StunLeer – Once (1998)
Requested by one of you, here’s a band / album deserving better exposure: StunLeer‘s CD “Once“. While appeared in 1998, the music & production packed inside is pure late ’80s akin Danger Danger and
Def Leppard.
This American melodic hard rock band was fronted by excellent vocalist Doug Howard, former singer for pomp masters Touch (Mark Mangold band), and unfortunately “Once” appeared during the dark ages for this type of music. But the album worked very well in Europe and Japan.
As said, the massive layers of processed backing vocals bring to mind Def Lepp, but also Giant, Tour De Force, synth-era Van Halen, etc. If you love this genre there isn’t a weak track here, and production is top notch.
The CD opens with the stunningly-awesome melodic rocker ‘Love Is A Liar’, a big, over-the-top, Def Leppard-esque anthem that sounds like pure heaven, followed by the edgy ‘Go Don’t Go’, another punchy piece of late ’80s rock. From here the album turns more melodic, AOR oriented. Just check ‘If You Want Love’ (with some 1986 Van Halen on it), ‘No Words Can Say’, the huge backing vocals on ‘Love is a Liar’ or ‘Hungry Eyes”, or the killer midtempo AOR of ‘Eye To Eye’.
No filler – all killer… that’s StunLeer’s “Once”, an album where the catchy hooks, sing-along choruses, and layered backing vocals rule.
Awesome album!
HIGHLY Recommended
01 – Love Is A Liar
02 – Go Don t Go
03 – If You Want Love
04 – Eye To Eye
05 – Foolin’
06 – No Words Can Say
07 – Come To Me
08 – All The King s Horses
09 – Hungry Eyes
10 – Deliver
Doug Howard – vocals
Michael McCabe – guitars
Paul Michael – bass
Anthony Resta – drums, percussion
Paul Cervone – synthesizers
Derek Blevens – drums on tracks 3 and 9
Brian Rahilly – guitar solo on track 4
out of print
