1989 was a significant year in the history of
AOR, with Strangeways,
Danger Danger,
Giant and Diving For Pearls all delivering career defining albums. They weren't the only ones. The year is rich in melodic rock releases, perhaps moreso than any other year during the eighties.
Despite the fact that
AOR had a lower profile in
Europe at the time, some outstandingly good bands released some outstandingly good albums.
The likes of Treat, Dalton and Return were gaining traction and credibility, but others, equally gifted and equally good, were criminally ignored.
Harlot were one of a small stable of talented melodic rock bands on Denmark's Olafsongs' label. Their 1989 debut '
Room With A View' was produced by Finn Olafsson and engineered by Flemming Rasmussen, two highly respected musicians with big reputations.
It ticks all the same boxes as these other bands. It holds up to the closest scrutiny by any chosen
AOR aficionado, yet it stiffed.
So why did this album wither and die on the bargain bin vine? Luck, exposure, fate?
One thing is clear, it wasn't the music. '
Room With A View' is just bursting at the seams with sweet, keyboard driven
AOR, filled with inviting hooks and big choruses.
That, plus the vocals of Alex Savage - a significant cut above most others in the genre. A little like Tony Mills and a lot like the long forgotten Andy Fairweather Low (most recently touring with Eric Clapton and Roger Waters).
There's an aura of quiet sophistication to many of the arrangements. Maybe that plus Savage's underplayed vocals were found wanting by fans more used to the bite and aggression displayed by Harlot's contemporaries.
Still, there's an elegant grace running through
'So Much For Happy Endings' and '
Metropolis Children', carefully crafted songs laced with pompous pop flavourings.
Elsewhere,
'Spirits' and '
Bring Home Your Love' aim for a more elemental target, adding poignancy and depth to music usually derided as shallow and inconsequential.
Album standout though, and by a considerable margin, is the six minute
'Now I See'. The subtle manner in which this song is executed is simply mesmerising, turning it into a definite epic, a seductive, melodic rock monster.
Where are they now?
Written by
Brian Monday, October 8, 2007
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