CHARLOTTE – Self-Titled [Eonian Records remaster] (2022)

CHARLOTTE was founded in 1986 when singer Eric Ganza, Nick DiBacco (guitar) and Vinnie Cacciotti (guitar) got together in L.A. In the next four years the band managed to record an album professionally produced and many other songs.
Now 2022 Eönian Records are releasing “Charlotte”, a collection of the band’s favorite songs from the era, digitally remastered. With tracks produced by the likes of Marc DeSisto (Don Henley, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, U2), Allen Zentz (BB King, Billy Joel, KISS) and Mike Wolf (Britton, King Kobra) and with a bright remastering job, the sound quality of this album is top notch.
This is very good ’80s / early 90s US melodic hard rock with a bluesy grit and glammy glow touches, driven by sharp guitar riffs and colorful vocals.

The CHARLOTTE story in fact began in upstate New York in 1984 when Ganz and Shawn Ferjanec (bass) formed the band right out of high school with the pair being joined by Vinnie Cacciotti (guitar), and Dave Bazicki (drums).
Relocating to Los Angeles in the autumn of 1986, CHARLOTTE would go through several rhythm sections until the lineup of Ganz, DiBacco, Cacciotti, ex-Masi member Chris Colovas (bass) and Eric D. Brewton (drums) was complete.

After a year or so in Los Angeles, CHARLOTTE began the transition from what had been a glam image to something less interested in fitting into the scene and much more focused on the music. “We transformed pretty quickly,” Eric confirms, “and never really considered ourselves a “hair” or metal band but simply a ROCK band, nothing more nothing less.”

With a unique sound influenced by Great White, Guns N’ Roses, and Led Zeppelin, they quickly garnered barrels of buzz and rode the wave of their rapidly rising popularity to other gigs, including renowned venues like the Whisky a Go Go, Roxy, Troubadour, and FM Station, to name just a few.
During their intense drive to grab metal’s elusive brass ring, they opened for the likes of XYZ, Vixen, EZO, and Paul Stanley, among others. Through it all, they were never content to follow the trend, always staying true to themselves and delivering vibrant, creative hard rock music.

Brave souls from Arista Records, Giant, and Mercury all nibbled, but none of them were quite brave enough to take that final step and give the band a shot.
Despite major buzz, despite selling out every venue they played, despite magazines like Metalized, Metal Forces, and Rock Scene hailing CHARLOTTE as the next big thing, it just never happened.
But that was the band’s choice anyway, as they refused to turn more ‘radio-friendly’, join the hair metal bandwagon and keep making the brand of classic bluesy hard rock they loved to.
Highly Recommended

01 – Siren
02 – Medusa Groove
03 – Zoo of Hearts
04 – Little Devils
05 – Woman Behind the Eyes
06 – When I Need You
07 – Got Love on the Line
08 – Miss Necrophilia
09 – She Get it Up
10 – Changes
11 – Roadhouse of Love
12 – Mistreated
13 – Rock City USA
14 – Tough Love
15 – Vicious Nature
16 – She’s On Fire
17 – All Tied Up

Eric Ganz – Lead Vocals
Nick DiBacco – Guitar
Vinnie Cacciotti – Guitar
Chris Colovas – Bass
Eric D. Brewton – Drums

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www.eonianrecords.com/charlotte