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JADED HEART | IV | (MTM Music, 1999)

Live & Let Die / Hey God Don't Hesitate / Way Back Home / Stonecold / When You Hear The Thunder / Ain't A Perfect World / With Your Eyes / But I Like It / Take My Soul / She's A Woman / Behind Your Pride / Easy Lover

With the greatest respect for the German people I still must say that melodic rock and AOR from Germany, besides the 1st Zeno album (EMI, 1986), I have a hard time taking to my heart. I know that there are a lot of fans out there of bands like Bonfire and Fair Warning, but I still think it is so darn static and unpersonal. Where is the heart and soul?
Jaded Heart falls right in the same category.
Opener "Live And Let Die" kinda sets the standard immedietly. A monoton guitar riffing through the whole piece while the singer, Michael Bormann, is screaming and squiling the very loudest he can. Is it ´89 or ´99, who can tell? Nah, this blows, enough said!

Review by: Stefan

REBECKA ST. JAMES | Pray | (Forefront Records, 1998)

Pray / Ok / Give Myself Away / Hold Me Jesus / I'll Carry You / Come Quickly Lord / Peace / Mirror / Lord You're Beautiful / Love To Love You / Omega

Aussie girl Rebecca St.James delivered one of last year's most unexpected releases in my ears anyway. A mix between Bjork (?), Jars Of Clay, Alanis Morisette with gazillions of hooks thrown in for good measure. Maybe not what the avid AOR-fan would run and buy after reading this review. But maybe should! Because tracks like "Ok", "Give Myself Away" and the absolutely brilliant "I'll Carry You" are as addictive as it gets! It's brash, bold, and very exciting in places. Some tracks have a tendency to become too experimental and modern to fully suit my taste, but most of the time it works.
Widen your horizons and buy this. Now!

Review by: Larry

JIMI JAMISON'S SURVIVOR | Empires | (Frontiers Records, 1999)

Cry Tough / Run From The Thunder / I'm Always Here / Empires / First Day Of Love / Have Mercy / Just Beyond The Clouds / A Dream Too Far / Love Is Alive / November Rain / Calling America / Burning Heart (Live) / Rebel Son (Live)

It has been taking some time for this album to be released. After the last "real" Survivor album "Too Hot To Sleep", there has been a long row of legal battles which I won't dig any deeper into. Some may recall the interview I did with Jamison back in 1997 (will be posted on this site), and around that time he had recorded demos of some of the tracks that can be found on here.
So is this any good? Partly yes..."Cry Tough", "A Dream Too Far", and "Calling America" are brilliant. The two real highlights in my opinion are ""First day Of Love" and "Just Beyind The Clouds". Brilliant suff! The title track is really good, too, but being a duet I find it be a bit too "cute and cuddly".
Some of the tracks are a bit too average to make this an essential release, but overall it's a strong release from Jamison's Survivor, even if it doesn't reach same wuthering heights as "Vital Signs" and/or "When Seconds Count".

Review by: Larry

JEFFERSON STARSHIP | Windows Of Heaven | (CMC International, 1999)

The Light / See The Light / Borderland / Ways Of Love / Later On / Let Me Fly / The Windows Of Heaven / Shadowlands / I'm On Fire / Goddess / Let It Live / Millennium Beyond (Frontera Luminosa)

No matter how important they used to be for "flower power" and all that crap they're just not anymore. This album sucks rotten potatoes and stinks sweaty socks…

Review by: Stefan

JESTER | Tales From The Boogieman | (GBI Records, 1997)

Tales from the Boogieman / Nothing Special / Ain't What it Used to Be / Caught in the Middle / All Out of Tears / As You Were / Let it Go / Can't Stop the World / Are You Listening / To the Fire

Jester are a four piece band from New Jersey who aren't afraid to let it be known that they are a rock band that plays rock music. Not like the bands today that people have a tendency to call "rock" when in actual fact they are playing alternative music. This is their debut release and upon first listen, you could swear that this album is a lost release from the early '90's. Is that a bad thing? Well, I personally do not think it is.

We start things off with the title track "Tales from the Boogieman" which is a hard-hitting rocker, with a strong hook and ripping guitar solo that reminds me of early Skid Row. Joe Kori is the vocalist and sounds like a cross between Sebastian Bach and Nicholas Walsh of the Canadian band Slik Toxik. "Nothing Special" slows things down for an acoustic-based bluesy number that leaves me cold. The next track "Ain't What it Used to Be" sure makes up for the last song though. It's an upbeat-rocker with a strong chorus that reminds me of something off the Killer Dwarfs CD 'Method to the Madness.' "Caught in the Middle" is very run-of-the-mill and not one of the bands better songs. "All Out of Tears" is up next and as you may have guessed by the title, it's a power-ballad that is a sure highlight on the album. Other songs that are worth mentioning are: the uptempo rockers "Let it Go", "Can't Stop the World" and the very Dokken sounding "To the Fire". Last but not least, I must give a mention to the awesome acoustic ballad "Are You Listening" which is a favourite of mine.

Overall, this album is packed with fat guitar riffs and a decent singer to boot. The production may fall short, but it's a start on the right foot for a band with a bright future. If you are a fan of the aforementioned bands, taking a visit to the bands website (www.jesterrocks.com) sure couldn't hurt. With Doug Arms tasteful guitar riffs and the strong rhythm section of Fred Antonelli (Drums) & Rob Ellis (Bass) it sure makes this band hard to resist.

Review by: Rob

JESTER | Digitalia | (Pulse Records, 1999)

Welcome to... / Digitalia / Radio / Anything and Everything / More Than I know / Voodoo / Rock and a Hard Place / Enter You / Main Attraction / Give It Back / Who's Your Daddy? / Viva-A-Gogo / Nothing for Free

After favorable reviews on the Internet and in music magazines (not to mention Metal Edge being one of those magazines) Jester is back with their follow up release. This time around the music is better produced, heavier and the band has created a sound that is more of their own. Lyrically they have improved a great deal as well.

"Welcome to.." is just a small introduction and it sounds like someone is logging into their server on the net with the buzzing of the modem. Then things get started with the title track "Digitalia." This song is very heavy and guitar driven, with some lyrics that display a bit of humor that was not seen on the debut. I'm going to guess this song is about having cyber sex (but like many times before, I could be wrong). I love the line when Joe sings "Have sex across the nation, right through my motherboard." "Radio" is basically in the same style as the opening track and is just as intriguing. "Anything and Everything" isn't quite as aggressive, but is a nice change to keep the album flowing smoothly. "More than I Know" is a great piano/acoustic ballad. I have a weak spot for the ballads that these guys come up with. The next two songs "Voodoo" and "Rock and a Hard Place" are both OK songs - but nothing more. "Enter You" reminds me of a Skid Row type rocker (I would say 'Slave to the Grind' era Skid Row). Next track that stands out is the acoustic ballad "Give It Back" this is where that weakness of mine kicks in again - an incredible ballad - what else can I say? If you think the best is behind us now, you're wrong. "Who's Your Daddy?" has an introduction that is sure to put a smile on your face and is one of my favourite tracks on the disc - very Skid Row(ish) again in style. "Nothing for Free" starts off kinda blusey and basically has a slow groove going on throughout the track. There's a bonus track that starts if you fast forward a few minutes after the last song ends. It's a country song that obviously was done for humorous purposes and it sounds like they had a good time recording it.

I think the band sure have progressed a great deal on this release and I look forward to hearing more material from them in the future. If you like your music a little heavier (comparable to Skid Row's "Slave to the Grind") than "Digitalia" sure delivers the goods and is right up your alley. You can also hear Jester on the up and coming Motley Crue tribute CD also on Pulse Records that should be released shortly. They are doing the song "Kickstart My Heart" and I'm looking forward to hearing it - I'm sure that they did an awesome job on it! www.jesterrocks.com

Review by: Rob

JORN | Starfire | (Frontiers Records, 2000)

Starfire / Edge Of The Blade / Break It Up / Forever Yours / The Day The Earth Caught Fire / Gate Of Tears / Burn / End Comes Easy / Just The Same / Abyss Of Evil

Jorn is former Vagabond, The Snakes and now Millenium vocalist Jorn Lande. His voice ranges everything from acoustic ballads to blusey rockers on this "Starfire"-effort. The title track opens in an almost breathtaking Queensrÿche "Empire"-era mood. "Forever Yours" is a nice acuostic piece. "Abyss Of Evil" sounds as something Dio, or perhaps Black Sabbath could have done; dark, heavy riffs and a mystic feeling hanging above.
So, if having the talent to write and perform own material why build the other half of the album with cover material? I can't say these songs aren't well performed, but at the same time I haven't really been dying to here the 57th version of Deep Purple's "Burn" or Foreigner's "Break It Up" or Journey's "Edge Of The Blade".
Good performances but filling half the album with cover material might leave you feeling ripped off.

Review by: Stefan