Polished AOR
In the spirit of all things 80's AOR, many bands have come and gone, come back again, and then hopefully disappeared for good. All of whom basically try to re-create those heady days of 'AOR/ Melodic Rock / Hair Metal' or whatever you choose to call it.
Thankfully and more recently there has been a decent resurgence in the quality of Melodic Rock (Ratt / FM / Journey / Work of Art / Mass / Giant, etc) with most of them trying their damnnest to repeat another 'Escape', 'Invasion of Your Privacy' etc. In these cases the bands above have pretty much come up with the the best albums they could in the 21st Century. Yes the audience isn't as receptive as it used to be, as most of these bands are now on smaller, independant labels, no doubt just content with being able to make a decent enough living. Notice my list hardly includes a modern band, but there's a new kid on the block (no not them!). The band is Shining Line, a band in the true tradition of shiny, polished, overblown melodic rock.
Somehow they have pulled a rabbit, an all-star cast of the highest melodic rock portions this side of anywhere. Luminaries present are, Michael Voss (Casanova, Mad Max), Robin Beck, Harry Hess (Harem Scarem), Phil Vincent, Micheal Bormann (Jaded Heart) to name but a few.
Its all the concept of main songwriter and drummer Pierpaolo 'Zorro 11' Monti, and his long time friend and bassist Amos Monti with their charter to pay homage to the glory days of Melodic Rock. They have certainly achieved their objective. Shining Line has everything you would expect – great melodies, catchy hooklines and infectious choruses, all in all, its a real AOR by numbers affair.
Opening track 'Highway of Love' featuring W.E.T.s Eric Martensson, a crackin start with more polish than a Guardsmans boot and a Mr Sheen factory combined. This rich, melodic vein continues with the Harry Hess vox on 'Amy'. The polish is buffed even more with the upbeat 'Strong Enough' (Robbie LaBlanc), and one of the big coups on the album, Robin Beck singing the pretty damn fine 'Heat of the Light'. And on it goes for one of the AOR highlights of the year. Its not a perfect album, a little patchy in parts, but its a great throwback to when melodic rock was in its prime. The guys have pulled it off, bringing in some pretty big names, which has given each song a different feel. I would maybe like to see more of a 'one band' approach for their second album, with just the one singer, because they would never get this thing on the road as it stands now. But for this small gripe, its a fine album indeed and a worthy addition to any AOR fans collection