DREAMS - Dreams [AOR Heaven Classix] (2013)

Digitally Remastered

*

German label AOR Heaven through its subsidiary 'Classix' has been done an excellent job reissuing classic AOR and Melodic Rock gems, some of them previous unreleased as Roq Royale and Marchello (last year).
And now we have “Dreams” from the American band of the same name, which was founded by keyboarder Todd Loizzo and some of his like-minded high school friends halfway the '80s.

Around 1985 in Palos Hills, IL, DREAMS started performing high-energy Melodic Rock in the Northern Illinois area perfecting their musical skills and Melodic Rock style including headlining performances at major universities, nightclubs and numerous city festivals.
This way they built a sizeable following, which was enough for local label Broker Records to sign them. The self titled debut was produced by Todd's father, Gary Loizzo, ex- lead vocalist of American Breed and owner of a recording studio.

Gary is a Grammy-nominated recording engineer who worked with multimillion-selling Styx records in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, as well as on many other successful recordings.
So, despite of being in a small label, "Dreams" has a superior high quality sound and production compared to any other small budget recordings of the era.
Strangely enough though, Broker Records only released the stuff the guys had written/recorded on cassette, at the time a popular format in the States, because a lot of Americans used to listen to music on the road.
More than 5,000 cassette tapes were sold and the band went out to play at some of L.A.’s clubs located on the infamous Sunset Strip. Sadly enough: when they started showcasing for various major record labels, Nirvana and the likes began to take over the market and not a single record company was interested in Dreams anymore.

Now it's time for a proper reissue, and AOR Heaven Classix's remaster is truly great, as the original master tapes obviously sound excellent.
What we have here is a pure late '80s American Melodic Rock / AOR bliss with catchy choruses and crisp sound. Dreams style reminds you instantly early Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Loverboy, Signal and Robert Tepper.
Great AOR tunes such as “The Fear Of Being Alone” or “Does It Feel Like If You Want It To”, two soaring ballads in “Always There For You” and “ Lovin’ You Ain’t Enough”, and good time rockers like “Livin’ In Another World” and “Coming Down On Me” are too good that deserved to be listened by any fan of the genre.
In short: brash, big choruses, killer synths and over the top guitar playing in a typical '80s fashion.

If this album had been released halfway the '80s on a major label, Dreams would have been a mega act. Luckily, never is too late.
The material on this self-titled album comprises 12 huge AOR pearls written in the period 1988-1991 arranged and performed with all the melody and catchiness to be a winner.
AOR / Melodic Rock fans, don't miss "Dreams", it's indeed a 'dreamy' recording full of magic.
Highly Recommended.


01 - Drive You Crazy
02 - The Fear Of Being Alone
03 - (Does It Feel) Like You Want It To
04 - Do You Feel For Me
05 - Livin' In Another World
06 - Feels Like I'm In Love
07 - Run
08 - Always There For You
09 - Coming Down On Me
10 - Something I Need
11 - Lovin' You Ain't Enough
12 - Livin' In Another World (original demo version)

Linas Kastys - lead vocals
Paul Smith - guitars
Todd Loizzo - keyboards
John Oskorep - bass, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Dave Batastini - drums, backing vocals


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