ANDY QUNTA – Legend In A Loungeroom [2-CD Deluxe Edition remastered] (2021) **HQ**

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‘MelodicRock Classics’ Records just reissued, remastered for the first time ‘Legend In A Loungeroom’, the only solo album from English musician ANDY QUNTA. While the record originally released in 1989 isn’t a ‘melodic rock classic’, its is for sure a ‘cult album’ much sought after by fans of the genre and that polished lite AOR sound from that year.
And the good news are we have a ”Legend In A Loungeroom [2-CD Deluxe Edition remastered]”, yes, a 2-CD Deluxe Edition including a bonus disc of previously unreleased material, with most of the songs featuring lead vocals by the unique Chris Thompson.
Having worked with top names in the industry as musician or songwriter – Qunta co-wrote the timeless hit ‘You’re The Voice’ made famous by John Farnham, Icehouse’s 80s hit ‘Crazy’, among other well known songs – Andy got the chance for his solo LP, and on ‘Legend In A Loungeroom’ he doesn’t disappoints, helped by class session cats like Tim Pierce, Skunk Baxter (Doobie Bros, Steely Dan) on guitar, Denny Fongheiser (Heart, Eric Martin) on drums, Gary Falcone (Jason Scheff, Stan Bush), etc.

Andy has one of the most interesting and complex bio’s of any artist. Andy Qunta (pronounced Coonta) is a citizen of the world and an artist with a long list of credits going back to the early 70s. His first band was Factory, then joining the Hazel O’Connor band.
He met Manfred Mann vocalist Chris Thompson in New Zealand in 1982, which lead to a writing partnership that continues today.

That same year Andy become the keyboard player for Australian melodic rock legends Icehouse, helping to propel them through their most popular and critically acclaimed phase, as well as writing the hit ‘Crazy’ from the ‘Man Of Colours’ album, before departing in 1988.

Andy with Chris Thompson, along with singer Maggie Ryder (Eurythmics) and lyricist Keith Reid (Procul Harum/Whiter Shade of Pale) wrote the now iconic song ‘You’re the Voice’, originally made into a mega-hit by John Farnham, but also covered by Heart, Chris Thompson, David Foster and countless others.
Andy’s other songs have also been recorded by mega-artists including John Waite (Take Me Home), Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (Tribal Statistics) and John Farnham (Don’t Tell Me It Can’t Be Done).

In 1989, Andy headed to Los Angeles to record a solo album, titled ‘Legend In A Loungeroom’. The album featuring a lineup including Tony Qunta, Jeff Skunk Baxter (Doobie Bros, Steely Dan), Guy Pratt (Icehouse, Pink Floyd), Scott Page (Pink Floyd, Supertramp), Steve Milbacher, Paulinho da Costa (Madonna, Sting), Tim Pierce (Meatloaf, Crowded House), & Denny Fongheiser (Tracy Chapman, Heart).
A video for first single, ‘Thing About You’ was shot in Sydney and Melbourne. The song started getting heavy airplay in Australia before legal wrangles with Executive Producers cause project to be shelved. The album was dead in the water before being released in Europe on German label, without the artist’s knowledge.

The idea of a Deluxe Edition re-issue was floated for years, with the MRC pitching the idea of using some songwriter demos as bonus tracks. What wasn’t expected was the number of the demos uncovered by Andy, which lead to this ‘special event’ double CD coming to fruition, with some mega-star performances featured.

So the project quickly expanded to a double disc – with the original album given a refresh remaster by JK Northrup and preserved on Disc One, with the Bonus Demos gathered on Disc Two, featuring the vocals of Andy, Chris Thompson, Maggie Ryder and others, plus guest musicians such as Brett Garsed (Nelson, John Farnham), Steve Hogarth (Marillion), Guy Pratt (Icehouse, Pink Floyd, Madonna) and more.
Highly Recommended

Disc One – Legend In A Loungeroom (2021 Remaster)
01 – Take Me Home
02 – Come Back Baby
03 – Thing About You
04 – Waiting for the Storm
05 – Tightrope
06 – Sooner or Later
07 – Empty Words
08 – Free the Bird
09 – Take This Heart
10 – Legend in a Loungeroom
11 – These Are the Days (bonus track)
12 – Midnight (bonus track)

Disc Two – The Songwriter Demos
01. You’re The Voice (Featuring Chris Thompson)
02. Time Flies (Featuring Vince Ruby)
03. Good Love (Featuring Maggie Ryder)
04. You’re Strong (Featuring Chris Thompson)
05. Someone Is Missing (Andy Qunta)
06. Don’t Tell Me (It Can’t Be Done) (Featuring Chris Thompson)
07. Won’t Let It Rain (Featuring Angie Giles)
08. Win Or Lose (Featuring Vince Ruby)
09. On A Distant Shore (Andy Qunta)
10. Better Way (Featuring Chris Thompson)
11. Ghost Of Your Love (Featuring Fergus Harper)
12. The Wanting (Is Too Strong) (Featuring Maggie Ryder)
13. Wheel Of Fortune (Andy Qunta)
14. Don’t Turn Away (Featuring Chris Thompson)
15. How Come You Don’t Understand Me (Featuring Maggie Ryder)

Andy Qunta: Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar
Tim Pierce: Lead & Rhythm Guitars
Jeff Skunk Baxter (Doobie Bros, Steely Dan): Guitar
Tony Qunta: Lead & Rhythm Guitars
Paulinho da Costa: Percussion
Guy Pratt (Icehouse, Pink Floyd): Bass, Fretless
Denny Fongheiser (Heart, Eric Martin): Drums
Scott Page (Robert Tepper, Marilyn Martin): Sax
Steve Milbacher: Keyboards, String arrangements
Gary Falcone (Stan Bush): Background Vocals
Joe Pizzulo (Stan Bush, Eric Martin): Background Vocals

Out of Print