So 2000 has come and gone. It has been an interesting year to say the least, with plenty of melodic rock to talk of and plenty that also didn't happen.
To start my recap and commentary of the year just past, let's go back to my 1999 wrap up and see if my predictions for 2000 came true!

It started with me stating that if the Journey album actually gets released it will be hard to beat.
Well, for those that bought the Japanese release it should indeed feature highly, as it does with me. The rest of you will have to wait for April and your Best of 2001 lists.
As for the album itself, it was the best produced album of the year, but should have been with a budget of a quarter of a million dollars.
The US version will make it even better and I predict it will be THE album of 2001.
House Of Shakira and Danger Danger both got their albums out finally - both well worth any wait and high on my personal favorites of the year.
Chris Impelliteri released his new album, but then promptly dumped Rob Rock who went solo and produced an even better album.
Impellitteri is now shackled with original singer Graham Bonnet. Now that will be interesting.

Danny Vaughn went for the modern route of the classic melodic rock strains of Tyketto, but it was still a cool effort and the next one will hopefully be even more melodic.
The Sign proved to be as good as expected, maybe even better, taking the more adventurous route. A classic in the making and I look forward to more.

Scheduled to be released in 2000 was a new Big Bad Wolf album. That never arrived and still has no ETA. But my hopes for it remain high for 2001.
Also due in 2000 was the much anticipated Mike Slamer / Chris Thompson project. Well at least that album is almost done, but don't hold your breath for a release. I have no idea when it might appear. As good as some of the tunes I have heard are, with the huge Steelhouse Lane style production, the style is just not what I was hoping for and I doubt what most other fans of these artists are looking for. The songs are not overly in an AOR vein.
As for a new Steelhouse Lane album - I won't place any money on betting when or if that will happen. For the sake of melodic rock - I hope it does - and this year!

Also in 1999 I made a comment regarding the upcoming Heartland album.
No, it wasn't as heavy or as raw as it could have been, but it was still the best effort since the debut. I would however, love to hear the band go either really raw and heavy, or soften up and record a pure AOR album.

Johnny Lima and Danny Danzi worked hard on their new albums, neither made it to the store shelves, but are high on my expectations for best of 2001.

Van Halen anyone? Well....2000 was certainly not their year. I hope 2001 will be.

OK, some general thoughts on the year that just was...
The year began with what was easily the worst experience of my website running career. The whole February Van Halen fiasco was a disaster after I was fed and believed some bullshit information. I still believe someone in the VH camp set me up, to gauge public reaction. That I don't think I will ever know for sure!
The fan reaction to the news wasn't pleasant, nor was some of the things written on various message boards. Fair enough to some of it, as the info was crap! But a few did cross the line. One in particular you will see when you read on!
Not to mention that my own message board was hacked into and destroyed! At least that forced through the upgrade of the current board, which is easily much better.
Things improved with my follow up reports, but the year ended without a single word from the band.
There was word of Eddie's health scare, which again was played down without any real public statement.
Listen to the fans guys - let's hear some news soon!

There was a few lawsuits going around, with Dennis De Young VS Styx and Lou Gramm VS EMI, not to mention Saxon VS Saxon....the big surprise of the year was Survivor VS Jimi Jamison being settled, only to lead into Survivor VS Survivor the TV show!
House Of Lords VS Michael Guy was thankfully avoided thanks to some good will on both sides of the fence.

Tribute albums continued to flow freely...with more on the way, it seems 2001 will continue to feature some good and some crummy ones.

Quite a lot was said towards the end of the year about the quality of melodic rock. To be honest, I believe things are looking pretty damn good as far as most releases are concerned.
Of course there are always a few Dogs out there, that will always be the case as it has been since the dawn of time. I think the independent AOR labels are aware that fans want an increased production value and that will continue to improve.
As far as 2000, it was better than 1999, which was better than 1998, which was better....
I believe things will continue to get better and better, even though I do not believe that things will ever truly be mainstream again. Classic AOR I think is always going to be a cult thing. But as long as the labels we have now continue to put out strong product and continue to improve their product - and we support that - things can only improve.
At least there are some rockers out there that are willing to do this partly just for the love of it!
And believe me, if there are any dud releases; send the labels and artists a clear message by not buying it. That is the only way to getter better quality over time.