LIGHTYEARS – Lightyears [Retrospect Limited Collector’s Edition]

Hailing from the US Pacific Northwest (Everett, Washington) female fronted melodic rock outfit LIGHTYEARS professionally recorded their self-titled debut album between 1983-1984 but never got released. However, the band members kept the master tapes and finally these songs were remastered and put on CD by Retrospect Records.

LIGHTYEARS formed in 1980 and since the beginning the group was influenced by the pomp AOR sound of the era, something you can hear in on several songs here like ‘One and Only’, ‘Northwind’ (with that mysterious synths at the start) or the heavily keyboard-driven – and one of my favorites – ‘Rerun’, with some of New England on it but with female vocals.

Other tracks are straight melodic rock oriented with that 1984 typical US sound such as closer ‘Breakaway’ (a winner with a true 80s feel), the anthemic ‘Fools Gold’, the futuristic ‘‘1994’, a dynamic number titled ‘Seven Tomorrow’, and the power ballad ‘When You Love’.

Dana Cairns’ voice brings to mind Toronto’s Holly Woods at places, and the rest of the guys are solid players and arrangers, especially keyboardist Robert Hornack – one of the founder members and songwriter.
The sound quality is good considering the reel-to-reel tape started sticking together over the years.
An obscure yet interesting pompy melodic rock female fronted band deserving to be heard.
Highly Recommended

 

01. Fools Gold
02. One and Only
03. Northwind
04. Seven Tomorrow
05. 1994
06. When You Love
07. Spaceship Ride
08. Lightyears
09. Rerun
10. Breakaway

Dana Cairns – vocals, keyboards
Lonnie Mueller – electric and acoustic guitars
Dennis Coile – bass
Paul Buchignani – drums
Robert Hornack – keyboards, analog synths

 

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www.amazon.com/Lightyears-LIGHTYEARS/dp/B002C4YYSG