Released by:Frontiers Music s.r.l.
Release Date: 26 April 2019
Line Up:
Jim Peterik- Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Ed Breckenfeld- Drums And Percussion
Dave Kelly- Drums
Colin Peterik- Drums
Klem Hayes- Bass
Bill Syniar- Bass
Bob Lizik- Bass
Mike Aquino- Guitar- Lead And Rhythm
Jeff Lantz- Orchestral Arrangement Of “You’re Always There”
Tracklist:
“Winds of Change” — featuring 38 Special’s Danny Chauncey and Don Barnes
“Without a Bullet Being Fired” — featuring Loverboy’s Mike Reno
“Proof of Heaven” — featuring Dennis DeYoung
“Sometimes You Just Want More” — featuring Kevin Chalfant
“Home Fires” — featuring Toby Hitchcock of Pride of Lions
“Just for You” — featuring REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin
“The Hand I Was Dealt” — featuring Tyketto’s Danny Vaughn
“Where Eagles Dare” — featuring Work of Art’s Lars Safsund and Robert Sall
“I Will What I Want” — featuring Night Ranger’s Kelly Keagy
“You’re Always There” — featuring Jason Scheff
“Avalanche” — featuring Gunnar and Matt Nelson
“Love You All Over the World” — featuring Jimi Jamison
Jim Peterik is a certified legend in the business. If you don’t know his name, I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe you’re very young? Live in a cave? A zombie? The man has been doing it since his days in Ides of March, then on to Survivor, and currently with Pride of Lions. He’s co-written a veritable songbook of classic melodic rock anthems and is still going strong at it today. More of a project than a solo vehicle, World Stage is a collaboration of Peterik and some of the biggest names in the business. Back with his second release under this banner, Winds of Change is a damn fine album.
When right off the bat you’ve got names like Dennis DeYoung, Mike Reno, Kevin Chalfant, Danny Vaughn, and Toby Hitchcock you’re pretty well-gonna bet I’m going to be down for this album. There are some truly inspired performances here: Dennis DeYoung proves his voice has no age with “Proof of Heaven,” “The Hand I Was Dealt” demonstrates why Danny Vaughn is one of the best “hidden” gems in melodic rock today despite his lengthy career, Peterik rocks it up with Kelly Keagy on “I Will What I Want,” and the touching unreleased track “Love You All Over the World” featuring Jimi Jamison his late, great bandmate and friend. Do all the songs stack up well with each other? Perhaps not, and maybe even there are moments throughout Winds of Change that fall short of the greatness one would expect from Jim Peterik, but overall it is a very enjoyable album with only a couple of moments that stumble a little.
It’s pretty clear that Jim Peterik knows how to write songs that are catchy and memorable. Without a doubt, he has penned more classics than many other of his peers. World Stage’s Winds of Change confirms his skills as a writer, performer, and talent wrangler. There really isn’t a bad performance on the whole album, though, again, there were a couple of songs I felt like maybe shouldn’t have made the cut. I still think this is a fantastic release and fans of his, the other talent, and of great melodic music will love this album too.
Written by: Chris Martin
Ratings: 8/10
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