Sunstorm - House of Dreams

[dethuniverse]

audio samples: http://www.frontiers.it/Default.aspx?tabid=85&pl=S

 

JOE LYNN TURNER's SUNSTORM: New Album Details Revealed - Mar. 12, 2009

 

Frontiers Records has set an April 17 European release date for the second album from legendary vocalist Joe Lynn Turner's (RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) SUNSTORM project, entitled "House of Dreams".

 

The album will be released on May 19 in the USA via Frontiers/Super D and in Japan on King Records.

 

 

"House of Dreams" track listing:

 

01. Divided

02. Don't Give Up

03. The Spirit Inside

04. I Found Love

05. Say You Will

06. Gutters of Gold

07. Save a Place in Your Heart

08. Forever Now

09. Tears on the Pages

10. House of Dreams

11. Walk On

 

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermo...wsitemID=116009

[TIM (2)]

Cool - look forward to this. Also hope it fulfills it's potential this time, as the last one promised a lot but wasn't all that spectacular IMO....

[Jez]

Loved the first one, so hopefully this will follow suit.

[Shawn Of Fire]

Is it really JLT's project? Or was he brought in after the songs were written? That's how I thought the first one was...

[TIM (2)]

Is it really JLT's project? Or was he brought in after the songs were written? That's how I thought the first one was...

 

It's almost certainly not his project, as all of these Frontiers' albums are the same. They use the best outside songwriters and session men to write & record all the music, then the vocalist is sent the tapes to record his vocals over the top of. Presumably people like JLT and Michael Kiske wouldn't be any good at, or even want to, write AOR songs anyway. As long as the albums are as good as the stunning new PLACE VENDOME disc then I couldn't care less how they're made....

[Shawn Of Fire]

Yeah, Frontiers has a tendency to do things like this...they work poor Magnus Karlsson to death...haha! But, like you said, as long as the music is good it doesn't really matter...

[melodicrockoz]

i like the first sunstorm, odd though but i have a prefernce for the original demos over what came out on sunstorms cd.. im keen on checking out the new one

[Glen]

Cool - look forward to this. Also hope it fulfills it's potential this time, as the last one promised a lot but wasn't all that spectacular IMO....

 

hard man to please....I thought it was a great album, one or two too many ballads tho.

 

Really looking forward to the newie.

[Swazi]

Loved the first one, so hopefully this will follow suit.

 

Yup, totally agree ! Looking forward to the new one !

[TIM (2)]

Cool - look forward to this. Also hope it fulfills it's potential this time, as the last one promised a lot but wasn't all that spectacular IMO....

 

hard man to please....I thought it was a great album, one or two too many ballads tho.

 

 

Yeah, & quite a few fillers (to my ears anyway). Plus a production like the new PLACE VENDOME would be nice too, as the first SUNSTORM sounded pretty dated & wasn't that polished. Still, it was definitely a good disc....

[heaven&hell]

Cool - look forward to this. Also hope it fulfills it's potential this time, as the last one promised a lot but wasn't all that spectacular IMO....

 

hard man to please....I thought it was a great album, one or two too many ballads tho.

 

Really looking forward to the newie.

 

I thought the debut was excellent too and I'm sure the new one will be great as well.

[Doksdad]

The debut is excellent! I love JLT. Everything he touches is stellar! This will be too.

[phaffas]

Cool - look forward to this. Also hope it fulfills it's potential this time, as the last one promised a lot but wasn't all that spectacular IMO....

 

hard man to please....I thought it was a great album, one or two too many ballads tho.

 

 

Yeah, & quite a few fillers (to my ears anyway). Plus a production like the new PLACE VENDOME would be nice too, as the first SUNSTORM sounded pretty dated & wasn't that polished. Still, it was definitely a good disc....

 

Im with Tim. I liked the first one but it was pretty far behind Place Vendome and Khymera. Some sweet tracks, but alot which werent that exciting.

[Geoff]

I thought the debut was very good too, and if the sample for 'Divided' is anything to go by, this new one will be every bit as good if not better. Very much looking forward to this one.

[TIM (2)]

I thought the debut was very good too, and if the sample for 'Divided' is anything to go by, this new one will be every bit as good if not better. Very much looking forward to this one.

 

Agreed, that sample is stunning....

[Shawn Of Fire]

I really like the first one...I'm sure I'll dig this one too.

[Metal_Warrior]

for those who liked the 1st sunstorm, this is the original version of "night moves" , check it out...

 

 

some other songs from the same cd where released during the 80s from other artists, too

[Geoff]

Wow, managed to spin a copy of this over the weekend and as the first 4 songs played I thought this was right on target to rival Place Vendome this year. Then the ballad hit and it was only okay. Then there were a few more killer songs, but only alternate versions of songs we already know. The CD ended well, with the closing ballad being much finer than the first one, but the end doesn't quite match the start. I look forward to several more spins and I think this one will rank high this year.

[Geoff]

This album and I are getting along. Here's the track list:

 

1. Divided

2. Don’t Give Up

3. The Spirit Inside

4. I Found Love

5. Say You Will (Jim Peterik)

6. Gutters of Gold (Jim Peterik)

7. Save a Place in Your Heart (Paul Sabu)

8. Forever Now (Paul Sabu)

9. Tears on the Pages (Jim Peterik, Jon Lind and Russ Ballard)

10. House of Dreams

11. Walk On

 

Here I go with my track by track:

 

1. Divided ; absolute killer opener. One of my favourite tracks on the disc and a real killer melodic hard rocker.

 

2. Don’t Give Up ; although I do hate songs with this title and message, this one delivers beyond it's peers. Another killer track like the opener.

 

3. The Spirit Inside - And not to be outdone, this continues the uptempo start in sensational fashion. Another outright winner. One of my faves.

 

4. I Found Love - And here we go, 4 in a row. This almost reminds me of prime Bonfire. I LOVE this song. The start of this disc is SO strong, that all 4 songs ended up on my Ipod. Wonderful stuff.

 

5. Say You Will - It amuses me to see Peterik's name alongside this. In the past I have made no effort to hide my dislike for Peterik and all this Pride of Lions bullshit. When I heard this for the first few time (as noted above) I said that this is where the album first falters, and the more I spin it the more it is obvious. This song is shit, and must be skipped. A crappy ballad, and a shame after the first 4 monsters.

 

6. Gutters of Gold - this one is more uptempo, but just average rock / AOR - SO similar to the POD discs I dislike. It's not awful, but it's not great. Another dip in quality.

 

7. Save a Place in Your Heart - this is a good song, but the original is strong enough. Only Child's version is probably stronger than this. It's good, but unnecessary.

 

8. Forever Now - Another song we've heard before, but this is better. This sounds really good and it's the best moment on the CD since the first 4 songs. A step in the right direction.

 

9. Tears on the Pages - ... only to be squashed by another POD-style song. I wish I hadn't seen Peterik's name alongside these before I made my comments as now it may look like I'm reacting to the name, but these were the thoughts I had this morning - that this album starts out melodic hard rock, dips into standard AOR, and finishes where it started. This song is again, good solid AOR... but it has (a better) POD written all over it.

 

10. House of Dreams - finally we are back in touch with the first 4 songs. Here we get another taste of melodic hard rock and this is another great song, reminiscent of how good the album starts.

 

11. Walk On - killer ballad, a million times stronger than the sap that is 'Say you will'. Nice way to close the disc.

 

So there it is. What we have here is pretty much half melodic hard rock bliss and half predicatable AOR truffle cake. Big fans of AOR might see the album in the opposite way I do, or they may just like the whole thing. Me, I avoid that safe AOR kind of stuff and although it does sound good here and this while disc (minus 'Say you will') is strong, I'd have loved to see the energy of the first 4 songs and the title track maintained. One thing I must say, is JLT sounds vocally superb on this thing.

[TIM (2)]

Yeah I kinda liked it the other way around (only heard the soundbytes though). The opener was good but then there were a few weaker tunes, then the horrible ballad (where's the hook?) & then some great AOR. I like the sound of it, but like the debut, it's definitely a fairly patchy disc. Nowhere near PLACE VENDOME IMHO.

[Faust]

I've got an advance promo CD and I'm disappointed... The first one was a total killer disc but not this new one imho.

the opener is great song. The 4th one as well ('I found Love'). But, a lot of filler here... The Jimmy Barnes cover 'Walk on' is a total disaster imho compared to the original song.

This disc can impress after a first play but it's getting boring after several spinning. Not a bad album of course, but...

Just my point of view...

[Geoff]

Yeah I kinda liked it the other way around (only heard the soundbytes though). The opener was good but then there were a few weaker tunes, then the horrible ballad (where's the hook?) & then some great AOR. I like the sound of it, but like the debut, it's definitely a fairly patchy disc. Nowhere near PLACE VENDOME IMHO.

The AOR's okay, it's just nothing new. I like the new material much better. Sounds... fresher.

[TIM (2)]

The Jimmy Barnes cover 'Walk on' is a total disaster imho compared to the original song.

 

Backed. Same with the Sabu cover. They may be great tracks but his vocals just don't suit them, they are in the wrong key. His vocals on the new tunes are a million times better....

[Glen]

Wow, Geoff youre gonna hate me when you read this.

 

I just had my first listen of the new Sunstorm, and I have to say that after the debut which I absolutely loved, I was expecting pretty big things.............

 

Well its good, but nowhere near the debut for me Im afraid.

 

& my main problem...............the first 3 songs LOL!!!

 

I was listening to these first 3 songs thinking..........shit is this the new House Of Lords album or what????! Where was the energy of 'Keep Tonight' or 'Fame & Fortune'.........all you get is a forced HOL sound with mid temp downbeat choruses. Quite lifeless really.....I mean listen to 'Divided' and 'Keep Tonight' back to back.......sounds like a different band.

 

Well I was quite pleased when 'I Found Love' kicked in cos I thought....hell here's the Sunstorm I know. Great uptempo rocker with excellent chorus. Nice.

 

& the next ballad...well I agree its soppy and POL written all over it, but at least it sounds like Sunstorm unlike the first 3.

 

Next up 'Gutters Of Gold'.......holy shit what a track (sorry to disagree once again Geoff) - this really kicked my arse big style. The ending - jesus - serious solos....reminded me of the ending of 'Fist Full Of Heat'.......cudos to Peterik. What a song writer that guy is.

 

& 'Tears Of A Page' is excellent too.....yeah POL, but I really liked that one.

 

Elsewhere we get some familiar songs......in particular 'Forever Now' (nice version but JLTs vocals nowhere near Tel Brock IMO), and 'Walk On' which sounds good with a lush production but again pales against the Jimmy Barnes version from 1987 (JLT co-wrote this track so i suppose he deserves a shot at it.....falls a bit flat tho).

 

So in summary a very good album. Not up to the debut, but easily sitting at no 2 spot this year so far....however I fully expect it to slip way down the order as the year progresses (just like HOL did ).

 

Best tracks : I Found Love, Gutters Of Gold, Tears On The Page

 

[Jez]

Wow, Geoff youre gonna hate me when you read this.

 

I just had my first listen of the new Sunstorm, and I have to say that after the debut which I absolutely loved, I was expecting pretty big things.............

 

Well its good, but nowhere near the debut for me Im afraid.

 

& my main problem...............the first 3 songs LOL!!!

 

I was listening to these first 3 songs thinking..........shit is this the new House Of Lords album or what????! Where was the energy of 'Keep Tonight' or 'Fame & Fortune'.........all you get is a forced HOL sound with mid temp downbeat choruses. Quite lifeless really.....I mean listen to 'Divided' and 'Keep Tonight' back to back.......sounds like a different band.

 

Well I was quite pleased when 'I Found Love' kicked in cos I thought....hell here's the Sunstorm I know. Great uptempo rocker with excellent chorus. Nice.

 

& the next ballad...well I agree its soppy and POL written all over it, but at least it sounds like Sunstorm unlike the first 3.

 

Next up 'Gutters Of Gold'.......holy shit what a track (sorry to disagree once again Geoff) - this really kicked my arse big style. The ending - jesus - serious solos....reminded me of the ending of 'Fist Full Of Heat'.......cudos to Peterik. What a song writer that guy is.

 

& 'Tears Of A Page' is excellent too.....yeah POL, but I really liked that one.

 

Elsewhere we get some familiar songs......in particular 'Forever Now' (nice version but JLTs vocals nowhere near Tel Brock IMO), and 'Walk On' which sounds good with a lush production but again pales against the Jimmy Barnes version from 1987 (JLT co-wrote this track so i suppose he deserves a shot at it.....falls a bit flat tho).

 

So in summary a very good album. Not up to the debut, but easily sitting at no 2 spot this year so far....however I fully expect it to slip way down the order as the year progresses (just like HOL did ).

 

Best tracks : I Found Love, Gutters Of Gold, Tears On The Page

 

 

Haven't heard all of it yet, only sneaky peeks, but it does sound promising from where I am sitting. As good as the first- we'll shall have to wait and see untill it drops through the letterbox in a few weeks time.