JOHN FANNON (New England) - Demos '91 restored audio

Requested in "REQUEST & FILL CORNER" section...

New England was one of the seminal, guitar-driven AOR acts from the US scene, however, to my ears they were heavily influenced by the British invasion, especially lead singer / guitarist John Fannon vocal style.
After the band break-up, Fannon remained in the music industry playing, composing & producing for others, and occasionally releasing solo material (there's a fresh album out, acoustic/Beatles influenced).

But at the beginning of the nineties John Fannon was planning a solo album that never get materialized.
Only two tracks in demo form surfaced from these sessions (1991), but both surely worth a listen; the AOR magic of "The Way To Your Heart" and the sweet melodic rock midtempo ballad "Your Eyes Are My Eyes".
The original tapes sound quite good, but I have enhanced & cleaned the audio, fixed the "The Way To Your Heart" intro, and did a little, tiny artwork.
Quality AOR/MR material.


1 - The Way To Your Heart
2 - Your Eyes Are My Eyes

John Fannon - Vocals, Guitar
Personnel unlisted



JOHN FANNON Demos '91 restored audio
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IF LOOKS COULD KILL - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1991)

Presented here some years ago, I am reposting "If Looks Could Kill" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack because it was requested so many times, it's out of print and features songs not available elsewhere.
Loved the movie, love the OST, where most the artists involved are Melodic Rock related.
Get it while it's hot...



01 - Glenn Medeiros
If Looks Could Kill (No Turning Back)
02 - The Outfield
One Hot Country
03 - Contraband
Loud Guitars, Fast Cars & Wild, Wild Livin'
04 - Trixter
One Mo' Time
05 - Kylie Minogue
Better The Devil You Know
06 - Robin McAuley
Teach Me How To Dream
07 - The Fixx
All Is Fair
08 - The Stabilizers
Maybe This Time
09 - Bang Tango
My Saltine
10 - David Foster
Michael Corben's Adventure




IF LOOKS COULD KILL : OST
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P.M. HEAT - P.M. Heat EP (1989)

Requested in "REQUEST & FILL CORNER" section...

Today we have here an obscure, private vinyl-only EP released by Texan rockers P.M. HEAT. Founded by Mark Hybner who is a well known band-manger 'til today, there are several players listed on the back cover but not specifying which instrument.
Anyway, this is a short but meaty slice of American Melodic Hard Rock in the rocking and polished style of the late '80s, akin Autograph, King Kobra or Babe Blue (presented HERE six years ago).

"Power" is a winner; plenty of guitar / keyboard interplay, a killer chorus and slightly raspy lead vocals.
"Could It Be You" is a little harder with a Dokken-esque atmosphere, "I Wanna Rock" has driving sharp guitars and anthemic-like drumming, while closer "Never Break My Heart" is the more AOR oriented tune of the bunch, melodic and catchy.

One and only release by P.M. HEAT, a truly professional recording wrapped by a crisp production & mix. As requested in the REQUEST & FILL CORNER section, vinyl-rip cleaned and restored by me.

Rare and Good!

01 - Power
02 - Could It Be You
03 - I Wanna Rock
04 - Never Break My Heart

Personnel: Paul Hybner, Mark Hybner, David Hybner,Steve Carson, Dan Stone, Lee Anthony, Rob Wright & David Da Luna




P.M. HEAT : restored audio

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LOVELINES Soundtrack [unreleased] (1984)

More than four years ago I posted here some tracks from "Lovelines", which, despite of being a musical movie (a battle of High School bands), the soundtrack never was released.
The promotional posters and even the credits of the film state 'Soundtrack album available on MCA/Curb records and tapes', but the release was pulled off at the eleventh hour.
A reader requested an updated link, but I will do something better; to the previously presented 4 tracks, I am adding 6 more.

Got countless VHS-rips (remember those?) from '80s movies containing lovable songs from the era never released on any format. Some of them were featured in my 'AOR Treasures - The Soundtracks' series, but process these tapes becomes very time-consuming, and lots still remain untouched.
Well, "Lovelines" songs deserve to be listened; cheesy, commercial, but adorable typical radio-friendly tunes with all the '80s magic. Included as bonus is Tyson Moses' single recorded later as solo artist.
The result are pretty good soundfiles, stereo, and cleaned (discarded & edited the dialogue parts) by myself.
Enjoy!


01 - Racer: For You
02 - Souvenir: Lovelines
03 - The Firecats: Totally Gone
04 - Racer And The Firecats: Defyin' Gravity
05 - Joe Esposito: A Time Like This Again
06 - Tyson Moses & Ben Sharel: Hearts On Fire
07 - Brittany: Reflex
08 - Souvenir: Hold Me Tonight
09 - The Flying Phlegm: Ba-Ba-Baby
10 - Tyson Moses: My Heart's On Fire (Soul Desire)




LOVELINES Soundtrack [unreleased]
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ORPHAN - Lonely At Night & Salute (1983-1985)

Requested in "REQUEST & FILL CORNER" section...

Born from the ashes of the Winnipeg, Canada based band The Pumps, ORPHAN was founded by keyboardist Brent Diamond and singer / bass player Chris Burke-Gaffney. The group secured a deal with Columbia Records and soon recorded their debut "Lonely At Night" in 1983, regarded as a classic Canuck AOR album.

This pompy, keyboard filled radio-friendly beauty was recorded at the famous Power Station studios in New York and produced by the afamed Lance Quinn (Arc Angel, Bon Jovi) and Bon's second cousin Tony Bongiovi.
Catchy, plenty of harmony vocals and contagious chrouses, "Lonely At Night" is a must for fans of the genre. Title track owns that unmistakable first half of the '80s feeling akin Honeymoon Suite or Steelheart, followed by the harder and sharp "What Kind Of Love Is This" which remembers Americans Preview.
The atmospheric midtempo "Miracle" recalls the aforementioned Arc Angel, but also has a lovable new wave touch, a characteristic that made Orphan so special. Then on "She Told Me" they sound typically Canadian, ala Loverboy. Those keyboards and chunky melodic guitar riffs... Love it.
"Any Time At All" is another gem in a disc full of them: heavenly synths and vocals to die for. An AOR diamond if you ask me. On the faster "Hello" and the pompy "All Over The World" they sound more Americanized, the latter bringing to mind Giuffria's Angel or New England.



Orphan toured extensively US and Canada, and with former The Pumps bandmate Terry Norman Taylor as new drummer, the group recorded the second and final opus "Salute" in 1985, with Englishman Phil Chapman (Eric Clapton, Corey Hart) & Jon Astley behind the desk.
The style was more mid-eighties, quirky melodic rock oriented here, but still extremely melodious and radio friendly. Awesome numbers such as the ecstatic "Woman In Love" and the fighting "Stand Up" (Refugee comes to mind) are staples of the pure AOR-Rock we all love. "Old Enough To Know" is another instant favorite, just listen these quick guitars and processed drums.
The melodic rock perfection of "Lyin' To Me" combines a sultry refrain with a bombastic chorus, "Steel + Iron" is heavily guitar oriented, while the more poppy "Crazy For The Night" and "A Little Heart + Soul" adds sensibility to a very well balanced recording.

Orphan disbanded in 1986, but Burke-Gaffney and Terry Norman Taylor returned during the nineties with another band; Dead Beat Honeymooners, to be featured soon on this blog.
"Lonely At Night" & "Salute" never were officially pressed on CD until 2003 when a British label picked up both original tapes and released this great 2 in 1 gatefold digipak remastered edition. Sadly, it's out of print now, but occasionally appears on eBay at decent price.
Orphan was a unique AOR/MR act, and both records have magnificently stood the test of time still sounding fresh and vital.
A Must Have.


LONELY AT NIGHT (1983)

01 - Lonely At Night
02 - What Kind Of Love Is This
03 - Miracle
04 - She Told Me
05 - Saved By The Bell
06 - Any Time At All
07 - Hello
08 - All Over The World
09 - Night Parade


SALUTE (1985)

01 - Open Up The Skies
02 - Lyin' To Me
03 - Woman In Love
04 - Crazy For The Night
05 - Stand Up
06 - A Little Heart + Soul
07 - Old Enough To Know
08 - Uncle Sam Wants You
09 - Steel + Iron
10 - The Way It Should Be

Chris Burke-Gaffney - Bass, Lead Vocals
Steve McGovern - Guitar, Vocals
Brent Diamond - Keyboards, Vocals
Ron Boisvenue - Drums, Backing vocals on Lonely At Night
Terry Norman Taylor - Drums, Backing vocals on Salute







ORPHAN Lonely At Night & Salute 2in1
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FS ORLONN - Books Of Beyond (1995)

Requested in "Request & Fill Corner" section...

Danish singer and guitarist FS ORLONN (real name Flemming Sørensen) recorded his first album "Books Of Beyond" in 1995 under the tutelage of producer Poul Halberg (ex AORTA and Sanne Salomonsen Band), who also plays guitar and arranged some songs.

Musicians involved in the recording sessions include Skipper Flytkjær from the Chain Gang, Georg Olesen from TV-2 , Jacob Andersen (ex- One Two, another Danish band once presented here) and Skagarack's drummer Lars Daugaard among others.

Despite his Scandinavian origin, FS Orlonn has an American heart: "Books Of Beyond" features 11 self-penned tracks strongly influenced by US acts like '80s Eagles, Eddie Money's more classic rock era and even Benny Mardones, though, Orlonn's vocal timbre is like a cross between Swiss artist Rick Laine (his solo album was posted on this blog some time ago), Walk On Fire's Alan King, and Don Henley, perhaps from where comes the Eagles comparison too.

You will be pleased by excellent melodies and arrangements, sultry & smooth vocal harmonies and the top notch musicianship on display here. Just listen the superb guitar work on the pumping bluesy rocker "Flying Colors", one of my favorites.

Guitars have an important role on this recording, even through the more slow tunes as the soulful "No Room for Euphoria" or the terrific ballad "It's About Time We Change" where producer Poul Halberg drops a sharp solo.

The moving "When Love Is Coming" reminds me King Of Hearts (the Funderburk / Gaitsch band), "You Can Do Anything" Michael Bolton circa 1987, while "Tonight She'll Run Away" and "Seven Ties" have a WestCoast parfum all over.

Released by a Sony subsidiary (Northern Star), many cuts from "Books Of Beyond" were used for Danish TV series and a couple of singles got substantial airplay on local radio stations, but FS Orlonn decided to stop as solo artist, built his own studio and dedicated to produce commercials and record other bands since then (though, he released another album last year).

"Books Of Beyond" is an unknown, but stupendous album of classic sounding songs, backed up by a stellar production. Seriously, you'll be surprised by the quality on offer here.

Rare, out of print and really good, three reasons to add this baby to your collection.

01. If I Can Be A Man
02. It's About Time We Change
03. Like Falling In Love Again
04. No Room For Euphoria
05. Flying Colors
06. Tonight She'll Run Away
07. When Love Is Coming
08. Books Of Beyond
09. You Can Do Anything
10. Unpredictable
11. Seven Ties

FS Orlonn: lead vocals, guitars
Skipper Flytkjær: guitars
Georg Olesen: bass
Morten Bucholtz: keyboards, grand piano, organ
Lars Daugaard: drums
Poul Halberg: guitars, backing vocals, producer
Jacob Andersen: percussion
Annika Askmann, Gry Harrit: backing vocals

FS ORLONN Books Of Beyond
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EMERGENCY (Dutch) - Martial Law (1989)

After the last post (Swiss band Emergency) a long-time reader of this blog and connoisseur Mr. Bohond suggested to present here as well the other EMERGENCY, a Dutch act, and their sole album "Martial Law" released in 1989.
Long time out of print, "Martial Law" is a collector's item, and thanks to him we have it here in all its glory (I never seen this CD in the blogosphere ripped at maximum quality) complete with all scans.



With an impeccable production by Erwin Musper (Danger Danger, Craaft, Zinatra), these guys recorded a lovable bunch of Melodic Hard Rock / Scandi AOR sounding tunes here.
You can't go wrong with keyboard-driven numbers like "Upside Down", "Maybe It's Love", "Hiding In The Shadow" or the midtempo "Across The Desert Sands", all rich in high quality harmonies, killer guitar/key interplay and soaring lead vocals by Pete Lovell (which is British-born btw).

But what made this band different from the rest in this profusely transited genre is the distinctive drumming of Hedwig Spijkers; his singular fills, pattern changes and use of cymbals are quite original, giving to the band's sound an extra plus. Just listen "All Runnin' Wild".
There's more straight Euro melodic hard rockers in "Reaching Out", "Dangerous", "Running Out Of Miracles" - the latter reminding me British wonders After Hours - and a couple of great ballads; "Please, Say Please Me" (akin Giuffria), and the extremely melodic "Just One Precious Moment".

"Martial Law" is one of those albums reaffirming that the eighties 'feeling' is unrepeatable.
A winner.


01 - Hiding In The Shadow
02 - All Runnin' Wild
03 - Reaching Out
04 - Please, Say Please Me
05 - Maybe It's Love
06 - Across The Desert Sands
07 - Running Out Of Miracles
08 - Upside Down
09 - Just One Precious Moment
10 - Dangerous

Vocals – Pete Lovell
Guitar, Vocals – Frans Limonard
Keyboards – Coen Van Hoof
Bass – Jos Antonissen
Drums – Hedwig Spijkers






EMERGENCY Martial Law
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