Rocky 1985

1982 was an interesting year for mainstream rock. Listeners were still a few years away from the chart-topping pop-metal bands, and a few years removed from the oft-indulgent '70s rock era. As a result, people were left with an era that was mostly populated by bands that wore headbands and largely modeled their sound after Foreigner. In other words – bands that attempted to appeal to both the pop and rock audiences, by combining arena-worthy choruses and tough guitar riffs, topped off with a healthy scoop of melody. A perfect example would be Survivor, and their third release overall, Eye of the Tiger. With the group's first two releases barely causing a ripple on the charts, it was Tiger that catapulted the band to the top, thanks to the chart-topping title track, which was used as the theme song to the hit movie Rocky III the same year.

Featuring shorter compositions and an increasingly lyrical lexicon of electronic sounds, Le Parc has more in common with the burgeoning new age movement than Tangerine Dream's earlier, eerier work. The songs are essentially musical postcards from great parks around the world, though the focus is on the mood generated by these places rather than a literal translation of geographic qualities. Thus, "Yellowstone Park" is rendered with an American Indian spirituality, "Zen Garden" is peaceful and mysterious, "Central Park" highly stylized and danceable. Tangerine Dream's music in recent years had shifted toward more accessible and melodic arrangements, so coming from the vantage point of a Phaedra or Stratosfear, the music on Le Parc could be viewed as a considerable "dumbing down" of their artistic origins…

Replacing singer Dave Bickler with former Cobra vocalist Jimi Jamison paid off for Survivor, giving them three Top 20 singles from Jamison's debut on 1984's Vital Signs. His high harmonies, added to the group's well-maintained keyboard/guitar style, threw them into the ring with bands like Styx and Foreigner. Both "High on You" and "I Can't Hold Back" are built on congenial rock charm with an AOR dressiness, using the synthesizer to guide Jamison's energetic singing. Along the same lines as Journey's "Open Arms," the delicate but sternly sung ballad "The Search Is Over" gave them a number four single in May of 1985, bettered only by the number two placing of "Burning Heart" from the Rocky IV soundtrack a year later.

Three CD clamshell boxed set ‘Dreamworkers of Time – The BBC Recordings 1985-1995’ features all of Hawkwind’s live recordings and sessions made by the BBC between 1985 and 1995.

Esoteric Recordings’ Reactive label is pleased to announce the release of a newly re-mastered 4 CD clamshell boxed set which gathers together the first four legendary albums by Tangerine Dream, originally released on the Jive Electro label between 1985 and 1987, known by fans as “The Blue Years” albums.