ROBERT TEPPER – No Easy Way Out [YesterRock remaster]

Requested by many, here’s ROBERT TEPPER’s 1986 debut album “No Easy Way Out” digitally remastered by YesterRock Records. The title track become a Top 30 single featured in the blockbuster movie Rocky IV.
Robert Tepper (born Antonie Roberto Teppardo), raised up in New Jersey. He began his career as a writer in New York City and paired up with Benny Mardones.
Together they wrote the hit ‘Into The Night’ (which earned a Grammy nomination) and Tepper also was part of Mardones’ band playing bass on many of the songs on that album.
Afterwards, Robert also was a partner on Benny’s 1981 follow-up album Too Much To Lose, then departed to L.A. for a solo career.

In 1985 Tepper signed a record deal with Scotti Brothers. The day when Sylvester Stallone listened to the track “No Easy Way Out”, he chose the song for the Rocky IV Soundtrack.
“No Easy Way Out” became one of the biggest hits in 1986. The single climbed into the US Top 30. But there’s much more on this great album.

The production by Joe Chicarelli is huge but detailed and cinematic, and has loads of atmosphere which makes you feel you are in the seediest parts of a big city like Los Angeles or New York.
The key players are originally from the late great Van Stephenson band who later became Giant; awesome guitarist Dann Huff and keyboardist Alan Pasqua, as well as terrific drummer Carlos Vega and Myron Grombacher, who played on all those classic Pat Benatar records… they really packs a wallop like you are being hit in the ring by Rocky himself.
There are also harmonies by Van Stephenson himself, as well as David & David which is where the atmosphere comes from.

Since the opening title track you notice the adrenaline running fast, and for all 9 songs and 38 minutes, doesn’t let up. All killer, no filler.
“Angel Of The City” was also used in another Stallone film (Cobra) and packs that lovely action movie feel so ’80s.
I really love “Don’t Walk Away” with similar but different elements as the prior 2 songs and a catchy-as-hell chorus & passionate delivery of Robert’s go-for-broke vocals… great keyboard lines and those ‘big’ drums!

Track 4 is “Your Love Hurts”, the first ballad with a killer vocal and a multi-part backing chorus that makes an impact. “Restless World”, a cool atmospheric midtempo rocker, opens with Tepper delivering a smooth spoken word passage before the drums and guitars kick in to rock.
“Hopeless Romantic” is very Van Stephenson with an AOR aura, then comes another monster track called “Soul Survivor”. What a great song. Melodic, haunting and hard-hitting all at once.

“If That’s What You Call Lovin'” is a ballad-of-sorts yet quite intense, with lyrics that portray his woman as a maneater and he wants to get out of there fast.
With “Domination” and its booming drums plus Tepper’s seething vocals, this album leaves a deep impression when it’s over. I can’t think of any other record like this one from the mid-Eighties, stylistically & in intensity as this one.

Thanks to the kind collaboration between YesterRock and Sony Music Germany, this album is available again and now digitally remastered in all its glory.
“No Easy Way Out” is without any doubt a must have for any lover of ’80s bombastic productions going from Melodic Rock and AOR to punchy rock&pop.
It would be classified as a ‘classic need‘ to have in your music inventory.

01 – No Easy Way Out
02 – Angel Of The City
03 – Don’t Walk Away
04 – Your Love Hurts
05 – Restless World
06 – Hopless Romantic
07 – Soul Survivor
08 – If That’s What You Call Lovin’
09 – Domination

Robert Tepper (Vocals)
Dann Huff, Guy Marshall, Eric Williams (Guitar)
Alan Pasqua (Keyboards)
Tim Landers (Bass)
Carlos Vega, Myron Grombacher (Drums)
Steve Reid (Percussion)
Van Stephenson, David & David (Backing Vocals)

BUY IT
www.jpc.de/jpcng/poprock/detail/-/art/Robert-Tepper-No-Easy-Way-Out/hnum/4896547