Following the success of their acclaimed 2018 album ‘Invincible’, which spent an incredible ten consecutive weeks in the Top 30 Official German Rock and Metal Charts and was voted Sleaze’s Nation’s # 2 album of 2018, Australian based Theatrical Glam Rock Warriors, CROSSON, return in 2020 with their new album Rock ‘N Roll Love Affair.
Released on April 24th via Galaxy Records, Rock ‘N Roll Love Affair is a slab of fun hard rock delivering a line of choruses that are perfect for sing-alongs with stomping rhythms propelling every song to a perfect marching pace. It”s easy to see why when you see who is involved with the album though. Making guest appearances were Dario Bortolin from Baby Animals and Stu Marshall from Death Dealer, two well experienced musicians who’s reputation for their own music an advocate for the quality Crosson strive for which Crosson’s frontman and main visionary Jason Crosson explained in our recent interview.
“My philosophy is, if you want the best, you’ve got to use the best”, says Jason. “Dario played on our last album and he is amazing so it was a no-brainer to use him again. Stu, I’ve known for a few years now so when I was looking for someone to really ‘blow the speakers’ , I asked Stu and he was happy to do it. We spent about 3 days in his studio over the Christmas break and boy, did he deliver!”
Working with producer Duane Baron on the mixing for the new tracks, known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne, Motley Crue, Alice Cooper and Poison, the final mix is boombastic and crisp and reflects the body of work that the big names strive for. Dave Donnelly (Aerosmith, KISS, Whitesnake), sat in for the mastering side of things while the engineering was run by Aussie veteran Russell Pilling (The Vines, Hoodoo Gurus).
“Following our last album (2018’s Invincible) and the great response we had to it, we knew that the next album had to be better in terms of songwriting and production, so the pressure was on“, explains Jason. “The drums , bass and vocals were tracked at Damien Gerard Studios in Sydney with engineer Russell Pilling. After Duane has waved his ‘magic wand’ and it’s sounding huge and vibrant, it’s then sent off to Dave Donnelly in the USA for the mastering. We’ve been using this combination of engineers for the last 3 albums, so we have a great team.”
Ahead of the release of “Rock ‘N Roll Love Affair”, Crosson toured with some of Melodic Rock’s greats as part of this year’s Melodic Rock Fest sideshows which despite some of the issues that arose from the main event including the threat of Covid-19 which resulted in these shows being some of the very last before the lockdown, was a fun and fairly successful run of shows, emphasising especially on the fun factor.
“It was great fun travelling around the country with these guys“, remembers Jason. “It was quite surreal being backstage and listening to these songs by Ron Keel, Janet Gardner and Enuff ‘Z Nuff that I grew up with. They were all really lovely and they loved what CROSSON did with the theatrics. You could see them peeking through the curtains or standing out the back during our set. On our final night after our set, I was out the back with Ron Keel and he says “ Would you like to come up tonight and sing The Right To Rock with me? ” I was like “Are you serious?”. I then put on my sweaty wet clothes and costume and joined him for the encore for the Rock N Roll Anthem. I ended up getting a cold by hanging around in my wet clothes, but it was worth it!! I’ll always remember that experience.”
You can check out our review of their show with Reckless Love HERE and with Enuff Z’Nuff, Ron Keel and Janet Gardner HERE.
Several videos came out of the new album which are all available on Youtube and via the official band website here. Tracks like “Everyone’s A Star” starts with a keyboard “march” feel perfectly visualized in it’s video with a siren light, and then the drums and guitar kick in to propel this thing into that full blown “grab the villagers and torches, we’re going marching” stomp that the band excels at doing. Or “Rest In Peace”, a heartfelt tribute to Jason’s Mother with a perfect mid-tempo pace that instantly hooks you, but leads into the chorus which hits you right in the gut.
As Rockpit writer Carl Isonhart stated in his review, “Kudos to Crosson for mainly being all after the BIG Rock. Even when they slow it down for one song, “You’re the Reason,” they don’t forget that their mission is to get you on your feet, get your fist raised into the air, and to get you interested in a Rock ‘n’ Roll revolution.”
If you love your melodic rock with a bit of theatrical glam and fun spirit, then Crosson will be right up your alley. Fans of Motley Crue, Kiss and Poison will definitely be right into this and best of all, they are Aussie!
Check out Crosson now on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube and grab their music and official merch at www.crosson.com.au.
