"Mega Force" was never before available on CD, and it's refreshing that finally it has been given a chance to shine. Tons of rare or previously unreleased on CD format albums have been blessed with a second lease on life lately such as 'lost' music by Axia, Waysted, Craaft and The Creek, a popular trend which I hope continues. This time the album up for reincarnation was
707's last album, fourth recorded, third actually pressed and on shelves. They were a band that never really seemed to get much of a break. They heated up the Sunset Strip but failed to attract a label in the late 70s due to the short lived punk movement, when every suit was convinced it was the 'next big thing' and stadium rock was no longer en vogue. The tides soon changed of course as punk died a quick death and the big ticket drawing arena rockers took over to wash away the last lingering horrors of processed disco pap and that 'who cares if we can actually play our instruments or not?' punk attitude and brought songwriting skills and musicianship back to the limelight.
This album has a unique history, which deserves to be shared as well, since it is an integral part of what kept the band together for this final fling. After a successful tour with
REO Speedwagon and completing a third album called "The Bridge", their record company was bought out by Polygram and with management changes and their CD caught in legal tape, they jumped ship and went with a new record company, which was Boardwalk. Unfortunately, "The Bridge" remains a lost mystery as it never saw the light of day, even twenty something years after being finished. Around the same time, Boardwalk put them in touch with some movie people that were working on a film called Megaforce, so
707 submitted some material and a song called surprisingly "Megaforce" became not only the movie's theme, but a hotly played single throughout the summer of 1982. Or so history dictates. So as things work out for the worst, the band fell to many issues due to legal problems, internal bickering and issues with management. Oh and I believe that movie was a serious flop as well, being a futuristic war movie about secret military soldiers fighting in the desert against some dictator, all while flying on motorcycles that shoot laser weapons.
707's core was founders Kevin Russell on guitars and drummer Jim McCarthy. The rest of the band was a revolving door of musicians, including a stable of different singers, but "Mega Force" was blessed to be fronted by Kevin Chalfant, and sounds very much like the other CD he belted on that was lost in the cracks for ages before resurfacing a few years ago, called The VU (formerly known as The View in the 80s). Chalfant is still active under the Two Fires banner, for those keeping score.
This is pure early 80s fluffy
AOR rock, featuring giant harmonies, sickeningly catchy choruses and keyboards shoe horned into every crevice. You either need to be on a nostalgia trip to appreciate this or a fan of this particular sound, one that many modern
AOR bands attempt to copy but fail miserably at. There is no substitute for the real thing in this case. It has the flavour, the feel of the early 80s, and perhaps even borrows a little of the decade's newborn innocence. The songs are safe and cushy, good stuff for light listening or sing-a-longs for a round of obscure songs for karaoke night.
Maybe the movie sucked, but the title song
"Mega Force" was a serious slab of 80s upbeat goodness that reminds me heavily of Foreigner's deliciously infectious "Break It Up" which is one of my favorite songs ever, so yes, this is a great thing. Think you may have heard this before? It was re-recorded by Frehley's Comet (later home of
707's keyboardist, Tod Howarth) under the title "Calling To You". It was all a bit of a joke, since Ace's outfit was signed under the Megaforce label. Clever eh?
"Get To You" has a guitar riff that sounds cloned from UFO's "Rock Bottom". It's not exact, but is similar enough that it made me want to start yelling out the lyrics in my best female Phil Mogg impression. Scary eh? The song rocks too, in that early
Journey manner. And yes,
Journey could seriously rock when they wanted to, despite popular fiction, they weren't just a ballad band. "Edge of the Blade" is enough of a classic killer to silence those rumors.
There's enough keyboards just in
"Out of the Dark" to make some run screaming, but wow is this ever a great song, fans of Orion the Hunter might want to give this one a whirl. Kevin's voice is Steve Perry smooth and slick with the freshness of youth.
"We Will Last" is classic
AOR, plain, simple and unforgettable.
"Hello Girl" has a bit of early 80s
Rainbow in it, with some almost ballad like moments broken up with a quicker pacing.
"No Better Feeling" kicks it like a straight up stadium rocker, and has a lot in common with
707's once touring partners,
REO Speedwagon.
Really the whole album is pretty much a delectable mix of Foreigner,
REO Speedwagon, Survivor, Orion the Hunter (although they did come later on.), so forth and et cetera. Sometimes the guitars are a little tougher, but not often. The only song that really kinda reeks is the misplaced
"Hell Or High Water" that tries for a southern fried rock flavor but feels out of place and is simply filler fodder.
But MTM didn't just re-release the album, that just wouldn't be proper now would it? No, instead we are treated to several bonus tracks of varying quality that make this worth a purchase perhaps for those still clutching their needle ringed LPs. It's always nice to brag about extras but the ones here aren't that great truthfully, a mind bogglingly boring instrumental called
"The Float", a couple of versions of
"Eagle One" and an attempt at
"Mega Force" over kill with even more takes on it. Oddly enough, the track that is of most special note is a fairly enthusiastic live version of
"Mega Force" which we are now hearing for the fourth time at this point in one incarnation or another, shows the band in their live concert form. They were quite popular as a live act, and the energy and appeal is made very apparent with this little taste.
So for the ten original tracks alone, "Mega Force" is worth a spin, for followers of that very unique pompy 80s
AOR sound. This is vintage stuff right here, and just being able to hear it without digging around tag sales and thrift stores looking for an elusive and forgotten, rat chewed and moth eaten record, its worth a mini celebration. MTM Classix has managed to please quite a few with this one, that's for sure. Despite the age,
707's cult swan song retains that classic authentic 80s edge that just isn't something that modern bands can successfully replicate, making it a worthy musical relic that captures the song and spirit of a time that's now long past.
Written by
Alanna Tuesday, July 13, 2004
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