Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) didn't all used to be the wannabe alt. rock shitstorm people know it as today on radio: there was a time when pop sensibility, jazz-rock, funky R&B and the westcoast goodness of groups like Steely Dan and America were just as prominent in the minds of the devoted as Christ himself, and that proficiency of craft shows off in spades in this near-perfect pop release from CCM oldtimer Roby Duke.
Orchestral, embellished as fuck, and genuinely moving, enjoy another jazzy pop classic from moi.
Some New Jack Swing goodness to get your weekend rollin'. Although its a one-shot release in a sense, its also one of the best albums of its kind, so enjoy!
Post-rock meets neo-classical meets Deep House meets jazz, with plenty of style, beauty and substance to spare. Guaranteed to liven up your latest social occasion!
An Egyptian-born musician who later migrated to Canada at a young age, Keven Jordan only cut two albums in the early 90's before retiring from the music industry permanently, which is a real damn shame if you ask me: the man has a godly voice and a real knack for songwriting, both of which are apparent in spades on his lush 1991 debut No Sign Of Rain.
That said, this is one of the best sounding 80's-esque rock albums I've ever heard: the production must have cost a king's hoard in and of itself. Deep keyboard lines and drumming give the recording something of a skyward feel, complimented by the high-mixed languid vocals of Jordan himself. Depending on how you look at it, this is pop-rock nirvana: from the worldly tribal beat of 'True Believers' to the shimmering anthem 'There Is A Reason', there's nary a bad song to be had.
People who like 80's AOR/pop, deep production and a post-punk melancholic sensibility will eat this gem right the hell up, and with good reason to!
Probably my favorite of the various groups Jorn Lande has fronted for, Ark play a brooding, hellbound brand of exotic prog. metal, with atmosphere and force alike stirred in with real panache. It's not the heaviest shit you'll ever hear, but the debut certainly sounds awesome, as well as being a solid introduction to the group's small but fantastic discography.
Neo-progressive rock, at least for me, culminates as a genre in two perfect releases which lack the flaws that pervade most of their peer bands/albums. The first is Milliontown, the 2006 debut release from U.K. supergroup Frost*. Very industrial, but also quite gorgeous and well-written. The second album is this one, a mid-90's release from Polish proggers Collage.
This is the kind of stuff Marillion might have done if they had a better ear for production and had decided to debut a decade later than they did. However, don't let the whole theatrically inherent to this kind of music scare you off -- the stuff present on Moonshine is far lusher and more interesting to listen to than most of Pendragon or IQ's output. ("leading" bands in the genre" *laughs*).
In retrospect, hearing this record for the first time was amazing -- it was as if everything I hated about "new" progressive rock post-1979 had been screened out of this ensemble's DNA at the very foundation of their sound. Instead what I got was Pink Floyd with Deep House production aesthetics and a vocalist who actually knows a damn thing or two about varied delivery. Or maybe just a really good progressive rock/shoegaze hybrid without all the alt. rock bullshit. Either way though, fuck if all this isn't a treat at the end of a monotonous day at the grindstone!
This is the remastered edition with a bonus track, so snap it up quick folks!
A singer/songwriter from Canada with a fantastic voice who was taken under the wing of David Foster (Chicago) after some initial success, Tim Feehan is one of those quintessential 80's guys who did his thing so well during his brief shot in the spotlight that he makes pretty much everyone else in his radio friendly corner of the genre spectrum seem utterly irrelevant in comparison. Because when it comes to cheesy, L.A. sounding pop-rock, you can't get any better than this 1987 self-titled.
Part of why this stuff works is a consistent, catchy execution of songcraft coupled with some punchy production values. Opening cut 'Where's The Fire', for example, is a master stroke of late 80's commercial rock, careening forward at high speed with an excellent drum machine led crunch and a memorable-as-fuck chorus that makes it an anthem beyond anthems for its era. It doesn't hurt that it's the main theme from cult classic The Wraith either. On top of that monster, the ballads have some kick as well: 'Listen To The Heartbeat' is an exercise in Westcoast perfection, while 'Loveline' is the kind of atmosphere-laden hit Mr. Mister wanted to write after 1985 but never quite managed to cut.
Beyond the rather solid songwriting though, Feehan's voice itself is top stuff, and possibly the best of the crop of singer-songwriter "rock stars" who tried to storm the FM market between '79 and '90: warm, expressive, and possessed of more range and power than you'd expect from some Canadian pretty boy.
Not every song here's a keeper, but the ones that are count among the best material ever written and performed within the context of "cock rock". Thus, a heartily recommended record...and then some.
