This Just In: Brian Howe ends his recording career with EP

From Brian Howe, one time lead singer for Bad Company (posted on his Facebook page):

"MY NEW E.P. IS RELEASED ON MUSIC DOWNLOAD SITES TODAY.
CALLED "EMOTIONS" IT MARKS THE END OF MY RECORDING CAREER.
I DID NOT MAKE IT WITH A RECORD COMPANY AS I WANTED IT TO BE PERSONAL FROM ME TO YOU. I AM VERY PROUD OF THIS EFFORT WHICH WAS INFLUENCED BY THE LOVE OF MY LIFE.
PLEASE TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK ABOUT THIS RECORD AND SREAD THE WORD.
IT WILL BE STRANGE TO NEVER RECORD AGAIN BUT WITH THE ADVENT OF FREE MUSIC DOWNLOAD SITES AND RECORD COMPANIES WITH NO CLUE. THE TIME IS RIGHT TO RETIRE.
I HOPE YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO REAL "EMOTIONS" AS MUCH AS I DID MAKING IT."

Classic melodic rock CD of the week

By Stephen Kasenda

BAD COMPANY “Here Comes Trouble” (1992)

“Here Comes Trouble" marked the end of Brian Howe's era in Bad Company after 8 years with the band since he replaced Paul Rodgers in 1986. For those who haven't heard of him before, Howe possessed a smooth pop-rock and laid back vocal which is a bipolar opposite of the bluesy voice of Paul Rodgers. The album itself is very different ...in contrast to their early hard rock roots you'll feel a breezy blow of the thick AOR winds, thanks to the major contribution of Brian Howe.

"How About That", the first track of the album, was their biggest hit, spending over six weeks on the chart. I found this song to be an enchanting and beautiful showcase of Howe's majestic voice. The next single, "This Could Be The One", is another acoustic power ballad gem, but "Hold On To My Heart" is definitely the best pick on the album. Looking for an uptempo track here is a tough job as most of the songs are slower but "Take This Town" and "Stranger Than Fiction" are great examples of Howe's songwriting capability. Avoid "Both Feet In The Water" and "Brokenhearted", but take a close look at the other great songs such as "What About You" and "My Only One".

The swansong release of Brian Howe in Bad Company is a forgotten jewel of '92, especially if you're fond of melodic rock and AOR genre. The production is warm with the highlight being Howe's voice and the superb compositions. I recommend you pick this up for those singles alone but you'll be swarmed with at least 7-8 wonderful songs inside, so how about that?

Read more of Stephen’s features at MetalMusicArchives.