Norwegian Rock history contains many hidden gems with bands / recordings that not many people know about, or remember. But it’s melodic rock music coming from Scandinavia that ’80s rockers fans of the decade are eager to hear for sure.
In the ’80s and the beginning of the ’90s, there were many young promising talents who were given the opportunity to release their music on 7” (and a few on CD singles). In many cases it was only just a two-sided single.
After the success of Rock Of Norway’s 2CD Volume 1 compilation with rare and hard-to-find they released a second compilation. Again, 18 artists, 18 singles, 36 tracks – the ‘A Side’ tracks on CD1, the ‘B-Side’ on CD2.
“Rock Of Norway presents: Melodic Hard Rock and AOR Volume 2 Rare Singles“, is just another fantastic 2-CD compiling the much sought after songs from Norwegian AOR / Melodic Hard bands / artists like Dag Ingebrigtsen (the legendary 1984 single ‘Tor With The Hammer’ later recorded by TNT), Sons Of Angels (their fantastic version of Popol Vuh’s «Queen Of All Queens»), Limelight and Wild Child (both featuring Ken Ingwersen of Ken Hensley fame), Da Vinci (last release from 1990 with the original line-up), Bangkok Babes (their 1991 debut single), and many more.
This a pure delight for fans of keyboard-driven Scandi AOR / melodic hard rock, wonderful music that deserved major exposure.
Many fans and collectors of AOR and melodic hard rock have either struggled to find a copy or not even heard these lost 7” vinyl gems. Most the bands featured and these singles never found its way to a full album, and some were really good.
The production of this 2-CD release is based on the original tapes preserved and digitized at Nasjonalbiblioteket when available, while others were ripped from vinyl, the only source available.
A collector’s item.
A MUST HAVE
Disc 1 – the A-sides
01 – Dag Ingebrigtsen – Tor With The Hammer (1984)
02 – Torpedoes – Bail Me Out (1992)
03 – Bangkok Babes – Last Day [Of My Life] (1991)
04 – Da Vinci – Ain’t No Goodbyes (1990)
05 – Sons Of Angels – Queen Of All Queens (1991)
06 – Ammunition – Taxi Driver (1991)
07 – Merry Go Round – Tonite (1991)
08 – Blackout – Listen To The Earth (1988)
09 – Eternity – Cry For The Innocents (1991)
10 – Tight-P. – Heat Beat (1988)
11 – Take Off – New City Life (1986)
12 – Heartline – Nightfall (1988)
13 – Fury – Paradize (1989)
14 – Limelight – Floating Away (Part Of My Dreams) (1987)
15 – Whiplash – Without You (1987)
16 – Lord Percy – Take My Hands (1988)
17 – Crank It Up! – Heart On The Line (1989)
18 – Wild Child – Wild Child (1991)
Disc 2 – the B-sides
01 – Dag Ingebrigtsen – I’m In Love With R & R (1984)
02 – Torpedoes – More Than Memories (1992)
03 – Bangkok Babes – Nothing Last Forever (1991)
04 – Da Vinci – Blame It On The Radio (1990)
05 – Sons Of Angels – Baby Wanna Ride (Single Version 1991)
06 – Ammunition – Dance (1991)
07 – Merry Go Round – Ride (1991)
08 – Blackout – When Will They Ever Learn (1988)
09 – Eternity – I Want Out (1991)
10 – Tight-P. – Flying High (1988)
11 – Take Off – Mrs.Blue (1986)
12 – Heartline – I Wanna Rock (1988)
13 – Fury – Game Like War (1989)
14 – Limelight – Fire On Ice (1987)
15 – Whiplash – Tears In The Night (1987)
16 – Lord Percy – Take My Chains (1988)
17 – Crank It Up! – Innocent (1989)
18 – Wild Child – Give Me One Good Reason (1991)