HEART - Brigade [Deluxe Japanese 2CD Package] (1991)

What else can be said about HEART? The Wilson sisters' band is the greatest female fronted Melodic Hard Rock act ever.
Like its two predecessors, their 1990 album "Brigade" was a commercial smash, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Album Chart and delivering another wonderful slice of slick Melodic Rock / AOR / rock&pop.

Including songs penned / co-penned by the likes of Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Holly Knight, Sammy Hagar, Diane Warren or the fantastic AOR factory of Tom Kelly / Billy Steinberg plus Richie Zito's out-of-this-world production, and you have a winner.
On songs like "Stranded", "Secret", "I Want Your World to Turn", the rocking "Tall, Dark Handsome Stranger" or the mega-hit "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You", female-Rock vocals do not get any better.
Although my favorite Heart albums are the previous 'Bad Animals' and 1985s 'Heart', in my opinion "Brigade" features the best Ann Wilson vocal performances of her career.



This out of print "Brigade [Deluxe Japanese 2CD Package]" came out in 1991, packed in velvet-textured slipcase, and with a bonus CD including 3 bonus tracks. And these songs worth your attention, believe me.
You have the awesome AOR of "Cruel Tears" co-written with Mark Spiro, the super ballad "(I'll) Never Stop Loving You" penned by AOR stalwarts David Cassidy / John Wetton, and the midtempo "The Will to Love", again from the Tom Kelly / Billy Steinberg pen.



"Brigade" is a must have in your Melodic Rock / AOR collection, and this Deluxe Japanese 2CD Package, even more.


01 - Wild Child
02 - All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You
03 - Secret
04 - Tall, Dark Handsome Stranger
05 - I Didn't Want To Need You
06 - The Night
07 - Fallen From Grace
08 - Under The Sky
09 - Cruel Nights
10 - Stranded
11 - Call Of The Wild
12 - I Want Your World To Turn
13 - I Love You
BONUS CD:
14 - Cruel Tears (bonus track)
15 - Never Stop Loving You (bonus track)
16 - The Will To Love (bonus track)

Ann Wilson - lead and backing vocals
Nancy Wilson - lead and backing vocals, guitars
Howard Leese - guitar, keyboards, mandolin, backing vocals
Mark Andes - bass, backing vocals
Denny Carmassi - drums
Kim Bullard - keyboards
Richie Zito - add. guitar, producer




HEART Brigade [Deluxe Japanese 2CD Package] HQ
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AOR TREASURES - The Soundtracks Vol.12

The dozen.
Several requested tracks included in this one.
Many readers ask for a compilation containing only AOR tunes, but remember, this place is called 'Hard Rock' too, and I think this mixed bag works better, to pleasant a wide range audiences.
Here we go:


01 - TIFFANY
You And Me [Jetsons, The Movie]
For the first time in my compilations, a song sung by a woman as opener, and well worth it.
TIFFANY hit several pop singles in the charts at the end of the 80's, but this exclusive track for the movie is a portentous rocker, written by Steven McClintock, about whom we will talk later.

02 - ERIC MARTIN
One Way Out [Caddyshack II]
Splendid song composed by the masters MARTIN PAGE and CLIF MAGNESS. Guaranteed. It can't fail.
Exclusive to this OST, perfectly vocalized by Eric.

03 - JOHN FARNHAM
Justice For One [Savage Streets]
Incredibly I've never included this great song in any volume so far. Can't be absent here. A Classic.
Part of the first Farnham's recordings outside his homeland, taken the Australian audience by surprise due the hard edged sound and strong beats, far from his usual pop side.
Ripped from a rare movie promo vinyl single only released in Australia.
Very good sound.

04 - STEVEN McCLINTOCK
The Edge Of A Dream [Space Mutiny]
Song sent to me by a reader (go ahead and submit yours!).
Unfortunately the sound was not very good and various frequencies were missed, but thanks to a friend overseas I got another file in a very good quality, I've added some gain and brillance.
I must admit that I did not know this song / movie. I feel ashamed... how could I miss this magnificent AOR gem?
It turns out that McClintock is a well-known songwriter to Hollywood movies (including mostly the ones of "Jetsons, The Movie" OST).
I love this song. Thanks mhenders for the original file!

05 - TAKEAWAYS
Moon & Stars [Sweet And Sour TV series]
Sweet And Sour was an Australian ABC soap opera which still retains loyal fans.
Chronicled the misadventures of a rock & pop band called TAKEAWAYS, I chose this song because although lacks guitars or skilled songrwiting, it's a great cheesy techie AOR.
Love these compressed 80's sounds ...

06 - PIA ZADORA
Rock It Out [Beavis and Butt-Head TV]
Beavis and Butt-Head was a great TV show (musically speaking) that often rescued from oblivion phenomenal songs from the past.
This is one of them, recorded in 1983, simple songwriting but effective, with scorching guitar riffs.
Original air date: November 3, 1994 - Season 5, Episode 5: 'Safe House'.
Nice forgotten rocker.

07 - RASCAL & Ricky P. Goldin
Ladykiller Theme [Another World TV series]
Ricky P. Goldin was one of the main actors in this cult TV series, he sings only in the intro here.
The real architects of many songs featured in the 90's episodes (including this one) were the female fronted band RASCAL, who curiously never released an official album themselves.
Taken from the band's demo (which contains several songs from the series), this is a very cool tune in the vein of HEART.
Heard in 'Ladykiller Explosion' episode, aired September 23, 1991.

08 - MASTEDON
Wasn't It Love [Caught]
Rarity, both the song and the movie, of course; a Christian plot.
Composed by John & Dino Elefante, leaders of the newly assembled (1987) band MASTEDON.
Never included in any of the 2 great discs recorded by the group in subsequent years.
Very rare.

09 - JOSEPH WILLIAMS
Turn It Up [SpaceCamp]
SpaceCamp music score was in charge of the prolific and multi Oscar winner John Williams, Joseph's father, who gave his son the chance to include some songs in movies.
This track never was released in the official OST nor in any solo record by Joseph.
Unreleased and good.

10 - DREAMS
Castles On Quicksand [California Dreams TV series]
Another TV series that has rabid fans even today.
The story revolved around a rock band: DREAMS.
Most of the cast actually sang the tunes and played all the instruments.
This is my soundtrack favorite, penned by none others than the trio PAUL BLISS / PETER BECKETT / STEVE KIPNER (monster team!), and performed by actress Heidi Lenhart, in the role of "Jenny Garrison".
Great song.

11 - ALICE COOPER
Prince Of Darkness (movie version) [Prince Of Darkness]
The shock-rock master wrote this obscure (lyrically) piece for the a-must-watch horror flick directed by another master; John Carpenter.
A different version that the one appeared in his "Raise Your Fist and Yell" album.
You can hear the unforgettable Donald Pleasence speaking in the middle...

12 - GERMAN ROCK PROJECT
Let Love Conquer The World [Die Railers]
The German Rock Project was a german hard rock musicians' reunion to record a benefit song, like Doro, Michael Voss, Dennis Ward, Joal, Axel Rudi Pell, etc..
The single had considerable success, and was featured in an episode of the TV ZDF-Series "Die Railers", besides the official soundtrack, released in Germany alone.
A torch song.

13 - GAIL LOPATA LENNON
Rock With Me [Mottomo Abunai Deka]
Japanese movie regarded by the public as 'the most dangerous criminal film'.
In the west became known as "Yokohama City Cops Story", directly to home video in a few countries.
The soundtrack has enormous AOR songs, being this one the best in my opinion, beautifully performed by Gail.

14 - WINGER
Out For The Count [The Karate Kid III]
The third part of the "Karate Kid" saga is the least known, as also is its soundtrack, hard to find.
Requested by a reader, WINGER recorded this track exclusively for this film.

15 - SORCERY
Killer On The Loose [Rocktober Blood]
Another request from a reader.
Rather unknown movie following a common plot of that time as "Hard Rock Zombies", "Black Roses" or "Trick or Treat". That is, a hard rock band struggling against Devil's influence.
The soundtrack (by the band SORCERY, David Glen Eisley was their earlier frontman) remains unpublished.
This track is heard in the film during one of the group's live performances, whose lead singer is the murderer ...

16 - MICHAEL BRADLEY
Killer [Savage Streets]
I could not leave out from this compilation series another great song only appeared in the "Savage Streets" soundtrack.
A pump up monster action movie track, a real killer.

17 - HEART
The Heat [Up The Creek]
One of the many 'College Campus' juvenile films of the 80's.
Not the best, but the soundtrack is really good, mostly filled with exclusive songs, as 'The Heat' by HEART, not easy to find.
Requested by a lot of people in these pages.

18 - MICHAEL THOMPSON & VINNIE COLAIUTA
Speedster [Sleepwalkers]
I've watched this movie in time when it was released directly to home video 'round here, and was impressed not only by the CGI morph (one of the first films to use it) but also by the great guitar instrumentals that were heard throughout the movie. Even recorded all parts on tape.
But never labeled the cassette with the performer's name, nor the movie title.
Some time later, listening to the tape, I cursed myself for not taking notes.
A couple of years ago, in a second hand record store, a front CD cover trigger my memory instantly...my missing movie!
Hoping some of these awesome instrumentals were included, turned the jewel case and... Bingo! ...MICHAEL THOMPSON!
Isn't a great song in the songwriting department, just some kind of 'jam', but come on, the man has a unique guitar tone and hot sweepicking, and maestro Colaiuta gives you a drum lesson for free...
Just get a pair of headphones to enjoy this one.



That's all folks, closing credits... THE END.

+ 70 min, artwork.
Note: most of tracks are vinyl-only release and very rare, all were cleaned, decrackled and declicked to get the best quality possible.



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AOR TREASURES - Extended Versions 2 (The Camel's Hump)

Another "extended" installment.
I don't own some of these vinyls, so you get them as they are, all above 192Kbps or better, I have restored all tracks, suppressing the cracks and clicks successfully (I think...).

Aerosmith's Love In An Elevator (Elevator Mix) was released as vinyl promo only, not for sale. I really enjoy this funny mix.
Maybe you don't like ZZ Top goes-to-techno stuff, I think their 80's remixes are awesome. Two of them here.
Joal (german female hard rockin' babe) has released a very good album in the late 80's, this is a very rare and great extended version, only 12''.

Another rarity is White Lion's classic 'Wait', looong version, with much more guitars (WTF are you Vitto?) and some effects added. As far I know, only UK release.
Romeo's Daughter was a superb band, you'll love this rare maxi-single version, supermixed.
A hard to find Foreigner extended remix, very well done.
Another FM (UK) classic remixed, maybe better than the original version.

The Noiseworks version is very cool and veryyy extended.
Device has released a critical acclaimed hi-tech / lite-AOR albums in the mid eighties, this song version is pretty rare, maybe too much 'poppy' for your tastes, but after a couple of listens you will love this tune. I have done a little miracle restoring this vinyl.
Heart remix is completely different from original one. Nice.

As 'bonus', not exactly an extended Survivor track.
This is a little gem, Dave Bickler's final vocal trax used in Eye Of The Tiger.
Taken from the original multi-track recording, with all the overdubs ready to the final song mix. Listen carefully, you can hear in some parts, subtle at the bottom, the backing instrumental track, and at the end, the vocal guidance metronome. These artifacts were removed in the mastering process, of course.

Remember, all these tracks are official remixes, original material performed during the recording sessions, not third hand adds or DJ work.
Check the tags of each song, I've added full release info, catalog number, and original artwork.
You can extract all artwork covers with your favourite tag editor.

01 - Aerosmith - Love In An Elevator (Elevator Mix) 6:14

02 - ZZ Top - Velcro Fly (Extended Mix) 6:38

03 - Joal - Rock That City (Extended Version) 4:55

04 - Dominoe - Angel Don't Cry (Rock Mix) 5:15

05 - White Lion - Wait (Extended Version) 6:05

06 - Romeo's Daughter - Don't Break My Heart (Ext. Version) 5:54

07 - Foreigner - That Was Yesterday (Extended Remix) 6:15

08 - FM - Bad Luck (Extended Version) 5:22

09 - Noiseworks - No Lies (Extended Version) 5:25

10 - Device - Hanging On A Heart Attack (Dance Mix) 7:21

11 - ZZ Top - Legs [Metal Mix aka Special Dance Mix] 7:45

12 - Heart - There's The Girl (12'' Remix) 7:20

13 - Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger (Dave Bickler vocal trax) 3:20



ENJOY Extended Vol.2

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AOR TREASURES - The Extended Versions (The Camel's Hump)

In the 80's, when a disc was released, in addition to the singles, the fashion was also launch an extended version, often as "B-side".
AOR / Rock bands were not absent to this trend (which often allowed them to enter the discotheques).

Many people find these versions annoying, detracting the originals beauty.
I think that my selections are really good, the producer's job bring new life to the songs, adding in some items new arrangements / tempo, discarded guitar solos (a very good ones), or simply an alternative mix of what might have been the official album version.
You'll be surprised by strange HEART's song ending, the crazy GARY solos (don't give the man room to play!), the completely 'new' version of WAITE's classic, or the syncopated ZZ TOP mix (I love this version).
But the most successful is the FM track, in my opinion, better than the original.

All these versions contains only original material performed during the recording sessions, not third hand adds or DJ's crap.
Some tracks aren't easy to find, and mostly only have been released on vinyl.
All were decrackled and declicked to get the best quality possible.

FM - Someday (Extended Version) 5:29
Survivor - Burning Heart (Ultraburn Version) 5:07
Gary Moore - Friday On My Mind (Extended Version) 6:10
Dominoe - Here I Am (Maxi Version) 5:16
John Waite - Missing You (12'' Version) 6:15
Heart - What About Love (12'' Long Version) 5:26
Foreigner - Say You Will (Extended Version) 5:24
Brian Spence - Hear It From The Heart (Extended Version) 6:06
Vixen - Edge Of A Broken Heart (Extended Version) 6:36
Judas Priest - Turbo Lover (Hi-Octane Mix) 7:22
ZZ Top - Sleeping Bag (Original Extended 12'' Mix) 6:14
John Parr - Restless Heart (Extended Version) 6:18

+70min,artwork


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