(Melodic Hard Rock | AOR) [CD] Angeline - We Were Raised On Radio - 2021, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

The Story so far...I could write 5 pages of this band only! ANGELINE was founded back in the Spring of 1987 in a town called Ljusdal in the lower part of northern Sweden. The guys had been playing in other bands before this, but this was truly the first classy act they all played in. The band name was taken from a song title of Paul Sabu¹s, which proves they kept some track of the AOR world! Having been influenced by bands like BON JOVI, EUROPE, IRON MAIDEN and QUEENSRYCHE, they found a suitable style that they all liked something between hard rock and AOR.In this early stage Jörgen Sigvardsson was the lead singer, and apart from the members above there was also keyboard player Per Åström. Angeline did their first gig in Fall of 1987 and also recorded their first demo songs shortly after this. They also participated in both Rock-SM and Musik Direkt in 1987 with great success. They finished in second and third place, respectively in these contests. Strengthened by these contests, the band recorded the first ²real² demo called "The Legend" in 1988. It actually made it to third place in a rock chart in England! Some of the guys were as young as 15 or 16 years old at this time, and it was impressive that they could perform such good songs and playing.1989 proved to be a tough year for the band, though. Singer Jörgen (nicknamed ²Sigge²) got real sick and had to be in the hospital for 2 months. As he also had a bad heart condition, apart from this disease, it was very hard for him to get back in shape after the sickness. They worked with new recordings and even this was filled with problems; the technique was not working properly. Finally they had their mini-LP "Don't Settle For Second Best" released in 1990, on Sigges father's label Wigwam. Per Åström produced it but actually left the band shortly after the MLP release. But Angelize went on without a keyboard player, because the rest of the band didn¹t mind a rougher sound at all.But Sigge still struggled with sickness. It forced the band to shorten down their shows. Angeline experienced a nice evening in the end of 1990, though, as they playad at a rock festival with CANDLEMASS, PRETTY MAIDS and some others! At this point Jocke and Tobbe started playing in cover bands, besides playing with Angeline. They realized it was much easier to get gigs and money by doing covers, which soon made Angeline add more and more cover songs to their live sets. Although they were still writing and playing many new songs of their own, they found it hard to make a decision. Which way should they go? And Sigge didn¹t get better from his illness.The follow-up to the mini-LP was recorded, with the title "Masquerade", but for some strange reason it wasn't finished. And today all the master tapes are erased of otherwise destroyed, which is really too bad. During 1991 and 1992 there was, however, some demos recorded for example a 3 song demo in 1992. It was produced by well-known Mats Lindfors in Park Studio, Stockholm. The result was brilliant! But the melodic side of hard rock had started to lose its glance, so it was hard for Angeline to get a record deal. As if this wasn't enough, it was also clear that Sigge wouldn't be able to go on a big tour. The guys had to think about getting another singer, and thus lose a close friend.The rest of 1992 and also 1993 were a period of not much happening for Angeline. Sigge started a cover band, Cortez And The Killers (doing Neil Young covers only!), while Jocke and Tobbe mostly giggen with their cover bands. But in late Spring of 1993 they got a gig in Rimini, Italy! The arrangers wanted them to send down some live material which they didn¹t have (at least not anything with a good sound) So they hired a facility in Ljusdal and put up some recording gear! 11 songs were recorded live, and Angeline was soon heading for Italy! They did gigs every night for a week, Janne and Sigge went to Genova for a radio interview and the show was later broadcasted in Italian radio. It was a good Summer.Miliary Service has affected many bands over time. Angeline was no exception to the rule, and in Fall of 1993 it was Uffes turn. Janne went to the USA and Jocke moved to Stockholm. However, in the military service Uffe met the singer Leif Grabbe from Umeå, who agreed to do an audition. Jocke came home from Stockholm and the guys started to write songs. As Janne came home from the USA for Christmas, a "new" Angeline was born! The guys added a slight blues feeling to the melodic hard rock, and in April of 1994 the CD single "Rain" was recorded once again with per Åström as the producer!In the Summer there was another short tour with gigs in Italy and all seemed to be set for success. The guys returned to Sweden but soon got another deal for some shows in Italy. Even though Sigge had officially left the microphone to Leif, both of them actually traveled to Italy for one of these tours.More problems were to come as Leif couldn't stay away from partying, and this affected his singing. Jocke actually had to cover for his singing and there was a bad spirit in the band. Back home in Sweden again, they realized it was a sinking ship.Yet, it was to get even worse. Sigge had to be put in hospital again, for a heart surgery. After a first surgery he went home to gain strength, to be able to make a second surgery during 1995. Sadly enough, he never made it that far. He died in his sleep on February 13, 1995. The rest of the guys took it really hard, in spite of the fact that they knew this could happen. They continued playing, but in total loss of any spirit. Leif had also got sacked in early 1995, and at this point Jocke handled the lead vocals. In December the same year, Uffe left the band. Angeline was now a cover band only. They continued until 2001, doing lots of gigs at for example skiing resorts. They also released a CD with cover songs in 1997, with Mats Lindfors producing.Since 1997 there is also a bi-annual Family Day in memory of Jörgen "Sigge" Sigvardsson. It includes new local artists and there's a scholarship being handed out to one of those each time.Ola Gränshagen 031215 (Sweden Rock Magazine).In 2004 some friends of Sigge made a short film about him and his life. The film is called "Sigge Stardust" and it made a big impact at Göteborgs film festival in 2005 .In October 2007 the band once again reunited for a one off show at the “Sigge” bi-annual family day. The show also celebrated the bands 20th anniversary. During the show the band made a pleasant surprise, realizing that in their absence they had grown a new generation of fans. The band has since recorded a bunch of new tracks hopefully to be included on a forthcoming album.On the 19th of feb 2010 the first new Angeline album in 20 years sees the light of the day.The Band Is Back...

Swedes ANGELINE have been around the block since 1987, so you better believe they make justice to the guys new album title “We Were Raised On Radio“. And think 1980’s radio… so expect a melodic rock / AOR collection of radio-ready choruses and sweet melodies.
Kicking off with the storming Leppard-esque melodies of ‘Helpless’ and ending with the power-pop heaven of ‘Waiting For Paradise’, Angeline leave no stone unturned in creating a gloriously nostalgic sound that’ll have the hairs all over your body standing to attention in approbation if this is the kind of music you grew up on.
Best track ‘Closer’ is pure radio rock perfection, it’s open hearted chorus and crystalline lead guitar lines bringing memories of names like Honeymoon Suite flooding back into the ol’ cerebral cortex in a manner you won’t want to resist.
This band really know how to craft a melodic rock song – listen to how well ‘My Heart Won’t Let You Go’ is put together for proof, as wave after wave of bubbling synths and superb backing vocals bolster Joachim Nilsson’s understated lead vocal to push home the song’s spine-tingling refrain), but it’s still a long way from ‘knowing’ to ‘doing’ and luckily this band has a lot of the skill in that latter part too.
The triumphant, life-affirmingly anthemic ‘Raised on Radio’ adds a little bit of Bon Jovi to the mix (you’ll feel like breaking into an unhinged but sincere blast of Blood on Blood when you hear it, I’ll bet), and if the Sabbathy intro of ‘Remission’ doesn’t quite fit the feelgood heights of the rest of the material then at least it’s still a rather good piece of riff-led rock in it’s own right, with another Leppardy chorus waiting to ensnare you in it’s charms…
https://dangerdog.com/2021-music-reviews/angeline-we-were-raised-on-radio.php

Jocke Nilsson – vocals
Jann Akegren – guitar
Tobbe Jonsson – drums
Uffe Nilsson – bass