THUNDER – The Thrill Of It All [2-CD Enhanced Special Edition remastered]

And with this we complete the requested remastered reissues of British Melodic Hard Rock giants THUNDER: “The Thrill Of It All [2-CD Enhanced Special Edition remastered]”.
Thunder’s fourth studio album is the last being remastered, with this 2-CD Expanded Edition packing a bonus disc including B-sides, deluxe edition extras and the exclusive, original Japan edition Bonus Track.

Produced by lead guitarist Luke Morley, “The Thrill Of It All” was initially only released in Japan by Victor Entertainment in 1996, with the European release by Castle Communications (under the band’s B Lucky new own label) following on 2 February 1997.

Unlike they did on previous albums Laughing On Judgement Day and Behind Closed Doors, Thunder vocalist Danny Bowes and second guitarist Ben Matthews did not contribute to songwriting – all songs were written primarily by main songwriter Morley, with drummer Gary “Harry” James co-writing four tracks.
Due to personal reasons which eventually led to his departure in the summer of 1996, bassist Mikael “Micke” Höglund did not perform on the album, with all bass recorded by Morley.

By 1996, on “The Thrill Of It All” Thunder started to take a more British classic rock approach, as the hard rock sound of the late 80s / early 90s was pretty much fade away.
However, and despite its bluesy foundation, half of the songs here still delivers that kind of classic hard riffs we love so much.

Kicking it off the right way with ‘Pilot Of My Dreams’ – containing some of the best background vocals / chorus on the CD with the incessant ‘Get down, get down, get down’, this record oozes class from start to finish.
There’s fun rockers in ‘Welcome to the Party’ and ‘Cosmetic Punk’, while title track is a superb midtempo tune.

“Love Worth Dying For” is easily one of my favorite Thunder ballads, still sending thrills to my spine each time I listen to. This song worth this album alone.
Another fav of mine is the great ‘Something About You’, which always remind me of classic Boston / Scholz, featuring a smooth Danny Bowes vocal performance.

This 2CD release includes excellent bonuses; ‘Don’t Wait Up for Me’ (Extended Version), ‘Hirsute Boogie’ and ‘Every Word’s a Lie’ (B-Sides of ‘Don’t Wait Up…’), ‘Somebody to Love’ and ‘Lethal Combination’ (B-Sides of ‘Love Worth Dying For’), ‘Something About You’ & ‘Bring It on Home’ (Acoustic Versions).

And one of my favorites is the rocker ‘Too Bad’ (original Japan Bonus Track), featuring former producer (and ex Duran Duran / The Power Station) Andy Taylor dropping a hot guest guitar solo.

Thunder’s “The Thrill Of It All” is British classic rock galore, sporting an immaculate production and meticulous songcraft. The album make it a huge smash in Japan, and it wasn’t released in America turning it very hard to find in the USA.
This “The Thrill Of It All [2-CD Enhanced Special Edition remastered]” is the one to get, one of the Rock albums recorded during the mid-Nineties that better stand the test of time.
It’s Thunder, it’s all good.
Highly Recommended

CD 1 : The Thrill Of It All digitally remastered
01 – Pilot Of My Dreams
02 – Living For Today
03 – Love Worth Dying For
04 – Don’t Wait Up
05 – Something About You
06 – Welcome To The Party
07 – The Thrill Of It All
08 – Hotter Than The Sun
09 – This Forgotten Town
10 – Cosmetic Punk
11 – You Can’t Live Your Life In A Day

CD 2 : B-Sides and Bonus Tracks
01 – Don’t Wait Up (Extended Version)
02 – Hirsute Boogie
03 – Every Word’s A Lie
04 – Somebody To Love
05 – Lethal Combination
06 – Love Worth Dying For (Acoustic Version)
07 – Something About You (Acoustic Version)
08 – Bring It On Home (Acoustic Version)
09 – You Can’t Live Your Live In A Day (Acoustic Version)
10 – Too Bad (original Japan Bonus Track)

Danny Bowes – vocals
Luke Morley – guitar, bass, production
Ben Matthews – guitar, keyboards
Gary “Harry” James – drums, percussion
with:
Ellie Lawson – backing vocals
Andy Taylor – additional guitar (“Too Bad”)

BUY IT !
www.amazon.co.uk/Thrill-All-Thunder/dp/B0002ADXU2
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