HUNGRYHEART

ONE TICKET TO PARADISE

Tanzan Music

Released 2010

‘Stand Up’
‘One More Ticket to Paradise’
‘Let Somebody Love You’
‘Boulevard of Love’
‘A Million Miles Away’
‘Angela’
‘Love is the Right Way’
‘Let’s Keep on Trying’
‘Just a Little Closer’
‘Get Lost’
‘Man in the Mirror’
‘You Won’t be Alone’

A couple of years ago I heard Hungryheart’s debut album I wondered to myself how good these guys would get. With a revamped rhythm section and a slightly mellower sound the answer, if this new CD is to go by, is right to the top of the Eighties-flavoured Melodic Rock tree.

Starting out with a song such as ‘Stand Up’ shows a huge jump forward from the hints we got on that debut, ‘Stand Up’ is as good a Melodic Rock song as you will hear this year and it shows a remarkable level of maturity. If you love Danger Danger and the lighter side of melodic rock, with singable choruses and the whole box and dice you are sure to love Hungryheart.

On ‘One More Ticket to Paradise’ Hungryheart has captured that eighties sound in a bottle in the way that bands like Steelhouse Lane and Monkeyhead threatened to a few years back. The good news is that instead of just glimpses of greatness, they have managed to put together a collection of twelve tracks, all of which seem essential listening!

Slower numbers are well-represented with the beautiful ‘Let Somebody Love You’ a song that sounds so good you feel that it must be a cover or that you have heard it somewhere before; if anything ‘A Million Miles Away’ is perhaps even better, but less immediate and more AOR than anything else here. It had me thinking of John Waite, but that’s probably as his album is on heavy rotation here, but that gives you an idea.

‘Boulevard of Love’; ‘Angela’; ‘Let’s Keep on Trying’ and ‘Love is the Right Way’ are reminiscent of bands like Danger Danger, Firehouse, Saraya and Bonfire, and rock along solidly.

The real highlights for me though are the first two tracks: ‘Stand Up’ and ‘One More Ticket to Paradise’; the ballads ‘Let Somebody Love You’ and ‘A Million Miles Away’;  along with the wonderful, and very eighties, hair metal ride that is ‘Get Lost’. ‘Just a Little Closer’ too with its more AOR slant works well.  

The cover of the Siedah Garret & Glen Ballard penned (and Michael Jackson covered) ‘Man in The Mirror’ too is pretty good and just left-field enough.

Crank this up, listen and watch the years roll away! Great stuff!

Mark

Band Link: www.Hungryheart.it