Four parts Brazilian, one part German and sprinkled with melodic rock; that's what goes into making up Paradise Inc on this, their debut long player release, 'Time'.

'Time (Live And Learn)' opens the opus on quite a slanted '80s musical high with its catchy choral arrangement and neat vocal melodies courtesy of Carsten "Lizard" Schulz, and the American influenced vein continues on 'Close Your Eyes'; again, not a bad effort with another memorable choral hook, the only problem being the current musical marketplace seems to be full to the brim with these AOR groups, possibly more so now than when the genre rode high many moons ago.

'Who's Fooling Who?' has a wonderful Baywatch soundtrack feel to it with its harmonic vocal passages that, no matter how hard you try not to, you simply can't avoid your foot tapping along with the track. 'I Will Wait' is brought in with a decent keyboard piece that fits perfectly with the tuneful soulful singing on offer from "The Lizard", lacking a killer hook though that would delve this particular tune higher in my personal ranking. 'Wait And See' gets a bit more serious on the guitar with its heavy riffage taking command from the six string attack of De Grigo and Marcos Peres, the piano-led Journey-esque intro forges some good shapes and promise on 'No More Mistakes' and unfolds into a passable, decent track even though it harps back on the influence and inspirational front. 'You' intertwines piano, heavy guitar and great backing vocals that all combine to make up a not too shabby tune. 'Set Me Free' and 'Steel Or Stone' keep the melodies to an above average standard but the songs are beginning to evolve into each other ever so slightly. 'Not In Paradise', featuring Doogie White on lead vocal duties, is let down by this average album track that doesn't really do justice overall to the musicianship and production that shines throughout the eleven tracks.

As a bonus European track we are given an acoustic version of 'Steel Or Stone' that isn't that much different to the original which in those terms seems pretty pointless to say the least, but nicely delivered still the same.

Will this appeal to the smoother Americanized fans of the world? Well, only 'Time' will tell...

www.paradiseinc.net