As is the case with several Glenn Hughes fronted projects, this album might be a real handful to get into for some, but the rewards are great. Glenn Hughes moves on from Black Country Communion with pal Jason Bonham and new recruit Andrew Watt to create another groove orientated power trio. This project has more of a Hughes solo stamp on it than BCC did, with control issues between Glenn and Joe Bonamassa now a thing of the past.
And Glenn gets to indulge in his favorite pastime here – delivering groove and blues based classic hard rock with a strong 70s edge. Much of this album could have come straight out of 1978, whilst the rest relies on some contemporary production tricks and effects to make a blend of classic rock for the new millennium.

12 tracks and 51 minutes is probably a touch too long, the album might have been a bit tidier at 40-45 minutes max, but that’s a small issue. The main issue is that this rocks! I’m a longtime fan of Hughes who thinks he is at his best when rocking out. To have a project that does that, but also includes his love of soul and blues is ideal.
And while I was sorry to see the demise of BCC, fans of that project will easily adapt to this band.

From the opening swagger of The Way and the more commercial groove of Sweet Tea, this is Hughes and Bonham at their best. And newcomer Watt gets on the map with his first outing.
The album features a lot of Led Zeppelin influences, Chemical Rain and the ballad All Falls Down most obvious.
Thankfully the guys keep the tempo up for a lot of the album, with rockers like The Grey flowing beautifully.
When they do slow down to that slow Zeppelinesque groove, such as Days They Come and the ultra-slow Invisible, they add in very likable chorus hooks to keep things moving.

Not an album for everyone, but for those it is aimed at, expect an almost unanimous praising of this release. You’re either going to love it or hate it. Thankfully for me I love it – it delivers exactly what I expected from the continued collaboration of Hughes/Bonham and new guy Watt shows he will be around for a long while to come.

British melodic rockers Night By Night have been hailed as the future of this aging genre and I’m here to back that claim and push it one step further – its vitally important to the longevity of the melodic music scene that we continue to welcome, nurture and promote awesome new talent like this or we may as well all give it up right now.

Night By Night prove that you can still write catchy, energetic and fresh melodic rock in 2014 and in doing so give some old rockers a kick in the pants as to what is expected that fans want today.

Not everyone wants nostalgia 24/7. But don’t think these guys are an all-new sound, they just take the old sensibilities and make it their own. This is the best of old-school hooks and harmonies, driving guitars and anthemic catchy choruses, delivered with a fresh spunky attitude and a contemporary production sound.And if you feel let down by the latest Tesla album, then this should fire a rocket up you! Vocalist Henry Rundell has an uncanny sound not far removed from Jeff Keith in his heyday.

Guiatrists Ben Christo and Tom Daniel guides the band through some cracking riffs and solos. The production on here is simply fabulous – balanced mix and a crunchy sound. The album has been a long time coming and is well worth the wait.

If Time To Escape, Holding Onto Holding On and Can’t Walk Away don’t blow you away, the more melodic Everywhere Tonight will insert itself into your brain for days at a time. If darker and heavier is what you want, Siren delivers, a hybrid of Tesla, Def Leppard and melodic Dokken.

Then there’s the glorious AOR of A Thousand Lies – perfect melodic rock here folks.

The Moment is another fast moving gem and the band saves one of their most urgent tracks for last – Never Die Again is a pounding guitar driven masterpiece.

MelodicRock Classics is excited to announce the limited-edition reissue of four acclaimed cult classic AOR albums over the next two months. Each album has won fan and critical praise over the years and all four titles have remained on the impossible to find list for many collectors.

The campaign begins August 26 with reissues of two British classics – CHRIS IRVINE and 2AM.

On September 30, two more classics arrive – LAMARCA and YA YA ‘II’.

2AM is the brain child of vocalist Dave Lloyd (Nutz/Rage) and guitarist/songwriter Mark Thomas.

The high-tech AOR duo delivered their one and only album in 1987, before splitting in 1988 after being dropped by their label RCA, leaving behind a true classic that fans have traded audio copies over the last 30 years.

Unfortunately, there is a sad side to this reissue. Mark Thomas was only recently discovered to have passed away several years ago after dropping out of the industry many years earlier.

In 2003 Judges sitting in the High Court in London ruled that American singer Bobby Womack had stolen the 2am song ‘You’re The One’, awarding Thomas GBP57,000 in royalties.

Unable to afford to pursue Womack in US courts for payments that never came, Mark left the business with a bitter taste.

It is hoped that this official remaster, which comes on the 35th Anniversary of the album’s release, will help remind fans of what a fantastic writer and guitarist Mark Thomas was and close the 2AM story on a positive note.

There are no additional songs recorded at the time that could be used as bonus tracks, but there is one additional track ‘Right Now I Need You’ that was a B-side on the 1987 12” single ‘Somebody Someday’.

2am ‘When Every Second Counts’ has been lovingly remastered from the original CD audio by JK Northrup, giving the songs fresh new life.

MelodicRock Classics presents 2AM ‘When Every Second Counts’ August 26. Limited Edition 500 Units.

Track Listing:

01. Never Gonna Let You Escape               4:02

02. You’re The One                                          4:13

03. Somebody Someday                                3:48

04. Who Will You Run To                               4:47

05. Too Late                                                       4:53

06. Lost Souls                                                     3:52

07. Running With The Same Old Crowd  3:44

08. Never Feel This Way Again                    4:03

09. Dreams And Promises                            4:35

10. Now You’re Leaving                                 4:03

11. Right Now I Need You (B-Side)            3:33

MelodicRock Classics is proud and honoured to partner with the family of the late, great VAN STEPHENSON, plus his many co-writers and musical partners, to pay tribute to the legacy of the legendary singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist with a series of archive releases, culminating in two career spanning box sets, featuring all unreleased songs from his vast songwriting archives.

MRC Owner and A&R director Andrew McNeice has been given the responsibility of archiving Van’s songwriting demos from the 70s, right up until the last songs he wrote.

Over 12 months of work behind the scenes will come to fruition November 25, with the first two releases from the Van Stephenson Archives.

BUY NOW: https://melodicrockclassics.com/vanstephenson.html

The second title to be announced is also due for release November 25.

Van Stephenson – ‘Van’s Versions’, a 2CD compilation of songs written or co-written by Van and previously recorded and released elsewhere.

The songs are all cultivated from Van’s unreleased archives and feature songs written by him alone plus other songs co-written with his writing partners Sam Lorber, Jeff Silbar, Dave Robbins, Jan Buckingham, Phil Brown, Tim DuBois, Bob Farrell and more.

McNeice comments: “The idea for this compilation came while I was slowly going through all of Van’s demo archives. It is already clear just what an amazing writer and vocalist Van was, but I was pleasantly surprised with just how many tracks there are of Van’s that other artists had recorded. When you have the likes of Eric Clapton, Laura Branigan, Kenny Rogers, Dan Seals, Juice Newton and Restless Heart picking your songs to record, then you must appreciate just how good those songs are and the importance of highlighting them.

Van’s vast archives included his own original demo versions of many of these songs and it was so good to hear Van’s voice driving songs you might already know.

The need for ‘Van’s Versions’ became clear. I thought a nice idea would be to put all these songs into one compilation, which turned into a 41 song, double CD set.

The set features the varied musical styles Van wrote for over the years, including Pop, AOR, Rock, Midwestern & Country.

Included among the songs are some original demo versions Van recorded himself for his two MCA albums, giving further insight into Van’s writing and recording process.

It also allows space for the upcoming box sets to feature exclusively unreleased material, which is something I know a lot of people are looking forward to hearing.”

To complete the package, artwork from French graphic artist Arnaud Leger has been specially commissioned, plus the audio for both discs has been carefully restored and remastered by acclaimed producer JK Northrup.

Pre-orders will be available from next Monday and the complete track listing for ‘Van’s Versions’ (and the artist that recorded the songs) are as follows:

Disc One:

01. Set The Night On Fire (Vocal Demo) Recorded by OAK (1980)

02. Catch The Next Dream Recorded by THE NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND (1980)

03. Undivided Love Recorded by EDDY ARNOLD (1980)

04. Bad Enough Recorded by KENNY ROGERS (1983)

05. Til I Loved You Recorded by GLENN SHORROCK (1983), JUICE NEWTON (1984) & RESTLESS HEART (1985)

06. If The Fall Don’t Get You Recorded by JANIE FRICKE (1982) & ANNE GRETE (1984)

07. All My Life Recorded by KENNY ROGERS (1983) & PETULA CLARK (1988)

08. Everybody’s Dream Girl Recorded by DAN SEALS (1983)

09. You’ve Got A Good Love Coming (Original Demo) Recorded by LEE GREENWOOD (1983), CONWAY TWITTY (1984) & BOB CLAYTON (1989)

10. Others Only Dream (Original Demo) From the Solo Album RIGHTEOUS ANGER (1984)

11. What The Big Girls Do (Original Demo) From the Solo Album RIGHTEOUS ANGER (1984)

12. The Cure Will Kill You (Original Demo) From the Solo Album RIGHTEOUS ANGER (1984)

13. Modern Day Delilah (Original Demo) From the Solo Album RIGHTEOUS ANGER (1984)

14. I Know Who You Are, I Saw What You Did (Original Demo) From the Solo Album RIGHTEOUS ANGER (1984)

15. You’ve Been Lied To Before (Original Demo) From the Solo Album RIGHTEOUS ANGER (1984)

16. Righteous Anger (Original Demo) From the Solo Album RIGHTEOUS ANGER (1984)

17. It’s Not Me, It’s Not You Recorded by KBC BAND (1986)

18. Back To The Heartbreak Kid Recorded by KATHY MATTEA (1984)

19. She Danced Her Way Into My Heart Recorded by RESTLESS HEART (1985)

20. (You Don’t Hear) The One That Gets You Recorded by JUICE NEWTON (1984)

21. Restless Heart Recorded by JUICE NEWTON (1984) & RESTLESS HEART (1985)

22. Dancing With Danger (Original Demo) From the Solo Album SUSPICIOUS HEART (1986)

Disc Two:

01. Suspicious Heart (Original Demo) From the Solo Album SUSPICIOUS HEART (1986)

02. South December Road Recorded by GARY MORRIS (1985)

03. Grand Illusion Recorded by ERIC CLAPTON (1986) & DONNY OSMOND (1988)

04. Jenny Come Back Recorded by RESTLESS HEART (1988)

05. Never In A Million Years Recorded by LAURA BRANIGAN (1990) & VICKI SHEPARD (1991)

06. It Happens All The Time Recorded by ANNE MURRAY (1987)

07. Calm Before The Storm Recorded by RESTLESS HEART (1988)

08. House Of Fire Recorded by LITTLE BOB (1989)

09. Big Dreams In A Small Town Recorded by RESTLESS HEART (1988)

10. Bluest Eyes In Texas Recorded by RESTLESS HEART (1988)

11. When Pink Turns To Blue Recorded by FIONA (1989)

12. Nature Of Love Recorded by POCO (1989)

13. I’ve Never Been So Sure Recorded by RESTLESS HEART (1990)

14. Get Used To It Recorded by GIANT (1992)

15. It Ain’t About Love Anymore (Vocal Demo) Recorded by BLACKHAWK (1997)

16. If That Was A Lie (Acoustic Demo) Recorded by BLACKHAWK (1997)

17. All The Time In The World (Vocal Demo) Recorded by BOYZONE (1998)

18. Think Again (Vocal Demo) Recorded by BLACKHAWK (1998)

19. Ships Of Heaven (Acoustic Demo) Recorded by BLACKHAWK (2000) & VAN STEPHENSON (2000)

It’s my great pleasure to deliver one advance track from the compilation for your enjoyment today. Please enjoy ‘Back To The Heartbreak Kid’, as previously recorded by Kathy Mattea.