Buxton - Nothing Here Seems Strange - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

+/- - +/- [COMPACT DISCS] date 04/16/2002

Special Limited Deluxe Collector's Edition / Five bonus tracks / Fully Remastered Sound shaped from 24 BIT digital technology / 12 page full color booklet - 4,000 word essay, enhanced artwork, memorabilia, rare photos and full involvement from the artist. NOT FOR want of trying, the British melodic rock scene was - post NWOBHM - eclipsed by the great American AOR sound of the early eighties. With bands such as Boston, Foreigner, Journey and Survivor enjoying serious chart action across the great divide, a new wave of melodic British hard rock band tried to muscle in on the action and prove to our American cousins that we could do the job just as well. Enter Strangeways, a Scottish based quartet with an eagle eye on the big prize. Based in Glasgow, the band's ambition was as far reaching as their music, writing and demoing until they found a home with production / management company Bonaire, the people behind popular Canadian pomp rockers Saga. Paired with renowned producer Kevin Elson (Journey, Europe etc) the band cut this, their debut album, in Zurich, Switzerland and finished it in Pete Townshend's Eel Pie and the Kinks Konk studios, London.

2010 full-length from San Francisco's Fresh & Onlys. After two albums and too many singles and EPs to count, The Fresh & Onlys deliver their most solid outing yet. Recorded by studio whiz Tim Green during an eight-day session, Play It Strange marks the band's first recording in an actual recording studio. The results are nothing short of incredible. For those unfamiliar with The Fresh & Onlys, their sound draws from jangly Psychedelia, Morricone-style Western twang, dark vibes a la Bad Seeds / Gun Club, melodic '60s sunshine pop and a hint of garage rock swagger. While this disparate list may look strange on paper, it makes perfect sense when you hear it.