AOR Heaven ::: N E W S L E T T E R

If this newsletter doesn't appear correctly in your mail browser, please visit : AOR Heaven Newsletter

AOR HEAVEN ::: N E W S L E T T E R ::: 06/07/2018

Howdy melodic rockers,

Well, how should I start to let you know what happened the last couple of days. As you might remember we offered the re-issue of Lion “Dangerous Attraction” at the latest newsletter.

The thing was that the label (20^th Century Music) told us initially when they did the first pressing that they’re not allowed to sell to us due to their contract with Sony Music.

So far, so good. Two months ago Kai Brockschmidt from 20^th Century contacted me and informed about their upcoming releases and if I still want copies of Lion “Dangerous Attraction” – according to their contract with Sony they are now allowed to sell to us.

Done deal, I made a nice order of 150 units and this week Kai Brockschmidt informed me that the CDs are on the way to me.

One day later I received the invoice from Kai’s college Dave Tedder – they have charged 12,99€, which is the same retail price as they do sell this CD at their website ! Once I claimed it that this must be a bad joke as for an order of 150 units or 1 unit it would be the same price I got told that this is part of their deal with Sony not to sell this CD cheaper as their retail price of 12,99€ !

Needless to mention that they never told me about this when I placed my order and before they shipped - their price range in the past (for the Black Bambi re-issue) was the usual deduction of 1/3 of the retail price for wholesale orders.

Ok, final conclusion – we won’t stock any more titles from such a questionable label, cause the whole thing is far away from serious business !

Please check the first tracks from our upcoming August release from TASTE at www.metalheaven.net !

Have a great week

Georg & Monika

AOR HEAVEN RELEASES!

JEAN BEAUVOIR - Rock Masterpieces Vol.1

A: 11 €

B: 13 €

Crown Of Thorns (Edit)

Feel The Heat (Edit)

Voodoo Queen (Edit)

JEAN BEAUVOIR (ex THE PLASMATICS, CROWN OF THORNS) is way more than “just“ producer, songwriter to session musician for the likes of KISS, THE RAMONES, LIONEL RITCHIE or JOHN WAITE to name but a few. The Haitian-born American has got his own rock legacy with his solo stuff and with CROWN OF THORNS foremost. His biggest hit “Feel The Heat“ from the soundtrack to “Cobra“ is on board, of course, although the majority of the songs (e.g. “Lyin’“ or “Faith“) are taken from various COT-records. “The Awakening“ from the brillant VOODOO X debut is another true gem to be found here. “Rock Masterpiecess Vol. 2“ is coming up soon, too to complete the picture before a brand new album is about to be published! JEAN BEAUVOIR is back, although he hasn’t really been away. Outstanding, too, is the acoustic version of “Standing On The Corner For Ya“ at the end of the fully remastered record.

MARTIN STARK

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdFfRN3MrAk

VON BALTZER - Cultural Daze

A: 11 €

B: 13 €

All Night Long (Edit)

Burning Bridges (Edit)

Cultural Days (Edit)

The Swedish band VON BALTZER plays a cool mixture of lots of classic rock, a considerable amount of AOR und a little bit of progressive rock sounds. Stylewise, “Cultural Daze“ could have been made in both the seventies or the eighties - without being old-fashioned at all. The two mainmen Christian Kjellström (g, ATLANTIS) and Erik Palmqvist (g) seem to have found the perfect voice for their purposes. This voice is none but the mighty Ian Parry (e.g. ELEGY, AYREON). “Cultural daze“ offers ten timeless rock songs that mostly kick ass and offer great lyrics about what we as society will have to face in these turbulent days. A band to definitely keep an eye on - or better to open one’s ears to. “Better Days“, “Radio Active“ and “Stepping Stone“ are the right first encounters to the world of VON BALTZER. Produced by Magnus Johansson.

MARTIN STARK

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSLdacMj5vY

EXPECTED NEW RELEASES!

DARBY MILLS PROJECT - Flying Solo

A: 12 €

B: 14,5 €

She is one of the finest Canadian Rock singers, she fronted for 36 years celebrated melodic rockers Headpins recording 3 albums, and she did backing vocals of countless '80s records. In August 2016 Darby performed the last gig with Headpins and from this date she's now under her own monicker. The "Flying Solo" stuff is a compilation of songs recorded by Darby Mills during the '80s / early '90s, released under the 'Darby Mills And The Unsung Heroes' moniker, long time out of print. All the material has been digitally remastered for the first time, and it sounds million bucks. Easily among the best female fronted AOR ever recorded, all the songs on this CD are fantastic and simply utterly essential for really every AOR lover !

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twSnnbE6rPg

CLIF MAGNESS - Lucky Dog

A: 13 €

B: 15,5 €

Slightly rocking Westcoast sounds are to be discovered here. The first CLIF MAGNESS record in a long, long time offers eleven tracks which mostly take you by storm and contain long-lasting melodies at the same time. The frontman and songwriter (e.g. AVRIL LAVIGNE, STEVE PERRY) convinces with fresh compositions and an uplifting attitude. Check out “Love Needs A Heart“ or “My Heart“ for example.

MARTIN STARK

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG2sRD2mR0Q

TWO OF A KIND - Rise

A: 13 €

B: 15,5 €

The long awaited second album of the side-project of TERRA NOVA frontman Fred Hendrix. The vocalist, producer and songwriter hasn’t ever disappointed. The two female singers Esther Brouns and Anita Craenmehr get both their highlights and some space if needed. “Rise“ is a mixture of AOR, rock and a small amount of pop topped with great songwriting all over the place which takes you by storm.

MARTIN STARK

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFZYo4ej1Og

GIOELI – CASTRONOVO - Set The World On Fire

A: 13 €

B: 15,5 €

Two of the best contemporary voices in melodic rock on one album? We talk about Jonny Gioeli (HARDLINE, AXEL RUDI PELL) und Deen Castronovo (ex JOURNEY, REVOLUTION SAINTS) here. At times you can hear that various songwriters were involved but that’s not any sort of problem here considering the given quality. Very strong album! (Of course!) produced by Alessandro Del Vecchio, Frontiers Records’ secret weapon.

MARTIN STARK

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqCK9YNKvjU

GRAHAM BONNET BAND
- Meanwhile Back In The Garage (CD + DVD)

A: 14,5 €

B: 17,5 €

Recently, the former RAINBOW-, MSG- und ALCATRAZZ-Fronter GRAHAM BONNET is surprisingly active. At least in the studio his voice still stands the test of time pretty well. “Meanwhile, Back In The Garage“ is a pretty seventies sounding album which fans of Bonnet’s former bands as well as people into UFO or URIAH HEEP will dig for sure. The TINA TURNER cover “We Don’t Need Another Hero“ is fine, too. Classic hard rock can’t never be wrong.

MARTIN STARK

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnHyIVi5Cq8

DESTINIA - Metal Souls

A: 13 €

B: 15,5 €

DESTINIA is lead by Japanese guitarist Nozoku Wakai who gathers excellent players like Ronnie Romero (v, LORDS OF BLACK, RICHIE BLACKMORE’S RAINBOW), Marco Mendoza (b, THE DEAD DAISIES) und Tommy Aldrige (d, WHITESNAKE) to put together a traditional sounding record. Timeless hard rock and metal gems with cool hooks are the result. A true surprise somewhere between RAINBOW, WHITESNAKE and GOTTHARD. Well done!

MARTIN STARK

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e47QIdEs7g

Y & T - Black Tiger +1 (digitally remastered)

A: 13 €

B: 15,5 €

“Black Tiger” was released in 1982 and it’s a truly milestone in the history of melodic Hard Rock. After the introduction of the beautiful instrumental “From The Moon” we’re heading straight towards “Open Fire”. It’s one of the heaviest tracks of Y & T and it’s a true classic. A funny jungle-intro and the legendary title track “Black Tiger” comes out of the speakers. It’s another highlight of the band’s history. Sure, they had a lot of good songs after it, but no one was able to compete with the best tracks of “Mean Streak”, “Black Tiger” or “Earthshaker”. Rock Candy re-issue, digitally remastered.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3CbzUCSyKM

Y & T - Mean Streak +1 (digitally remastered)

A: 13 €

B: 15,5 €

“Mean Streak” was released in 1983. Although the album wasn’t as successful as “Earthshaker”, it contains the sound all the Y & T fans were longing for. Combining hard and edgy guitar riffs, great solos, straight rockers and catchy sing-along tunes, Y & T delivered a real classic album. Titletrack “Mean Streak” opens with a cool riff and pounding drums, while”Lonely Side Of Town” and “Breaking Away” come along with some catchy refrains and great guitar work that VAN HALEN couldn’t do better. Rock Candy re-issue, digitally remastered.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWrqI1FI4TU

Y & T - Earthshaker (digitally remastered)

A: 13 €

B: 15,5 €

"Earthshaker" is often regarded as Y&T's finest effort. This album was released back in 1981, and it has a slightly different musical approach that separates it from the two previous albums ("Y & T" 1976 & "Struck Down" 1978) and goes more in the same fashion as the following "Black Tiger". "Earthshaker" is a furious rock attack and if you like "Black Tiger" and "Mean Streak" you shouldn't hesitate buying this album. I can honest say that there is not a single bad tune on this greatalbum, and with songs like "Let Me Go", "Rescue Me", "Dirty Girl" among others, this is a real rock classic from Y&T. Digitally remastered re-issue from Rock Candy records.

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zqa06QTa6Xs&list=PLLdP9XwAjHRsIEQQMG16dMSmKPDtbdzli&t=0s&index=6

NEW RELEASES IN STOCK !

VALENTINE - The Alliance

A: 14 €

B: 16,5 €

Robby Valentine is someone that should be very familiar to every serious melodic rock lover and is name that is synonymous with melodic/pomp rock of the very highest order. In the years between this his latest album and his previous outing 'Bizarro World' Robby has had to overcome a number of potential career ending obstacles. Firstly encountering a long bout of writers block and then more seriously a immune system disorder which left him with only 25% vision, but thankfully Robby has risen once more to deliver an album that stands proudly alongside his nigh on faultless back catalogue. Once more Robby Valentine has delivered in spades. This is Robby Valentine in his purest form. Album of the year? Maybe a little early, but possibly!

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9UlRZnEgNI

SHYBOY - Just Wanna Rock!

A: 12,5 €

B: 15 €

Not to confuse this band with the New England based outfit which released an album on Escape Music in 1998. This four piece hails from New Jersey and released their debut album "Stop'n'Go" on cassette only in 1988. Shyboy were Marc Gulli (guitars), Ray Santini (bass), Chris Oremus (Vocals), and Bobby Lambert (drums). They formed in Totowa, NJ in June of 1988 and after releasing their debut album they recorded a couple more tracks, which are all part of this re-issue plus several live bonus tracks. Digitally remastered and first time ever on CD this is really good stuff for hair metal lovers in general and 80s flavored hard- and melodic rock lovers. Strictly limited edition of 500 copies !

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvjZ88yk8_U

ROBBY VALENTINE - Robby Valentine +2 (JAP CD)

A: 15,5 €

B: 18,5 €

Born in 1968, Robby Valentine (real name Kempe) has been trained on piano since the age of six. Equally adept on a number of other instruments, it was his role as a synthesizer god that his reputation was forged. Stints with some of Hollands top bands such as 1st Avenue and Zinatra helped give him some exposure before branching out on his own in 1992. There are some great songs all over this opus. One could say this is an extension of his work with Zinatra ('The Great Escape'), though perhaps more pomp/AOR than hard rock oriented. This reissue is not remastered, but this Japanese 2018 release sounds fantastic. This really improves all the previous versions of this terrific album.

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFn8rTsJrF4&t=0s&index=2&list=PL13EBDD0A6E662742

AOR HEAVEN SUMMER SALE !!

Our discount offer during the months July / August
- as usual strictly based on a first come, first serve basis !