This 80's synth-pop album by one of the most popular artists of the era was Jones 2nd. It reached nr. 2 on the British charts, probably because he had had great success with he's first album the year before and that the song Things Can Only Get Better was a good song. The rest of the album does not include any hits or songs that touches  me, a case for many of the pop hit-artists in the 80's. Unfortunately a not so good album by one of my absolute favorites in the 80's, but it's never really bad though.

1)Things can only get better (8,0)

2)Life in one day (5,5)

3)Dream into action (6,5)

4)No one is to blame (5,0)

5)Look mama (7,0)

6)Assault and battery (6,5)

7)Automation (6,5)

8)Is there a difference? (6,0)

9)Elegy (5,0)

10)Speciality (6,0)

11)Why look for the key (6,5)

12)Hunger for the flesh (4,5)

Score: 6,08

Howard Jones-most instruments (mainly synthesizers) (b.1955)

Martin Jones-bass

The year after their big breaktrough with the live album from Fillmore East, the Allman's put some leftovers from that live album on this double album, plus a few new studio recordings. It was the last album to feature one of the brothers, namely Duane Allman, who died in a motorcycle crash in october 1971 (2 months after i was born!) while this album was recorded. 2 sides of the album consists of a 33 minute live jam session bases around the song There Is A Mountain by Donovan. The album is very blues-based, ecspecially the live songs. The african rhythms put an another level to the music and fits great with the jazzy and progressive elements of The Allmans's music. It's a great album with great playing and great songs. It still rocks and stands tall after 40 years!

1)Ain't wastin' time no more (7,5) Typical Allman floating sound and african-like rhythms.

2)Les brers in A Minor (9,0) Absolutely fantastic! 3 minute tuning of instruments and then the greatest jam-song I can imagine. 9 minutes is way too short!

3)Melissa (7,5) A nice mellow ballad.

4)Mountain jam (8,0) Good quality jam-session. Part 1.

5)One way out (8,5) A Sonny Boy Williamson-cover. Good live-blues.

6)Trouble no more (8,5) Muddy Waters-cover. Again some good heavy Chicago-blues. Greatly played by a fantastic band!

7)Stand back (8,0)

8)Blue sky (8,5) Dickey Betts on vocals in this sweet calm Allman-rocker.

9)Little Martha (7,0) Duane and Dickey plays acoustic.

10)Mountain jam (6,0) Not very interesting second part of the jam.

Score: 7,85

Gregg Allman-vocals, guitars, organ and piano (b.1947)

Duane Allman-guitars (1946-1971)

Dickey Betts-vocals and guitars (b.1943)

Berry Oakley-bass (1948-1972)

Butch Trucks-drums and percussion (b.1947)

Jain Johanny Johanson-percussion (b.1944)

Just like Hot Tuna's latest album two years earlier there is a big difference between songs, as some are quite mellow and half boring and other rock like like hell with blistering guitar solos and long jamming sessions.

Sammy Piazza had left the band and was raplaced by Bob Steeler who really lifts the songs with his frantic drumming! Kaukonen's guitarplaying is also very nice. The album reached nr. 75 on the Billboard chart.

1)Sleep song (5,5) Boring sleepy song.

2)Funky nr. 7 (7,0) A nice guitar-chaotic funky rocker.

3)Walkin' blues (7,5) A Robert Johnson-cover. Bluesrock that just goes on and on but it's good anyway.

4)Invitation (6,0) Flowing rock song that's too long.

5)Hot single nr. 1 (8,5) Very good 70's rocker with a nice slow flow, good melody and nice guitarplaying.

6)Serpent of a dream (7,0) Nice mellow Wishbone Ash-flow in this one.

7)I don't wanna go (7,0)

8)Great divide: Revisted (5,0) Very boring, gaasp.

Score: 6,69

Jorma Kaukonen-vocals and guitars (b.1940)

Jack Casady-bass (b.1944)

Bob Steeler-drums

On this, the 4th album by american band Hot Tuna, the band moved from towards more rock and hard rock, leaving the more acoustic sound of the last first 3 albums behind. Vocalist and guitarrist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Cassidy had just left Jefferson Airplane for good and former 2nd drummer Papa John Creach had left for Jefferson Starship. They continued as a trio for the next years.

This album is very much in the vein of the 70's rock. Simple riffs, melodic singing, superb guitar playing and good songs. There are some highlights on it but some are too weak and, should I say cheesy. There were better bands than Hot Tuna in the 70's but it's not bad at all.

1)I see the light (8,0) Good Wishbone Ash-like mellow rock flow.

2)Letter to the north star (6,0) Happy jump-pop/rock.

3)Easy now (9,0) Damn good rock song!

4)Corners without exits (6,5) Mellow rock-flow.

5)Day to day out the window blues (7,0) Same as above but with more ZZ Top blues feel.

6)In the kingdom (4,5) Strange.

7)Seeweed strut (6,0) Acoustic instrumental.

8)Living just for you (6,5)

9)Soliloquy for 2 (6,0) 60's style ballad.

10)Sally, where'd you get your liquor from? (4,0) Happy-happy, traditional acoustic instrumental.

Score: 6,35

Jorma Kaukonen-vocals and guitars (b.1940)

Jack Casady-bass (b.1944)

Sammy Piazza-drums

Pride Of Lions is a band featuring Jim Peterik of Survivor on guitars and amazing singer Toby Hitchcook. This album is packed with 1980's style melodic hard rock as good as any popular band in the genre from those golden ages of Adult Orientated Rock, also known as AOR. The production is not the best though, the bass can hardly be heard and there's too much stupid god preaching and the vocals doesn't always fit the music and the singing is too loud here and there. But there are some good songs and good playing and good clear singing. An okey album to listen to when you want to listen to rock with melody, powerful songs and some nice ballads.

1)Immortal (8,0) A very good and intense melodic rocker.

2)Delusional (7,5) Melodic hardrock with loud vocals.

3)Tie down the wind (7,5) "Big" and intense.

4)Shine on (6,5)

5)Everything that money can't buy (7,5) A good powerballad but they are trying to make more of it than they have to.

6)Coin of the realm (7,0) Good main riff but it's again, too much.

7)Sending my love (6,5) Almost too cheesy ballad but they stay on the right side of the cheesy-line.

8)Vital signs (7,5) Rock'n'roll.

9)If it doesn't kill me (7,0)

10)Are you the same girl (8,5) A pompous and really good powerballad! Yes!

11)Ask me yesterday (7,5) A good rocker.

Score: 7,36

Toby Hitchcook-vocals

Jim Peterik-vocals, guitars, percussion, keyboards and bass on 3. (b.1950)

Mike Aquino-guitars

Bobby Lizik-bass

Klem Hayes-bass

Kelly Keagy-drums

Ed Breckenfeld-drums

The debut album by this Delta-Nashville band that mixes southern rock in the Lynyrd Skynyrd-vein with american roots music and as discribed on their web site; "The Black Keys of a bygone era", mixing in music of more modern style, but it's all through deeply roots inspired that's for sure. I also hear some inspiration from blues-great Joe Bonamassa. Melodic and wild, simple and complicated, this is music to enjoy whenever. I surely do!

The band has toured heavily following their 2 EP:s that finally led to this album.

1)Liar (8,0) Funky, wild, slow southern rocker reminding of Black Crowes.

2)Chicago (8,0) Slow heavy blues number and song full of life and harmonica. Good stuff!

3)Death letter jubilee (7,5) Calm and wild.

4)Jezebel (6,0)

5)Boogie (7,5) Too chaotic wild rocker but a very cool main riff and buildup. I'm sure this is a great live-song.

6)Out to sea (6,0) Acoustic.

7)Sing to me (6,0)

8)Drink it slow (8,0) Slow funky shuffle-southern rocker with a noisy guitar solo.

9)From the dirt (8,0) Continues the song before and it grooves like hell!

10)The devil's creek (8,5) Wild country-oozin' southern rock'n'roll with driving bass. Great!

11)River (7,5) Short gospel-soul vocal- and drum-song.

12)Jericho (6,0) Too chaotic and noisy.

Score: 7,25

Ben Ringel-vocals and guitars

Dylan Fitch-guitars

David Supica-bass

Ben Azzi-drums

Greg Hommert-harmonica

From New Model Army's website:

It is with great sadness that we report that Robert Heaton died suddenly on Thursday November 4th 2004. A multi-talented instrumentalist and song-writer, Robert joined the band in 1982 and for the next fifteen years co-wrote many of the band's greatest songs, including being responsible for all the music to the anthem 'Green & Grey'. A consummate professional when it came to recording and performing, in public Robert was the powerhouse behind the rhythm driven sound of New Model Army. In the media and in private, he was always the perfect gentleman. Robert left NMA in 1998, having recovered from surgery to remove a brain tumour, and since then has worked tirelessly to promote live music and original talent in his home town of Bradford in Yorkshire. His latest project, Fresh Milk, is such a scheme - encouraging young bands, playing wholly original music, onto the live circuit by producing low cost, high quality live recordings for them. He had also been working composing film scores for independent films as well as working on his own new material under the guise of Gardeners of Eden. A post mortem has determined that Robert had been suffering with pancreatic cancer and it is almost certainly this that was the cause of this unexpected tragedy.. Robert's passing will be mourned by family, friends and fans around the world. He leaves a wife, Robin, and young son, Marlon.

British alternative rock band New Model Army formed in 1980 and this is their 2nd album. It contains very 80's style British dark suicide rock very typical for the times. No high class production, just a very simple spacy sound with much bass lines as main riffs instead of heavy guitars. An album to listen to the lyrics and think about everything thats unfair in the world but also an album to play at a party with fellows born in the 70's, like me. 2 or 3 songs are okey to listen to but an whole album gets to much since the songs are pretty much alike eachother.

The album reached nr. 22 on the British charts. Drummer Robert Heaton died of cancer in 2004, only 43 years of age.

1)Frightened (7,0)

2)Ambition (6,5)

3)Grandmother's footsteps (7,0)

4)Better than them (6,0)

5)My country (6,5)

6)No greater love (6,0)

7)No rest (7,0)

8)Young, gifted and skint (5,5)

9)Drag it down (6,5)

10)Shot 18 (3,0)

11)The attack (7,0)

Score: 6,18

Justin Sullivan-vocals and guitars (b.1956)

Stuart Morrow-bass

Robert Heaton-drums (1961-2004)