STARFIRE

Yes, our physical CD comes out the following day at the website! www.starifremusic.com

Here's the flyer for our new show in Los Angeles; this time it is at The Mint; opened in 1937 and has had its stage graced by a number of music legends including Stevie Wonder and even Ray Charles. Today, they host a lot of acts on the edge of breaking into the mainstream and in two weeks, we'll be there, live, celebrating the release of our next album: Business Affairs. If you or anyone you know will be in the area and is interested in checking out the show, get tickets from here - There are samples of the new music we're playing streaming here. We're doing some of that new music during our show! Come check us out!

They DESTROYED Pearcy's vocals on that last record. Their used to be that raspy ghostly thing that gave Out of the Celler and Invasion of your Privacy that GREAT sound; the vocals sat in with the music so well, especially on tracks like Lay it Down. But then suddenly, we got that really weird twang thing in "Loving You is a Dirty Job" some years later and it's been down hill from there. I guess they can't all be Beau Hill behind the recording console, can they?

In rock? Tons. My preference is for singers like John Parr, Stan Bush, Joe Lynn Turner, etc. But even though guys like Johnny Gioeli annoy me, I have a hard time disliking their performance with the music on the songs, either live or in the studio. So, I definitely know where you're coming from and how you feel about it.

Have you read all of my reviews? I would review, specifically, my opinions on the three albums by Ten I wrote about. I don't think any of them got 5 out of 5, and I greatly enjoyed one of them. As I said, there were throw aways and that's what starts to make points drop off. If I go to a 10/10 or 100% scale, all of a suddenly, we're splitting hairs. Maybe you like less keyboards than I do, or I want a little more guitar solo than you do... No two people are going to line up perfectly on taste but as far as how highly I can recommend it, I usually from avoid, worth checking out, average but good, highly recommended to must buy. That's what I mean when I give a 5. What I'd be more interested in hearing about is why you didn't like it as much as I might have; I think that'd be useful to anyone else reading this conversation so they can say, "OK, I agree with that other guy. I wont like the album as much, because I prefer more of X and this doesn't have it." From the different points of view, I think one can get a better understanding about all of the different kind of response that CD elicited in its listening audience.

Sure. I've heard some records where, in my opinion, they couldn't possibly be made better. Eclipse, What If..., Coup de Grace, W.E.T., Falling in Between--to me--fits that category perfectly. And by the way, the vast majority of records he reviews doesn't get a 100%. While I wouldn't agree with all of thoses, they doesn't hand them out like candy. When he's given a 100%, I've generally come close to completely agreeing. Inversely, when he trashes a CD, it's usually because it IS crap. I've very rarely had a more similar feeling on a CD to the review of it versus when I've listened to it with anyone else's reviews. Just my honest opinion.

So glad you pointed this out. It's a huge reason why I don't like the majority of American releases that debuted in the last 10 years. Even Ratt's Infestation could have sounded better had they not chosen to "slam the zeros" in Pro-Tools.

It actually sounds quite a bit like World Upside Down; at least, based on those samples. I am extremely excited about getting a hold of this new record. I'll agree with you, though. If it's like Cartesian Dreams, I'm gonna be unhappy. :-/

I think that's what they were going for. It's a big reason why I listen to acts like this; they actually make sure their music is mixed with drums that you can actually hear.

Those sound right, too, but I work on a 0-5 scale without fractions in order to save time. I don't start taking off points unless there are songs on there that are an absolute throw away.

Hey guys, So, on our new album coming out October 3rd is a song called "Sorrowful Ones." While most this new CD, Business Affairs, is not heavy on the rock, we do some Melodic AOR work on this particular track so we hope you enjoy it! Sorrowful Ones from "Business Affairs" by STARFIRE Thanks!

Sunstorm House of Dreams (2009) Frontiers Records Produced by: Dennis Ward For the Genre: ***** (5/5) Compared to the Era: ***** (5/5) “Out of many, one.” There were numerous songwriters on House of Dreams, but this album has a solid, unified sound and all of the different contributors and their varying influences were able to blend into a seamless series of songs. This is mostly thanks to the incomparable talent of Mr. Joe Lynn Turner, whose voice is just as strong and dynamic now as it was over 20 years before. Combined with the unrivaled production of Dennis Ward, House of Dreams is a can’t-miss, out-of-the-park homerun of an album. Once more, Carl-Andre Beckston lends his incredible touch to the remarkable artwork in the jewel case making this nothing short of a collector’s item, but one that you can own at the fraction of the cost. However, the true treasure of this album is, of course, the recordings themselves. This album is not as edgy as the eponymous release two years prior, but is, nevertheless, full of energy and the spirit of AOR. The lead off track “Divided,” does sound like a song that could have been included on that album. There is no mistaking that sound that Uwe Reitenauer brings right from the beginning; nuance and technique that you’ll rarely find on a record out of the United States in the last decade. House of Dreams begins to break away from the previous work on the following track, “Don’t Give Up,” which is a softer anthem that, nevertheless, commands a sense of victory over adversity. A song with a similar feel, although with a bit more optimistic melody comes from “Forever Now,” one of my favorites. Another favorite of mine is “Say You Will” which is just simply one of the most romantic sounding rock songs I have ever heard in my life. The middle passage literally causes chills to run up my spine as visions of the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen form in your mind’s eye. It doesn’t surprise me that this one came from the master, Jim Peterik. However, the greatest track on this album is easily, “I Found Love.” Ward himself on the bass guitar carries this tune along with Gunther Werno’s expert synthesizer work that takes us to the wizardry of Marco Bayati on lead guitar. Simply one of the most delightful rock songs I’ve heard since “The Touch” by Stan Bush. This record definitely makes me wish that Turner is considering a third release with Ward, Reitenaur, Schmidt and Werno but I suppose that depends on how many spare songs Peterik might have in his bag of tracks and, of course, the powers that be at Frontiers. Hopefully the success of these two outstanding releases will lead them to propose work on a new album for, perhaps, next year.

Most definitely. Demons Down did not have nearly the number of catchy or intense tracks that World Upside Down had in my opinion. Their debut album is timeless classic and one that, I feel, didn't get the radio attention it deserved at the time, but even that record wasn't as good as WUD. I'm kinda hoping that HOL's new album I'm hearing about is more along those lines than Cartesian Dreams. It was powerful sounding but really didn't grab me the same way WUD did; These are the Times is simply one of the best heavy melodic rock songs I've heard in the last five years.

HOUSE OF LORDS World Upside Down (2007) Locomotive Records Produced by: James Christian For the Genre: ***** (5/5) Compared to the Era: ***** (5/5) World Upside Down echoes shades of Dokken, a little Yngwie Malmsteen, and even Eddie Money. Yet, this is another masterpiece by Kal Stahlenberg, his mastering and Dennis Ward’s legendary mix delivering a modern sound that is sharp and heavy. Melodic Rock fans will enjoy founding member Gregg Giuffria’s keyboard synthesizer work, but it is tasteful and far from contrived. Rather than overbearing, it heightens the definition of the melody in each song. However, my favorite audio aspect of this record is the rock solid, heavy and steady drum work by B. J. Zampa from his studio in Connecticut where he also tracked the legendary Jimi Bell. I could have used a deeper timbre with greater breadth in sound on the guitar solos, and there were some inconsistencies on the drum tracks—particularly on the snare where, at times, it too sounded a bit thin. Nevertheless, I am seriously nitpicking when I cite these things, as I feel an honest review has to be critical. The fact of the matter is, I enjoyed listening to this record over and over and over again because it’s just so strong. The heaviest songs were, “I’m Free,” “These are the Times,” and “Rock Bottom” with “These are the Times” SO thoroughly addictive, I not only bought the MP3, but it made me go onto buy the CD. I’m glad I did, as MONOWASP—again—hits it out with some of the most fantastic album artwork that I have ever seen. While not heavy metal, hard rock songs included “All the Way to Heaven,” “Million Miles,” “Ghost of Time,” and all three are absolutely PERFECT. I was especially fond of the melody in Million Miles but the groove on “Ghost of Time” is thoroughly captivating. A slower rock track, “Your Eyes” is right on par with “Million Miles,” but with, perhaps even better lyrics. I can’t pick a favorite among these because each had a different way of thrilling me. No AOR album would be complete without a great rock ballad, and we find them in great songs like “Field of Shattered Dreams,” “All the Pieces Falling,” and “World Upside Down” with my favorite being the first. Just a gorgeous acoustic guitar intro, a beautiful set of melodies and wonderful tone and patterns on the drum tracks. Tying with “These are the Times” as my favorite song on this CD is “My Generation.” Aside from the tremendous chorus—and I mean so tremendous, you will literally stop what you are doing when you hear it—the lyrics just say it all: “My generation will take your breath away, just let the music play. My generation will always lead the way, just like yesterday.” AMEN.

SUNSTORM Sunstorm (2006) Locomotive Records Produced by: Dennis Ward For the Genre: ***** (5/5) Compared to the Era: ***** (5/5) Channeling the power of Heaven Tonight on “Odyssey” by Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force, Mr. Joe Lynn Turner opens up your speakers with the hot radio-friendly “Keep Tonight” – such a passionate track with all of the depth and power we’ve now come to expect from a Dennis Ward production—the Ron Nevison of the 21st Century. Sounding just as fresh as when he wrote these songs in the mid-1980s, Turner is the champion of the heart and soul of tracks like “Fame and Fortune,” with a hook so catchy, it should be criminal this song did not dominate rock radio throughout the world. While he also wrote “Love’s Gone Wrong,” the secret ingredient to this record is Jim Peterik (Pride of Lions, Lifeforce, Survivor, etc). You really hear his influence on songs like “Strength Over Time,” “Another You” (a song you could easily imagine Lisa McClowry singing during a Lifeforce set), especially due to its interesting chord combinations, and the way the chorus ends. While I’ve never been a big fan of covers on studio albums, if well executed, they can be incredible. Indeed, drummer Chris Schmidt and Jochen Weyer on keys nails every phrasing on “Night Moves” while carrying greater strength on the timbre of JLT’s masculine vocals. Then there is “Fist Full of Heat” which is an old-school, bad-ass rock and roll song with plenty of attitude. We can thank Dennis Ward for his extra contribution on the record at bass guitar for the growling tone and solid timing that really drives songs like that home. But I would be remiss in not discussing Uwe Reitenauer’s technically accomplished guitar work with great feeling. While there are plenty of enjoyable leads and solid rhythm parts, he added Jake E. Lee-style accents to take songs like “Danger of Love” and “Fist Full of Heat” beyond the minimum expectations. It’s hard to pick a favorite off this album because there are some definite ties for each position. Fame and Fortune is why I bought the record, but it ties with Keep Tonight. Then, I love Danger of Love, especially for its gorgeous acoustic introduction, but I think I like the arrangement and overall sound of Fist Full of Heat better. Sunstorm’s eponymous release just isn’t the source of album you can take one single at a time off of iTunes, or somewhere. You really need the whole thing. It’s worth it too. Outside of the one misprint I found, the packaging is pure eye-candy and outside of the kick bass drum sounding a little clicky from time to time, the uncompressed digital audio mastered by Jeurgen Lusky simply shines. Sunstorm is, without a doubt, a “must own” for any fan of Melodic Rock, period. This top-shelf product represents the genre well, blowing the competition out of the water without breaking a sweat.

More are definitely on the way and, hopefully, I'm spurring more conversation about the less-talked about AOR acts that need the press. I'm still working on securing a copy of The Robe so I can review it; songs I've heard from that album are a big reason why I started following Ten in the first place. Powerful, powerful stuff!

Well around 2004-2006, I think I've heard some of the worst mainstream rock coming out of America that I had heard since the debut alt-rock/grunge era from the mid-1990s. So, as difficult as it was for me to even finish "Return to Evermore," I still didn't think it was as bad as what labels like Universal or Sony was putting out at the time. Yeah, I guess if you're comparing it to what's in the charts and everything in the world that was released in 2006, then anything released in 'our genre' would sound "good" by comparison. I was just thinking that around 2006 there were some killer melodic / AOR / Hard Rock releases which would leave this one well behind. You're not wrong about that. '06 was a KILLER year for Melodic Rock. "Nowhere Land," "Falling in Between," "Sunstorm" - these records blew the doors off of Return to Evermore. 2011 is turning out to be a similar renaissance year for melodic rock (What If... by Mr. Big, Forevermore by Whitesnake and the new releases by Robin Beck and Stan Bush just to name a few). It's weird to me, because Ten has recorded some TREMENDOUS material in the past.

Well around 2004-2006, I think I've heard some of the worst mainstream rock coming out of America that I had heard since the debut alt-rock/grunge era from the mid-1990s. So, as difficult as it was for me to even finish "Return to Evermore," I still didn't think it was as bad as what labels like Universal or Sony was putting out at the time.

TEN Return to Evermore (2006) Frontiers Records Produced by: Gary Hughes For the Genre: **--- (2/5) Compared to the Era: ****- (4/5) While some die-hard Ten fans will probably disagree, Return to Evermore is an album with a bad case of having a split personality. First, the good news. “Strangers in the Night” and “Sail Away” are, incidentally, magnificent pieces and “Even the Ghosts Cry” and “ Evil’s On Top in the World” are textbook Melodic Rock ear-candy, especially thanks to Vinny Burns’ replacement on guitars, Chris Francis. For some reason, though, the album veers off into alternative rock-land with tracks like “Lost Soul” and “Tearing My Heart Out,” which seem to be inspired by the initial work of Alice In Chains or even The Black Crowes. Nevertheless, these tracks are still more enjoyable than “Dreamtide,” a song with a terrible mix and ridiculous sound effects that spoiled an, otherwise, nice tune with a phenomenal chorus. I have no idea what they were talking about in the liner notes when they compared Pete Coleman to Yngwie Malmsteen by calling him “Oldie Pipesteen”. I’m sure Mr. Coleman is good, but why the hyperbole? Especially when his part—the English pipes in the song “Evermore”—is not particularly spectacular. His line adds a nice touch at best. In fact, that song was getting ready to end up very lame until you get to the heart of the track. Even then, it joins songs like "Temple of Love" in being like the rest of the record: the material just isn’t the strongest thing Ten has ever done. In fact, the one reason I haven’t tried to eBay my copy is that the artwork is brilliant, especially the on-disc printing. Otherwise, it doesn’t seem like two years was spent getting this record out. Even though I liked it much better than Babylon, I couldn’t bring myself to listen to this album more than just the few times it took to get acquainted with the material because there were just too many issues. Excessively lengthy tracks due to excessively lengthy introductions, inaudible lyrics, poorly mixed drums and songs that were beneath Hughes’ typically ability to write strong material.

TOTO Falling In Between (2006) Frontiers Records For the Genre: ****- (4/5) Compared to the Era: ***** (5/5) Recorded in my backyard of Sherman Oaks, California throughout 2005, “Falling In Between” is what happens when you take six legendary musical performers and composers with combined experience exceeding one-hundred twenty years. Rich percussion, textured guitar work, nuanced bass lines with excellent keyboards blending piano, organ, synthesizer pads and more executing brilliant fusion jazz rock son structures and melody, and supporting gorgeous vocal stacks. Some songs are a little more accessible than others but the listener’s patience is well rewarded. The exquisite art on the part of Jim Evans and the shimmering mastering by Steve MacMillan were a thick layer of icing on the cake. There is no mistaking the signature vocals of Steve Lukather and Bobby Kimball on this record, but we are treated to the lead singing talent of keyboardist Greg Phillinganes on the two best tracks on the CD: King of the World and Let It Go. However, nobody’s going to out-do Bobby, who lights it up on Falling in Between, a dark and intense rock song with a progressive tendencies and classic Toto rhythm. This song earned multiple plays daily during my first week of owning the record. As did, “Hooked,” a track with so much funk and attitude, it was hard to believe. This CD was so refreshing because it came together the way many of the great fusion rock and jazz records of the 1970s was recorded, by real musicians during numerous sessions in the studio, featuring mature song construction. Dying On My Feet, which gets off to a slow start, really delivers the goods. Chicago’s James Pankow contributes an outstanding horn section for the end of this song, one of the many awesome contributions made by members of Chicago. Not every track is a winner, but this CD has so many buried treasures through most of the tracks that someone is bound to find something they’ll love somewhere on this release. Make no mistake, “Falling In Between” is not re-hash, or sounds like a weak attempt at recapturing the stellar work off of their fame-maker record “Toto IV.” This record stands on its own as an incredibly strong product, and much better than the vast majority of chart topping releases that debuted in 2006.

I agree; I'm almost glad I discovered "Nowhere Land" AFTER Terry Brock's solo album came out because I would have been chomping at the bit to get it, and then heard Jessie's Gone, feeling a little let down. It's a solid tune and Brock--as usual--OWNS the vocal track, it's just didn't electrify me the way tracks like Audio Illusion or Perfect Circle did. I am just so in love with those tunes, it's unreal.

SLAMER Nowhere Land (2006) Frontiers Records Produced by: Mike Slamer For the Genre: ***** (5/5) Compared to the Era: ***** (5/5) In Valencia, California, legendary, British rock guitarist Mike Slamer and sure-fire Melodic Rock vocalist Terry Brock came together in 2006, and made musical magic. If you remember Jimi Jameson’s sound on the theme to NBC’s Baywatch and then mix it in with the remarkable guitar work of Dokken’s George Lynch, you come up with Slamer’s “Nowhere Land.” If I had to pick an order of tracks for this album, it would be: Higher Ground, Audio Illusion, Come To Me, Jaded, Strength to Carry On, Not in Love, Runaway, Perfect Circle and Beyond the Pale. I would have also had someone else master the disc because of the thin EQ and more importantly, some cut- off fade-outs on a couple of tracks, but these are exceedingly tiny blemishes on an, otherwise, totally perfect record. The music on this CD sounded so good, I was literally smiling the entire time I listened to this album. Once again, Mattias Norén delivers on the fantastic album artwork but the awesome does not stop there. Brock and Slamer do an incredible job of bringing us absolutely golden vocal harmonies on tracks like Higher Ground and Audio Illusion, a song so good, it was the only one I heard that made me buy the entire album on CD. You will appreciate the track for its derision of auto-tuned, dance-pop divas. Meanwhile, Runaway is a slower, more affectionate song with a powerful presence—giving this track a great deal of dimension. Then, Come To Me is dark and ethereal, and about the spirit of a woman who has left this world visiting the lover she left behind. Jaded is an equally dramatic, energetic rocker with a deep and heavy groove and more of the trumpeting vocal chorus that is the hallmark of this great record. A terrific song about a place almost everyone finds himself or herself from time to time; whether they have lost the ability to be in love. I literally said, “Oh my God!” when the third track on the CD, Not in Love, started. It kicks off with this crazy good, prog-rock like cluster of awesome guitar riffs and sweet drum combos. The guitar work on this CD is pretty remarkable all the way around, but no other track will make you appreciate it more. Honestly, “Not In Love” is so good, it will make you want to dance—especially at the end when Mike Hamer gets down on that drum sample, and jams until the fadeout. Beyond the Pale comes on like the soundtrack to a movie and gives us plenty of musical drama, so much so that I felt the album should have closed with this song. What really sealed the deal for me on this CD was the song, “Perfect Circle” Like, “Not In Love,” it is a peppy, funky track that I played maybe three to five times a day for a week because I became addicted to this song because it truly touched me. I could personally relate to it, and you can really feel it as the chorus goes, “When all’s said and done, we’ll be one… Love forms a perfect circle.” It truly does. Nowhere Land is an incredible blend of powerful, funky guitar work, with powerful, harmonic vocals, romance, emotion and energy that will leave you wanting more. This is one very special recording for which I feel very fortunate to own.

I'm not sure where the confusion is; plenty of people write reviews about older material. There are any number of DVD or music reviews on Amazon.com about movies or music made a long time ago. Plus, I just bought these. And, outside of Amazon.com, I don't see a whole lot of discussion about some of these artists' releases on any of the AOR/Melodic Rock-oriented discussion forums. So, in the interest of starting interesting conversation about better rock music, I'm writing these reviews.

TEN Far Beyond the World (2001) Frontiers Records Produced by: Gary Hughes For the Genre: ****- (4/5) Compared to the Era: ***** (5/5) The last Ten album with Vinny Burns would be one of the best records he ever recorded with Ten; the sixth release by Ten, Far Beyond the World. The album was not without its blemishes, however. “What About Me?” and “Far Beyond the World” deliver our two, obligatory piano ballads but they are enjoyable enough, fortunately. Nevertheless, “Outlawed and Notorious” and especially “Black Shadows” were definitely mediocre at best, and several of the songs suffered from being overly long. Even my favorites. I would have started fading out “Scarlet and the Grey” around the 4:40 mark, and there were two good opportunities for “Last of the Lovers” when Hughes vocals end at the 4:26 mark, or a fadeout during the gorgeous acoustic guitar section thereafter. Instead, each of these are 5 ½ and over six minutes long respectively. And the introduction to “Who do you Want to Love?” is a minute and thirteen seconds long! It sounds great, but you hear it all again anyway, so this probably should have been trimmed by at least 50 seconds somehow. Luckily, it is extremely easy to overlook these minor arrangement faux pas when you take in the overall work and appreciate the strength of the individual songs. Tommy Newton give us nice touches like flanger effects—unheard of in 2001 releases—on Greg Morgan’s drum tracks and Gary Hughes’ vocals on tracks like “Last of the Lovers,” “Scarlet and the Grey” or “Heart Like a Lion.” Newton, along with Paulo Melo, established Morgan’s drum tracks with plenty of dynamic range, and a full, solid tone for a mix superior to the majority of mainstream Rock releases recorded in the United States, then or now. Newton sweetened this album with an overall warmer tone than usual, with excellent bass response that played well in my car, on my MP3 player and my Bose CD player at home. Do buy the CD, too—you will want the incredible artwork on the CD itself as well as in the liner notes as you read the lyrics. It helps given Hughes’ tenor and occasionally baritone performances, but they are also worth reading for their remarkable quality for being both mysterious yet totally captivating. The real strength in this album is the real diversity to each of the tracks. It’s not one prototypical Melodic Rock song after the next with some meandering vocals and blithering, unintelligible guitar solos. You get seriously infectious earworms like “Glimmer of Evil” with a guitar riff so sick you can play this song two or three times a day for a week without growing tired of it. Heavy, rock steady groove with soulful , bluesy vocals that contrast against the stadium-worthy anthem during the Chorus. You can’t help but want to sing along. The next best track on Far Beyond the World is “Scarlet and the Grey,” with a sound so endearing, it fills you with the feeling of hope and happiness thanks to Paul Hodson’s textured synthesizer work. “Strange Land,” is an equally well-composed track with signature melodies and chord progressions that feel so good to listen to. Hodson also does a great job and is well featured on “Who Do You Want To Love?” This song keeps the diversity on this album going with sequenced percussion and keyboards that lead into the triumphant melody that introduces the song. Steve McKenna’s bass guitar tracks really shines on that track. McKenna is also really well featured on the funky “Last of the Lovers,” which comes across with a lot of attitude and gives us everything we love about Melodic Rock: strong, fist pumping, melody-driven music with vocal harmonies in the chorus. You also can appreciate what he does during the chorus of “High Tide.” It’s not the strongest melody on the record but it still gives you plenty of the big, bad, hard rock attitude with heavy guitar, and an aggressive mid-tempo drum line. “Heart Like a Lion” is an unexpectedly bluesy track that is perfectly composed and arranged; you almost imagine watching a police drama on television when this one plays. It would also fit well as a showtune during a Broadway play. Sweet vocal harmonies, emotional guitar work, terrific lyrics and nice organ and piano work by Hodson makes this yet another winner. Ten’s “Far Beyond the World” is far beyond anything you will have purchased that either won the rock GRAMMY® awards in 2001, or spent any time on the BillboardTM Top 40 and it’s definitely worth getting on high-quality, uncompressed digital compact disc and playing back on the car stereo or the surround sound speakers at home. You can’t squeeze the massive sound through just a pair of headphones on this remarkable release by Ten, which I regard as a “must buy.”

TEN Babylon (2000) Frontiers Records Produced by: Gary Hughes For the Genre: **--- (2/5) Compared to the Era: ****- (4/5) After finding success in professional music at 22 in 1989, British rock prodigy Gary Hughes eventually launched TEN in 1996 and released their fifth album, Babylon, in 2000, the second release on the Frontiers label. According to the liner notes, Babylon is about a computer programmer's tragic love affair in a fictitious futuristic setting. As a consequence of Babylon taking the form of a concept album, you have the enigmatic accent of Gavin Fernie as the voice of a radio newscaster narrating the story through a series of reports between the songs. Even if you like concept albums like Operation:Mindcrime by Queensryche, you'll find the execution here to be contrived and cheesy. Furthermore, all of the songs seem unnecessarily long; they aren't in order to build a sense of anticipation. There are just too many repeated phrasings--the whole CD is nearly an hour long with just ten tracks. Then, due to Hughes' uncharacteristically low vocal octave range, it seems that, perhaps Audu Obaje, mix engineer for Babylon, had to rely on upper mid-range EQ boosts so that the lyrics could even be audible. The strangest aberration on this recording is the blatant timing problems on the opening track, "The Stranger." perhaps a side effect of Greg Morgan tracking his drum sessions in Manchester, Great Brittain while the rest of the takes were taped in Oldham and Rossall. That's especially bad news because it's easily one of the best songs on the disc. All that said, there is a lot to like here. The work of legendary rock keyboard synthesizer player Don Airey (Jethro Tull, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Judas Priest) is featured on Babylon. If you like the kind of guitar solos usually found in most Dio albums, you'll enjoy the stuff Vinny Burns and John Halliwell came up with for this album. Finally, years after American rock records completely destroyed dynamic range by "slamming the zeros" on the mixing console during mastering and having totally inaudible drums, you have great percussion tone throughout the whole album, complimenting the excellent guitar work. As for specific tracks, there are some clear winners here. While over 5 1/2 minutes, the most radio friendly track on this album is Black Hearted Woman. It's got a catchy signature melody and catchy lyrics--it's fun to sing along with this one. The heaviest track is Thunder in Heaven but clocking in at nearly seven minutes with very few thematic elements, it just seems long after a while. Speaking of Queensryche, you'd like "The Heat," the 5th track on the album. If you like Night Ranger, you'll like "Give In This Time." My favorite tracks on this album are "Timeless" and "Barricade." About Barricade, this song was, unfortunately, almost ruined by the fact that the second verse is far too busy. It starts out perfectly with a killer guitar hook but then along comes the oft-repeated main guitar riff for the whole song on top of it, and Hughes' vocals. There's just too much going on here. Compared to everything else being released, particularly in the United States at the time--the year 2000--this album is a clear cut above what was in the Top 40 then. However, among all Melodic Rock releases between the end of the 1990s and the early part of the new millennium, it probably would have also stood out from the crop of AOR releases then as well had Frontiers brought in a producer to trim track lengths, tighten up production and perhaps drop tracks 6 and 10 altogether.