Frontiers/Playground
Brothers Matthew and Gunnar are the sons of rock icon Ricky Nelson. Of cause they were destined to carry on in the business. Their grandfather Ozzie was a big band leader, so all the signs were there. Back in the mid eighties NELSON became a household name with singles like “(Can´t Live) Without Your Love and Affection” and “After the Rain”. Their saga with Geffen Records didn´t end happily and in 1996 they released their final major label album, “Because They Can”. From then on they took on a less sweet direction and wanted to make their concept album, “Imaginator”, less hair spray friendly. They were pretty less auspicious in the late nineties and it took until they signed with Frontiers Records in 2010 before they were really on the melodic rock radar again. This is their third with that company, including both a demo album and a live one.
Is this another back to the future album? Unfortunately not quite I´m afraid. Opener “Hello Everybody” must be one of the most annoying openers ever. The refrain drags forever on and their usual hit feeling is nowhere to be seen. “Back in the Day” silences me for a while as the lyrics deals with what I expect to be the reality of the brothers back then, and in classical eighties style. But track five, “I Wanna Stay Home” is a NELSON. A tad out of the party perhaps, but still what I expect from these guys. They pretty much repeat the formula with “Rockstar” and “On the Bright Side”. Any chance of having them back in full force? Well, it takes until track 10, but “You and Me” is the stuff that made them legends, if only for a short while. The “whoo and oohs” are there, and they rock for real. The same goes for “Bad For You” and it´s “oh yeah” and with a lot of US storytelling a là JOHN WAITE they achieve a lot in only two tracks. To my abhorrence the closing track, “Leave the Light on for Me” is a truly old-fashioned ballad that is more along the lines of KENNY RODGERS. This is more like half an album. Tops.
Track List
Hello Everybody
Back in the Day
Invincible
Let It Ride
I Wanna Stay Home
On the Bright Side
Rockstar
Autograph
What´s Not to Love
You and Me
Bad for You
Leave the Light On for Me
www.frontiers.it www.matthewandgunnarnelson.com
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