Casanova One Night Stand
by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer
2010 ended up being a banner year for rediscovering lost classic German hard rock and metal albums. SPV reissued the early Mass catalog, Metal Mind put the Mad Max discography back in print, and Divebomb reintroduced a pair of melodic rock classics from Casanova, including their 1992 sophomore album One Night Stand.
Formed in the early days of the 1990s, Casanova is a band that every fan of European melodic rock should know, but few actually do. The German band was put together by producer Henry Staroste, the band featured singer/guitarist Michael Voss of Mad Max fame, drummer Michael Eurich (Warlock), bassist Jochen Mayer and guitarist Stephan Neumeier.
Casanova’s 1991 self-titled debut was an absolute classic of European melodic rock, and the band didn’t miss a beat with their follow-up album. Along with Fair Warning’s self-titled debut and Bonfire’s Knock Out, One Night Stand is a brilliant example of the German melodic rock sound in the early ‘90s. Casanova took the basic American arena rock/AOR formula and added a distinctly European sense of polish and precision. They also took elements from the Hollywood hair metal scene, substituted heart and emotion for spandex and sleaze, and came up with a sound that is completely irresistible.
With One Night Stand in particular, you get a good indication of Casanova’s range, from fist-pumping anthems like “Guns Say Fire” to grooving rockers like “The Doctor Is In” to slower numbers like “One of These Days.” As good as those songs are, it’s the “not too heavy, not too soft” arena rock of “I’ll Come Runnin’,” “Home Is Where the Heart Is” and “Seal It With a Kiss” that show you Casanova’s real strength. Those songs bring to mind the best singles from American bands like Giant, Firehouse and Nelson. That, of course, has a lot to do with Michael Voss, whose vocal performance here is nothing short of amazing.
Divebomb’s 2010 reissue of One Night Stand is the perfect companion to their excellent reissue of Casanova’s self-titled debut. Not only is the long out-of-print album reissued with digitally remastered audio, it also includes five bonus tracks. The song “Here Comes That Feelin’ Again” was recorded during the One Night Stand sessions but never made it to the final album. The remaining four bonus tracks are acoustic songs that originally appeared on the 1993 acoustic EP Some Like It Different. The video clip for “One of These Days” is also included in the disc’s multimedia section.
If you’re a fan of the classic European melodic rock sound of bands like Bonfire, Jaded Heart, Treat and Fair Warning, or are a fan of Michael Voss’s work in Mad Max, you owe it to yourself to discover Casanova. Now that both Casanova and One Night Stand have been reissued, there’s no excuse for not checking them out. There were only 1000 copies pressed, and it’s not available as MP3s, so act fast.
Genre: Melodic Rock
Band:
Michael Voss (v) (g)
Michael Eurich (d) (v)
Stephan Neumeier (g) (v)
Jochen Mayer (b) (v)
Track Listing:
1. Guns Say Fire
2. Ticket to the Moon
3. I’ll Come Runnin’
4. Love’s Crashin’ Down
5. The X-tra Mile
6. One Of These Days
7. Wake Up!
8. Home Is Where the Heart Is
9. The Doctor Is In
10. Dead Man’s Hand
11. Seal It With a Kiss
12. Here Comes That Feelin’ Again
13. Judy (acoustic)
14. I Believe In You (acoustic)
15. Out of the Blue (acoustic)
16. Seal It With a Kiss (acoustic)
Label: Divebomb Records
Website: www.casanovaband.com
Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5/10