Melodic AOR

Rio remains a really interesting group that is a rarity within the AOR scene as they were a duo. Formed by Steve Rodford (son of Jim Rodford of the band The Zombies) and Jon Neill (Jon Willoughby) the band started their early material in a group called Bombay with a small 2 track EP released in 1984. Steve took on Drums, Bass and backup vocals, while Jon focused on lead vocals and guitar. The band got signed by Warner communications in 1985 with a release on Elektra, Music For Nations, Victor and New Records in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and France entitled "Borderland". With Steve Rodford taking on producer abilities the band was supported by well known Engineer Tony Harris (Varity, Ian Matthews, REM, Bad Company) and mixed by Stephan Gulfus (Alman Brothers , Styper, ELO, Saxon, Meat Loaf and Cher). While the band made a solid AOR release; Two fundamental mistakes were made. 1) No music video was made for any of the songs on the release and 2) Their only single which featured a great song "I Don't Wanna Be The Fool" was supported with the B side - "Causality" which should of been removed and replaced with "Tommy Can't Help It" - A fantastic ballad that would of propelled the band to more significant success. Causality which is more rock oriented did not fit within the bands keyboard oriented style and oddly enough did not make its way on the original release in 1986 and will only resurface in 2011 on the remastered version by Retrospect records. Other notable songs include "State Of Emergency", "Straight To The Heart", "Borderland", and "Shy Girl". The band continued on with in 1986 with "Sex Crimes" released on Music For Nations. With a smaller label and less global markets to promote their music; the band was limited to a smaller audience to just the United Kingdom and France. The band shortly disbanded after. Interesting enough some demos have resurfaced recorded sometime in 1987 and 1988 under the moniker name "Big Talk" with Jon Neill on vocals. Steve Rodford was also part of the project but it is definitely a push towards the musical stylings of the first album" Borderland". These demos unfortunately did not move much out of the Demo stage but had great potential if the songs found their way to be a potential third Rio album or a rebranded version of the band sometime at that time. You can listen to the album on Spotify and Rio's 1985 album "Borderland" is a fantastic release that deserves a spot in your music collection! You wont be disappointed. While a sound really unique, the band fits within groups such as Strangeways, Bystander, Cliff Magness, and What If. ***New Intro composed by Tom Durr of AOR Gypzy!***

Ya Ya remains as an obscure British AOR group you may not be familiar of but you definitely should! The band centered around Guitarist and Vocalist Lea Heart (Fastway, Lea Hart), Ray Calcutt on Guitars, Graham Garrett on Drums and Terry Stevens the band iself began under The Lea Hart Band and reinvented themselves under a new name Ya Ya. That eventually led the group to being signed to Rock N Roll Records which got eventually picked up by Scotti Brothers Records - Famous for the band Survivor. The band with their new identity, released their first LP in 1984 called "Scarred". The album had a dancy AOR, pop infusion of sounds and Lea Hart vocals and guitar picking style is clearly evident throughout. With two songs featured on the film "Revenge Of The Nerds" the band had more exposure in addition to the music video for "Don't Talk" in 1984 but lacked a ballad which was instrumental in success at this time. The interest in the band did not suffice where as Warner Brothers quickly signed the group and influenced the band to move musically in a different, softer direction in the likes of British groups such as Strangeways, Cutting Crew and Canadian bands like Platinum Blonde (later years). This change led to the hiring of Sam Blue (Samson, Univox) firing of Lea Hart who went on to sing for Fastway and to a series of solo albums. The Second album entitled "II" was released in 1988 with the right production, marketing and sound. Recruiting the engineering help of Tony Taverner (Cutting Crew, DiAnno) and session musician Nick Coler (Alice Cooper) the band had access to some successful individuals to assist with the production. Songs like "When The World Cried" (accompanying music video) and "Caught In A Lie" are a fantastic ballad and pop song that should of been way more successful even though Warner Brothers actively made a significant effort to promote the group in many markets worldwide. The song "Julia" remains as the best song on the album that if released as a single could of been a smash hit for the band further enhancing their musical profile. While recorded with Sam Blue on vocals, the song will reappear in a different form in 1995 with Lea Hart and Ray Calcutt working together on one song on Lea Hart's project D-Rox. The album "II" by Ya Ya remains as a gem within the British AOR scene and should have a place in your collection! 

Jato may not be a familiar name to you but in my mind remains as a fantastic relatively unknown group and product of the 1980's AOR scene that was cut way to short by a label; Parallel One records that folded shortly after its release in 1988. With the original band formed in the early 70s under the monkier Tacoy Ryde - A Reggae inspired/Allman Brothers/Grateful Dead inspired group rebranded themselves in the early 1980's with their failure to land a record deal. Signed to Parallel One Records; the new indie label put a lot of money into a product that really shines as something both memorable and well produced with hiring of Production and Mixing legend Bob Rock with over 800 credits including the likes of (Boulevard, Motley Crue, Payloas, The Cult, Metallica, Michael Buble, Kingdom Come and Colin James). Accompanied by a national tour, 2 music videos heavily rotated and extensive airplay with songs like "She's Got" which peaked at #76 for 12 weeks from July 18 1987 to October 10 1987 and "Lake Of Fire" which peaked at #90 on the RPM top 100 from March 19 1988 to May 7 1988 for 8 weeks the band was making huge progress. The label faltering is in my mind one of the reasons the band haltered and stopped. While the label went under only a short couple months after the single release of Lake Of Fire; the band's greatest song "Give My Love" would of been in my mind a top 40 hit if released as a single. The potential success of this song would have possibly allowed the label to stay afloat longer with the expected improvement of radio and music video airplay, album and tour sales. The album itself is unknown why 9 tracks was released when a 10th track could of been easily added to the release further solidifying their success at this time. After the demise of Parallel One Records in 1988 the band folded for good by 1990 and reformed with a modified and new lineup under their original band; Tacoy Ryde. This is a fantastic hi-tech AOR group in the vein of The Body Electric, Brian Island, Boulevard, Eye Eye and Platinum Blonde. Check this release out. You will love it. 

1992 was a great year for music but a bad year for new AOR bands in achieving success within a changing music market towards grunge music. Korea remains as a big standout for Canadian AOR music at this time. The group compromised of Gino Lionessa on Vocals and Guitar; his brother Anthony Lionessa on Guitar, Tony "T-Bone" Botelho on bass, Sylvain Beauchamp on Keyboards and Henry "Chuck" Torrossian on drums, the lineup was set in 1990 with signing to MCA/Rammit BMI Records in 1992. Produced and arranged by Gary Moffett (April Wine) the band had some definite star power in the studio to help them achieve success! With a distribution of approximately 5,000 CDs on their release sold across Canada and worldwide this is undeniably a huge success for a new band that was being out competed in a shrinking genre that was losing ground to bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden, This is a really unique release that the world needs to hear. It has a unique sound with tenor range vocals similar to artists like Geddy Lee (Rush). The Album features great harmonies and a fantastic production that is readily uncomparable to other bands within the AOR scene of then and today. Songs such as "Beyond Time", "The Letter", "Stealin' My Heart", "Eye To Eye" , "Feel This Way" are some standouts from this album that deserve a listen. You won't be disappointed!

QWest (Pronounced Quest) is a fantastic AOR group out of Alberta Canada that really didn't get the success they deserved as recognized by their fantastic production, lyrics and music they created over a course of two releases. While their first release in 1981 entitled Tampico Gold it was more of a Pomp, New Wave sound (Duran Duran, The Cars, Chilliwack, Heart) that wasn't really polished until 1984 when the band worked fully with Dan Lowe (Boulevard, Brian Island, White Wolf, Prototype) to release "Dream Zone". Signed to Quality records; there are a lot of solid tracks on this release including both "Nothing To Lose", "Never Forget", "We Need Love" and "Dreamer" which were all released as singles and somehow did not chart. The song "I don't want to break your heart" in my opinion would of been a hit song and was not released as a single at that time. Musician Brian Island (Prototype, Brian Island) also worked with the group assisting with backup vocals. With no music video to further grow their audience; and limited radio airplay - the band eventually called it quits shortly after. This is another fantastic AOR release in the vein of early Bon Jovi and Foreigner with their own unique sound that should not be overlooked. 

**March 2021 - Now on Spotify!**

The Young Saints remains a band that was given a lot of support from their label Polydor and remains as a group that was very successful for a 1991 AOR release. From Newfoundland and Labrador; the band relocated and started their beginnings featured on the Homegrown IV Vancouver album in 1990, the band was able to work with renowned producer/musician Corky Laing (Mountain, Mahogany Rush, Bo Diddley, Men Without Hats) and Studio Engineer Mike Scott (Men Without Hats, Ian Hunter, Peter Frampton, Export, Hall & Oates, Pretty Maids, Tony Bennett, Mariah Carey). The overall product is well put together with good memorable pop rock songs and and some slower ballads. The song "Weight Of The World" peaked at number 38 on the Canadian RPM chart in 1991, from June 15 to Aug 24 1990. The single also went to #6 on the CANCON singles chart and the album peaked at #60 in July 1991. The album was a top 50 Canadian best seller in 1991, peaking at number 40/50 of top CANCON albums. The song Live for today which had an accompanying music video peaked at #85 from Oct 12 1991 to November 23 1991. While these tracks are very well put together no ballads charted or were seemingly attemped by management. The song "Over and Over" in my mind would of been a hit song if the record company thought the AOR market was viable in 1992 or early when the album was released in 1991. It is possible if this album was released one year earlier it could of been an even greater commercial success. While this album is not on spotify or itunes, you can purchase the CD on ebay or discogs, or listen to any tracks on youtube including the music video. The band in 1992 was nominated for a Juno award for "Best New Group". Regardless its a good AOR album that you should definitely check out! Sounds like a mixture of Rush, Haywire, INXS, Regatta and the Screaming Jets - a mixture of alternative and AOR. 

Have you ever found a band with so many successful creative minds working on the production side of a project but yet the album wasn't that commercially successful? Well that is the story of the band White Heat. Signed by CBS Records in 1989 and appearances by well known musicians such as Gil Moore (Triumph) and Rick Santers (Santers) and produced by Terry Brown (Rush, Dream Theater, Cutting Crew, Eye Eye, Blue Rodeo), Steve Webster (Billy Idol, Strange Advance, Parachute Club, Honeymoon Suite) and Mark S. Berry (Psuedo Echo, Kool and The Gang, Duran Duran, Animotion, Lee Aaron, Haywire and Burton Cummings) it was based on the amount of successful and talent and brilliant minds in this project that this album would be an instant commercial success. Somehow it disappeared very quickly once it was released. A music video for the song "Rolling With The Thunder" allowed the single for "Crazy For You" to chart on the Canadian top singles from November 4th 1989 to December 9 1989, peaking in the mid 70's on the RPM top 100, and most importantly "Rolling With the Thunder from December 23 1989 to February 10 1990 peaking at number 6 on the CANCON charts. While these songs did chart it is entirely possible that the marketing side made some wrong choices where as the wrong combination of songs was sent to Radio stations is a possibility why this album did not fare too well. The song "When You're Gone" wasn't promoted to Radio stations at all - and should of been a top 20 hit at the time given its well written lyrics and production. The song Listen Closely - produced by Steve Webster would of been another top hit for the group and I personally think it would of been way more successful than "Rolling With the Thunder". Regardless of the marketing choices the label and producers made it is a great album in the vein of INXS, Def Leppard and Psuedo Echo. While not available on streaming platforms currently you can find all the music on youtube including the music video for "Rolling With The Thunder" or purchase the CD or cassette from websites like discogs or ebay. Check it out! 

It is really rare to find an artist and album not signed to any major or small labels that really blows your socks off! The Brian Island solo album released in 1989 is a fantastic album that the labels at the time did not give a serious look. Rounded out by Jerry Adolphe and Brad Steckel - his bandmates from Canadian group - Prototype and produced by Dan Lowe (Boulevard, Pretty Rough, White Wolf) the production side was set. While the labels did not have the money available to take on the group or were not interested at the time; as an independent artist and publisher; Brian Island sold the albums through A&A records and it was a huge success for an independent artist. The ballad; "When You Lose Your Love" was an instant hit staying on the Canadian music charts for 5 consecutive months. Charting on the CANCON charts peaking at #4, the adult Contemporary top 40 chart peaking at #16, and the Top 100 singles chart at #86. For an independent artist he was able to outperform big label products such as the singles for Go West, Wilson Phillips, Celine Dion, Heart, Hall & Oates, Elton John and Michael Bolton in the most part of 1990. With A&A records going bankrupt in December 1990 and still no prospect of any manager or label taking on the project; the solo album hit a dead road by 1991. This is a fantastic release that deserves to be in your AOR rock collection. The music while an original sounding group fits within the mold of The Body Electric, Device, The Brian McDonald Group, and many New Wave sounds at that time. While currently a hard to find album on CD a 2021 remastered version is in the works. 

**Currently Available on AORHeaven**

If you really think about it: In a lot of rock bands many of the members may eventually embark on a solo career. Bands like Journey (Steve Perry), Loverboy (Paul Dean), Kiss (Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley), Rush (Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson) are some that I know well. But not all are widely known or successful. Brian Greenway who made a career working with April Wine had extra time during the "Walking Through Fire" album sessions in 1986 in the Bahamas. Through this extra session time he recruited some top notch musicians to round out his band or make a contribution. Artists such as Marty Simon (April Wine, Celine Dion, Brian Eno), Andy Newmark (Sly and The Family Stone, Serious Business Band) assisted with the project in a larger role. Other big musicians such as Aldo Nova (Aldo Nova) and Alex Lifeson (Rush) contributed Keyboards, Backup vocals and a guitar solo on the song "In The Danger Zone". While having the backing and support from Atlantic Records and manager Bud Prager of Foreigner it was not successful in charting especially in his native Canada in addition with Significant airplay for the song "In The Danger Zone" on Canada's Much Music. While there is only so many bands that can be regularly played on the radio and tv at this time - the Brian Greenway album "Serious Business" should not be overlooked. Supported by other fantastic songs such as "It's Alright", Serious Business" and "Right Track" musical production is top notch accompanied by memorable catchy lyrics. Brian Greenway's work is within the likes of Paul Dean (Loverboy), Bryan Hughes (Beau Geste), Jeff Paris (Jeff Paris) and Aldo Nova (Aldo Nova). Worth a serious listen! 

Boulevard is a fantastic melodic AOR band that you should definitely become familiar with! Starting its roots in 1984 with their first single "Another Rainy Day In London" the band had early success in Germany that helped propel their band to an American 7 album MCA record contract! Produced by Pierre Bazinet (Sass Jordan, Paradox, Celine Dion); their first release was in 1988. The titled album "Boulevard" had tremendous national success with an opening slot act with bands such as Glass Tiger and Boston. Singles like "Far From Over" and "Never Give Up" helped push the band onto the top 100 RPM Canadian charts and the CANCON top 10 charts in 1988. The band's success was not unrecognized with winning the 1988 Music Express Award for "Best New Group" beating out groups such as Blue Rodeo. The follow up in 1990 entitled "Into The Street" was a even larger success with songs like "Crazy Life" peaking at number #3 on the CANON top single charts and "Lead Me On" peaking at #23 on the Canadian RPM charts in 1990. Boulevard also has a film music credit with the song "When The Lights Go Down" featured in the 1990 film "The Phantom Of The Mall". Internal band tensions resulted in a new album not transpiring until 2017 entitled "IV Luminescence" with the majority of the original lineup returning. The band is remastering their first two albums on Universal records sometime in early 2021. With its only American tour date in 1988 being in Seattle; and signed to an multi year commitment from MCA records America the American exposure and potential could have been tremendous. This is a fantastic group with a mix of new wave and AOR melodic stylings that should not be missed. In the vein of Glass Tiger, Bad English, Heartland, Dare but stands alone as its own unique take on the AOR genre. Take a listen you wont be disappointed!