NESTOR – “KIDS IN A GHOST TOWN” RE-RELEASE DELUXE EDITION WITH BONUS TRACKS OUT SEP 30TH
The unanimously acclaimed debut album from Swedish nostalgic rockers NESTOR is getting a re-release. After signing with Napalm Records earlier this year the band and label decided to give new life to the record, with new music and new cover art. The deluxe edition, that will be released on digital, CD, vinyl and cassette includes the latest single “Signed In Blood” that was released this spring, a song based on a true friendship that can be traced back to the band’s humble beginnings in 1989, before the three-decade long hiatus that lasted until their reformation and glorious return last year. Two additional songs round out the enhanced track list. The somber and reflective “A Losing Game” contains so many key changes that it will bring tears of joy in the eyes of anyone that listens to it (even the guys in Ultravox)! And the cover version of “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” sounds like the perfect summer fling lovechild between Whitney and Van Halen! A great album has become even greater! The deluxe version of Kids In A Ghost Town will be available on September 30th everywhere – Even in your Walkman!
Singer/Songwriter Robert Tepper to release new single, album on July 30th
On Saturday July 30th, Robert Tepper will be releasing a new album entitled Feels Like Monday. Tepper, 72, will be sharing this release via Facebook Live, a first for the rock musician. Kendee Hughes of Kendee Hughes Productions will be overseeing the event.
“Robert will simultaneously release the music video for the single “Feels Like Monday,” and the album of the same name.” Kendee said. “It’ll be a virtual viewing party for his fans. Robert will perform live, answer some fan questions, and tell folks about what he’s got coming up.”
Robert will be supporting his new album Feels Like Monday with singer/songwriter/guitarist Chris Cameron and a small semi-acoustic ensemble. He is performing his hits along with new music in concerts and listening rooms across the US in 2022.
Robert Tepper is a singer/songwriter who lives in Los Angeles, CA. He is best known for the 1986 hit song “No Easy Way Out” as heard on the Rocky IV soundtrack, as well as the 1980 hit “Into the Night” that he penned with singer Benny Mardones. He also wrote and performed “Angel of the City” for Stallone‘s 1986 action film, Cobra, and wrote the Pat Benatar hit “Le Bel Age”, from 1986. His latest album is 2019’s Better Than The Rest.
LIPS TURN BLUE is the band formerly known as DDrive, which features guitarist Don Mancuso [ex Black Sheep], and the late Phil Naro on vocals & guitar. this album also features keyboardist Eric Beiber, bass player Mike Mullane, as well as a few drummers (Roy Stein is the band’s permanent drummer), backing singers, and guests – most notably Lou Gramm! Producer Steve Major also adds guitar and percussion. Most songs here co-written by Naro & Mancuso, with a few others adding to variety of tracks here.
First off is the awesome cover shot by Martin Kornick / Man In the Mountain ! Love the photo and the blue. Makes me wonder why no one issued this on blue vinyl!?
LTB features 13 tracks, a few of which have been re-worked from previous releases, most notably a cool remake of Black Sheep’s “Chain On Me” (the 70s band that featured Mancuso and Lou Gramm, as well as co-writer Bruce Turgon) – love that piano intro and Hammond organ! The band also revisit their own “Pray For Tomorrow”, which is a timely and memorable; a song of hope featuring a fine vocal from Naro, as well as acoustic guitar and mandolin from Mancuso. “Pray For Tomorrow” has been made in to the 2nd video from the album, with the band also offering the video in efforts to raise money for the people of Ukraine.
There are a few tracks reworked here from Mancuso’s 2nd solo album, titled DDrive – the upbeat (and a favorite here) “Build My Castle”, and though the original was good this is a great production, adding a vocal intro and love the keyboard & guitar exchange here, as well as the solo – this track sounds like it would be an exciting in the live set. As well there’s Lou Gramm singing the Mancuso / Naro penned “A Little Outside” (a nice close to the album), and a cover of Beatles’ favorite “Hey Bulldog”. Favorite tracks here also include the opener (lead single) “Just Push” and “Better Than I Used To Be” (great AOR rocker – love the keyboard runs in this one from Eric Beiber) – actually the first 5 songs here make this worth getting! A couple of excellent ballads included here as well, “No Need For You To Call” and “Life’s Crazy Ride”, both reflective, and one of Phil’s best vocal performances on the latter.
Lips Turn Blue is one of two albums Phil Naro completed before his passing. LTD will appeal to fans of melodic rock, classic AOR, and anyone familiar with Phil’s vocals (the guy did a lot in his career!). Cheers to Don Mancuso and the band and producer Steve Major for getting this album done and out. Lips Turn Blue are currently working on a 2nd album and live dates with new singer Iggy Marino.
A mere 6 months after Peter Goalby’s surprise solo debut album, decades after he retired from the business, a sequel has arrived! Easy With The Heartaches came out last November 2021, and the quality of the songs, recording, and Peter’s vocal performances were a long awaited (and overdue) treat to fans who’ve wondered where and why he disappeared years ago. Heck that album only made many wonder even more why he went away with so many great songs yet to see the light of day! Now, there is a ‘part 2’ to his long lost solo recordings – I Will Come Runnin’, featuring the same cast – Paul Hodson and Eddy Morton, as well as Robin George on 2 tracks. Safe to say if you enjoyed the first release – you will love this as well. The song quality and performances are as good as Easy With The Heartaches, being from the same period and recording sessions. The difference being that overall I think I Will Come Runnin’ is a bit more in the softer AOR realm, with a few less ‘punchy’ tracks than it’s predecessor. “Hold The Dream” may still be my favorite of either of these releases, but there’s some damn great tunes here, with early favorites being “Somebody’s Fool” and “Waiting For An Angel To Call”. The title track leads off this disc (as with the first one), and it’s a good positive lighter aor pop-rock tune, but like most, what makes Peter’s songs so good is the catchy and memorable choruses, I also think Eddy Morton’s guitar break here gives the song a nice lift.
Lots of potential here for ‘hits’ had this come out in another era – “Dancing On Water” (co-written with Robin George), “It Was There All The Time”, “Perfect Strangers” (one of the excellent ballads here), “There’s Always A Place In My Heart”…. Robin George also co-wrote the rockier “Rock N Roll Crazy” – this one is a bit different, sounding like it would’ve fit nicely on one of George’s ’80s releases, or on Heep’s Equator (ala “Party Time”) . The last track here is the last track Peter recorded – “A Little Piece Of Heaven”, and judging from the lyrics (especially the opening lines), I would think he was already planning on getting out of making music – “Saved up all my rainbows, cashed in all my yesterdays / Changing my direction, giving all my things away / It’s time to make a new start, “ It is one of the best ballads Peter ever wrote and sang, but marks the end of his musical career, so it’s a bit sad in that case. Paul Hodson does a superb job on this one as well, and Eddy Morton delivers a cool short guitar break (sounds )a bit country. This is The Big ‘hit’ off this album, IMO.
I Will Come Runnin’ likely marks the end of Peter Goalby’s ‘archived’ material that we’ll see a proper release of. I don’t believe there is that much in the way of good material / recordings left that could or would possibly be released in the future. So, enjoy this and Easy With The Heartaches as much as you can. They are both fantastic CDs of songs we are fortunate to get to have. Decades after leaving the business Peter can now add “successful solo artist” to his legacy, besides just “former lead singer of _____” .
*CD cover art designed by Mike Inns (who also did Easy With The Heartaches), and who’s done album covers and art for numerous acts, including Collins / Shaw, Asia, John Wetton, Alan Simon and Focus, among others.https://www.discogs.com/artist/2879524-Michael-Inns
To support the release, DARE will embark on a 12-date UK headline tour in October 2022. Planet Rock will start at 48-hour ticket pre-sale at 9am on Wednesday 12th January via www.planetrocktickets.co.uk.
Road To Eden follows Dare’s critically acclaimed albums Sacred Ground (2016) and Out Of The Silence 2 (2018). Both albums reached Number #1 in the Amazon Classic Rock Charts in four countries including the UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Dare entered the top #5 in the official UK Rock charts, number #6 in the US Amazon Classic Rock Charts and Number #1 in Japanese rock imports.
Road To Eden is destined to be another modern DARE classic. Produced by their lead singer songwriter Darren Wharton (ex-Thin Lizzy) at his studio the majestic mountains of North Wales. The new album has a harder rock edge than previous albums, whilst still retaining the atmospheric sound, and anthemic melodies that has become the band’s signature trademark.
Road To Eden features ten brand new beautifully crafted songs that captures the very heart of DARE. With a full headline UK tour set for the UK in October 2022, plus dates in Spain, Scandinavia, and Germany, it’s going to be an exciting year for the band.
“We wanted to write an album that translated well to live performance,” says Darren. “Road To Eden has some great anthems, energy and power. We can’t wait to play the new songs live.”
With previous DARE albums now having well over 4 million streams on Spotify, it’s clear that for the growing army of DARE fans, the wait is nearly over, as they prepare to join DARE on The Road To Eden.
BAND LINE-UP
DARREN WHARTON – VOCALS, KEYBOARDS VINNY BURNS – GUITARS NIGEL CLUTTERBUCK – BASS GUITAR KEV WHITEHEAD – DRUMS MARC ROBERTS – KEYBOARDS
TRACK LISTING
1. BORN IN THE STORM (4:45) 2. CRADLE TO THE GRAVE (4:21) 3. FIRE NEVER FADES (3:51) 4. ROAD TO EDEN (4:07) 5. LOVERS AND FRIENDS (3:43) 6. ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG (4:37) 7. I ALWAYS WILL (4:24) 8. GRACE (3:44) 9. THE DEVIL RIDES TONIGHT (3:49) 10. THY KINGDOM COME (4:30) 11. BORN IN A STORM (ROMESH REMIX) (4:21)
PRODUCED BY DARREN WHARTON
Planet Rock in association with The Gig Cartel presents
The success story continues for NESTOR, consisting of five childhood friends from the small town of Falköping, Sweden, who chose to restart the band they once formed back in 1989, that’s been lying dormant for just over three decades.
Their debut full-length album Kids In A Ghost Town was released on October 22 and reached first place on the Swedish Hard Rock Album Chart as well as an honorable second place on the list for Physical Album Sales. The album has been unanimously acclaimed by rock press and media, both at home in Sweden and abroad in Europe, the UK, and the US, where many have mentioned it as a given candidate for Album Of The Year.
Their music has already reached close to 1,5 million streams on Spotify and more than 500 000 views on YouTube of their music videos, among them the one for the single “Tomorrow” – an epic ballad duet with 80s icon Samantha Fox, that together with the videos for the two prior singles “On The Run” and “1989” showcase the band’s love for the 80s and all its attributes, with a sense of detail that is hard to match. With their live debut accomplished in conjunction with their album release at a sold-out gig in Stockholm, where the only real complaint was that the crowd wanted more, NESTOR have several upcoming live performances, both at the big arenas in Sweden and on the trustworthy summer rock festivals.
NesTOUR DATES 2021-22:Nov 20 – Keep It True Rising, Würtzburg, GermanyDec 10 – Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden (w/ Takida)Dec 11- Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden (w/ Takida)Dec 17 – Malmö Arena, Malmö, Sweden (w/ Takida)Feb 4 – Vulkan Arena, Oslo, Norway (w/ H.E.A.T)Feb 5 – Berns, Stockholm, Sweden (w/ H.E.A.T)Feb 18 – Amager Bio, Copenhagen, Denmark (w/ H.E.A.T)Feb 19 – Trädgår’n, Gothenburg, Sweden (w/ H.E.A.T)Feb 26 Folkets Hus, Blomstermåla (w/ H.E.A.T)June 4 – Atlas Rock, Gävle, SwedenJune 11 – Sweden Rock Festival, Sölvesborg, SwedenAug 3 – Sabaton Open Air, Falun, Sweden Many more dates to be added.
NESTOR embraces influences from the 80s in their nostalgic rock, with tongues-in-cheek and a lot of heart along with great passion. The album Kids In A Ghost Town is produced by Tobias Gustavsson, mixed by Sebastian Forslund (The Night Flight Orchestra), and mastered by Thomas “Plec” Johansson at The Panic Room.
NESTOR ARE: Jonny Wemmenstedt (guitar) Mattias Carlsson (drums) Tobias Gustavsson (vocals) Marcus Åblad (bass) Martin Frejinger (keyboards)
Nestor is a new [old] band from Sweden, who’s 3 videos from their debut album have amassed over a million views. Well….actually, they are old band, but have returned decades later with their first album. The band music is a return to the ’80s in sound and image, and their album (see my review elsewhere on this site) is full of great ’80s hard-rock. If you were a fan of aor/HR in the ’80s and Kids In A Ghost Town had come out in the mid ’80s – you’d likely already own it! Here is an interview with Tobias Gustavsson of the band detailing their return in 2021, and their exciting debut album. *Check out the links below.
Can you give me a bit of background on the band — you guys existed briefly and released a few singles!? What do you recall of those songs, and why/when did the band split back then?
Yeah, Nestor was founded back in 1989, we all grew up in a small town together in Sweden, found each other through music and started playing together. We released a couple of EPs up til ‘95. The first EP was all over the place genre wise. We mixed all kinds of influences, everything from U2 to Europe for example, but it’s hard to hear because it really sounds like crap. The second EP was a bit more unified, with influences like Queensrüche and Dream Theater, I’ll have a listen to that second EP from time to time and I’m quite proud of it still. We never really split up; we just went on a looong pause… haha!
Is there a bit more you guys can mention about your past in music, be it recordings you’ve been a part of (as musicians or producers)? Tobias, can you mention a bit about your success as a producer [assuming this is your site – http://www.25media.net/tobiasgustavsson/ ?]
Yep, that’s me. All of us kind of worked with music in one way or another, played in different constellations and bands, but I (Tobias) went on to become a songwriter and producer and had a couple of projects, among them a duo called Itchycoo, and later a band called Straight Frank (that our guitar player Jonny was a part of too). I also wrote for other artists and made some pretty successful songs here and there through the years. I’ve kept on working with music in some form or another through all the years.
Sweden (as well as Norway) has a lot of great musicians & bands in the hard-rock, AOR, metal genre. Why do you think that is? And any favorite (or recommended) artists or albums from your country?
That’s a tricky question, right off the bat I think that the long winter has an impact when it comes to great musicians and bands (there is nothing else to do other than being in band or in a sports team). Also, success breeds more success probably, so thanks to ABBA and Roxette and all the other greats the tradition sort of goes on and inspires new Swedes to succeed maybe.
Some favorite bands from Sweden right now – Niki and the Dove (80’s pop with contemporary influences) and Ludwig Hart (sound like a mix of Tom Petty and Springsteen with a touch of Aha which is a great band as well by the way). Another band in our own genre worth mentioning are H.E.A.T that we’re joining in February on their Scandinavian tour! That’s gonna be fun!
It was the time during the pandemic that brought you guys back to record a full album, correct? Or was it merely one song that led to another and so on?
I would love to say that we had this master plan from the start, but the truth is a bit of both – one song led to the other and then the vision became clear; “to make the album now that we didn’t have the skills or possibility to make back in ’89.”
What did you do to get in that head space of writing so many great 80s type rock songs during the making of this album — did you guys go back and listen to a lot of stuff from that era?
Yes, we did, we listened to a lot of music from that era but also read magazines and watched a lot of movies etc to get the vibe to get back to that feeling from that time in our lives.
The videos have been well planned, very detailed, and humorous. What sort of inspired those type of clips, seeing as MTV went out decades ago, and not many bands put in such effort these days?
The inspiration was plain and simple 80s metal videos – they always had a story back then. Personally, I always liked the fact that music is entertainment and that kind of got lost somewhere in the mid 90s. We have a saying in Nestor that our mission is “to protect the legacy and re-invent the iconography of rock”.
Can you touch briefly on some of the songs, as far as musical or lyrical inspirations? On The Run, Perfect 10, Firesign, Kids In A Ghost Town…. etc. Are many of the songs written from personal experience?
All of them are personal, the songs are about being a kid with big ambitions in a small town! The song Perfect 10 is a description of my boy room mixed with my first real crush, Johanna. “Darryl Hannah wouldn’t stand a chance – next to her she’s just a cheap romance” hahaha!
Can you tell me a bit about the song “Tomorrow”, and how you ended up getting Samantha Fox to guest on it?
When I wrote the song, I immediately felt that it was written as a duet. Thinking about the perfect duet partners (once again, going through the posters on my wall back in ‘87) Sam popped up and I can’t think of any other singer/artist that sets the tone of the 80s and represents that era better than her.
I contacted her management and asked if she would be interested in participating on the song. She heard the song and loved it, and the rest is history in the making! We also got her to appear in the music video which turned out really great.
Will there be any more video singles from the album? Any you’d like to do?
We’d like to make videos for all the songs on the album but unfortunately, they aren’t cheap… Hopefully there will be more. Stay tuned!
You also co-wrote a number of songs with Andreas Carlsson, who has had credits on some pretty big albums. How did you guys wind up working with him, and what did he contribute to? [songs]
I knew Andreas from before as we’ve worked on some projects together. We wrote the lyrics together for Perfect 10 (Eyes like Demi Moore) and These Days. Andreas wrote the lyrics to Stone Cold Eyes on his own.
Can you guys (each) give me a few lists (5-10) of favorite albums and bands from the ’80s or that you grew up with (the 70s??)
Tobias: Kiss – Animalize, Asylum, Crazy Nights / Van Halen – 5150 / Europe – Out of This World, Prisoners in Paradise/ Bon Jovi – New Jersey / Queensrÿche – Operation: Mindcrime / Giant – Last of The Runaways / Twisted Sister – Stay Hungry / Bryan Adams – Waking Up the Neighbours / Def Leppard – Hysteria / Motley Crüe – Theatre of Pain
Martin: Helloween – Keeper of The Seven Keys Part 1 / Giant – Last of The Runaways / Kiss – Crazy Nights / Magnum – On A Storyteller’s Night / Queensrÿche – Operation: Mindcrime
Marcus: Queensryche – Operation: Mindcrime / Kings X – Out of The Silent Planet / Toto – IV / Judas Priest – Defenders of The Faith / Accept – Metal Heart
Mattias: Rush – All The World’s A Stage / Queensryche – Operation: Mindcrime / Deep Purple – Machine Head / U2 – War / Van Halen – Van Halen
Jonny: Judas Priest – Screaming For Vengeance / Gary Moore – Wild Frontier / Ozzy Osbourne – The Ultimate Sin / Kiss – Animalize / Yngwie Malmsteen – Odyssey
NESTOR are five childhood friends who formed a band over three decades ago in their hometown of Falköping, Sweden. Now the rockstar dreams of their youth have been revitalized and once again the band embraces influences from the ’80s with tongues-in-cheek and a lot of heart.
Sweden band NESTOR debuted their first track via youtube back in March. The song “On The Run” is a classic ’80s type energetic aor-rocker, with a great riff, catchy chorus’, reflective lyrics, and a hilarious video featuring the band’s singer travelling back in his Volvo picking up his old bandmates to resurrect the band. It reminds me of Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home” video from ’85 as well as those Twisted Sister clips from the era. They followed that up with “1989”, a song about their fondness for that year — it was the year the band actually existed, as I listened to an interview with frontman Tobias Gustavsson where he talked about the band’s beginnings. “1989” is a punchy ’80s styed rocker, and again with another awesome video. The band’s third track released was the power-ballad “Tomorrow”, which is a duet with ’80s pop star Samantha Fox. Another outstanding track and accompanying video clip, featuring Fox, who looks and sounds better than I remember her from the ’80s. The track rivalling any of the great power ballads from 35 years ago. Now the whole album is ready to be released to the world on October 22. It features 10 tracks, and if the first 3 songs released got you excited for this album (with those 3 songs having been seen/heard over a million times on youtube), then Kids In A Ghost Town will be worth the wait! Every track would be a potential single if this was 1984. Kids In A Ghost Town might get you thinking back to those bands that were huge over decades ago like Journey, Van Halen [w/ Hagar], Kiss, Europe, Y & T… you’ll find plenty here to like, Great hooks, riffs, keyboards, all produced and presented like a lost ’80s album. Lots of fun, retro AOR rock tunes, lyrics reflecting and referencing the past relationships, stories and ’80s women – such as on “Perfect 10 (Eyes Like Demi Moore)”, other favorites being the heavier “Firesign”, “These Days”, as well as closing ballad “It Ain’t Me.” Included in the credits is Swedish songwriter Andreas Carlsson who has writing credits with TONS of 80s and 90s acts, including Bon Jovi (see Bounce), Paul Stanley (see Live To Win), Europe (see Back To Eden), Def Leppard (see X), as well as pop acts like Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Celine Dion…. (seriously – look this guy up). Kids In A Ghost Town celebrates the spirit of the ’80s rock era in music and image. Can’t wait to get this CD for the car… may even want to dig out a jean jacket!
The album is produced by Tobias Gustavsson, mixed by Sebastian Forslund (The Night Flight Orchestra), and mastered by Thomas “Plec” Johansson at The Panic Room.
TRACK LIST: A Fanfare For The Reliable Rebel (Intro) / On The Run / Kids In A Ghost Town / Stone Cold Eyes / Perfect 10 (Eyes Like Demi Moore) / These Days / Tomorrow (Feat. Samantha Fox) / We Are Not OK / Firesign / 1989 / It Ain’t Me
NESTOR ARE: Jonny Wemmenstedt (guitar), Mattias Carlsson (drums), Tobias Gustavsson (vocals), Marcus Åblad (bass), Martin Frejinger (keyboards)
Outsider Rock 