Released by Frontiers – 2009

Review Added August 26, 2009

. Produced By: Dennis Ward
· Running Time: 49.34
· Release Date: Out Now
· Released: April 17, 2009
· Musical Style: Melodic Rock
· Links: http://www.joelynnturner.com
Tracklisting
1. Divided **
2. Don’t Give Up **
3. The Spirit Inside **
4. I Found Love
5. Say You Will
6. Gutters Of Gold **
7. Save A Place In Your Heart
8. Forever Now
9. Tears On The Pages **
10. House Of Dreams
11. Walk On **
**Hot Tracks

· Joe Lynn Turner: Vocals
· Uwe Reitenauer: Guitars
· Thorsten Koehne: Guitar Solos
· Chris Schmidt: Drums
· Dennis Ward: Bass, Backing Vocals, Additional Guitars
· Gunther Werno: Keyboards

Anytime you hear the name of vocalist Joe Lynn Turner and you’re a hard rock metal fan, you know that the man has had some kind of career through the years, expanding over 20 years in the music industry and topping many highlights such as working with “Deep Purple” for a short stint, “Yngwie Malmsteen” and of course the great work with “Rainbow”.

Growing up as a youngster with an appreciation for classic R&B, there is no surprise why many people agree that you don’t normally see JLT showcase his adult-oriented rock (AOR) skills more often; which is why the Sunstorm project is a great venture for him and the talented musicians involved, which feature members from “Pink Cream 69” and master producer and musician
Dennis Ward.

Along side these great talents are the famous Martin Brothers, which to date, have had nearly 40 of their songs recorded by rock acts around the world including covers by House of Lords and Danger Danger vocalist Ted Poley, amongst others. They have specificially written 4 tracks for “House Of Dreams” and Sunstorm.
The first song JLT and the supergroup deliver to us is “Divided” and it holds true to some of the work Turner has done in the past with another super group, Brazen Abbott. It kicks in with some nice melody vocal arrangements and is melodic hard rock at it’s best, a trademark of JLT.
Next is “Don’t Give Up” which is more laid back but JLT once again provides some soulful lyrics and great melodies, helped out by some killer guitar solos. Both “The Spirit Inside” and “I Found Love” follow the same melodic hard rock formula as their predecessors and keep the album rolling in fine fashion. Then comes the heavy hitter and a change of pace, “Gutters Of Gold,” which is probably the hardest track on the record with a great rhythm section in the backdrop.

While ‘Forever Now” directs the album back towards the lead 4 songs, “Tears On The Pages” slows down the vibe with some ballad and AOR components adding a simplistic piano lead. JLT has always excelled at balancing a record with some smooth rock ballads, and is not everyday that you see him crank out some fine tuned AOR vocal lines.
To close the album, the track “Walk On” is a standout composition and probably my favorite on the album; it was written in the 80’s by both JLT and one Desmond Child producer, and master extrodinaire through the years. This track starts off soft and and it pulls you in slowly, as you soon hear Turner kick out the chorus in fine fashion and it stays with you. Super melodic and accompanied by some great licks and solos, this turns out out to be the standout track, simply because because it has classic AOR vibes from the 80’s and Joe Lynn belts out a mighty vocal performance.

In conclusion fans of Sunstorm and Joe Lynn Turner can rejoice because this album is highly recommended, as it balances out the hard rockers and the ballads pretty well, and the songwriting abilities of the Martin twins adds to the mantra that is melodic hard rock at is finest through the years in it’s progression. You add the always high end and crisp sound production of Dennis Ward and you have a winner. Go buy it if you don’t own it already; support this amazing band with highly skilled musicians.

Written by Denys