Classic Rock Presents AOR 12 - Class Acts
CD, 2014, Heftbeilage, Cardsleeve

15 of the Best Melodic Tracks

Spielzeiten laut Software (iTunes)

Classic Rock Magazine / Classic Rock presents AOR 12 September 2014
TEAM ROCK

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Thirty brief years ago, a young, sunglassed and feather-haired David Lee Roth donned a peach tuxedo, leered into the camera and confessed that he was "Hot for teacher". Now, AOR can't really identify with Roth's plight - our teacher having been an imposing, bearded figure (to be fair, she was really good at maths). But we certainly could imagine ourselves feeling 'hot' for a 'teacher' who believed in educating the masses in the four 'R's of AOR, which happen to be Rockin' (obviously), Riffin', haRmonisin' and Requestin'-the-company-of-a-delectable-companion-for-an-evening-of-fine-food-fine-wines-and-only-the-finest-power-ballads-from-the-Toto-discography. So find enclosed a clutch of excellent tunes that could teach you a thing or two about the fine art of AOR. And don't play truant, or we'll make you write a hundred times: 'I must listen to more AOR... l must listen to more AOR... l must..."

01 VANITY BLVD – Miss Dangerous Fronted by a larger-than-life singer, Anna Savage, whose swagger and snarl has won deserved comparisons to Lita Ford, sleaze-slicked Swedes Vanity Blvd are fearsome rock'n'roll street-racers, revving their engines and preparing to tear up stages across the globe. Eyes trained on the big-time - or at least on the Sunset Boulevard of their rock'n'roll dreams - they've a lot of power under the hood, and a lot of class up on top.
Taken from: Wicked Temptation on Noisehead.

02 LOVERBOY – Fire Me Up One of a series of 'new' tracks the courageous Canucks have fashioned from demos and unreleased recordings held within their archive, Fire Me Up should be enough to convince the faithful that Unfinished Business is no mere fan-fleecing odds'n'sods collection, but rather the product of a band with the confidence to revisit tracks from decades ago and know they can still match the attack of their more youthful selves.
Taken from: Unfinished Business on Loverboy.

03 HOUSTON – Our Love Houston? They don't have a problem, at least not on the evidence of their second covers project. Relaunch II finds Hank Erix et al tackling material made famous by a motley crew including Rick Springfield, John Farnham, even Lady Gaga. But Our Love - which opens with the deathless lines 'Our love is like a window/lt's open when the wind blows' - is an Erix original, and proves Houston can hold their own with the genre's godheads.
Taken from: Relaunch II on Livewire.

04 THE TREATMENT – Don't Get Mad Get Evil In Running With The Dogs, these Cambridge rockers deliver a second album that more than redoubles the bite and brilliance of 2011's This Might Hurt, the work of a group whose tender years bely the fact that they rock like a beast bred from an unholy union between AC/DC and the Black Crowes. Not that it’s all heavy-riffin' savagery here - the album boasts a couple of Tesla-esque acoustic interludes - but Don't Get Mad ain't one of 'em!
Taken from: Running With The Dogs on Spinefarm.

05 WORK OF ART – How Will I Know? Not, disappointingly, an AOR reworking of the classic Whitney Houston pop smash from 1985, Ho w Will l Know? is an achingly perfect slice of AOR from Work Of Art, expert practitioners of the form since their first demo surfaced in 2007. Robert Säll and his handpicked artisan sidemen excel on the third Work Of Art full-length, which our own Paul Elliott says, on p107, is the perfect record to tide us over until Toto return.
Taken from Framework on Frontiers.

06 NIGHT BY NIGHT (A.K.A. NXN) – Everywhere Tonight Freshly re-recorded following the replacement of original vocalist Daniel Rossall by new frontman Henry Rundell, the debut album by these plucky Brit melodic rockers matches their pyromaniac peroxide riffs to harmonies that will tickle your inner gentleness like a peacock's feather. Everywhere Tonight is a representative anthem from this impressive waxing, and indeed, on this form, Night By Night will be everywhere, tomorrow.
Taken from: NXN on Sun Hill.

07 HELIX – Bastard Of The Blues This Iowly AOR scribe knows Helix chiefly as manufacturer of top-quality school stationery, but is gladdened to discover Helix is also a glorious rock band from the icy wastes of Canada whose new album Bastard Of The Blues is exactly the sort of thrill-ride to put hairs on your chest, even if you are one of AOR's lady readers. So put on this title track, crank up the Stereo and invest in a gross of Nair, because this noise is worth it.
Taken from: Bastard Of The Blues on Perris.

08 CHICAGO – Now 36 albums into a career that's witnessed glory and tragedy and traverse wild funk-rock, horn-powered heaviness and some of the most dulcet power-ballads of all-time Chicago return to the studio with their own new material after an absence of eight years. Worth the wait? Throw on Now and let your ears be the judge, as these assembled denizens of the windy city croon, jam and blow as only they know how.
Taken from: Chicago XXXVI: Now on Chicago.

09 KJETIL BY FT. ROBIN BECK (& JAMES CHRISTIAN) – Better Days Norwegian guitar whiz Kjetil By has already made a name for himself with a series of well-received albums. His fourth full-length displays a newfound ambition, borne out by his decision to invite none other than Robin Beck - she of the Coca-Cola commercial, and the terrific 2013 album Underneath - to sing on Better Days. Does the combination work? Revel in the glories of this title track, it should answer that question.
Taken from: Better Days on Hit Music.

10 SKYSCRAPER – Monday Morning With a line-up numbering members of Airrace, Shy and The Quireboys, and featuring the vocals of Lee Small, Skyscraper's towering (sorry) AOR credentials cannot be argued with. Their debut album scales considerable heights (sorry again) with cloud-grazing choruses and the kind of swagger you just can't fake. And the track we've nicked for this here CD, Monday Morning? It's the sort of thing you'd gladly wake up early to hear.
Taken from: Elevation on Ghost Dancer Music.

11 HOT FIRE– The Shakes As one of America's major cities, Boston has delivered the world an embarrassment of AOR wonderfulness over the years (including, let us not forget, Boston). Add to that fine list Hot Fire, a Massachusetts quartet whose immaculate rock'n'roll is spicier than a five-alarm chili. Owing a forgiveable debt to fellow Bostonians Aerosmith, The Shakes is a filthy knee-trembler of a track that'll smoosh a smile on your face.
Taken from: Lost In Rock & Roll on Fly Electric.

12 SUPERDIRT – I Danish party-rockers Superdirt know how to get a bash begun - with booze, broads and the most bodacious riffage. Their energetic live show is already legendary, winning comparisons to The Cult, Skid Row and Motörhead, but if popping over to their hometown of Copenhagen to see 'em is beyond your party-rock budget, we can gladly report their second album is a party on a shiny five-inch disk - and you're invited!
Taken from: Rock N Roll Train on Superdirt.

13 AUDIO NATION – How Thoughts Change Icelandic rockers who temper their bluesy anthems with a little salsa - a unique combination that should please your aural tastebuds - Audio Nation ably describe themselves as a band with no limits and no rules". Their debut album, Wait It Out also bears some grunge influences... No! Wait! Come back! These guys lift vibe from peak Alice In Chains and Soundgarden in a manner that only enhances their deliciously melodic rock.
Taken from: Wait It Out on Audio Nation.

14 GASOLINE STARS – Where In Somewhere Flammable stuff, gasoline. So imagine the fires that get started when this Gothenburg quartet ignite their razor-edged riffs. Formed in 2012, their debut EP Loud N' Furious became a phenomenon, but was followed by silence, as the stars locked themselves in the Studio, honing their debut album. Titled, immodestly but possibly honestly, Good Looks, Bad Behaviour, it’s thankfully awash with the latter.
Taken from: Good Looks, Bad Behaviour on Rambo.

15 WICKED FAITH – Just This Once Having assembled in Norwich in 2011, this quartet are guided by one heart, one goal, one mission: to make the music they want to make, paying no heed to trends nor fashions. Singer Jade Murray's siren vocals certainly possess a mighty and timeless quality, while the group's ease with the soaring anthem format is foregrounded on this life-affirming cut. So have some faith, because this is one wicked, wicked group.
Taken from: Under No Illusion on Wicked Faith.