Year : 1980 (Rock Candy Remastered 2009)
Style : Melodic Rock , Progressive Rock , AOR
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 99 mb
Bio:
Progressive hard rock band formed in 1976 in Chicago, USA.For every American rock band that found increasing success on commercial radio during the second half of the '70s -- Journey, Styx, Kansas, etc. -- there were additional dozens possessing the same sonic recipe for infectious bombast but which, for some reason or other, just never made the grade, including Trillion. Inspired by the incredible success of Boston's era-defining debut album, Chicago-based musicians Pat Leonard (keyboards) and Bill Wilkins (drums) decided to condense their indulgent progressive rock tendencies into more concise nuggets of melodic rock (not quite AOR yet), qualified by an equal amount of instrumental prowess and great hooks. Initially calling themselves Whisper, the pair duly recruited Dennis "Fergie" Frederiksen (vocals), Frank Barbalace (guitar), and Ron Anaman (bass/vocals) from some of the local scene's top bands and, after securing a strong management team, scored a deal with Epic Records and immediately set to work on their eponymous first album with producer Gary Lyons, who was fresh off working on Foreigner's debut. Trillion's debut arrived in stores in 1978, but despite the band's good fortune of obtaining key supporting tour slots with Heart, Aerosmith, and cross-town rivals Styx, it shifted only a modest number of units, and already began stressing intra-band relations. First came the controversial decision to dispose of Frederiksen and replace him with one Thom Griffin for Trillion's sophomore Epic LP Clear Approach; then came the departure of bandleader Patrick Leonard, who would go onto enjoy massive success as a major songwriter and producer in the decades to come, most notably in tandem with pop superstar Madonna. The remaining musicians in Trillion continued to perform diligently but without achieving widespread success, except for original singer Frederiksen, who recorded with Toto in the mid-‘80s amid several hit songwriting co-credits for other bands (Survivor, Le Roux).
Album:
Here’s TRILLION second effort “Clear Approach” fully remastered by Rock Candy Records with a bonus track.Without a doubt, Trillion was one of the greatest Pomp Rock acts to emerge from the US early ’80s scene. Signed to industry powerhouse Epic Records, the Chicago-based quintet Trillion made major inroads with their self-titled debut album, but it wasn’t until the release of this, their second album “Clear Approach” that matters reached a musical crescendo.With the addition of new – and terrific – vocalist Thom Griffin, and an astounding selection of highly melodic songs, the band hit a level of sophistication and emotion that few have ever matched in the Pomp AOR genre.“Clear Approach” is unquestionably one of the most accomplished and impressive albums of the era, packing a powerful punch with intelligent songs, masterful vocals, complex – almost progressive – arrangements and polished production (by John Boylan, Boston debut album).You have here such classic songs as the smooth ‘Love Me Anytime’, the stunning ‘Make It Last Forever’, the elegant AOR of ‘Promises’, the hooky ‘What Can You Do’ and ‘Wishing I Knew It All’.Thom’s vocals are extremely sweet, like a mix between Styx’s Tommy Shaw and Toto’s Bobby Kimball, and his contribution to the band turned things much more AOR.Trillion’s “Clear Approach” is a true AOR gem.This Rock Candy remaster handled by Jon Astley is one of their best, ‘reloaded’ with a 12-page colour booklet, previously unpublished photos and 4,000 word story of the making of the album by Stephen Allen.And there’s more; the excellent previously unreleased ‘You Clown’ as bonus track, a song intended to be originally on the album but Epic Records suggested to discard (!)“Clear Approach” is an absolute MUST for all of you AOR fans out there, who are looking for some of the best Pomp Rock albums ever, remastered in all its glory.
Line Up:
Thom Griffin – vocals, guitars
Frank Barbalace – guitars, vocals
Pat Leonard – keyboards, piano
Ron Anaman – bass, vocals
Bill Wilkins – drums
Production:
Design – Nancy Donald
Design [Re-issue] – Cürt Evans
Engineer – Paul Grupp
Engineer [Assistant] – Deni King, Ed Cherney
Guitar, Keyboards – Patrick Leonard
Guitar, Vocals – Frank Barbalace
Lead Vocals, Guitar – Thom Griffin
Liner Notes – Stephen Allen*
Management [Direction] – Barry Fox (2), Twogether Management
Mastered By [Originally Mastered By] – Wally Traugott
Photography By [Cover] – Jake Rajs
Photography By [Inner Sleeve] – R. Zukas
Producer – John Boylan
Remastered By [2009] – Jon Astley
Written-By – Barbalace* (tracks: 2-9), Michael David Black (tracks: 1), Leonard* (tracks: 2-9), Ron Anaman (tracks: 2), Griffin* (tracks: 2-3,6)
Written-By [Uncredited] – Frank Barbalace (tracks: 10), Patrick Leonard (tracks: 10)
Tracklist:
01. Make Time for Love
02. Love Me Anytime
03. I Know the Feeling
04. Make It Last Forever
05. Promises
06. Cities
07. What Can You Do?
08. Clear Approach
09. Wishing I Knew It All
10. You Clown (Unreleased B-side) (Bonus Track)
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
