Another eighties' AOR album rescued from oblivion.
This time the hard work's been done by fledgling label, AOR Blvd, co-founded by one of the genre's misspelled legends, Kelv Hellrazer.
I had the pleasure of working with Kelv on Hard RoxX magazine in the UK, in the late nineties, and there's not much this guy doesn't know about the music scene.

In its original form, 'Strange World' is a bunch of demos recorded in 1987 by Brummie band, Push. Fast forward to the present day and this rerecorded version, a flawed diamond  perhaps, gleams brightly in 2010's revisionist, AOR-friendly environment.

'Red Lights', a beautifully underplayed melodrama, has an immediate impact thanks to dancing, prancing keyboards, multi layered harmonies and an insidious, unassuming melody.
On yet another standout track, 'Miracle Of Love', the stuttering, shimmering keyboards and measured bgvs underline the adage that, for AOR, underdone is miles better than overdone. In the right hands, the sense of drive and urgency that renders the best AOR so compelling can be achieved by precise, uncluttered arrangements (as well as good songwriting).
Throughout the first half of 'Strange World', relentless salvoes of punchy choruses and effervescent keyboards percolate up through liquid guitar work, like huge AOR bubbles that circle your head for hours before bursting.

It's not all of the same high standard, but as well as the tracks already swooned over, the slightly more aggressive 'Stand Up And Fight' and the chest swelling ballad 'Hannah Don't Go' are absolute peaches - tantalising AOR songs with luscious melodies.
US American vocalist David Saylor is more than competent, emoting gracefully, and is clearly a key component in the less-is-more approach that works so well on many tracks here.

Unfortunately, the quality drops in the album's second half. And that's nothing to do with the calibre of the band's songs. They just forgot that the music grips most powerfully when they hold back.
In fact there are plenty more decent songs to go, like 'All I Can Give' and 'Man On The Other Side', but they suffer from synth overload, suffocating in an overdone production, which somehow, surprisingly at this late stage, mistakes fashion for artistry.
 

Written by Brian
Thursday, May 13, 2010
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Ratings

Brian: 6/10

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