It has been requested ROULETTE‘s compilation album “Better Late Than Never” including the band’s ’80s / ’90s works remastered by YesterRock Records specialists. This is a wonderful slice of the classic Scandinavian AOR / Melodic Rock stuff we all love.
Founded in 1985 in Sundsvall, Sweden, during the AOR / Melodic Rock explosion (with Europe at the helm) Roulette and quickly became the talk of the town. They toured with, among others, Treat, Electric Boys and Lion’s Share and released the single ‘Hearts Keep On Burning’ with Tommy Nilsson (of Easy Action) on backing vocals in 1987.
While Roulette dissolved in the Nineties, in the meantime the group recorded a lot of material, all compiled here.
Roulette released some singles (7” vinyl) which are included here however most of their songs never got a proper release. “Better Late Than Never” deliver 15 songs plus 2 bonus tracks plenty of melodies and guitar / keyboard riffs n’ hooks.
Songs like ‘Hearts Keep On Burning’, ‘Fool For Your Love’, and ‘Run Girl’ have that Treat / Europe-like harmonies and choruses, with guitarist Magnus Nelin and keyboardist Thomas Nesslin having an equal importance for Roulette’s sound.
When they go for a power ballad like “Evangeline” they certainly reach into the Sheriff / Alias tool bag to wrench out every last emotion, especially with the powerhouse high notes from vocalist Thomas Lundgren.
The band rocks as well with guitar riff-driven tunes akin TNT, Glory or Alien on the catchy ‘Dancin’, the rocking ‘Turn Me On’ and the melodious ‘City Heat’.
‘Only The Strong’ is one of the band’s last songs (1991) and one of their best, when operated under the name Cherry Red. The solid ‘I Do’ is the B-side of that single, listed here as bonus track.
“Better Late Than Never” was originally released in 2008 by the AOR-fm indie label (out of print). It had a white cover and 17 tracks. It featured 3 songs not present into this YesterRock release, so we’ve included these as extras.
“Better Late Than Never” should be in all AOR fan collections out there.
Roulette really do capture the essence of pure Scandi Melodic Rock / AOR from the golden era, the kind of music that makes you feel good and put a big smile on your face.
1. Only The Strong
2. Run Girl
3. Better Late Than Never
4. Evangeline
5. Give Me Some Affection
6. Hearts Keep On Burning
7. So Far So Good
8. Bittersweet Love
9. Dancin’
10. City Heat
11. Fool For Your Love
12. Reachin’ For You
13. Call My Name
14. Turn Me On
15. Waiting For A Heartache (bonus track)
16. I Do (bonus track)
AORfm release EXTRA tracks:
– All I Want
– Body And Soul
– Tonight’s The Night
Vocals – Thomas Lundgren
Guitar – Magnus Nelin
Keyboards – Thomas Nesslin
Bass – Hansi Fellbrink
Drums – Mats Nelin
Producer – Per Blom, Stefan Fanden