Album review : JIMI JAMISON – 1998 Live Hits

Frontiers Music [Release date 12.12.25]

A live Nashville gig in 1998 from the late Jimi Jamison, who died in 2014, aged 63.

Survivor’s fifth album, Vital Signs (1984), the first with Jamison on board as the band’s vocalist, was a massive success, scoring 4 Billboard Top Ten singles and sales in excess of a million.
They all appear in Jamison’s live set.

Sixth album, When Seconds Count (1986), didn’t scale those heights. Jamison’s picked two standouts, ‘Oceans’ and ‘Rebel Son’.

Seventh album, Too Hot To Sleep (1988) put the Adult in AOR, in no small way due to Jamison’s muscular, been-round-the-block-a- few-times vocal textures.

His set captures the best of the first two albums mentioned. We would like to have heard more from Too Hot Too Sleep – no ‘Desperate Dreams’, ‘Didn’t Know It Was Love’ or ‘Across The Miles’ unfortunately. Shame, boo-hoo.

Jamison’s voice seems a bit tight on the gig’s openers, with the band fighting a less than dynamic sound system.

But by the time crowd pleaser, ‘High On You’ is reached, all is well, levels and mix are as they should be, and the crowd is loving it.

This seems to give an already confident Jamison a bit more swagger. And we’re saying – this is live rock’n’roll noise as it should be, a rediscovery of the raw energy that powered the big hitters, ‘Burning Heart’ and ‘Eye Of The Tiger’, written for the Rocky movies.

And even the noisiest moments are leavened by melody, ‘I See You In Everyone’, a brooding cover of the Doors’ ‘Riders On The Storm’ and ‘I’m Always There’, the Baywatch theme, shimmer and sparkle… sounding fresh and new as they make their way through Nashville’s midnight air.

No collection ever pleases everybody. But, Too Hot To Sleep aside, you’d be hard pressed to find a better set of songs with Jimi Jamison at the mic. ***1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 16 November 2025.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This 600th show was first broadcast on 18 November 2025

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 1 December 2025

We feature all the artists selected in this sequence in 2025.

Featured Albums w/c 1 December 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.

If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:

If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device

(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.