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NEW ENGLAND | 1978 | (GB Music/Elektra, 1978)

Alone Tonight / Nothing To Fear / Candy / I Will Be There / Shoot / Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya / Hello Hello Hello / Even When I'm Away / Searchin' / Turn Out The Light

Back in the late seventies this band was formed around the talented foursome of John Fannon (guitar & leadvocals), Hirsh Gardner (drums & vocals), Jimmy Waldo (keyboards & vocals) and Gary Shea (bass).
 Their first, self titled album (from which demo versions of 6 songs can be found on "1978") was produced by Paul Stanley from Kiss and they also toured with them on their Dynasty tour.
The album itself is really not much to write home about. Sure, tracks like "Hello Hello Hello" and "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya" both are classic stuff, but the album in general isn't much to make a fuss about (both tracks can also be found on "1978").

NEW ENGLAND | Explorer Suite | (GB Music/Elektra, 1981)
Honey Money / Livin' In The Eighties / Conversation / It's Never Too Late / Explorer Suite / Seal It With A Kiss / Hey You're On The Run / No Place To Go / Searchin' / Hope / You'll Be Born Again

Their sophomore album, "Explorer Suite", is on the other hand more or less a MUST for every lover of pompous/orchestral AOR with traces of Beatles, Queen, Cheap Trick, ELO and others.
All it takes is one listen to tracks like "Honey Money", "Conversation" or "Hey You're On The Run", to know what I'm talking about. Weird but wonderful!

NEW ENGLAND | Walking Wild | (GB Music/Elektra, 1981)

Walking Wild / Holdin' Out To Me / Don't Ever Let Me Go / Love's Up In The Air / DDT / Get It Up / L-5 / She's Gonna Tear You Apart / Elevator / You're There

Third album, the Todd Rundgren-produced "Walking Wild", is not as great as its predecessor. Still, there a couple of really good tracks like "Don't Ever Let Me Go", "DDT" and "L-5". Very impressive.
It's great that someone has got the balls to finally re-release these albums. Not to be missed. Happy anniversary!

Review by: Larry

NIGHT RANGER | Seven | (CMC International, 1998)

Sign Of The Times / Jane's Interlude (Instrumental) / Panic In Jane / Don't Ask Me Why / Kong / Mother Mayhem / Soul Survivor / Sea Of Love / Peace Sign / When I Call On You / Revelation

These guys were rather profilic during the eighties with a long row of successfull albums in America. 1995 they re-united with the original line-up and here is the second album since the reformation. I have to admit that it took me a couple of spins before this CD sunk in. Being used to a lot more hookladen material this more no frills approach took me awhile to get used to. But now tracks like "Soul Survivor", the awesome "Peace Sign" and "Revelation" all belong to some of my most played these days. Jack Blades pulls a heavy load on this album, but one can wonder what Alan Fitzgerald’s part in the band is these days? Warming up the coffee? In any event, the European version of this album differs slightly from the US release. In Europe the song "Crazy World" is featured and in the US "Kong" takes its place. Both are about the same quality. Night Ranger definitely show that you can still rock in America!

Review by: Larry

JOHN NORUM | Worlds Away | (Zero / MNW-ILR, 1997)

Manic Distortion / Make A Move / C.Y.R. / Where The Grass Is Green / Center Of Balance / Dogs Are Barking / Homeland (Peace Of Mind) / Wasted Labor / Worlds Away / Endica / From Outside In

John Norum is in desperate need of some new fresh ideas. This, his 4th solo album since the split with Europe, is just like the last one; another tired seventies influenced melodic hardrock record.
John is without a doubt a very skilful guitarplayer but not even that helps on this album.
The musicians helping him out on this album are: Kelly Keeling (Baton Rouge) on vocals, Peter Baltes (Accept) playing bass and former AC/DC drummer Simon Wright. A tight unit. Still some kind of a disappointment.

Review by: Stefan

NORWAY | Arrival | (Frontiers Records, 2000)

Givin' It All / One Night Alone / Someday, Someway / Don't Wanna Love You / Can't Live Without You / Sendin' A Prayer (A Song For David) / When You Close Your Eyes / Cry Baby / Find My Way Home / Hole In My Heart / Heaven In Your Arms

Sometimes you come across a cd that you know isn't for you, but you can sure see why others would really like the cd. For me, this is one of those times. Norway are from New Jersey and play pure mid eighties AOR. If you like laid back tracks that are heavy on the keyboards and have big choruses - this is what you'll find right here! There's nothing really wrong with this release - but on that note - there's nothing really outstanding either.
"Givin' It All" is a strong opener and if the Scorpions were pure AOR, they'd probably sound like this. "Someday, Someway" is a decent ballad that will appeal to you AOR lovers where the next track "I don't Want to Love You" starts off acoustic - but ends up quite upbeat with a strong chorus. "Can't Live Without You" is an excellent ballad and my favorite track on the disc. The guitars in "Sendin' A Prayer (A Song For David)" start off sounding like a Bryan Adams tune - but the song doesn't hold up as it goes on. Other decent songs are the guitar driven "Cry Baby" which is an excellent rocker in the Bon Jovi vein. "Find My Way Home" is also more rockin' and I wish they would have put more of these kind of songs on the cd because their style is pretty cool when they aren't doing the sappy slower numbers. Three sappy songs per cd is more than enough for me! The cd ends with a Journey style upbeat track "Heaven In Your Arms" and is quite a good closing number.
I ended up enjoying at least half the cd. That's not bad considering I'm not a huge keyboard oriented rock fan. These guys do have a lot of potential and if they acquired more of an edge to their sound - they could prove to be quite amazing.

Review by: Rob