‘SIGNAL FIRE’, originally released in 1977, is an album of intense hard rock fire-power. A record that combines fast-as-a-shark riffing with blistering lead guitar work and unique multi-layered phasing of a kind that had not previously been applied to hard rock recordings in such an impressive manner.
At this point, guitarist Kyoji Yamamoto was fast establishing himself as a craftsman with supreme technical ability. His playing was taking on a seriously brilliant sheen, combining the techniques and flare of influential Western players such as Ritchie Blackmore and Jimi Hendrix yet leaving room to create a style of his own.
Hard rock tape-traders soon spotlighted Bow Wow as one of the best new discoveries of the era and hugely successful acts such as Metallica and Iron Maiden have subsequently gone on to confirm that this record was unquestionably a major influence.  It remains a truly great moment in the history of hard rock and heavy metal.

24-bit remastering from original source tapes, 5 bonus tracks, story of the making of the album, full involvement by the band, rare photos, all spread out over a superb full colour booklet.

Track Listing: 1. Prelude 2. Get On Our Train 3. Just One More Night  4. Silver Lightning  5. Electric Power Up 6. Rock ‘N’ Roll Drive 7. Rainbow Of Sabbath  8. Tell Me Tell Me  9.Signal Fire  10. Still

OUTSIDE OF a handful of obscure Japanese progressive rock groups, Bow Wow were one of the first native groups to play in a style that suggested they might actually have international potential. Indeed, although this, their debut album, displayed a certain rough-hewn charm, capturing raw riffs and basic arrangements, the energy and enthusiasm cannot be denied. Additionally, Kyoji Yamamoto’s guitar playing was already indicating that he would, in a few short years, become one of the most accomplished players in the world.
Above all else, Bow Wow’s debut album, originally released in 1976, is an historic achievement. It is, in effect, the moment were the Japanese moved on from being avid consumers of western rock music – make that HARD ROCK music – to full blown participants in a musical revolution that is still in full swing.

24-bit remastering from original source tapes, 5 bonus tracks, story of the making of the album, full involvement by the band, rare photos, all spread out over a superb full colour booklet.
Track Listing: 1. Hearts On Fire 2. Brown House 3. Foxy Lady 4. Volume On 5. A Life In The Dark 6. James In My Casket 7. Withered Sun 8. Theme Of Bow Wow

Back in the 1980’s the Los Angeles rock scene cultivated spandex, glam and big - make that HUGE – hair, whilst in New York a far grittier aesthetic was being honed; one that would promote the hard working, hard living ethos of an inner city blighted by forgotten neighbourhoods and low uemployment. The perfect backdrop, in fact, for the low-down high volume rock ‘n roll of no-frills minimalists such as the Ramones, Raging Slab, Smashed Gladys, Blitzspeer and… Circus Of Power.
COP, as they were commonly known amongst friends and fans, lived life on the edge; a trail blazing sound. Spotted by esteemed NYC-based producer Daniel Rey, they were snapped up, together with Raging Slab, by the giant RCA label, creating one of the greatest debut hard rock albums of the era. Raw, edgy and extremely dangerous, Circus Of Power’s debut album, originally released in 1989, is a seething guitar-fuelled temper tantrum that remains as powerful today as it was when first released.

24-bit remastering from original source tapes, 5 bonus tracks, 4,000 word story of the making of the album, full involvement by the band, rare photos, all spread out over a superb 12 page full colour booklet.

Track listing: 1. Motor 2. White Trash Queen 3. Call Of The Wild 4. Needles 5. In The Wind 6. Heart Attack 7. Crazy 8. Letters Home 9. Backseat Mama 10. Machine. Bonus Tracks: 11. Heart Attack (Bonus track on original CD issue). 12. Backseat Mama (demo) 13. Motor (demo) 14. In The Wind (demo) 15. Dreams Tonight (demo)

BASED IN New York City, Raging Slab looked and sounded wildly out of place with their hugely addictive ‘Suvern’ rock style, laced with cow-punk accelerant, all markedly at odds with the musical climate prevalent at the time.
Signed by RCA Records and herded into the recording studio with legendary producer Daniel Rey (Ramones, Circus Of Power etc) they crafted one of the greatest debut albums of the decade. Originally released in 1989, the band’s penchant for gritty seventies rock, injected with full-on hardcore urgency is hugely impressive. “Lynyrd Skynyrd meets Metallica” was the mantle at the time; still true to this day.

24-bit remastering from original source tapes, 4,500 word story of the making of the album by band leader Greg Strzempka, rare photos and memorabilia, all spread out over a superb 16 page full colour booklet.

Track listing: 1. Don’t Dog Me 2. Joy Ride 3. Sorry’s All I Got 4. Waiting For The Potion 5. Get Off My Jollies 6. Shiny Mama 7. Geronimo 8. Bent For Silver 9. Love Comes Loose 10. Dig A Hole 11. San Loco

THE BABYS fifth, and final, album )originally release in 1980) was conceived and executed in an atmosphere of confusion and fatigue. And the fact that it still managed to feature numbers that would be able to muscle their way into any fan’s top twenty Babys tunes is testament to many things.

Apart from the music, however, the band was beginning to implode. Chrysalis had gone through an organisational restructure, inter band relationships were at breaking point, Jonathan Cain was about to jump ship and join tour headliners Journey and, at a fateful gig in Cincinnati, John Waite severely injured his knee, forcing the band to cancel all live work. At that point it was all over bar the crying.

Produced, once again, by Keith Olsen (Foreigner, Preview, Fleetwood Mac etc) and recorded in Los Angeles, ‘OTE’ contains ten slices of top class melodic hard rock, with all the accoutrements that you might reasonably expect from such a seasoned band - from lean and mean hard rock to more melodic faire and all points in between. The end, then, to a magnificent career, but at least they went out in style with ‘OTE’ being an essential and fitting finale. 

24-bit remastering from original source tapes, 4,000 word story of the making of the album by Howrad Johnson, exclusive interview with John Waite, photos and memorabilia, all spread out over a superb 16 page full colour booklet.

Track listing: 1. Turn And Walk Away  2. Sweet 17 3. She’s My Girl 4. Darker Side Of Town 5. Rock ‘N Roll Is (Alive And Well) 6. Downtown 7. Postcard 8. Too far Gone 9. Gonna Be Somebody 10. Love Won’t Wait

‘UNION JACKS’, the Babys fourth album, issued in 1980 and produced by Keith Olsen (Foreigner, Whitesnake etc), heralded a change to not only their sound but also their line-up. Introducing keyboardist Jonathan Cain (later to join Journey and Bad English) and bassist Ricky Phillips (also a future member of Bad English) to the fold, the band tweaked their style, introducing a punchier and dynamic edge. In addition, both of the new members collaborated with song writing, which helped to propel the band into a new, almost more modern, era but that is not to say they left their rockin’ shoes at home. Far from it.

Stuffed full of tough-guy riffs, and brilliantly emotive vocals from John Waite, the album oozes sophistication but retains a rough-hewn urgency that keeps the energy firmly in the red zone. The album birthed yet another top thirty US hit single, the anthemic ‘Back On My Feet Again’, cementing the Babys reputation as one of the greatest melodic hard rock bands of the period.

24-bit remastering from original source tapes, 4,000 word story of the making of the album by Howrad Johnson, exclusive interview with John Waite, photos and memorabilia, all spread out over a superb 16 page full colour booklet.

Track listing: 1. Back On My Feet Again 2. True Love True Confession 3. Midnight Rendezvous 4. Union Jack 5. In Your Eyes 6. Anytime 7. Jesus, Are You There? 8. Turn Around In Tokyo 9. Love Is Just A Mystery

IMAGINE YOU are a mid seventies rock band from London. You get signed to a hip and happening label - Chrysalis Records. You’re debut album is recorded in Toronto with Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd). The label pays for you to relocate to Los Angeles where you sit in the sun and record your second album, which unexpectedly produces a worldwide hit single, ‘Isn’t It Time’. Life is good and it can only get better, right? Well, not exactly…

Cocky and full of self confidence the Babys recorded their third album ‘Head First’, produced by Ron Nevison (Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, Heart etc), only to be told by their label that it wasn’t, er, ‘what they were expecting’ and could they please go back and take another stab at it. It was a soul destroying moment and one that resulted in major upheaval, with founding member Mike Corby departing the band for good.

Reluctantly, the band re-cut ‘Head First’ and, against all odds, continued their path to fame and fortune by producing yet another sizeable US hit single, with the classic ‘Every Time I Think Of You’, and touring with some of the biggest names in rock.

Fronted by one of the world’s most talented vocalists, John Waite, ‘Head First’ (released in 1978) is a remarkable album, from conception to execution, containing a brace of tracks that builds on the band’s blues rock roots to incorporate melody and sophistication tailor made for American rock radio.

24-bit remastering from original source tapes, 4,000 word story of the making of the album by Howrad Johnson, exclusive interview with John Waite, photos and memorabilia, all spread out over a superb 16 page full colour booklet.

Track listing: 1. Love Don’t Prove I’m Right  2. Every Time I Think Of You 3. I Was One 4. White Lightning 5. Run To Mexico 6. Head First 7. You (Got It) 8. Please Don’t Leave Me Here 9. California

SAMMY HAGAR, later to make a huge impact in Van Halen, first exploded on the rock scene as the front man of Montrose, playing his part in creating what is unquestionably one of the greatest debut albums of all time. It was a record that sent seismic shock waves around the globe, helping to propel the hard rock scene, and Hagar, into a new era.

In 1975, Hagar left Montrose and opted for a solo career, signing to Capitol Records. His first few albums were tentative steps towards a sound and style that would blossom with the recording of ‘Street Machine’, a record that was, for the first time, in the writing and production, completely controlled by Hagar, and with his eyes firmly focussed on the hard rock prize.

Packed with knockout punches, the album showcases one of the world’s greatest showmen, whose voice and song writing ability are captured in pristine clarity. From the anthemic lead track, ‘Growing Pains’, to rough and tumble guitar-fuelled rockers, such as ‘Trans Am’, ‘Feels Like Love’, ‘Plain Jane’, ‘Straight To The Top’ and ‘This Planets On Fire (Burn In Hell)’, the intention is loud and clear; the red rocker is taking no prisoners and laying down the law with all the fury of a man on a life or death mission.

‘Street Machine’, then, remains an essential high point in an illustrious career that continues to this very day.

24-bit remastering from original source tapes, two bonus tracks, 4,000 word story of the making of the album by Brian Brinkerhoff, exclusive interview with Sammy Hagar, photos and memorabilia, all spread out over a superb 16 page full colour booklet.

Track listing: 1. Growing Pains 2. Child To Man 3. Trans Am (Highway Wonderland) 4. Feels Like Love 5. Plain Jane 6. Never Say Die 7. This Planets On Fire (Burn In Hell) 8. Wounded In Love 9. Falling In Love 10. Straight To The Top. Bonus Tracks: 11. (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay 12. I’ve Done Everything For You

INFLUENCED BY THE musical showmanship of the early 1970’s British Progressive Rock movement, and its wicked ability to pen songs of a uniquely melodic nature, Starcastle instantly connected with an audience hoping to hear the complexities of Yes fused with the ballistic fire-power of Boston. Indeed, in this quest, Starcastle took no prisoners, throwing all caution to the wind.
‘Citadel’, the band’s third album originally released in 1977, satisfied on all counts. Arguably their greatest work, it promotes raging pomp-rock mayhem held in place by long keyboard driven passages and vocals to die for. Supremely melodic, yet surprisingly gutsy, this work of brilliance was produced by none other than Queen collaborator Roy Thomas Baker, a man unafraid to utilise all the technical tricks and know-how at his disposal. The results, on every level, are a truly breathtaking accomplishment.

24-bit remastering from original source tapes, 4,000 word story of the making of the album by Dave Cockett, exclusive interview with Steve Hagler, previously unpublished photos and memorabilia, all spread out over a super 12 page full colour booklet.

Track listing: 1. Shine On Brightly 2. Shadows Of Song 3. Can’t Think Twice 4. Wings Of White 5. Evening Wind 6. Changes In Time 7. Could This Be Love 8. Why Have They Gone 

WHEN IT COMES to high-tech mid eighties melodic AOR there are few better examples than the lone Channel album. Released in 1984, to virtually zero acclaim, except by a select few, the band featured a bevy of heavy hitters from the LA session world including guitarist Tony Berg, drummer Gary Ferguson, bassist Trey Thompson and top-top vocalist Robert Fleischman, a man who, at one time, had been plucked out of obscurity to join AOR super gods Journey.