In the days when American Rock bands ruled the airwaves it was hard for UK bands to get a look in and even when they did – try catching the same breaks when the money isn’t there. I must admit at the time I would never have heard of FM if a girlfriend hadn’t dragged me to Rock City. At the time you see Bon Jovi were the biggest band in the World and artists like Europe, Motley Crue and a re-kindled Aerosmith dominated the charts while bands like Poison and Cinderella loomed large. FM I remember at the time were a little to Melodic for me, a little too REO Speedwagon or Foreigner when rock was starting to sport a harder edge. Plus, and this was the kicker for me, the production on Indiscreet was horrible.
Looking back Indiscreet is one of the pinnacles of UK Melodic Rock, just maybe a year or two too late and with the wrong producer. Rerecorded and remixed here it sounds astonishing. At the end of the day it is all about the quality of the songs and on Indiscreet FM have a feast of wonderful material. If you love foreigner and bands of a similar ilk then this is a must hear. And if you’re a long-term fan this release has the sound it always deserved.
That’s not all though – the real joy of this release is that we also get a new song: ‘Running on Empty’ and a re-recording of some of their equally ‘dated-sounding’ EP tracks – mainly from the ‘Only Foolin” EP – the highlights of which include: ‘Let Love Be The Leader’, ‘Rainbow’s End’, ‘Shot In The Dark’, ‘Bad That’s Good In You (Futurama)’, and ‘Love & Hate’. To cap it all there’s also a wonderful acoustic reworking of album opener ‘That Girl’.
Love the brand of AOR FM play today? this is where it all began.
