ONLY CHILD (Paul Sabu) - Only Child +3 (2012)

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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 in his previous record, joined by Tommy Rude ond keyboards and Murrill Maglio on bass.
Paul Sabu has extended his dealings with his new British label for 3 classic reissues remastered from the original tapes with bonus tracks personally selected by Paul.
Only Child's debut is first.

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-rock 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 of the main album.
Without a doubt an alltime 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 - Lucky In Love (Bonus Track)
12 - In My Blood (Bonus Track)
13 - A Word To The Wise (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.cargorecords.co.uk/release/19637