www.z-records.com

Z Records continue their fine re-issue series of Paul Sabu’s back catalogue and this album first saw the light of day as a Japanese import back in 1994, before Now & Then picked it up. Although the AOR and melodic rock heyday of the 80′s had passed and grunge was king a few artists still carried on with the Japanese market providing a lifeline. Paul Sabu was one of these few and on this album he had  some top draw musicians including Barry Sparks (later to appear in Dokken and UFO) and Dave ‘The Beast’ Spitz (ex-Anthrax).

This is prime time AOR meets melodic rock, not as good as say his Only Child album or ‘Heartbreak’, but then Paul Sabu’s output never drops in quality. ‘Baby Blues’ starts the album in a subdued way, mid-paced AOR before ‘Arms Of A Hangman’ comes crashing in – prime time melodic hard rock and then some. There are a couple of covers on here in the shape of ‘Ain’t Gonna Eat My Heart Anymore’, originally done by pomp rockers Angel and ‘If You Can’t Take The Heat’, a Lee Aaron tune (although Paul Sabu co-wrote it with her). Both are given the Sabu treatment and sound mighty fine.

‘The Babysitters’ has a slightly bizarre spoken word start but then it hits party rock mode and Paul Sabu sounds like a deadringer for Sammy Hagar on this one (or is it Sammy Hagar sounds like a deadringer for Paul Sabu???). A couple of songs sound slightly by numbers like ‘At War With Weights’ and ‘This Time’, a slow number that never quite seems to get going.

Sadly no bonus songs but still it is worth a place in any self-respecting melodic rock fans collection.

***1/2

Jason Ritchie

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