(Melodic Rock/Female Vocals) Wild Blue - No More Jinx (Vinyl Rip) - 1986, MP3 (tracks), 320 kbps

Wild Blue were originally from Chicago, and were previously known as Jinx (hence the title for this album.. geddit?). As history would have it, there appeared to be a lot of hi-jinx with this version of the band. Let's take a history lesson. As mentioned, Wild Blue formed as a springboard from the band Jinx which performed locally in clubs in and around the Chicago area. Their most formative period saw keyboardist Joe Zanona, bassist Terry Curtain and former Trillion member Frank Barbalace as key players; though the trio were still looking for a female vocalist and a drummer. On board came drummer Mike Neff and Wisconsin raised singer Renee Varo. Wild Blue raised their profile locally, with gigs and then record deals. The first (and ultimately the best) deal came from Chryalis Records, a label better represented in the UK with a strong roster over there. The history books would show that this band was nothing more than a vehicle for singer Renee Varo, but this was not the case, as she was a late addition to the band lineup. The band however struck problems when Chrysalis decided to take only Varo and Zanona to London to record one half of the 'No More Jinx' album with a spate of hired guns being used instead, leaving the other band members behind. As a consequence, Curtain and Neff quit, leaving Barbalace to hold the fort back Stateside. Varo and Zanona rejoined Barbalace and some local hired guns, including drummer Ken Harck previously from Off Broadway. The resulting material though strong, was not cohesive. It certainly wasn't what Chrysalis were looking for, as the whole thing came off sounding overly slick. My guess is they were looking for something a bit rockier, similar perhaps to the mind-blowingly successful Heart album the year before.