I must admit that back in the Day when Dare first appeared I was listening to far heavier fare and as a result missed out on seeing them more than a couple of times, something I’ll always regret. Dare’s biggest album ‘Out of the Silence’ is 30 years old this year and like so many other records released back in the day the label still hasn’t relinquished the rights meaning that like FM before them (with ‘Indiscreet’) one of the real trailblazers of UK Melodic Rock has to go back to the record and re-record it.
Of course like most decades the 80’s had a certain ‘feel’ to the production of Melodic Rock releases and whilst technology has come along in leaps and bounds since then there’s still a certain warmth to those original recordings that often gets pushed out with modern re-workings. The good news here is that Darren Wharton has kept all that we loved and rater than go for a simple re-take he’s upped the ante – adding more meat to the guitars especially in the solos and even changed them on tracks like ‘Nothing is Stronger Than Love’.
Of course ‘Abandon’ that opens the record is a song that needs no introduction – possibly one of the greatest Melodic Rockers of any era but certainly up there with the very best the 80’s produced. Here it sounds stunning and I have to say it is even better than the original. There I’ve said it…
On ‘II’ Darren Wharton is joined by original Dare guitarist Vinny Burns, Kev Whitehead (drums), Nigel Clutterbuck (bass) and Marc Roberts (keys) and there’s clear chemistry even if the songs must be more than familiar to all. The album of course is stunning from start to finish and I must admit that back in the day I always wondered why Dare weren’t simply huge in the US where this kind of music ruled and many of the bands that pushed it out appeared in varying degrees to be ‘going through the motions’. This album had it all and seemingly was perfectly poised to crack that lucrative market but I’m not even sure it saw a release Stateside.
If you love AOR then this is one of the real benchmarks of the genre: great melodies, huge harmonies, clear and passionate vocals, and most importantly of all catchy and memorable songs. There are rockers like ‘Abandon’; ‘Runaway’ and ‘Heartbreaker’ and lighter-waving anthems like ‘Return The Heart’ and ‘Don’t Let Go’. Add to that the sumptuous piano-led ‘Nothing Is Stronger Than Love’ and the tribute to Phil Lynott ‘King of Spades’ and you have the core of an album that has to be one of the all-time greats.
You need this in your collection.
