40 Kane Roberts- Saints & Sinners (1991)
I was a big fan of Kane in Alice Cooper's band and got his first solo album which was half killer/half filler. This follow up album is much better. Roping in Desmond Child and pretty much the crew that recorded Alice's Trash album helped. It's very much in that album's vein too. Slick, well-produced AOR with audible guitars and Kane's tough but tuneful voice. Nothing fancy, just a great AOR album. This album always comes out when the sun is shining here, which is about twice a year... I know some of you stopped reading as soon as Desmond was mentioned, but we all need some melody in our lives, right?
Best tracks – Twisted, Dance Little Sister, Fighter, Does Anybody Really Fall In Love Anymore (yes, the Cher tune)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zptjLv43Hiw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY_jCBKkE6E&feature=relmfu39 Van Halen- fair Warning (1981)
I'm not the biggest VH fan to be honest. I found their albums to be patchy at best despite being short too. This one is no exception in the leength stakes. Almost every track is a winner but I do usually skip the synth instrumental and the last track One Foot Out The Door isn't great. The first 7 tracks make up for that though. Some of Eddie's best riffs are here and the tapping and harmonics are as good as ever. I don't even know what EVH is doing in the intro but it sounds cool. The Brown sound is perfect on this album. If I could get a guitar tone somewhere between this and George Lynch I'd be happy. Even Dave is on top of his game. A great, fun, awesomely played album.
Best tracks- Mean Street, Dirty Movies, Sinner's Swing, Hear About It Later, Unchained, Push Comes To Shove, So This Is Love
38 Avantasia- The Scarecrow (2008)
I became an Edguy fan with the Mandrake album and was impressed with Toby Sammet. I enjoyed the first two albums in the Avantasia story but this one had better songs and bigger riffs. This is a metal opera with several singers playing different parts- the story is incidental really but tells the story of a lonely Scarecrow. Toby works the different singers well, in fact Jorn sounds better here than on his own albums. The cast list is a who's who of Eurometal, testament to Toby's standing. Alice Cooper as the Toymaster is the best Alice song since the Hey Stoopid album. Toby knows how to write a ballad too. The title track is as good as melodic metal gets really. You'll be hooked in by the Celtic opening which winds in and out of the song too. A stormer of a track with slow parts, heavy parts and Jorn being Jorn. Toby caught some flack for this album as some felt it was too commercial, and it's certainly more melodic than it's predecessors, but is that a bad thing? Not to me. There's variety here rather than just a double bass drum marathon.
Best tracks- All of it. Even the ballads.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-PkfKZAT6E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_QpA-11feI