Jean Beauvoir…. one of the most recognisable hairdos in rock has had a long and successful career, featuring in the glam / punk band the Plasmatics, AOR cult gods Voodoo X and melodic rockers Crown Of Thorns, together with a long-standing solo career, he has created some classic tunes throughout the years. So having appeared on some 200+ plus albums, in his 30 year + career it was probably time he released a best of compilation album, which is going to be split into two, with Vol 2 being scheduled for release in 2019.
Vol 1 is due to be released via AOR Heaven on 6th July and the album kicks off with the Crown of Thorns opus ‘Faith’ with its enticing keyboard intro before the heavy guitar riffs crunch in, which is great way to start proceedings. Next up is the title track on the debut Crown of Thorns album, which is full of melody and soul. This is quickly followed by the AOR classic ‘ Dying for Love’ which brings back great memories seeing the band support Bon jovi back in 1993. We take our first dip in the 80s with ‘Feel The Heat’ from the Soundtrack to the Stallone movie Cobra, which also featured on the Jean Beauvoir hit album ‘Drums Along The Mohawk’ and my personal favorite tune of his. The melodic upbeat rocker ‘Lyin’ from the Crown of Thorns classic ‘Lost Cathedral’ is followed by ‘Heartbeat’ with its outstanding vocal from Beauvoir. ‘The Awakening’ from the Wes Craven horror film ‘Shocker’ features next before we are treated to the melodic ‘Missing The Young Days’. The Rock dance floor classic ‘Hike It Up’, is up next providing memories of many a great night in the Rock Club Maximes in Wigan. The amazing Crown of Thorns tunes ‘Secret Jesus’ and ‘Rock Ready’ are followed by ‘The One’ before we are blown away by the brilliant ‘Voodoo Queen’ from Voodoo X’s cult classic ‘The Awakening album’ which should have been a massive hit. This brings up the final part to Vol 1 ‘Standing On The Corner For Ya’ which is a different version featuring a gospel backing choir and more keyboards than the original version, which for me works really well, and was released as a single last year.
Jean Beauvoir has been involved with and produced dozens of brilliant melodic and memorable tunes over the years, many of which feature on Vol 1 here, and this is a perfect place to start if you are new to the music of Jean Beauvoir or only know of his Crown Of Thorns albums. A brilliant best of album which will be spinning in my car for a good while to come, which makes it an essential purchase.
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