Robin McAuley has been very busy of late. Following on from his return stint with Michael Schenker he then went on to front the Black Swan project, joining Jeff Pilson and Reb Beach, who released the excellent ‘Shake The World’ album. ‘Standing On The Edge’ though is his first solo effort in many years, the last being ‘Business As Usual’ released back in 1999.

As soon as opening song ‘Thy Will Be Done’ kicks in it’s evident that Robin has lost none of his vocal prowess with his strong sonorous vocal still fully present and correct. The track itself is an all out melodic rocker with great melodies and harmonies throughout which sets the tone for the rest of the album.

The album title track follows in the same vein carried along on a great riff provided by on guitar and replete with a big hook in the chorus. ‘Late December’ then slows things down, but still packs a big punch. This is a soaring ballad with Robin in great form with a heartfelt vocal delivery, there is even a key change in there just for added melodic effect.

Remaining in a wistful mood we then have ‘Do You Remember’ with Robin reminiscing on times gone by. This is a straight forward melodic rocker elevated by a great mid-section and guitar solo. The pace is further increased with ‘Say Goodbye’ which ably demonstrates the talents of the rhythm section on the album with Alessandro Del Vecchio on bass and Nicholas Papapicco on drums.

For me though the standout track from the album is up next in the shape of ‘Chosen Few’. Again, this one rocks hard and heavy with a great melody which twists and turns especially during the chorus. I get hints of UFO at their very best in the chorus and overall this is a fantastic track.

We then head back to big ballad country once again with ‘Run Away’ complete with gentle melodies and swirling keyboards. You can almost visualise a sea of lighters being held aloft when this is played in a live setting, although it will most probably be mobile phones these days, that’s progress for you!

‘Supposed To Do Now’ contains more interesting chord progressions and twisting musical passages that are a feature across the album, there is some great song writing and melodic compositions throughout which really keeps the listeners’ interest. This is further demonstrated on ‘Wanna Take A Ride’ which has a hooky chorus, key changes and another top vocal performance by Robin.

I was first introduced to Robin’s vocals on Samurai by Grand Prix, one of my all time favourite albums, and a band I have loved since my first encounter back in 1983. I have always hoped for some form of reformation but sadly it has never happened, however the next track ‘Like A Ghost’ was co written by Phil Lanzon of Uriah Heep fame and who was also the keyboard player and main songwriter in Grand Prix!  Given that Grand Prix guitarist Mick O’Donoghue also appeared on Lanzon’s last solo album it would appear that the band are still in contact, so fingers crossed…

However, in the meantime we have ‘Like A Ghost’ to savour and it’s a cracking track complete with Hammond organ passages and a great main riff showing off Seveso’s excellent fretwork once again.

Things are rounded off by ‘Running Out Of Time’ which sprints to the finish in a hail of riffs and thunderous drumming, a fitting climax to the album.

This is a superb release from Robin and an album that will happily nestle next to my prized Grand  Prix collection, and believe me that is no small praise! I hope Robin gets to tour this album as live these tracks should be fantastic and if he wants to fill out the live set with a few choice GP numbers then so much the better. Come on Robin, you know you want to… *****

Review by Dave Wilson