FM – Only Foolin’ – EP

December 9th, 2012 by GRTR! HQ

FM were the nearly-men of AOR in the mid- to late-1980s. The past few years has witnessed their comeback, attempting to make up for lost ground and the intervening years which have never been particularly kind to their brand of melodic rock, or anyone else’s for that matter.

Now, ahead of a full album release – ‘Rockville’ in March 2013 and a UK tour – we have a sampler EP with two new tracks. The new tracks – ‘Only Foolin’ and ‘Rainbow’s End’ are good but I can’t help thinking they hold the reasons why FM found life so frustrating 20-odd years ago as Grunge came to play.

Led by Steve Overland’s passionate vocals they lean more towards American AOR and radio-friendly Desmond Child territory (c.1987) than out and out rock. My guess is that the band are hardly likely to attract younger punters with this new album and a static – and ageing – demographic is not very healthy.

There is no doubt though that this nine-track EP gives value for money and also a fair representation of where they are at in 2012, with several live tracks including the excellent ‘Let Love Be The Leader’ (the Indiscreet-era non-album track) and ‘Tough it Out’.

But the other studio track ‘Shot In the Dark’ (which Ozzy made his own) almost gets a Las Vegas crooner treatment and I think this is a fine line that the band should steer well clear of.

However, the guys in FM know their core audience who will lap up this long-awaited new material and it sets the scene for some serious toe-tapping next spring. ****

Review by David Randall

David Randall presents ‘Assume The Position’ on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio every Sunday at 22:00 GMT.

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

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 3 November 2024.

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 show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

How to Listen Live?

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

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

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 again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)