ONLY CHILD (Paul Sabu) – Only Child [YesterRock remaster + ZRecords remaster bonuses] HQ

And here’s the requested Paul Sabu gem of an album, the self-titled ONLY CHILD album remastered by YesterRock Records plus 2 bonus tracks. The album was re-released a year after by Z Records with their own remastering, adding 3 different bonus. All of them are included here as well as extras.
After his acclaimed ‘Heartbreak’ solo album, Paul Sabu wanted to create a band to stand out into the competitive Melodic Hard Rock American scene.
ONLY CHILD was formed in 1987, still with drummer Charles Esposito who played on the previous Sabu record, joined by Tommy Rude on keyboards and Murrill Maglio on bass.

The band’s self titled debut become a true classic, regarded as Paul Sabu’s best ever work. “Only Child” is a fantastic slice of pure US Melodic Hard Rock / AOR driven by sharp guitars and big keyboard arrangements.
The entree of “Just Ask” is brilliant. Big sounding, lots of depth, fat keyboards, and a great chorus. “Always” is a smoother radio friendly piece, with an arrangement similar to Strangeways.

The pair of “I Wanna Touch” and “Love To The Limit” are great moments too. The former has a classic AOR song structure with a strong pre-chorus/bridge ultimately leading into a memorable chorus. The latter track is chuggin’ hard rocker with strong keyboard layers. It’s definitely a buoyant piece of music.

“I Believe In You” is perhaps one of the definitive AOR moments onboard, with a chorus like this it’s no wonder: ‘I believe in you, do you believe in me, hearts running with the night..’. Again, it features a hooky keyboard sequence just prior to the solo.
“Scream Until You Like It” was previously known recorded by WASP, and though this version is heavy, it’s way too melodic and has a touch too much keyboard.
The original disc finish up with the anthemic “Shot Heard Around The World”, delivering a heavy dose of AOR keyboards to die for.

“Only Child” debut is a must have in any serious Melodic Hard Rock / AOR collection. Not in vain was listed in the prestigious Kerrang! Magazine in their top-40 list of AOR albums of all times, ended in the 22nd place.
This reissue sounds terrific, with the addition of some bonus tracks subsequently recorded for the second disc of the band, all matching the high quality standards from the main album.
Without a doubt an all-time classic, the definition of perfect ’80s AOR Melodic Rock if you ask me.
Essential

01 – Just Ask
02 – Always
03 – I Wanna Touch
04 – I Remember The Night
05 – Love To The Limit
06 – I Believe In You
07 – Save A Place In Your Heart
08 – Rebel Eyes
09 – Scream Until You Like It
10 – Shot Heard Around The World
11 – Young Guns (bonus track)
12 – Vice Versa (bonus track)

0dayrox extras:
13 – Lucky in Love (Z Records Bonus Track)
14 – In My Blood (Z Records Bonus Track)
15 – A Word to the Wise (Z Records Bonus Track)

Paul Sabu – vocals, guitars
Tommy Rude – keyboards, backing vocals
Murrill Maglio – bass, backing vocals
Charles Esposito – drums, backing vocals

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www.amazon.de/Only-Child/dp/B003VPR8NS