Lou Christie Enlightnin'ment Best Of (1988) *re Up*

Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm's 1987 solo album Ready or Not is a winner. It came at a precarious time for Foreigner, despite coming off the success of 1985's Agent Provocateur and the band's first number one single, "I Want to Know What Love Is." Ready or Not is rich with melody and snap, but its sound does vary just enough from Foreigner that Gramm can't really be accused of stealing from himself. The production by Gramm and Pat Moran definitely has that bright 1980s style. Gramm's main sidemen include guitarist Nils Lofgren, keyboardist Philip Ashley, bassist/guitarist/keyboardist Bruce Turgon, and drummer Ben Gramm. Side one absolutely sizzles. "Ready or Not" is a strong, hard-rocking leadoff track and it was a minor hit single. The melodic, lyrical, and vocal hooks on "Heartache" are massive and Lofgren's guitar solo adds an edgy bite. The Top Five hit "Midnight Blue" is a terrific pop/rock song; despite its hit status, it's one of the decade's truly underappreciated singles. Lofgren's rolling, effective guitar riffing and a captivating chorus make "Time" one of the best cuts.

Though this 1988 recording starts out with a song that rightfully stands with their best work, the rest of the album doesn't live up to that high standard. "I Know You're out There Somewhere" (a thematic extension of the 1986 hit "Your Wildest Dreams") is lyrically and musically superior in all aspects; fine textured keyboards from Patrick Moraz are featured in the middle of the song…

In 1988, Jon Anderson quit Yes for the second time and released his first regular solo album in six years, In The City Of Angels. Stewart Levine, best known for his work with Culture Club, was brought in to produce; Anderson worked with a team of L.A. session stars and wrote a couple of songs with ex-Motown ace Lamont Dozier. All of this seemed to portend a more commercial-sounding, straightahead pop effort from the usually ethereal Anderson. The result is about half and half: when writing with Dozier, Anderson expresses conventional romantic sentiments, for which he doesn't really have a feel. His tenor is so chaste and angelic, it's hard for him to be believable on earthly love songs. And soon enough, especially on later tracks, Anderson is once again in spiritual outer space, where he seems most comfortable. The compromise, however, did not appeal to fans, who avoided this album.

Also known as Jethro Tull: This Is the First 20 Years. It consists of interviews with fans, record company executives and frontman Ian Anderson giving a rough chronology of the band, interspersed with clips from music videos and live performances…

Greatest Hits is a fine overview of Fleetwood Mac's hitmaking years, containing the bulk of the group's Top 40 hits of the late '70s and '80s, including "Over My Head," "Rhiannon," "Say You Love Me," "Go Your Own Way," "Dreams," "Don't Stop," "Tusk," "Sara," "Hold Me," "Gypsy," and "Little Lies." Minor hits like "Think About Me," "Love in Store," and "Seven Wonders" are missing, making room for the new songs "As Long as You Follow" (which actually became a hit) and "No Questions Asked," but overall, Greatest Hits is an excellent choice for casual listeners. WEA released a version of Greatest Hits in 2006 that included the bonus track "Oh Diane".

The German Electronics artist Robert Schroeder (discovered 1978 by EM pioneer Klaus Schulze) has produced numerous excellent solo CDs as well as his success album Double Fantasy / Universal Ave., which reached the US Charts in the end of the 80s. The music of Robert Schroeder is various, but always soulful. He combines spherical synthesizer sounds with modern rhythmical contrasts, often supplemented by spacey guitars and sometimes also by piano, cello or voices. Schroeder's music spectrum includes Electronic, Ambient, Chill-Out, Lounge, Adventure and Trip-Hop. Electronic Music in the widest sense is the musical style of this artist who has his roots in the music of Klaus Schulze, Can and Pink Floyd.

Accidentally on Purpose is an album by Deep Purple members Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, released in February 1988 on Virgin Records. The track "Lonely Avenue" appeared on the soundtrack to Rain Man featuring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. The track "Telephone Box" reached No. 15 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart.

Clara Mondshine is the artistic name of Walter Bachauer. Legendary German project signed on Klaus Schulze's Innovative Communication. A great mixture between spaced out synthesized atmospheres, dark exoticism and avant garde. In the realm of the "Berlin school" and kraut-electro based artists(Conrad Schnitzler, Moebius, Michael Hoenig…)