This week on The Collection, we are talking one of my all time favorite singers and one of the nicest guys in the world…Paul Laine. I’ve followed Paul since his debut solo album in 1990 all the way to today through his bands Danger Danger, The Defiants, Dark Horse, Shugaazer and everything else. We go through his catalog so join me and I hope you discover something you’ve been missing.
So go check it out as it will be live tonight at 7pm, April 21, 2025 on YouTube. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
And if you want to watch the Interview I did with Mike Ladano 4 years ago with Paul Laine, check it out below…it was a blast!!
Welcome to a the series I have on YouTube called Retro Rock Reviews. Each week, we pick an album and do a quick review. They won’t be long shows, something quick and fun to get you through your day. For Episode 5, we jump to the 80’s after spending several weeks in the late 60’s, early 70’s. We talk The Cars’ fifth album, ‘Heartbeat City’. The band exploded with help from legendary producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange. The album was released on March 13, 1984 and spawned not one, not two, but six singles, two of which reached the Top 10 on the Top 40. The album sold over 4 million copies going 4 x’s Platinum in the U.S. alone.
So go check it out as it is live now on September 5, 2024 at Noon. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
For My Sunday Song #413, we are tackling the power ballad “Another Time, Another Place” by The Defiants. The song is off the band’s third and latest album, ‘Drive’ and it was written by Bruno Ravel and Paul Laine. You have Paul on vocals and keyboards, Bruno Ravel on bass and Rob Marcello on guitars with Van Romaine on drums. The song did not chart and heck I don’t even know if it was a single, but I do know that if this song was released in the mid to late 80’s it would be #1.
The song is about a love that could have been and doesn’t fall in to the abyss of a love that never was. There was someone in the past that he can’t stop thinking about and he longs for her, but they never became lovers. He dreams about that time in the future in another time and another place where that longing gets fulfilled and they fall in love and are together forever and a day. It is rather heartbreaking to want someone so much and long for them like that and yet nothing to satisfy that desire…at least not yet.
This is more like a Journey ballad as “Another Time, Another Place” might be the best ballad by any band in decades. Yes, it is that good to me. Steve Perry look out. I get lost in the chorus as Paul’s vocals will take over your ears and surround you in comfort and a magical bliss. The chorus is huge and so catchy. It draws you in and won’t let go. The scream Paul has at the end is such a surprise and so cool. I mean it isn’t Rob Halford type of cool, but still pretty awesome. The song is pure perfection again. When it comes on and I’m driving in my car, I keep hitting repeat and can never get enough. It usually accompanies for the rest of the drive. “Drive”…isn’t that the name of the album…how funny.
The boys are back with their third album. The boys, of course, are Paul Laine, Bruno Ravel and Rob Marcello or more properly known as The Defiants. The band was brought together back in 2016 thanks to Frontiers Records. I was worried this was going to be a one and done, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.
I spoke with Paul Laine a couple years ago and I knew he was working on this album. And about 6 months later, when I was exchanging emails with him, he was coming up on his deadline to submit the album to Frontiers. He seemed a little stressed, but in a good way. This was around January 2022. I am not sure what happened, but the album didn’t see the light of day for another 18 months. I hope to talk with him again soon and I will make sure to see what was going on. Regardless, as of June 7, 2023, we have the new Defiants album and I couldn’t be happier.
The guys had worked together before in a band called Danger Danger, you remember them from the late 80’s and 90’s. The Defiants were made to recapture that 80’s rock magic and capture it they did. I will try not to be biased as I am a huge Paul Laine fan and I pretty much love everything he does and there is a reason for that…he is one of the best vocalists in the business and his voice gets stronger as he ages. He does not disappoint here either. In fact no one does. This is my album of the Summer and in fact, could wind up as album of the Year. Yes, I said it! And here’s why…
The album opens with a scorcher in “Hey Life” which is a massive anthemic rocker. And listen to that opening guitar riff…does it not sound like “Rise” by Extreme??? Which is wild as both albums came out on the same day. Paul’s vocals soar as he tells life to get out of his way. The drums are pounding, the guitars are a rip-roaring shredfest and the song makes a massive opening statement.
The Scorpions were in a mood to keep doing things their own way and after doing an album and touring the classically orchestrated Scorpions rock, they decided to strip it all back and do some shows acoustically. The band performed 3 shows at the Convento do Beato in Lisbon, Portugal in February 2001 and those shows were recorded. From those 3 shows, the album called “Acoustica” was made. The album was released a few months later on May 14, 2001.
The show was a little unusual for the band as it was just the normal guys. Yes, Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker, Mathias Jabs, Ralph Rieckermann and James Kottak performed, but they weren’t alone. The actually had three guitarists and the third was Johan Daansen which really fills the songs up with that acoustic guitar sound. On keyboards was Christian Kolonovitis who also helped the band arrange the songs for the acoustic set. Christian was also the one who was the conductor and arranged the Scorpions songs for the Moment of Glory Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra album the prior year. James might have been on drums, but they also had a percussionist by the name of Mario Argandona. And to fill up the stage even more, there was a cellist, Ariana Acu and a group of female vocalists to help with backing vocals. They were Hille Bemelmanns, Liv Van Aelst and Kristel Van Craen. They really went all out to bring a different experience and I would say it worked pretty well.
The band also were great in giving us a few things extra on this release. We got the biggest hits, no doubt, but that wasn’t all. We actually were treated to 3 brand new songs (four if you got the DVD). And on top of that, we got a handful of great covers from The Cars, Kansas and Queen. With all that, it made this a very worthwhile purchase to get all the songs we hadn’t heard before. But was it all worth it? Let’s see.
The set opens with “The Zoo” and it has this cool groove which is almost like ‘Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles. Then we get the ballad “Always Somewhere” and the crowd claps along and at times sings along, there are female backing vocals and Klaus sounds stellar. Ballads usually work well in the acoustic setting and this one is no different. After this one we get the first of three new songs. First one up is “Life is Too Short” and this one brings some string orchestration. It is another ballad but it really shows the maturity of the band. I would really love to hear a studio version as this is really a great song. The chorus is really catchy which helps draw you in and as the song builds it just keeps getting better.
Alright…You Picked It! This one was really close as we almost ended in a tie, but one edged out the pack by one little vote. The one vote that made it not a tie was someone said that they wanted either one album or another that I should pick, so I always go with the first name on the choices. If I didn’t, we would’ve ended in a tie. The winner for this month’s picks ended up being The Cars with ‘Heartbeat City’ and I am real excited about this one. Here are the results.
The Cars – ‘Heartbeat City’ – 8 votes
Prince – ‘Purple Rain’ – 7 votes
Genesis – ‘Invisible Touch’ – 3 votes
U2 – ‘The Joshua Tree’ – 2 votes
Bryan Adams – ‘Reckless’ – 2 Votes
Thanks to all for participating. The February choices will be up on Saturday! And the choices are all now from my collection and the next one will be some albums I have from the 90’s but probably not the ones you’d expect. Hopefully you can help me decide which one I should review.
THE CARS – ‘HEARTBEAT CITY’ (1984):
The Cars were now on their fifth studio album by 1984 and they made some changes with this one. Long time producer, Roy Thomas Baker, was replaced with some dude name Mutt…that is right…Mutt…Robert John “Mutt” Lange. I think you’ve heard of him before. Mutt had just come off Def Leppard’s album ‘Pyromania’ so he was one of the hottest producers around, plus he had done ‘Back in Black’ and “For Those About to Rock, We Salute You” by AC/DC, ‘4’ by Foreigner and ‘High & Dry’ by Def Leppard. Just a few massive albums. With Mutt signing on to do this album, he had to turn down Def Leppard’s next album ‘Hysteria’…but delay after delay allowed him to eventually join in and help with that mind blowing album.
But the Cars were different, they pure pop. They were not a hard rock band. The Cars also co-produced with the album as well. I do know that Mutt’s influence on here is huge and obvious at times as I can hear hints of his other work in these songs. This saw the band return to form and even see elements of their debut on here as well. It might be slick and polished, but is quite incredible too! If this isn’t their best album, it is pretty damn near close.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 