Bonrud
Save Tomorrow
Escape Music
2012
I had almost forgotten of that project until I saw it on my promo list and was surprised for a second. I was trying to remember when the last time I had heard from the guys was, and I realized it was 8 years ago. I remember they had an AOR approach in their music mostly influenced by Journey & Survivor but are things the same nowadays?
First things first, there’s a new singer behind the mic. Honestly, I was struggling to recall what he reminded me of… his voice was so familiar… till his name came to me out of nowhere. Holy crap, Rick “Four Octave” Forsgren used to be the singer of the great – but so underground and underrated – hard rock band called Conditioned Response! Can anyone recall them out there? Well, I think the time has come so as to present their debut at some point… but this ain’t the matter here. Anyhow, I was taken by surprise when I listened to Rick again after so many years. Believe me, his voice is still as amazing and warm as it used to be.
Paul Bonrud began working with Rick Forsgren when the first one relocated to Minnesota. As you can understand the project has taken a more rockin’ direction than in the past. It’s not anAOR band anymore… how could it be… as Rick’s voice is way more powerful plus he has a great range. I can also spot some Conditioned Response features in the band’s sound. Fairly enough, I like them better now as they seem to be in the right music way…
The production is excellent, rich and powerful. Paul Bonrud engineered and co-produced the album with six-time Grammy winner Keith Olsen (Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner, Ozzy Osbourne, Sammy Hagar, etc.) & it was mastered by Steve Hall (Alice in Chains, Madonna, Richard Marx)! Moreover, the drums were performed by Paul Higgins and recorded at the famed London Bridge Studio in Seattle (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains). The keyboards were performed by Richard Baker (Santana, Saga, Gary Wright), Eric Ragno (Graham Bonnet, Fergie Frederiksen, Jeff Scott Soto, Takara, etc.) and Dave Gross. Wow, there’s a lot of vigilant and significant work behind this album can’t you tell?
“Save Tomorrow” is, without any doubt, a step forward for Bonrud. All the tracks are very good but specifically songs such as: the hard rockin’ opener “We Collide”, the startling melodic rocker “Save Tomorrow”, the wonderful slow-tempo “Liquid Sun”, the 80s-like straight hard rockin’ “Blinded”, the kinda contemporary with nice hooks “Dominoes”, the tuneful pop-rocker “You’re the One”, the catchy “Torn Apart” & the fantastic rocker “End of Days” (one of the best songs of the year) truly shine here.
The band updated their sound for the better and made some important changes that will help them evolve and go on more dynamically in the future. Bonrud has worked a lot on the album, taking care of every little detail, in order to present the best possible outcome and so he did. “Save Tomorrow” is one of the best and most tasteful melodic rock albums of the year… but it’s not only that… for I think this is just the beginning… the best is yet to come…
First things first, there’s a new singer behind the mic. Honestly, I was struggling to recall what he reminded me of… his voice was so familiar… till his name came to me out of nowhere. Holy crap, Rick “Four Octave” Forsgren used to be the singer of the great – but so underground and underrated – hard rock band called Conditioned Response! Can anyone recall them out there? Well, I think the time has come so as to present their debut at some point… but this ain’t the matter here. Anyhow, I was taken by surprise when I listened to Rick again after so many years. Believe me, his voice is still as amazing and warm as it used to be.
Paul Bonrud began working with Rick Forsgren when the first one relocated to Minnesota. As you can understand the project has taken a more rockin’ direction than in the past. It’s not an
The production is excellent, rich and powerful. Paul Bonrud engineered and co-produced the album with six-time Grammy winner Keith Olsen (Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner, Ozzy Osbourne, Sammy Hagar, etc.) & it was mastered by Steve Hall (Alice in Chains, Madonna, Richard Marx)! Moreover, the drums were performed by Paul Higgins and recorded at the famed London Bridge Studio in Seattle (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains). The keyboards were performed by Richard Baker (Santana, Saga, Gary Wright), Eric Ragno (Graham Bonnet, Fergie Frederiksen, Jeff Scott Soto, Takara, etc.) and Dave Gross. Wow, there’s a lot of vigilant and significant work behind this album can’t you tell?
“Save Tomorrow” is, without any doubt, a step forward for Bonrud. All the tracks are very good but specifically songs such as: the hard rockin’ opener “We Collide”, the startling melodic rocker “Save Tomorrow”, the wonderful slow-tempo “Liquid Sun”, the 80s-like straight hard rockin’ “Blinded”, the kinda contemporary with nice hooks “Dominoes”, the tuneful pop-rocker “You’re the One”, the catchy “Torn Apart” & the fantastic rocker “End of Days” (one of the best songs of the year) truly shine here.
The band updated their sound for the better and made some important changes that will help them evolve and go on more dynamically in the future. Bonrud has worked a lot on the album, taking care of every little detail, in order to present the best possible outcome and so he did. “Save Tomorrow” is one of the best and most tasteful melodic rock albums of the year… but it’s not only that… for I think this is just the beginning… the best is yet to come…