{"id":18395,"date":"2013-11-20T00:00:07","date_gmt":"2013-11-20T00:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=18395"},"modified":"2014-04-20T10:36:33","modified_gmt":"2014-04-20T10:36:33","slug":"album-review-shea-roxi-1988","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-shea-roxi-1988\/","title":{"rendered":"SHEA ROXI – 1988 (2013) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

SHEA ROXI
1988<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nAOR Blvd (2013)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of bands who emerged as part of the mid to late 80s hair metal scene who never got the recognition they deserved, simply due to the fact at the time there were hordes of similar-styled acts all aiming for the same goal \u2013 to be signed by a major label.<\/p>\n

Shea Roxi were one such band who released two cracking demos which at the time were being passed around the underground and yet never resulted in the band making it big.<\/p>\n

This quintet hailed from San Francisco and were fronted by Rob Schroeder who had an almost cosy appeal to his voice \u2013 the sort of soft tones that one would\u2019ve loved to have heard on late night rock radio. Schroeder was joined by guitarist Adam Molinar Jr., bassist Steve Nystrom, drummer Joey Bennett and, as one would expect from an AOR band back in the 80s, a keyboardist whose name was Stephen Salinas.<\/p>\n

In spite of their talent, Shea Roxi disappeared off the face of the Earth but now those forgotten demos have been dusted down and released under the title of 1988<\/em>; this being somewhat of a time capsule album, giving us the perfect insight into an era that some of us were never around to appreciate.<\/p>\n

So, we have 14 tracks (if we include the bonus cut; a live recording of \u2018My World Is Changing\u2019) and from the off we\u2019re transported back to a time of smooth, swaying arrangements and a set of songs that quite simply were, and still are fantastic; proof that it was surely a crime for these guys not to have got signed.<\/p>\n

Opening cut is the infectious \u2018Cryin\u2019 Eyes\u2019, which oozes in on a gorgeous, swaying synth and summery guitar sway before jolting in with Rob Schroeder\u2019s effortless and evocative croon of \u201cAfter all this time…\u201d<\/em>, which couldn\u2019t be more fitting for this type of lost gem. The track builds in lush manner to that stunning chorus of \u201cToo late for cryin\u2019 eyes, too late for goodbyes… my heart\u2019s cold as ice \u2018cos the fire stopped burnin\u2019 inside\u201d<\/em>. It\u2019s oh so classic, almost generic even, but full of pomp and juicy swagger, and there\u2019s a bite there too, setting us up nicely for what can only be described as a sweeping, catchy-as-hell opus rich in cool keys and full of warm melodies that melt together the likes of Journey and Danger Danger.<\/p>\n

\u2018Somebody Like You\u2019 is the sort of bouncy number that parody metallers Steel Panther now make a decent living off; the beat is uplifting, the shuffling chords riddled with the influence of that pulsing keyboard effect. \u2018Mystery At Midnight\u2019 is sassy from its heartbeat drum and smoky vocal, and \u2018I Got What You Want\u2019 is the sort of archetypal 80s jig one would expect to have seen in the charts, such is its glorious nature.<\/p>\n

1988<\/em> is the sort of album that should\u2019ve been the soundtrack to so many lives back in rock\u2019s heyday, but as it stands only now can we attempt to get the message of the band across, because this opus exhibits so much quality.<\/p>\n

The studio version of \u2018My World Is Changing\u2019 is sublime, \u2018Angel\u2019 is magnificent with its poppy synth, and \u2018Can\u2019t Hide Love\u2019 is a classic piano-lead ballad with aching guitar wrenched straight from the 70s glam rock period until it becomes a lighter-waving melody as majestic as the distant lights of the city flickering on the inky mirror-like surface of the water. So, I\u2019m pretty sure you catch my drift when it comes to describing this light and airy rock album which more than lives up to its title. More than just a nostalgic trip, Shea Roxi\u2019s songs still sound fresh and inviting today.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SHEA ROXI1988 AOR Blvd (2013)Rating: 8\/10 There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of bands who emerged as part of the mid to late 80s hair metal scene who never got the recognition they deserved, simply due to the fact at the time there were hordes of similar-styled acts all aiming for the same goal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1174],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-shea-roxi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18395"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18405,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18395\/revisions\/18405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}