AOR Undergournd - Monday, April 3, 2017

Rob Evans

Another great year, which saw several great bands making huge strides towards bigger and better things in the world of music. Bands like Cats In Space and Inglorious both flew the flag for British hard rock, with Inglorious hitting the arenas of Europe with Steel Panther.

The demise and resurrection of Classic Rock was both a shock and a delight as we watched the magazine go under only for it to be brought back to life by former owners, Future publishing.

As usual the plethora of great albums was overwhelming, but I do think that the more you dug, the better the bands you could find. Great albums by Mike Thompson, Handful Of Rain and Magic Dance being just a few examples of the Indy talent out there.

The album of the year was a difficult choice; in the end I couldn’t separate them. For me both of these bands encapsulate all that is great about the current AOR scene. Vega is at the more modern end of proceedings, whilst AOK keep it old school.

With Rockingham looking like it will be a staple part of the UK festival scene for many a year, their current line-up for this year is stellar, it bodes well for up and coming AOR talent.

Having heard new stuff from Cats In Space, Lionheart, Blood Red Saints, Moritz, and Creye, it looks like 2017 will be another fabulous year for releases. With more AOR/Sleaze festivals than you can shake a stick at, Cats In Space supporting Thunder and the impending

Vega/Dan Reed Network tour, this year’s gig diary is starting to look a little full.

Thanks for all the support and here’s to a great year of music.

ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 2016

Once again it’s time for the annual AOR Underground top ten albums of the year. This year was a tough call, with three bands all duking it out for the top positions? In the end it was such a tight call that I made it a two way split between Vega and Angels Or Kings. That Defiants album also ran them both very close, as did Dante Fox. Here it is, the top ten.....

1. Vega "Who We Are".

1. Angels Or Kings "Go Ask The Moon ".

3. The Defiants "S/T".

4. Dante Fox "Breathless".

5. Reckless Love "InVader".

6. Roth/Brock Project "S/T".

7. The Treatment "Generation Me".

8. White Widdow "Silhouette".

9. Culver Kingz "This Time”.

10. Change Of Heart "Last Tiger"

10 Palace – “Master Of The Universe”.

LAST YEARS WINNER: CATS IN SPACE.

INDEPENDENT ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 2016

This was another strong year for the independent artist, but this year’s winners, Hand Of Dimes, stormed in at the very end of the year to snatch the crown. But that Mike Thompson album is beautiful from beginning to end. This guy deserves to be huge. Here's the top ten....

1. Hand Of Dimes "Raise".

2. Mike Thompson “Out Of My Head”.

3. Jimi Anderson "Where Do We Go From Here".

4. Handful Of Rain "Three Days To Come Back”.

5. Magic Dance "Haunting Me".

6. Mitch Malloy "Making Noise".

7. Kaato "S/T".

8. Aces & Kings "No Hard And Fast Rules".

9. Grand Masquerade "MMXII.

10. Santa Ana Winds "S/T'"

LAST YEARS WINNER: THE TOI

SONGS OF THE YEAR.............

Burn these onto a CD (after buying all of the albums, of course) and I’ll guarantee that they’ll get any party started. This top-thirty is the proof that melodic rock is doing OK, thank you!

Cats In Space – How Does It Feel

Vega – White Flag

Angels Or Kings – You Better Pray

Mike Thompson – Homestead

Hand Of Dimes – Stranger In My Home Town

White Widdow – Stranded

Santa Ana Winds – Teardrop

Defiants – Love And Bullets

Roth/Brock – If That’s What It Takes

Blood Red Saints – Arms Wide Open

Dante Fox – All Eyes On You

Jimi Anderson – Feel Like Letting Go

Angels Or Kings – Heartbreak Railroad Company

Mitch Malloy – My Therapy

Kaato – High Time

Palace – Master Of The Universe

Creye – Never Too Late

Moritz –Own Little World

Grand Masquerade – I Get This Feeling

Punky Meadows – Straight Shooter

Reckless Love – We Are The Weekend

Magic Dance – Still Haunting Me

Handful Of Rain – Saints And Sinners

Adellaide – Heroes

Aces & Kings – Once In A Lifetime

Violet Janine – Down On My Knees

From The Fire – Madman

The Treatment – Backseat Heartbeat

Radio Sun – Standing On The Edge Of Love

Starchase – I Want You

BEST REISSUES OF THE YEAR 2015....

As usual the likes of Rock Candy lead the way as far as reissues are concerned. But the likes of Lost UK Jewels, High Roller and No Remorse have all released quality product.

Mayday – “S/T”

Girl – “Sheer Greed”

Bob Wheeler – “S/T”

Sherwood – “Riding The Rainbow”

Cryer/The Force – “Set Me Free”

Tane Cain – “S/T”

Vice – “Hot Just Looking At You”

Darby Mills – “Never Look Back”

Fury – “S/T”

Bullseye – “On Target”

Van Wilks – “Bombay Tears”

Fierce Heart – “S/T”

Zebra – “3.V”

Love Hate – “Before The Blackout”

BEST GIG OF THE YEAR.............

1. LIONHEART, FORTUNE, THE DEFIANTS, BLOOD RED SAINTS, LEE AARON

– ROCKINGHAM – TRENT UNIVERSITY, NOTTINGHAM

2. CATS IN SPACE – RIVER ROOMS, STOURBRIDGE

3. ROBBIE VALENTINE – ARTS CLUB, LIVERPOOL

4. PURSON – NIGHT & DAY CAFÉ, MANCHESTER

5. BRING ME THE HORIZON – THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL, LONDON

6. REO SPEEDWAGON – ECHO ARENA, LIVERPOOL

7. CATS IN SPACE – HALF MOON, PUTNEY, LONDON

9. DAN REED/DANNY VAUGHN – LIVE ROOMS, CHESTER

10.ROMEO’S DAUGHTER – ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER

11.AIRBOURNE – THE RITZ, MANCHESTER

12.MITCH MALLOY, KAATO – BOULEVARD, WIGAN

13.INGLORIOUS – OLD COURTS, WIGAN

14.MAGNUM/VEGA – ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER

15.THE FRANKLYS – GULLIVERS, MANCHESTER

16.TEENAGE CASKET COMPANY, RADIO SUN, ESTRELLA HRH AOR, WALES

17.OSUKARU – THE RAILWAY, BOLTON

18.PURSON – THE RAILWAY, BOLTON

19.BRING ME THE HORIZON – MEN, MANCHESTER

20.SUZANNE VEGA – ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC, MANCHESTER

LAST YEARS WINNER: DAN REED NETWORK, ROBBY VALENTINE, JIM PETERIK, ROBERT TEPPER, VEGA – ROCKINGHAM – ROCK CITY,

NOTTINGHAM

BEST COMEBACK OF THE YEAR...

This was an easy one. After their performance at Rockingham I'd have to say that Lionheart were quite simply stunning. Here was a band that had released a rather superb debut back in '84 and disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived. When it was announced that they

would be making a comeback at Rockingham it took a lot of people by surprise. With new material in the process of being recorded, it promises to be a rather good year for this bunch of AOR veterans.

BEST NEWCOMER OF 2015...

A bunch of Swedes called Grand Masquerade get this honour thanks to a rather splendid fivetrack EP. A delicious blend of pomp, prog and AOR with sumptuous melodies and harmonies is on offer, as this band delivered a quite stunning EP. It'll take you back to the pomp drenched eighties, when this stuff was all over the place. If their debut album is half this good, then it'll be one of the finest of the year.

MY BEST ARTICLE OF 2015.............

My Rockingham review for Burrn would have to rate as the finest, but I do think the Vin l Countdown for Fireworks is one of my favourite things to compile. The Burrn article was a favour for Rockingham, a labour of love that saw me working for free in order to promote this

wonderful festival. It's not all about the money, never has been if I'm honest, so it was an honour to be featured in this great magazine. It's been awhile since I've graced their pages, but the pleasure was all mine.

MY BEST AOR MOMENT OF 2015...........

Well it could have been interviewing Lee Aaron backstage before Rockingham, it could have been the magnificent comeback of Lionheart, but the pure AOR moment would have to be the return of Fortune. For nearly an hour Larry Greene and company rolled back the years like it '85 all over again. From Dearborn Station through to “Smoke From A Gun”, this was a masterclass of AOR.

PREDICTIONS FOR 2016..............

Finally to finish things off we have my predictions for 2017. First of all we’ll just run through what I thought would happen last year.

1. ANGEL WILL PLAY A MAJOR UK FESTIVAL THIS YEAR, OR AT THE VERY LEAST FRANK DIMINO WILL HIT THE UK.

Nope, didn’t happen and doesn’t look like it will happen this year either. Unless they are a surprise addition to Hulls’ Hair Metal fest in August, then this is dead in the water.

2. MORITZ AND ANGELS OR KINGS WILL RELEASE TWO OF THE BEST ALBUMS THIS YEAR.

Moritz was a no-show, but if it had been released it would have won hands down. The Angels released a great album, worthy of sharing top spot with Vega. So I was half right.

3. MARENNA AND SHOWBIZ WILL BE TWO OF THE YEARS DARK HORSES.

Showbiz didn’t live up to the initial hype, with the album being OK rather than superb. Marenna on the other hand is going from strength to strength.

So what about this year? Here are my predictions for 2017…

1. CATS IN SPACE, LIONHEART, MORITZ AND BLOOD RED SAINTS WILL ALL BE IN MY TOP FIVE ALBUMS OF THE YEAR.

2. MIDNITE CITY WILL BE THE SURPRISE SENSATION FROM THE UK THIS YEAR.

3. PETE GODFREY WILL WEAR A SHIRT THAT MAKES HIM LOOK LIKE HIS DAD…WAIT, HANG ON, HE’S ALREADY DONE THAT HASN’T HE?

That’s it, game over! Thanks for reading this far and don’t forget to leave a comment.

Here’s to another great year of AOR

Cheers

Rob

COPYRIGHT: ROB EVANS.New Paragraph

New Paragraph