Jim Peterik & World Stage - Winds of Change

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Jim Peterik’s name is famous due his work with SURVIVOR, for being the composer of hits as “Eye of the Tiger” and “Burning Hearts” (both songs being on the sound tracks of “Rocky III” and “Rocky IV”, respectively) and for his collaborations with names as REO SPEEDWAGON, 38 SPECIAL, LYNYRD SKYNYRD, CHEAP TRICK, Sammy Hagar, and others. Today, he is the mind behind PRIDE OF LIONS, and others projects, as JIM PETERIK & WORLD STAGE, that is the matter of this review with its new release, “Winds of Change”.

With some special guests, on this work, Jim shows a Melodic Rock (or AOR, as the reader wishes to call the genre) insight, tender and accessible for a broader public. But it’s amazingly catchy, created with excellent and inspired melodies, amazingly catchy choruses, all in a way that’s pretty rare to find today. And his capacity of bring a genre from the late 70’s/earlier 80’s to the present days is amazing, because it bears that same high spirited energy, but in an updated insight. The sound quality of “Winds of Change” is great, being clean and with the right instrumental tunes. All was set to make the songs flow gently and hooking straight to the listeners’ hearts. It’s that kind of sound production that even a child can understand the music’s identity without troubles.

12 songs that fans of SURVIVOR, old BON JOVI, JOURNEY and other names of the same genre will love from the earliest seconds to the last moments of each song. But the excellent melodies of “Winds of Change”, the charming “Without a Bullet Being Fired” (Mike Reno’s voice never changes, and it seduces the listener), the bittersweet guitars and keyboards parts of “Proof of Heaven”, the deeper harmonies and tender ambience of “Home Fires”, the beautiful power ballad “Just for You”, the sophisticated insight used to build the melodies of “The Hand I Was Dealt” (Danny Vaughn is really an amazing vocalist, and you can hear that especially on the chorus), and “Avalanche” (a fine and accessible song, with an excellent Hard ‘n’ Roll feeling, maybe a consequence of Nelson’s brother presence, Gunnar and Matt) are the ones you must hear. The others that aren’t mentioned, you must hear as well.

“Winds of Change” is that kind of album that no one can resist (only those fools that prefer to make music something ideological and not what it truly is: fun).

Originality: 8
Songwriting: 10
Memorability: 9
Production: 10