  
Angel Air/Border
NOTORIOUS made headlines straight away. Robin George (DAVID BYRON, PHIL LYNOTT etc.) joined forces with Sean Harris (ex. DIAMOND HEAD). Two song writers met and of cause Robin handled production duties. Rock is the right word, and the single “The S´Walk” even echoes of DURAN DURAN. One thing that there is plentiful of here is musical ability. Robin modernized his sound a bit here, and Sean steered clear of heavy metal, as well as his previous band´s increasingly progressive sound. The sophisticated “Arianne” is augmented by Sean´s sensitive vocal style. This is the original mix of the album, the one that even their manager opted for, but. Alas, not the one the suits of the record company released. They get down to a cozy ballad with some pepper added in “You Need More”, which is one of my favorite moments. Old rockers tend to favor funk, and NOTORIOUS do a DEEP PURPLE in “Do Like a Man” and “Touch”. The strength of the album is soft rock songs with strong refrains, and it is all very typical of its day and age. I am impressed by the genuine craftsmanship of tracks like “It´s Energy” and “The Game´s Up”. If I hadn´t heard this way back I would never have guessed it was Sean Harris on vocals, not with the sweet soft velvety voice, as in “Believe in You”. There are too funky and soft moments here too, e.g. “Eyes of the World”. That track was awarded the fast forward button, but that is it on this album. If “The S´Walk” was aimed at the charts I bet “Soul on Fire”, complete with brass and all, was even more so. In the early nineties I was strictly against this, but now almost 20 years later this is (mainly) highly enjoyable melodic rock. If there hadn´t been so many if´s I believe the “Good Times” would have rolled and NOTORIOUS would have reached heights far beyond what they actually achieved.
Track List
Radio Silence
The S´Walk
Arianne
You Need More
Better the Devil You Know
Do Like a Man
Losing You
It´s Energy
The Game´s Up
Eyes of the World
I Believe in You
Touch
Solu on Fire
Love Fades
Good Times
www.angelair.com www.robingeorge.co.uk
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