as a great arranger, writer and assembler of musical talent. Think of AOR as the ultimate project band. And then listen with all your senses. Rather than delve into each track, I will highlight the ones that make this disc worth owning.
Sensation has an instant 80's groove as if it were meant for a movie soundtrack from the era. Great guitar solo and some funky guitar licks featuring vocals from Goran Edman. Journey and Toto fans will really dig The Smartest Girl In LA, sung in part by the amazing Jeff Scott Soto. Soto handles the chorus, the rest of the track is just jamming. Hence this is why the album is called Heavenly Demos. Brittany is another arena rocker with some tasty guitar licks featuring the vocals of Phillip Bardowell. The tune smooths out into an edgy west coast rocker. One Foot In Heaven features the great Tommy Denander on guitar and the vocals of Kevin Chalfant. Again, the demo here just contains the chorus which allows the listener to really dig into the instrumental part of the song.
The Price To Pay features two top notch European vocalists, Hank Erix from the band Houston and Goran Edman from Street Talk. Guitars from Michael Landau. Pure melodic rock bliss. Singer Steve Overland (FM) sounds awesome on Waiting In The Darkness, another singable gem with excellent instrumentation and harmony vocals, likely double tracked from Overland. Vocalist Michael Kisur stars on Last Days In San Francisco, a surprising acoustic/folk tune featuring Frederic Slama on all instruments. Kisur returns for the overtly political Just Forget The American Dream. Provocative lyrics and Slama doing the entire arrangement. It's part west coast and part melodic rock. Smooth west coast vibes are found on The Reflection of My Heart sung by David Chamberland.
This is one of those projects that covers a lot of ground. The demo style production is a nice throwback to the days where the mix was less cluttered and ear friendly. The guest musicians coupled with Frederic Slama's AOR vision of excellence comes through loud and clear. A very solid collection of melodic rock nostalgia for those who cherish the past while living in the present.
Album rating 8.8
Great band and while I haven't obviously heard any of these musical attic/cellar 'relics' as of yet, purchased a 2CD best of from this
ReplyDeleteproject a couple of years ago, divided into a rock side and a ballad side, and enjoyed it immensely. Loved the diverse group of participants, different shades of melodic rock included, and the overall production style on offer. Can't get enough of this kind of
thing and sure do miss those glory days of the mid-to-late eighties
when acts like this were the De Riguer.
Very well said. This is much like a stripped down version of some of AOR's best nuggets but there are so many! They could easily do a box set.
DeleteIt would appear that they have almost done so in instalments, due to a
ReplyDeletequick perusal of AllMusic and Discogs, which both indicate a number of
such collections already on the market. Pretty good for a little-known-
act, when you consider that the far-greater-known and a lot more successful Foreigner have released only one additional studio album
since 1994's unfairly lost-to-time "Mr. Moonlight"!! However, they
must undoubtedly hold the record for releasing live/unplugged/rerecorded/orchestral/etc. albums!!!
Sorry, "INSTALLMENTS"!!!
DeleteYes I would say they are milking their old catalog to death - foreigner. At least AOR has made an abundance of original music.
DeleteAnd that was exactly my point as well!! However, a lot of those heritage
ReplyDeleteacts are in a very similar and somewhat pointless position!!