Good grief!! Suddenly I'm transported back in time, I'm in an AOR quantum leap!!!! It's 1984 all over again... 'Back To The Start' is the "comeback" CD from a band that seemed to promise so much and got off to such a great start with their critically acclaimed 'Shaft Of Light' debut. With a gap of 27 years and the success of the reissue of said debut in 2009 popular demand now brings us the return of Airrace!

Minus the magic touch of Beau Hill and his production that most probably cost the guys a few quid back in the early Eighties, this album really does remind me of all those UK bands that appeared on 'ECT' back in the day - they were all kinda "nearly rans" and I feel I'm not being be unduly harsh on Airrace when I say they kind of fitted into that category nicely.  

'Keep On Going' introduces us to a bygone sound of British melodic rock whilst also managing to devilishly sneak Cliff Richard-like harmonies into four minutes of prime keyboard driven AOR. 'Two Of A Kind' and 'Baby' pass by like a warm summer breeze but they don't really leave any lasting impression other than making me think of Foreigner. When we get to 'Call Me Anytime' this has a real quality to it and showcases the superb vocal talents of Keith Murrell, the vocals do need to be up in the mix more though, being a little swamped in the guitar.

'So Long' comes in paying homage to classic Whitesnake and ends up sounding like Survivor, which is no bad thing at all in my book. 'Back To The Start' meanwhile is an autobiographical account of how the guys in the band currently feel about their lot in life. The heaviest thing on offer here is probably 'Wrong Way Out' which once again has me thinking of Lou Gramm with some nicely layered vocal harmonies. 'Back To The Start' keeps the heavier songwriting formula with 'Enough Of Your Lovin' where again the vocals are to my delicate shell likes swamped once again by guitar, whilst the keyboards return to maximum parp effect on album closer 'What Do You Want From Me'. The great vocal talents of Keith are certainly heard better on this track and I would have liked to have heard more tracks mixed like this.

Airrace had some great opening slots during their first shot at fame, which included Def Leppard, AC/DC, Queen and Meat Loaf, opportunities that most bands would die for. In a day when their peers will be telling them how AOR is making such a huge comeback with the likes of Journey, Foreigner and Night Ranger having a very deserving second coming, their new found label mates really are in another galaxy with their recent releases.

There are very high expectations on Airrace's padded shoulders with 'Back To The Start', let's just hope they can make something of this second time around, eh!

http://www.myspace.com/airraceband