gener8tr

Side note... I played the living hell out of BANG GO THE BELLS on one of my home-made compilation cassette tapes back in 1989. Such a great year for rock (probably the last, best great year for my tastes).

Doubt it's your thing. Too old school I love it!

Sounds like a 1992-era RUSH track. Not thrilled with "Sweet Freedom" at all.

These kats were from my neck of the woods right here in Portland, Oregon. I have the CD shown above, as well as their demo, which (IIRC) has the same tracks as Have A Nice Life, but in a plainer package (black and white cover) before they were signed. I may have an extra original copy with the black and white cover around my place somewhere... if anyone's interested let me know and I'll have a look.

Came in 56 for me. I tend to agree with your comments about Europe these days. Last great thing Joey Tempest did was his first solo album which is my 10th favorite album of all time. Stryper are the same for me. Michael Sweet also 'jumped the shark' after his first solo album ... but boy is Sweet's first solo album awesome! I actually had the opportunity to speak with MS about that album a few years back, and I specifically mentioned how much I liked it, and how important I thought Fulkerson was to the overall vibe and sound. He agreed.

Found it!

What about that new Europe, though, hey? ;} Yes, I am looking forward to the new Europe album, and being raped in the anus by seven men in a dark parking lot. Did you not enjoy Europe back in the day (1986ish)? Loved me some Final Countdown. I actually won concert tickets and after-show passes from a local radio station here in town during the summer of 1987 (pretty sure it was 1987). The only thing that really stands out in my memory is that Tempest spent the entire after-show party taking pictures with the all the girls... and his hair was prettier than all of theirs'

Have you seen KROKUS - SCREAMING IN THE NIGHT? Even as a 15 year-old I thought that was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever seen.

That was pretty damn heavy. I wasn't a fan of the first one... I'm more of a THWTD type of Sweet fan, and an Under Lock & Key Lynch fan. 1983 -1986, oh how I miss thee.

Damn. It amazes me, too. And you gotta believe me when I tell you I don't even scratch the surface of the storytelling of my youth here

Which is why I dig it. Raised on Radio is a fantastic album My second favorite Journey album... hard for anything or anyone to compete with Escape. ROR was released my senior year of high school and I played the living hell out of it the entire summer of 1986. LOTS of fond memories of that one and specifically that period of time. Oh to be 18 years-old in the mid '80's once again! So damn lucky! Wasn't born till 89. I couldn't imagine 86 to 87 with all the big albums out those years. I was clearly born in the wrong generation. 1986 / 1987 spawned some of the greatest albums in the history of music for those of us who appreciate sites such as this. I mean the Slippery When Wet and Hysteria Tours were basically criss-crossing America the same time in 1987. Toss in albums like Europe - Final Countdown, White Lion - Pride, Whitesnake - S/T, Boston - Third Stage, Cinderella - Night Songs, Poison - Look What The Cat Dragged In, David Lee Roth - Eat Em and Smile , Van Halen 5150, GNR - Appetite, and on and on and on (and those are just some of the BIG name bands I remember off the top of my head), and what a great couple years it was. Hell, go back another three years to include my entire high school tenure and I could not have asked for more. And remember, it was like 1982 when MTV was brand new. I cannot begin to express how important that channel was to me and my friends back then! MTV and Circus Magazine and it was like Christmas morning every day for me back then! But relish the fact you're 20 years younger than me, my friend. That will certainly come in handy for you some day!

I've been quietly re-collecting the cassette tapes I had from my youth for years now. I foolishly gave away my collection of tapes when I finally made the complete transition to CD's back in late 1992. I wish I still had my originals... LOTS of great history and stories behind many of them. Like LOVE AT FIRST STING by the Scorpions. My buddies Danny, Jim and I rode our bikes to the Mall after school back in 1984 to buy that one. It was a long bike ride, too. Like 5 miles or so each way. We each listened to the new release on our Walkman stereos on the way home. My gosh, that was more than 33 years ago, but remember it perfectly! Or IRON MAIDEN - NUMBER OF THE BEAST and SCORPIONS - TOKYO TAPES. Received both of those for Christmas 1982, along with a Hacky Sack. I still have that damn kick bag in like new condition. And then there's KROKUS - HEADHUNTER. I bought that one at the Navy Exchange shortly after moving to San Diego just before my sophomore year of high school in 1983. Sometimes the stupid shit I remember amazes me

Which is why I dig it. Raised on Radio is a fantastic album My second favorite Journey album... hard for anything or anyone to compete with Escape. ROR was released my senior year of high school and I played the living hell out of it the entire summer of 1986. LOTS of fond memories of that one and specifically that period of time. Oh to be 18 years-old in the mid '80's once again! Oh yeah, Raised on Radio rocks lots of memories for me too albeit a few years after its release cause I was born in 1988 LOL....... what was that like back then? From the live footage etc. I think the album and subsequent tour were pretty successful. So did the band just call it quits after the tour, was there a falling out in the press, or just an ''indefinite'' hiatus.... how did you experience the whole thing back then? It's difficult to explain... I'm not trying to be a cop-out, but you really had to be there and take it all in to fully understand. The 80's were, well, just different. The culture, the music, the movies, the fashion, the hair styles... yes, even the cologne! It was all awesome back then. I sometimes cringe looking at old photos now, but it was all REAL back then! Summer of 1986 through summer of 1987 was about as perfect a time in my life as anyone could imagine. I won't go into dramatic personal detail as I don't want to bore many of y'all... but I'd just graduated from high school and had the most awesome (at the time) girlfriend; My life was just about perfect back then. Back to Journey... ROR didn't receive incredible fanfare as I remember. I mean 40% of the Escape / Frontiers line-up had been "fired" by Steve Perry and AOR had been replaced by hair metal on the radio and on MTV. I suppose there were a couple of big radio hits (Be Good To Yourself and I'll Be Alright Without You), but you have to remember, Escape and Frontiers sold like 20 million copies, and ROR didn't have a "Faithully" nor an "Open Arms" to fall back on. But that didn't stop my friends and I from playing that cassette tape nearly every single day. And I was lucky enough to see the tour here in Portland, Oregon late in the summer of 1986 (sometime in August IIRC). But Journey just kind of "ended" after that. Bad English formed in 1988, and next thing I knew, 10 years had passed before TRIAL BY FIRE was released. By then, Journey's time had passed and we all know the story from there. Yes, they're still a very popular touring band, but it's certainly more nostalgia now than anything. But what an awesome ride it was!

Which is why I dig it. Raised on Radio is a fantastic album My second favorite Journey album... hard for anything or anyone to compete with Escape. ROR was released my senior year of high school and I played the living hell out of it the entire summer of 1986. LOTS of fond memories of that one and specifically that period of time. Oh to be 18 years-old in the mid '80's once again!

I'm digging that first tune a lot! I saw Night Ranger a couple weeks back in Salem, Oregon (Deen's hometown) and he sat-in on a few tracks. His attitude, playing and singing were great. He did not look the best, however. Hard to explain, and I certainly do not want to make any assumptions, so I'll leave it at that. Hopefully he was just really jazzed to be playing on his home turf.

If we're talking ALL new "albums" that sound as though they were to be released in the 80's versus only 80's bands that have new releases (God that's terrible English), that opens a giant can of worms! SO many great albums released the past decade plus that sound as though they could have been released during the 80's hey-days. I need to peruse my CD list and post. More coming from me on this topic... including some additional bitching regarding DIGITAL vs ANALOG recording. For me, this is THE root of the problem (and it's a major problem). I'm sure Protools (et al) with individual band members recording their individual "parts" scattered across the nether regions of the globe is easier and more convenient than bringing five guys together and reporting to a recording studio in Los Angeles for six straight months, but the sound has suffered... badly!

Two that come to mind that have tracks (not necessarily the complete albums) that I believe could have been released during the bands' heydays are AUTOGRAPH "Buzz" and LOVERBOY "Just Getting Started."

I dunno, maybe I'll agree that on ''Lightning Strikes Again'' Jon Levin does sound like George Lynch alot, but those albums you and I mentioned don't line in with the bands' previous efforts seamlessly. The Whitesnake albums sound waaaay ''fatter'' than the 1987 s/t or ''Slip of the Tongue'' for example I remembered a different one, also a new band: Smokin Aces and their song ''You Take My Breath Away'' also sounds very early 90s to me, almost an Aerosmith Pump / Get A Grip vibe to it Would be nice to get gener8tr's view on this whole thing... I'm happy to chime-in as I have NO problem admitting I am VERY old-school (Old's Cool) concerning my musical tastes, and WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY more times than not find myself turned-off by many of my favorite bands from the 80's who have new releases. I have been pleasantly surprised by a few recent releases that harken back to days gone by... I absolutely love FM's "Indiscreet 30" and the latest Harem Scarem album. Neither of which are incredibly 80's sounding, per say, but have a certain charm that makes me feel like I'm back in high school again. Another I loved from a few years back is Nelson's "Lighting Strikes Twice." SO damn good, and I still find myself pulling it off the shelf for a regular listen. I also played the living hell out of Treat's "Coup De Grace," but that one's an exception rather than a norm... doesn't sound 80's at all, and includes very modern twists, but it's just so darn good there's really no way for me to dislike it, even though going in I fully expected a train wreck (I'm never afraid or too proud to admit when I'm wrong). For me, one of the biggest problems with today's music isn't always the music itself, but rather the mastering. For the life of me I do not understand why almost everything now-a-days is cut so damn hot and compressed to the point it's simply not enjoyable. I fully realize there are FAR more people listening to music on a iPod or smartphone in 2017 than on a turntable... I can only tell those of y'all who think you're getting great sound from your Samsung Galaxy that you are sorely missing-out. Listen to a Steely Dan album on vinyl and you may never listen to digital music again. Anyway, I'll have to take a look at some of the CD's I've purchased the past decade or so and report back. Cool topic.

I think I'd like this band a lot more if I heard them on the radio rather than watching at them youtube. The cover of Circus Magazine they would not have graced!

Plunkett has such a unique voice that it's impossible for any other singer to replace him (in Autograph). Steve Perry circa 1983 wouldn't cut it for me in that band.

For the record, I like the Disc 1 mixes the best. A bit more AOR and a bit more vintage .38 Special.

A few weeks back I stated I didn't think another album in 2017 would surpass the latest Harem Scarem CD. Well, I was wrong, sort of... this Don Barnes set is AWESOME! Although it's not really a 2017 release, is it? I've been telling y'all forever... You just can't compete with the 80's! Nice job, Andrew!!!

You actually surprised me with this post, mate, I'll admit. You've proven to be such a "purist" in the past, I'm surprised you look past all the "modern" 'Voice Of Reason' elements and enjoy this one so much. But it's cool. Lap it up. It actually sounds like those elements disturb me more than you, lol, which is odd. You're right, Geoff... I normally (almost always, actually) shy away from anything and everything that incorporates a modern twist. I'm stuck in the 80's and I readily admit it. But this one (and FM - Indiscreet 30) are "different" for me. Not exactly sure why, but I absolutely love them both.

I like the cover art, and I like the overall premise. This one certainly interests me!

The RUNNING HOT album is like a time machine that transposes me right back to 1986 every single time I play it.