Kevin Chalfant is no stranger to the AOR community. He first came to prominence with the band 707, contributing vocals to their classic third album ‘Megaforce’. His vocal similarities to Journey’s Steve Perry later bought him to the attention of Josh Ramos, who invited him to be the vocalist in his band The Storm (featuring sometime Journey men Ross Valory, Steve Smith and Gregg Rolie – who by coincidence had also been a member of 707). Chalfant cut two albums with The Storm, before landing the job as Steve Perry’s replacement in Journey.

The Journey job was only temporary, as Perry decided to return (at least for the time being). At the beginning of the 21st Century, Kevin Chalfant re-united with Ramos, releasing two albums under the band name Two Fires. Both albums were met with acclaim from the melodic rock press, but by 2004 Two Fires had called it a day. The ever restless Chalfant formed another band – Shadows Fade – with whom he recorded one album, before briefly becoming the vocalist with AOR legends Shooting Star. He also found time to record two solo albums in the middle part of the decade – one containing hymns and gospels, while the other (playing to his strengths and to the demands of his audience) was a Journey covers album.

At the end of a fragmented – but invariably busy – decade, Chalfant resurrected the name Two Fires, this time without the help of his previous musical partner Josh Ramos. The resulting album, ‘Burning Bright’, features a collection of songs which attempt to re-create the magic of the previous Two Fires releases.

The opening track, ‘Is It Any Wonder’ sounds a little strange at first, in that there’s something about the production which makes Kevin Chalfant’s vocal sound a bit squishy. Also, instead of soaring guitars and an unavoidable Journey influence, it’s slightly punchier – though not in an especially good way. Michael Gardner’s guitar work is very choppy and rhythmic in a style which recalls Josh Ramos’s playing on ‘I See Red’ from the previous Two Fires album, ‘Ignition’. In fact, the track’s only truly high point is a stupidly overblown guitar solo, played by guest musician Super Rex Carroll. It gets better after a few plays, especially once the chorus has had time to set in – but I’m unconvinced that ‘Is It Any Wonder’ is a winner. ‘Lost In the Song’ is better – Gardner’s guitar work still favours a rhythmic, almost mechanical edge, but there are more hallmarks of traditional melodic rock on show here. The featured solos are solid and the chorus is very strong, despite Chalfant over-singing a tad (sadly, his over-singing eventually works towards the album’s detriment, particularly on the ballads).

The album’s first power ballad ‘Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid’ opens with a pleasing guitar lead from Gardner, before descending into a predictable trudge through something which you’ll find done much better on any of your Survivor albums. Gardner’s guitar leads remain decent throughout this number, but his good work is spoilt by Chalfant – who, not content with delivering a shameless Steve Perry impersonation, insists on over-singing nearly every note. In an attempt to impress, he squeezes every drop of emotion from each line, only damaging his performance in the process. And while I’m here, what’s with that drum sound?! The drums sound like they were recorded in a corridor.

The opening riff of the title track gives the impression that it will be one of the album’s heavier numbers. However, once everything kicks in, it becomes clear the heavy vibe was caused by the collision of a muddy guitar tone and slightly muddy production. As it turns out, the song is a fine piece of melodic rock with excellent playing and a well arranged vocal – particularly on the chorus. ‘Still In Love’ is a respectable soft rocker featuring a simple arrangement, based largely around acoustic rhythm guitar and electric piano for the first verse, before going full electric for the chorus and beyond. There’s nothing particularly striking about it, but strangely that’s where its strength lies. A thoughtful harmony backs one of Chalfont’s most understated vocal lines.

‘Follow Your Dream’ features another great harmony-filled arrangement, a great guitar solo, pretty much great everything…and by the end I found myself wondering why the rest of ‘Burning Bright’ couldn’t have been this good. There’s a really feel-good factor running through the track which seems to be lacking on some of the other songs. It comes a little late in the proceedings, but it certainly goes a long way towards making ‘Burning Bright’ a better album. In terms of melodic rock pushing all the right buttons, ‘Answer My Prayer’ is another high point. On this mid-paced stomper, Kevin Chalfant keeps his vocal line this side of tasteful. He’s accompanied on a good chorus by well-placed backing vocals – the kind you hope for with all great AOR (there’s no big key change for the last chorus though, so a proper missed opportunity there!); the drums, once again, are a little wimpy sounding, but that doesn’t spoil an otherwise enjoyable number. I’d be lying if I said it was as good as ‘Follow Your Dream’, but there are more than enough great elements to for it to pass muster.

The closing number ‘All For One’ begins as a big piano based ballad, and naturally, Chalfant milks his Journey fixation for all it is worth. For the quieter moments his voice is powerful, but once the rest of the band joins, he steps things up – and by the track’s end, he’s over-singing again. Interestingly, there are backing vocals, but they’re really understated. This track has the kind of grandiose arrangement where only a huge choir will do. Too bad they couldn’t afford one…

This third album from Two Fires has its moments (‘Follow Your Dream’ and ‘Answer My Prayer’, mainly), but it has a few numbers which leave me feeling indifferent. it’s certainly not up there with Chalfant’s classic work (step forward The Storm’s ‘Eye of the Storm’). Although the second half of this album is far stronger than the first, I’d be hard pushed to say that this release is one of the best AOR albums released in 2010 – that honour would go to Terry Brock’s ‘Diamond Blue’.

September 2010

The melodic rock fans among you who are over a certain age will no doubt remember Tom Galley’s Phenomena project. Phenomena featured a host of stars, creating impressive line-ups across three releases between 1984 and 1993. If I’m honest, I found the musicians involved more interesting than the songs actually featured on those albums, but even so, it’s hard not to be impressed by the idea behind it all.

While many of the Phenomena cast featured no introduction (Glenn Hughes, Cozy Powell and Mel Galley being heavily featured; even Queen’s Brian May found time to contribute), the project also gave increased exposure to a few lesser known performers, including Max Bacon (mostly associated with his appearance as vocalist on the Steve Hackett/Steve Howe vehicle GTR) and Keith Murrell of Airrace (a band still best known for featuring Jason Bonham on drums).

In 2006, some thirteen years after that third instalment, Tom Galley revived the Phenomena project. The resulting album, ‘Psychofantasy’, featured contributions from Glenn Hughes and Keith Murrell once again, alongside Tony Martin, best known for his stint as Black Sabbath’s frontman between 1987-1995. As with the first three Phenomena releases, Tom’s brother Mel Galley was one of the featured guitarists on all tracks, providing the Phenomena project with continuity, despite the long gap between releases.

Four years on and with a lyrical theme of good against evil, ‘Blind Faith’ is the fifth instalment in the Phenomena story. It is the first Phenomena release not to feature Tom Galley’s brother Mel, who sadly died in 2008, although his presence is still here in the form of two co-written numbers.

‘The Sky Is Falling’ begins the musical journey with a heavy yet melodic offering, pairing Riot/Masterplan vocalist Mike DeMeo with Vindictiv/Firecracker guitarist Stefan Lindholm. To many, being the second man to fill the position of Masterplan vocalist, DeMeo is “that guy who isn’t Jorn Lande”, but to his credit, he has a great voice. A quiet intro leads into a classic rock arrangement with slow pounding drums. DeMeo’s slightly raspy delivery sits well against the backing vocals on the chorus, while his big vocal style is well suited to the piece as a whole. Interestingly, for all of its huge rock leanings, there isn’t a featured guitar solo, leaving Stefan Lindstrom with a rather lesser role.

You’d think since the title track features the vocalist and guitarist from Saga, the performance would have ended up with a bit of a proggy slant, but Tom Galley’s song-writing style is so deeply rooted in an old classic rock vein, there’s nothing really prog happening here. However, a Celtic jig creeping in between vocal sections adds an element of surprise. Rob Moratti’s vocal is effortless while Ian Crichton’s guitar work adopts a slighty dirty tone, heavy on the bottom-end, occasionally reminiscent of some of his work on ‘Ghettos By Design’ (Crichton’s largely ignored solo release from 1997). His featured guitar solo, although short, features his typical flashiness. Moratti makes a second vocal appearance on the huge ballad ‘House of Love’. Here, his delivery is horribly squealy and, if I’m completely honest, slightly painful, as he over-sings most of his lines to the extreme. Luckily, FM guitarist Jim Kirkpatrick and Salute guitarist Martin Kronlund are on hand with a decent set of guitar chops – the solo in particular is more than commendable, although never resorts to showiness.

‘Fighting’ is also noticeably weak. Its hammering riff at first gives the impression it might be exciting. With a strong old-influence somewhere between Saxon’s debut, very early 80s Gillan and a dash of Scorpions (albeit heavier than all of those), it has more than enough presence, but it’s repetitive nature makes the track feel overlong and the chorus is far too simplistic. In the hands of a classic vocalist it might just scrape by as decent filler, but sadly the heavily accented vocal of Primal Fear’s Ralf Scheepers just weighs the track down further.

‘Liar’ opens with a slab of keyboards which set the tone for a track featuring Stefan Lindstrom’s bombastic guitar stylings (marking his second performance here). Ex-Black Sabbath vocalist Tony Martin’s vocals are equally bombastic in places, though it’s likely his performance will be overshadowed by some of the other vocalists here. He deserved a chorus better than “Liar!” (repeat as often as necessary), but despite this, Tony makes the best of his number with a strong performance during the verses.

Contender for best track, ‘It’s Over (I Was Gonna Tell You Tonight)’ is a fantastic fist-in-the-air piece of AOR with Robin Beck (still best known in the UK for her number one hit ‘First Time’) at the helm. This is an equal match for most of the material from her classic ‘Trouble Or Nothin’ album from ’89 and her slightly husky vocal is a perfect match for Jim Kilparick and Martin Kronlund’s guitar work – in places clean and ringing in tone, in others hard and choppy (although the sleeve notes don’t give any specific details regarding the two differing styles, I’m almost certain that Kronlund is responsible for the edgier stuff, leaving Kilpatric to the clean, more refined playing). This gem is a four minute reminder of why you still like melodic rock and probably have done since the eighties…and in some cases, long before.

‘Angels Don’t Cry’ is much heavier. After a brief atmospheric intro, a chunky riff provides the base for Mikael Erlandsson (Salute/Last Autumn’s Dream) to deliver some horrible lyrics about child abuse. After a couple of minutes of the sledgehammer riffing and Erlandsson’s Euro-styled metal vocal, you’ll wish Robin Beck had been allowed more time in the spotlight! It’s not all bad, though, since a well-arranged backing vocal provides a lighter touch on the chorus – such a pity that chorus is another of Tom Galley and Tom Brown’s (almost) one-liners.

‘If You Love Her’ begins with a slow and brooding riff manages to be both heavy and melodic. Guitarist Tommy Denander’s work here is simple and direct and Chris Ousey (of Heartland and Virginia Wolf fame) is in fine voice. His strong lead provides this number with a key feature as his powerful lead vocals act as call-and-response with a simple harmony vocal. Tommy Denander gives Ousey a far heavier base to work from compared with the vocalist’s previous work, but Ousey more than steps up to the challenge here.

Aside from a few tracks from early albums ‘Indiscreet’ and ‘Tough It Out’, I’ve never been a great lover of Brit-AOR band FM. However, their vocalist Steve Overland takes lead on ‘Don’t Ever Give Your Heart Away’ – and it’s a track which is good enough to stand alongside Robin Beck’s performance. This is largely because I’m fond of very traditional sounding melodic rock and – like the Robin Beck number – this features none of the Euro-bombast which has a great presence on this disc. Also more traditional, Terry Brock’s performance is another winner. It may not have Mike Slamer’s golden touch, but ‘One More Chance’ could sit alongside some of the material on his ‘Diamond Blue’ solo album. With a musical arrangement which is faster than mid-pace, though never reaches the heights of pure rocker, Terry turns in a great vocal on a number which boasts one of this album’s strongest choruses. Steve Newman is this tracks featured guitarist and here, he offers great support in a classic, clean-toned style.

Given my indifference to Phenomena’s original three releases, I didn’t approach ‘Blind Faith’ with too much excitement. You know how it is with supergroups and all-star projects, they rarely live up to expectations. As for ‘Blind Faith’ – it could have been better, for sure, but the good bits far outweigh the bad. it’s worth checking out for Robin Beck alone. …But factor in the other decent vocal performances from Terry Brock, Chris Ousey and Steve Overland and it definitely becomes worth forty minutes of your listening time, despite two or three really bad moments. It’s just a great shame that Mel Galley isn’t around to hear the completed picture.

September 2010

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Westcoast AOR scene produced some brilliant bands and musicians. While Steely Dan and Toto are probably its most famous associates, there are many albums released by lesser known artists which have remained close to the hearts of AOR fans. Airplay’s self-titled disc (a collaboration between Jay Graydon and David Foster) and the sole album by Maxus (a short-lived band featuring Robbie Buchanan and legendary session guitarist Michael Landau) are among the first which spring to mind when listening to this self-titled album by Swedish band State Cows (an anagram of Westcoast, if you hadn’t noticed!).

Strange as it may seem, Daniel Andersson and Stefan Olofsson (the core of State Cows) have replicated the sound of 1980 in summertime Los Angeles almost perfectly, despite hailing from Umeå in the north of Sweden. Everything you’ve ever loved about Westcoast AOR is here; so much so that, when listening to it, it seems almost impossible that this album was released in 2010.

‘New York Town’ features a great arrangement with the bass high in the mix, wonderful stabbing piano and a tasteful horn accompaniment (thankfully provided by real brass). There are hints of so much great Westcoast smoothness here – late seventies Doobie Brothers and Airplay spring to mind. One of the band’s great heroes, Mr Jay Graydon – a guitarist almost synonymous with the Westcoast scene – even guests on guitar. If you have any doubts about how authentic this album sounds, Graydon’s seal of approval should sweep them away. The easy pop-rock of ‘Come To The Point’ features some tasteful electric piano, jazzy guitar and a vocal which would be well suited to Richard Page (of 3rd Matinee, Pages and Mr Mister fame). Again, with hints of Richard Page, thanks to a keyboard on the verses sounding rather like 3rd Matinee’s ‘Holiday For Sweet Louise’, ‘Painting a Picture’ features another and a strong vocal, combined with clean toned rhythm guitar breaks and sublime electric piano work. Although not as immediate as some of the album’s tracks, State Cows make what they do sound so effortless.

During ‘Mystery Jane’ the horn section becomes a strong feature, while some stabbing keys add a lot of weight. The humour in this tale of a bar meeting may be somewhat silly, but musically, it’s provides another great example of the band’s spot-on musicianship. ‘Riding Down This Highway’ showcases the softest side of State Cows’ music and while the lead and harmony vocals are meticulously arranged, the great moments here are provided by Daniel Andersson’s slightly jazzy guitar leads. ‘I’ve Changed’ combines smooth Westcoast vocals with solid bass work, twin lead harmony guitars and upfront keyboards. The closing keyboard solo mightn’t agree with everyone though,since it combines the squealy tone favoured by Steve Winwood in the eighties with the excesses of seventies pomp! One again, it’s bound to appeal to fans of Maxus, Airplay and early Toto. If you want a track which combines all of State Cows’ best traits most effectively, this is a fantastic example of their signature sound.

An over enthusiastic horn intro begins ‘Tunisian Nights’, the song settles into an easy groove with elements of early Toto and Donald Fagen. The horns creep back in on the chorus (this track being the only one where the brass feels perhaps a little heavy handed), but despite their attempts to be the most attention grabbing, it’s the electric piano and a well-crafted vocal on the chorus which provides the strongest elements. The guitar riff which creeps in every so often is also notable, since aside from the odd solo, the guitar doesn’t make a huge impact in the band’s often keyboard-heavy music. ‘Lost In a Mind Game’ is dominated by a jazzy shuffle and muted horns, straight out of the Steely Dan songbook. The drum part is meticulously played and the vocal harmonies are spot on. It may lack Steely Dan’s dry sneer, but all the other elements are so close. Göran Tuborn’s guitar work is fantastic and when combined with the rest of the tight musicianship on show, it makes perfect sense that some of these guys had previously performed as part of a Steely Dan covers band.

What really comes across with this album is just how much love both Stefan and Daniel have for the Westcoast classics. This sounds authentic enough to stand alongside not only the aforementioned Airplay and Maxus, but also Bill Champlin’s ‘Runaway’ and Marc Jordan’s early masterpieces. If your stereo still gets graced by any of the artists mentioned here, then State Cows should be essential listening.

September 2010