UK rock band Dark Heart features vocalist Alan Clark and guitarist Nick Catterick (both of Change Of Heart) and are joined by drummer Pete Newdeck, (who also handles the very tasty production and balanced mix) and bassist Josh Williams. Rather expecting another dose of quality AOR in the vein of Change Of Heart, I was rather surprised to hear the album is instead inspired by some Dokken-esque guitar fuelled melodic metal heroics, with a sound I think both George Lynch and Don Dokken would be impressed with.

It features some terrific heavy guitar work and quality vocals, supported by some well written songs that both vary in pace and delivery style. It’s a real old-fashioned hard rock/melodic metal album that is a great pleasure to listen to. Its both moody and uplifting when the individual song calls for it.

In these days of fabricated projects, it’s a real band album and a winning collaboration by all involved.

DAVID PAICH is of course one of the founding members of Grammy Award winning and multi-million record selling band TOTO. As a backbone of the band, he has earnt the respect and admiration of millions of fans. He is also an in-demand session musician that has made a career out of making other people look great, rarely seeking time in the spotlight for himself. It’s hard to believe that it has taken 5 decades in the music business to finally put his own name on a record.

On his debut solo release ‘Forgotten Toys’, David Paich finally corrects that oversight. TOTO fans are well versed in his brilliance, now it’s time for the rest of the world to learn the truth.

The Toto sound is naturally in his DNA and the way he writes, so there are immediate similarities and familiarities to the chart-topping band on ‘Forgotten Toys’. But there is also a lot more. The full musical personality, the heart and soul of David Paich the songwriter and arranger is on show.

The EP may be called ‘Forgotten Toys’, but the ideas that make up the debut solo release from the Toto founding member and principle songwriter DAVID PAICH have remained in the back of his mind for many years. The self-described foundation of “Half written/half ideas” came to be expanded upon during the extended Covid lockdown, a period where David finally found himself with spare time. Emboldened with “incredible encouragement’, he set about making the first music outside of his role in Toto since the band started some 45 years ago.

David Paich may be expressing himself outside of the band, but he still enlisted all his friends to help bring these songs to life. Toto brethren Joseph Williams and Steve Lukather are heavily involved helping fashion the EP’s sound, as are some other familiar Toto faces - Lenny Castro, Warren Ham and Nathan East.

But they aren’t alone. The guest list on this record mirror the who’s who of the classic rock world.

To understand ‘Forgotten Toys’, a track by track look at the EP is essential.

A brief intro titled ‘Forward’ suggests David missed a potential career in scoring films, his natural flair to create a dramatic soundscape is ever-present.

The short intro flows seamlessly into the classic Toto sounding mid-tempo ‘Will I Belong To You’, which features a duel piano/organ approach from David, topped with a warm vocal and a classic tenor chorus from Joseph Williams. Gregg Bissonette provides drums; Nathan East bass and Dean Parks and Steve Lukather the electric guitars. A perfect opening salvo.

‘Spirit Of The Moonrise’ sees David Paich flex his musical muscle in more than one way. The tougher sounding rock track picks up angst and energy, plus it also features David playing the bass parts alongside his usual organ and piano role. His lead vocals guide the track with an unexpected authority. Toto alumni Lenny Castro (percussion), Warren Ham (saxophone) and Steve Lukather (guitars) join the party, with a chorus of all-star harmony vocals from Anna Williams, Joe Williams, Michael McDonald, Pat Knox and Ray Williams.

‘First Time’ brings back a more familiar David Paich musical vibe. The dreamy love song laments the feel-good moments of young love with a rich musical tapestry of percussion (Lenny Castro and Robin DiMaggio), rhythmic drums (DiMaggio), moody guitar work from Fredrik Halland and Dean Parks and even some flute courtesy of Warren Ham. A stepout vocal from David’s daughter Elizabeth Paich adds a touching layer.

‘Queen Charade’ sees style and expectations turned on their head. Showing yet more versatility to the Paich writing and vocal library, this bluesy, dirty rock n roll number shows a playful side to Paich not previously displayed. You can almost hear the smile on David’s face as he blasts through a raspy lead vocal and some honky tonk piano, with Don Felder supplying slide guitar and Steve Lukather again doing his part. Add harmonica and saxophone from Warren Ham and some southern grove from drummer Steve Jordan to make this track a focus on fun. Adding to the atmosphere and some classy background vocals from Monet Owens and Pat Knox.

‘All The Tears That Shine’ will be a very familiar track for Toto fans, the song originally appeared on their 2015 album Toto XIV. David takes the original foundation of the soulful track with his vocals and in place of Joseph Williams comes the raspy Michael Sherwood to give this gorgeous song a new feel entirely. The extra mood and ambience are created by the talented cast assembled for this track. Davey Johnstone (Elton John) on guitar; Fredrik Halland (bass); Mike Valerio (upright bass); and Lenny Castro and Robin DiMaggio on percussion and drums. Actually reminds me of a Lukather solo rocker.

‘Lucy’ closes out the ‘Forgotten Toys’ release with the song you knew was coming, the song we just had to have. Going back to his earliest musical roots, this song strikes at the heart of what makes David Paich tick. The freeform jazzy instrumental is the ideal way to end proceedings and really ensure every base is covered. With a cast that includes background vocals & scatting by James Torme; Guitar by Ray Parker Jr.; Gregg Bissonette on drums; Horns by Jon Diversa; Lenny Castro on percussion and the man himself, David Paich on Piano, organ and synth.

‘Forgotten Toys’ adds to the deep musical legacy of David Paich. It may only be an EP, but the 6 full-length tracks hold more class than some full albums do.

Absolutely essential for Toto fans.

Treat are exactly that. Just a treat to listen to as they further enhance their status as one of the world’s best and most consistent anthemic melodic rock acts.

Their golden run of high energy, harmony drenched, AOR anthem filled albums that began with the classic Coup De Grace, followed by Ghost Of Graceland and Tunguska. Add this in and its 4 essential albums for 4 in a run going back to 2010.

The album follows the slightly more modern edge of the last 2 albums, fitting seamlessly into their catalogue.

The Swedish melodic rockers deliver another 12 songs to digest, most of which are uptempo and layers deep in harmonics, guitars and groove.

I’d place this album third of the last 4, with Tunguska in 4th place, but that’s still rating all 4 albums above 95%. For the record, Coup is #1 and always will be!

They just don’t get better than the songs, style and production delivered by Treat.

This doesn’t require a long review, as there is no reason to debate brilliance. Just be assured that if you are a fan of the band in the last decade, this just serves to continue their glorious run. Essential!

This is quite simply a delightful pure AOR album of archived demos from former Uriah Heep vocalist Pete Goalby. His voice oozes passion and melody and the songs are glorious.

Its one 80s AOR anthem after another and the ‘demo’ angle shouldn’t be over-played as most of these tracks sound fuller than the term demo normally gives credit for.

Goalby plays guitar, with Eddy Morton providing solos. The always fabulous Paul Hodson gets credit for bass and drum programming, which is tastefully done, plus all keyboards, which are all over these great songs.

I must admit to having chased Pete Goalby for his solo demos for my own label but missing out just means I can pour my enthusiasm into a killer review – which is what this collection of songs deserves.

Absolutely prime British influenced pure AOR and melodic rock with a strong 80s vibe and some really warm, engaging lead vocals from Pete.

One of my favourite purchases of 2021.

This is one of only a few albums I’ve played recently and immediately thought – winner!

It only took one listen to know this is an album that deserves a lot of attention, the subsequent listens only confirmed that high praise was in order.

Tao features Karen Fell (vocals), Chris Gould (ex-Serpentine)(guitars) and Dave Rosingana (bass) and additional musicians Darrel Treece-Birch (Ten)(keyboards) and Brian Webster (drums).

The album is written and produced by Ten mastermind Gary Hughes.

This album hits several different marks. First the female lead vocals are just perfect for the energy and delivery of these songs, they are highly engaging and pure ear candy. Second factor is the man himself, Gary Hughes. This album is a return to his best AOR songwriting, mirroring the debut Ten album and his own solo releases. Just brilliant songs carried by Karen Fell in a way classic AOR albums used to be. Plus its not just AOR, this thing rocks in places, just like Ten do at various times.

To class this album as Ten with female vocals would be simplistic, but every bit true.

A powerful production, a band feel and some highly engaging songs make this one an essential purchase for fans of Ten and female fronted melodic rock.

I only got the digital audio for this one, but I need to get the CD pronto.

Generation Radio is one of the few organic supergroups of recent years. Something that came together naturally, rather than cobbled together in an office somewhere.

Formed with the axis of Chicago’s Jason Scheff, Deen Castronovo (now departed to concentrate soley on his Journey duties) and Rascall Flatts frontman Jay DeMarcus, the band chisel out a commercial radio friendly sound that would have had them all over radio in the 80s and 90s.

It’s a laid-back album for the most part, reflective and mature, but not without some rowdier moments where the guitars get cranked up and the tempo shuffled into overdrive.

At the heart of it however, is songs and harmonies. Both are glorious – the instantly appealing midwestern style AOR/MOR takes the listener back to the best of Chicago, Richard Marx, Journey and a more cult name in this scene – the wonderful King Of Hearts.

Its sweet and sugary and everything AOR fans loved about big budget recordings of the heydays. But you know what else it is – authentic. The band gel together and it all sounds very natural. They wrote and recorded together and it so clearly shows the difference in quality when a band actually works as a band.

The album’s first 9 tracks are near perfect, its only with the Chris Rodriguez sung song that it comes to an end, closing then with a lacklustre ballad.

Track one to nine are almost impossibly good smooth, old school, commercial American AOR.

This is how you do a band project. The difference between a ‘supergroup’ on paper and in practical essence is all in the execution. Anyone can create a group on paper and throw some songs and money at the participants to do their thing. But you won’t capture any kind of magic or chemistry – as so often is the case with the ‘Frontiers Random Band Generator’ formula.

Black Swan however, is a case of getting it right and credit should be given. This is the right way of doing things - find musicians that for the most part live near each other and can meet and work together and then let them write the songs and create organic chemistry.

In joining the great Robin McAuley and Jeff Pilson, the desire would have naturally been to recreate the best of McAuley Schenker Group and Dokken. But you can’t force it. In this case it wasn’t necessary, it just happened and with the added production prowess of Pilson, a real gem has been created.

The debut was a revelation and the follow-up takes up exactly where the last left off – more high energy, uptempo, in your face melodic hard rock, heavy, but with a commercial edge – all delivered with a beautiful mix and crisp production. The drum sound is thankfully light years ahead of other projects of this nature thanks to Pilson capturing the awesome groove of Matt Starr.

And who could ask for more crunch in their guitars than what the legend that is Reb Beach delivers.

This is an inspired combo of musicians who really work well together to create natural chemistry.

The songs are surprisingly in your face and uptempo, the album only slows down for a couple of well-timed slower pieces.

Robin sounds amazing and as good as he did in 1990. Pilson ties it all together for a perfect blend of melodic Dokken, Winger & McAuley.

Legacy Swedish AOR act Alien deliver their seventh studio album here, the first to see them turn their traditional style on its head in an attempt to reach a new crowd.

So Alien have ‘gone metal’ here, albeit metal with a strong melodic edge and the unmistakable voice of Jim Jidhed reminding us of their true AOR origins.

I’ve seen some very mixed fan responses to this and my initial reaction was very negative. However, despite an absolutely horrendous production (yes, that issue again and a pretty consistent theme of the last 3 Alien albums), there are some great songs on here to enjoy.

I do think the guys are having a bet both ways, with the album split between the new hard rock sound and several lighter AOR songs that could have come from any previous album.

It’s a hard call – do you fully embrace a new sound with all the risks that entails, or do you try and do something different and mix in the old sound to try and keep old fans happy.

Hard to make a cohesive album with two different styles and I think that’s what holds this album back. Not to mention that Jim really struggles vocally on some of the heavier numbers, especially the painful to listen to What Are We Fighting For and Into The Future.

Of the ‘metal’ songs I really like the opening salvo of You Still Burn and Night Of Fire, the band don’t sound any better than they do on these two tracks.

On the other hand, ‘classic’ Alien can be heard with the more keyboard friendly Time Is Right, Freedom Wind and Fallin Way Down.

It’s a mixed album with mixed results and yes, mixed feelings. I think I’ll probably pick a few tunes here and there for separate playlists, but as a start to finish album, there’s something not quite right about ‘metal’ Alien and the production/mix is very muddy to say the least.

Proof that everything happens eventually, here’s a brand-new AC/DC album, designed to drop some rock n roll healing on a shitty year. Could this be the last ever new AC/DC studio album? Never bet against accadacca but given it has been 6 years since the last album, it’s entirely possible.

Having cranked the contents of ‘PWR/UP’ several times in quick succession, I wouldn’t say the band have delivered a career defining record befitting a grand exit, but they have exceeded expectations to deliver a very credible late-career record that I think will please most fans.

It is true that the guys could possibly have written this album in their sleep and there is no deviation from the style or delivery of the last several records, but there is something very comforting about new AC/DC tunes.

Twelve tracks at 41 minutes in length should give an accurate summary of the contents here. I am comfortable stating that the first 4 tracks are amongst their best in many a year. Realize is a superb opener, with Rejection, the single Shot In The Dark and Through The Mists Of Time all delivering great riffs and hooks.

Elsewhere it’s a pretty consistent run. Only track 8, Wild Reputation, drags significantly for me.

I do wonder how good this would have been with someone like Bob Rock or Kevin Shirley at the helm. The lack of urgency and a harder hitting sound is what I think it missing from latter day records.

Brian Johnson sounds as good as ever, which I’m really pleased about. He’s one of the good guys.

Aussie melodic rock legends Noiseworks are back with a reunion tour and a ‘new’ album that was recorded several years back but shelved for various reasons. Most notably the cancer battle of guitarist Stuart Fraser, which would eventually claim his life.

So this album and tour is a tribute to him – with Southern Sons’ Jack Jones filling in for the live dates.

The official fourth and likely final Noiseworks album is a mix of classic and modern, with the band reliving its trademark sound from the first two albums in places, but then also delving into the heavier, groovier feel of the lesser liked third album.

The mix works pretty well here, but the standout songs are clearly the ones that lean towards the classic/melodic side. The opener Heart & Soul is among the band’s best tracks – a great feel good anthem.

Amerika is another highlight – a song which is quite literally half classic (the chorus) and half modern and heavier (the verses).

Elsewhere the ballad Long Way delivers a nice sentiment, the decade old Sunshine sounds better today than it did when originally released as a single and Low is a modern moody rocker with a killer vocal from the always amazing Jon Stevens. One In A Million picks up the pace with another good hook before delving back into the album’s familiar mid-tempo groove on Let It Go.

Unfortunately the album is over too soon, and closes on a low note, as the acoustic ballad Ocean Girl isn’t as strong as the rest of the material and the 50 second Touch (Epitaph) isn’t long enough to go anywhere.

All in all, take 34 minutes minus the last two tracks, you get 28 minutes of high quality modern melodic rock, excellently produced and performed by some of Australia’s best musicians.

A great long EP, or a little short for an album.

To add to the conversation, the physical CD packaging is a disgrace – a thin cardboard gatefold with no booklet, no lyrics, little info and bad album cover art. Not much effort has been put into this aspect.