Save Me (1993)

A welcome return after a long absence. The 13 song CD opens with "Only Love Can Save Me" which is probably not the most convincing number on the album, though it does grow on you with listening. The next two songs are Ballard at his best. "Stay With Me Tonight" and "Vibrate" are uptempo catchy beasts that stick in the mind. On the whole this is an album that you have to listen to a few times to get into it. The effort is worthwhile because this is undoubtedly an excellent collection of new songs, six co-written with Chris Winter.

Power pop is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It originated in the mid 1960s as young music fans began to rebel against the emerging pretensions of rock music, and developed mainly among American musicians who came of age during the British Invasion. The genre typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and "happy"-sounding music underpinned by a sense of yearning, longing, or despair.

Angel X, also known as: Angel, Angel Hard, Andy Jonas and Andreas Harde, is member of German pop group "Tagträumer". He was also involved in Michael Cretu's project Enigma in 1993 when he sang the lead vocals on "Return To Innocence". Angel X also worked as a backing vocalist for German pop star Sandra in the 90's. In 1993, Michael Cretu and Jens Gad produced Angel X's first and only solo album "Welcome To The Soul Asylum", but without success.

While Tad Morose would eventually become a pretty straight forward heavy metal band, they started out with a string of sort-of-progressive metal albums in the 90’s. Their 1993 debut, "Leaving the Past Behind" plays like a bunch of Metallica riffs, stitched together in a vaguely progressive fashion with some Tony Martin era Black Sabbath style vocals and a lot of cheesy keyboard atmospherics on top. There’s a certain soulful edge to many of the vocal melodies (especially the choruses) and some tender keyboard melodies, even though the riffs are often rather muscular in style. This dynamic creates a certain tension and release effect, where melodic choruses and keyboard passages stand in contrast to the choppy, lumbering, heavy passages.