John Elefante - On my way to the sun

John Elefante - On my way to the sun (2013) Kingheir Music
Produced by John Elefante
PROGRESSIVE ROCK
Tracks : 1.This is how the story goes 2.Where have the old days gone 3.On my way to the sun 4.All I have to do 5.The awakening 6.Half the way home 7.We all fall short 8.Don´t hide away 9.This time 10.Confess
www.johnelefante.com
4,5 out of 5

The man is back, the man who got the job in Kansas over Sammy Hagar and Doug Pinnick and also was offered the frontman position in Toto to replace Bobby Kimball in the mid 80´s. After a few laid back solo albums in the 90´s, Elefante returned to his progressive rock roots on Mastedon´s "3" album from 2009. The album featured a guest performance of Kerry Livgren (Kansas) and to my joy, Elefante has now teamed up with Kansas members David Ragsdale and Rich Williams on his new solo album "On my way to the sun" which has the best of both worlds. The listener gets his share of progrock a la Kansas on some of the new tracks as well as classic Elefante solo style, he sings like a true vocal hero and since Kansas don´t release any new music. "On my way to the sun" is the perfect substitute, I can only imagine how great it would be to see Elefante perform live now with a set of songs from this album, the Mastedon catalogue and some Kansas classics. Listen to the 11 minute long "This is how the story goes", it´s epic! I´m stunned.

Burning Rain - Epic obsession

Burning Rain - Epic Obsession (2013) Frontiers Records
Produced by Burning Rain
HARD ROCK
Tracks : 1.Sweet little baby thing 2.The cure 3.Till you die 4.Heaven gets me by 5.Pray out loud 6.Our time is gonna come 7.Too hard to break 8.My lust your fate 9.Made for your heart 10.Ride the monkey 11.Out in the cold again 12.When can I believe in love 13.Kashmir 14.Heaven gets me by (acoustic)
www.dougaldrich.com
3 out of 5

In 2004, Burning Rain signed a recording contract for a 3rd album to be released on Frontiers when Whitesnake was on hiatus which is now. It´s been 13 years since Doug Aldrich and Keith St.John´s latest Burning Rain album but now they´re back with "Epic obsession". The new one is a bit heavier than the first two albums and they´ve got a new rhythm section in Sean McNabb - Bass (Quiet Riot) and Matt Starr - Drums (Ace Frehley). The sound on "Epic obsession" will appeal to fans of Mr Big, Badlands and Europe´s 2012 album "Bag of bones", just listen to songs like "Sweet little baby thing" and "Our time is gonna come" and you´ll know what I mean. "Heaven gets me by" could´ve been featured on the Coverdale Page album from 1993, and talking about Led Zep-ish music - Burning Rain also give us a cool cover of "Kashmir". I think this is a good album but it´s not as great as "Pleasure to burn" from 2000.

Burning Rain - Pleasure to burn

Burning Rain - Pleasure to burn (2013) Frontiers Records
Produced by Burning Rain
HARD ROCK
Tracks : 1.Fireball 2.Love emotion 3.Stone cold ´n crazy 4.Cherie, don´t break my heart 5.Shot down 6.Love de jour 7.Faithfully yours 8.Sex machine 9.Metal superman 10.Judgement day 11.Devil money 12.Live for that rush (demo) 13.Cherie, don´t break my heart (acoustic)
www.dougaldrich.com
3,5 out of 5

Burning Rain´s long out of print records are now available again thanks to Frontiers Records, their 2nd album "Pleasure to burn" was originally released in 2000 but now is re-issued with 2 bonus tracks. I think "Pleasure to burn" is a bit stronger than their self titled debut and the six string work from Doug Aldrich is amazing here. The style on this album lies more towards Whitesnake´s 1987 album, Blue Murder and Hardline. "Cherie, don´t break my heart" is classic AOR while "Love emotion" is a great riff rocker that would please Mr.Coverdale. I just love to crank up the volume to the epic "Stone cold ´n crazy" which bring thoughts to John Sykes Blue Murder, the ballad "Faithfully yours" feels a bit average but there aren´t a lot of fillers on this album. "Sex machine" sounds like Ratt meets Van Halen, cool! The artwork and the unreleased demo "Live for that rush" might not be that classy but the rest is, and by the way, "Fireball" is not a Deep Purple cover. It´s a Burning Rain song and it rocks.

Burning Rain - Burning Rain

Burning Rain - Burning Rain (2013) Frontiers Records
Produced by Burning Rain
HARD ROCK
Tracks : 1.Smooth locomotion 2.Superstar train 3.Jungle queen 4.Making my heart beat 5.Fool no more 6.Cherry grove 7.Can´t cure the fire 8.Can´t turn your back on love 9.Heaven´s garden 10.Tokyo rising 11.Seasons of autumn 12.Smooth locomotion (acoustic) 13.Can´t turn your back on love (acoustic)
www.dougaldrich.com
3 out of 5

In 1998, guitarist Doug Aldrich and singer Keith St.John formed Burning Rain and released their debut album the year after. In 2001, Aldrich joined Dio and two years later he teamed up with Coverdale in Whitesnake where he´s still a member of. Keith St.John has quite an impressive CV as well with bands like Montrose and Heaven and Earth, Aldrich and St.John are backed up by bassist Ian Mayo (Bangalore Choir) and drummer Alex Macarovich (Steelheart). Their self titled debut is a melodic heavy rock album in the same vein as Lynch Mob, Slaughter and Hurricane. The opening track "Smooth locomotion" is a typical ambassador for the whole album with it´s guitar oriented sound, but there are also a few AOR-ish songs such as "Making my heart beat" and "Can´t turn your back on love" that bring thoughts to Bad Company (Brian Howe era). This re-issue also contains 2 bonus tracks with acoustic versions of "Smooth locomotion" and "Can´t turn your back on love". A good album no doubt.

Guru - White

Guru - White (2013) MelodicRock Records
Produced by Guru
AOR
Tracks : 1.White 2.Straight to your heart 3.It´s all different now 4.If you go 5.In my life 6.Break the spell 7.Won´t B 2gether 8.Angry song 9.My rocker ass 10.Ray of light 11.The voice inside 12.I don´t give a damn 13.The voice inside (acoustic) 14.If you go (acoustic) 15.Daddy, brother, lover, little boy 16.Addicted to that rush
http://www.melodicrock.com/showcase/guru-white.html
3 out of 5

The deluxe edition of Guru´s 2nd album "White" is stricly limited to 500 copies, this exclusive release contains acoustic versions of 2 album tracks and 2 Mr.Big covers. This album is filled with some average AOR tunes as well as a few great songs, you could say they sound a bit like hi-tech Scandi AOR with 80´s soundtrack vibes except they´re from Barcelona and not Scandinavia. It´s a good production, not really great but not that bad either. The overall sound of this album can be described as a mix between 1st Avenue, The Poodles and Jojo. The title track is the best song of the album, it´s slightly pompous somewhere between Prophet and Work of Art. The ToTo-esque "It´s all different now" is another good song that stands out, the songtitle "My rocker ass" is just terrible and the song ain´t that funny either. Thumbs up for the musicianship though, just check out "Break the spell" where the band shows what great players they are.