Bernie Marsden left Whitesnake after (or during depending on who you believe) the Saints & Sinners album. That band were never the same again as they lost one of their three main songwriting forces.
Then Marsden formed his own band ALASKA, with Robert Hawthorne on vocals with renowned Don Airey on keyboards & synths joining later. And we emphasize ‘synths’ because Marsden’s focus with this band was to create Melodic Rock / AOR music with the era’s sound – it was 1983 – still with a bluesy foundation.
This is a remastered w/bonus reissue of the originally released 1984, ALASKA’s debut LP ”Heart Of The Storm” delivering a polished production / mix according to times, quite commercial and catchy with an American feeling at places. Marsden’s presence ensures that the band’s technical chops are in order, and Alaska’s sound resulted very radio friendly (yet ignored by radio, go figure) AOR.
Anyway, the pumping AOR ‘The Sorcerer’, ‘Susie Blue’ and ‘Headlines’ (later used by UK rag The Sunday Sport in it’s advertising campaigns) were pretty successful singles, and the band toured Europe.
Marsden found a great vocalist in Rob Hawthorn who mixed a smooth croon with some rough-around-the-edge Rod Stewartisms, and the singer handled both the commercial and rocking styles found on the album effortlessly. ‘Voice on the Radio’ reminds the ear of Triumph’s ‘Magic Power’, while the more elaborated title track wouldn’t have seemed out of place on a Magnum album from the time.
Other highlights include ‘Other Side of Midnight’, ‘Whiteout’ and ‘Don’t Stay It’s Over’.
If you never heard ”Heart Of The Storm” and like 1984’s commercial melodic rock / AOR you should get this, it will surprise you. Alaska is one of those “unheralded” bands that really rocked with polished melodies.
This is a ’90s remaster with the smooth dynamic range of the era, including very nice bonus tracks. A release out of print now.
Highly Recommended
01 – Whiteout
02 – Don’t Stay It’s Over
03 – Voice On the Radio
04 – Susie Blue
05 – Heart of the Storm
06 – Need Your Love
07 – Can’t Let Go
08 – Other Side of Midnight
09 – HeadLines
10 – The Sorcerer
BONUS TRACKS:
11 – Coupe De Ville (Demo)
12 – Coming Down On You
13 – Whiteout (Instrumental)
Robert Hawthorn – Vocals
Bernie Marsden – Guitars
Don Airey – Keyboards, Synths
Brian Badhams – Bass
John Marter – Drums