Category: Melodic Rock | AOR

Any female-fronted melodic hard rock band should look to Saraya as the blueprint, and you, as fan of the genre, need both their albums in your collection.

01 – Queen of Sheba
02 – Bring Back the Light
03 – Hitchin’ a Ride
04 – When You See Me Again
05 – Tear Down the Wall
06 – Seducer
07 – When the Blackbird Sings
08 – Lion’s Den
09 – In the Shade of the Sun
10 – White Highway
11 – New World

Sandi Saraya – lead vocals
Tony Bruno – guitar, vocals
Barry Dunaway – bass, vocals
Chuck Bonfante – drums, vocals

turbo

Since middle of the 80s the tape is on the move around Frontmann Hansi Kürsch now already on the stages of the world. They are valid as absolute legends of the melodic Prog Metals. With her albums “Battalions of Fear”, „Follow The Blind“ and “Somewhere Far Beyond” they climb up beginning of the 90th Topacts international in the first league and keep there with her opulent arrangements and the powerful sound till this day.

1618 Ouverture
Into the Storm
Welcome to Dying
Banish from Sanctuary
I’m Alive
Lost in the Twilight Hall
Violent Shadows (Live debut)
Born in a Mourning Hall
Valhalla
Majesty
Mirror Mirror

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In similar fashion of Japanese indie / club collectors label AOR Moon, there’s some series labeled as ‘Hard Sun Collectors‘, and they have put out this wonderful collection of Sandy SARAYA songs titled ”Outtakes”.
We have no less than 19 demo tracks recorded between 1982-1990, and most of these are unreleased songs, never included into any of both Saraya (the band) albums.

Originally appeared in 2000, this is a recent re-press of the CD with a much better sound quality, obviously taken from better source tapes.A must for female-fronted AOR / Melodic Rock collectors

01 – Running Out Of Time (1989)
02 – Another One Down (1982)
03 – You Don’t Have To Tell Me (1982)
04 – Only Way To Hold On (1986)

HEARTBREAK RADIO is a Swedish AOR band formed in 2004 by songwriters / producers Claes Andreasson and Torbjörn Wassenius as a Last Autumn’s Dream spin-off.

On the 2005 self-titled debut album Pierre Weinsberg (Elevener, Denander’s Radioactive, Prisoner) and Mikael Erlandsson (LAD) performed lead vocals, while the session musicians include Tommy Denander, Sayit and T’Bell on guitars, Mikkey Dee (Don Dokken, Motorhead) on drums, Jim Jidhed (Alien) doing backing vocals, and more.

01 – Heartbreak Radio
02 – Hard Rock City
03 – Now You’re Gone
04 – Rockin’ The Night
05 – Let Me Have My Heart Again
06 – Don’t Look In Her Eyes
07 – Only You
08 – Knockin’ On Hells Door
09 –

PAT BENATAR music, this time her fourth studio album ”Get Nervous” remastered into a 2-in-1 CD by BGO Records alongside ‘Precious Time’. We have already featured here ‘Precious Time’ in its Japanese Ltd.
80s Best Collection 1200 series disc, which remaster quality is superior than this one. So let’s concentrate into ”Get Nervous”.‘Shadows Of The Night’. That’s it. This track alone makes this album a must have. A 1982 (love albums of this ilk appeared that year) melodic rock AOR tune with that unrepeatable production. ‘That’ sound.

01 – Shadows Of The Night
02 – Looking For A Stranger
03 – Anxiety (Get Nervous)
04 – Fight It Out
05 – The Victim
06 – Little Too Late
07 – I’ll Do It

One of the finest acts from the American CCM AOR movement from the late 80s / early 90s, LIAISON was an arena rock band that was cast in the same mold as Def Leppard, White Heart, Allies, Giant, some Toto, etc. Formed by the Melby brothers (Larry; vocals and Tim; guitars, keyboards) their self-titled debut album “Liaison” was produced by renowned AOR songwriter Bill Baumgart, and featured among the top class session musicians Toto’s Jeff Porcaro performing all drums and Michael Landau many of the guitar solos.

Now 2020, celebrating its 30th Anniversary (the album was in fact originally released 1989) we have this remastered version.

01 – When the Kingdom Comes Down
02 – You Are His Main Concern
03 – Go and Sin No Mor