{"id":24750,"date":"2012-12-27T07:30:45","date_gmt":"2012-12-27T12:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=24750"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:44:43","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:44:43","slug":"kane-roberts-unsung-radio-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/kane-roberts-unsung-radio-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Kane Roberts | Unsung Radio<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Mark Allen<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"KaneWilliam Shakespeare once wrote, \u201cA rose by any other name would smell as sweet.\u201d Well, to paraphrase the bard, a Kane Roberts album by any other name would still sound as sweet. You see, when the Rambo-emulating guitarist who gained a following by slinging an axe for Alice Cooper released his 3rd solo effort in \u201999, he didn\u2019t call it a Kane Roberts album, he called it Phoenix Down. Maybe he was trying to shed the \u201880s \u201cstigma\u201d of his name or maybe he just thought Phoenix Down sounded cool, but whatever the reason, the album was released with minimal buzz and failed to make much of a splash.<\/p>\n

Following the release of Phoenix Down, Kane took a hiatus from which he has just recently emerged and picked up right where he left off\u2014literally. Unsung Radio<\/em> is a 2-disc set, of which disc #1 is a reissue of Phoenix Down, the only difference being that \u201cRebel Heart\u201d from the original Phoenix Down has been replaced by \u201cWalking on Shadows (Remix).\u201d Now most Kane Roberts\u2019 fans should already be well acquainted with Phoenix Down, but here\u2019s a quick recap for the one or two that might have been in a coma the last 13 years, which is the only acceptable excuse for not owning this gem. Phoenix Down features some of the most modern tunes Kane has ever released while fully retaining melodic hard rock credibility. Even when the heavy guitars and aggressive vocals kick things up a notch or two, Kane never forgets to keep the catchiness high. And the non-modern tracks are pure melodic masterpieces, with choruses that soar high with slick harmonies and commercial hooks.<\/p>\n

But you already knew that, so let\u2019s move on to disc #2, which consists of unreleased songs, demos, guitar bits, and quick snippets of trivia from the mouth of Kane himself. Since the songs are the main selling point, the inclusion of all the commentary and guitar wanking may come across as indulgent and definitely affects the pace, but few people noodle on the guitar better than Kane and the conversation pieces offer insight into the songs as well as some humorous vignettes, including one involving the crotch of Stevie Nicks\u2019 pantyhose. C\u2019mon, who doesn\u2019t want to hear that tantalizing tale?<\/p>\n

Most of the songs sound like they could have been outtakes from Kane\u2019s debut, meaning they are firmly entrenched in that \u201880s hard rock style, and while they lack a big, bombastic production, they don\u2019t sound all mucked up and muddy either. In terms of songwriting quality, there is little here that rivals the best of Kane\u2014think of these tunes as B-sides rather than hit single material\u2014but they still showcase his ear for a good hook and skill with a guitar. You get gang vocal power on \u201cCity of Pain,\u201d moody summertime angst on \u201cGuns of Paradise,\u201d hard-hitting heaviness on \u201cWrong\u201d (which also features Kip Winger), head-banging riffs on \u201cLouise,\u201d and stacked harmonies and a sing-along chorus on \u201cOne Step to Heaven,\u201d which just happens to be the album\u2019s highlight.<\/p>\n

No Kane Roberts fan will feel gypped if they spend some of their Christmas cash on this set. Unsung Radio<\/em> gives you a lot of \u201880s bang for your buck and even if not every single track is a gem, you cannot accuse Kane of holding out on his fans. This collection will take you back to a time when radio played good music and Kane Roberts was hailed as a god of the guitar. And of course, to those of us who have good taste in rock \u2018n\u2019 roll, he still is.<\/p>\n

Genre: Melodic Hard Rock, \u201880s Metal<\/p>\n

Musicians:
\nKane Roberts (vocals, guitars)
\nJim Peterik (guitars, keyboards, backing vocals)
\nGene Allen (guitars)
\nVinny Burns (guitars, keyboards)
\nMike Slammer (guitars)
\nDave Jonzz (guitars)
\nSteve Steele (bass, backing vocals)
\nMike Davis (bass)
\nDanny Boy (bass)
\nJim Jetski (drums, backing vocals)
\nSteve Deboard (drums)
\nVassell Fundell (drums)
\nCha Cho Rodriguez (drums)
\nGreg Morgan (drums)
\nArthur Funaro (keyboards)
\nSam Blue (backing vocals)
\nSteve Borden (backing vocals)
\nChang Shapiro (backing vocals)
\nLaughing Boy E. (backing vocals)
\nRob Athas (backing vocals)
\nBubba Cashdollar (backing vocals)<\/p>\n

Track Listing
\n(Disc #1)
\n1. Reckless
\n2. Walking On Shadows (Remix)
\n3. I Want It Again
\n4. Walk
\n5. Love Gone Wrong
\n6. In Another Life
\n7. Blind
\n8. Rain
\n9. Neverland
\n10. Alive and Well<\/p>\n

(Disc #2)
\n1. Commentary #1
\n2. City of Pain
\n3. I Bleed For You
\n4. Guitar Stroke #1
\n5. Guns of Paradise
\n6. Commentary #2
\n7. One Step To Heaven
\n8. Blue Highway
\n9. Commentary #3
\n10. Wrong
\n11. Rain (Demo)
\n12. Guitar Stroke #2
\n13. Self Control
\n14. Commentary #4
\n15. In Another Life (Demo)
\n16. Commentary #5
\n17. I\u2019m Waiting For You
\n18. Louise
\n19. Commentary #6<\/p>\n

Webpage: www.kaneroberts.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Label: Unsung Records<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Mark Allen – Senior Columnist — William Shakespeare once wrote, \u201cA rose by any other name would smell as sweet.\u201d Well, to paraphrase the bard, a Kane Roberts album by any other name would […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[336,5714,2847,334],"class_list":{"0":"post-24750","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-kane-roberts","9":"tag-melodic-hard-rock","10":"tag-review"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24750\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}