Many Adult Contemporary Music CD's are continuously being released every month. So, I would hereby show you Adult Contemporary Music new releases ( also including Reissues) information as "Bi-Monthly Recommended Discs" (Sorry, sometimes Quaterly...) . I would highly recommend you to buy several albums by reading my personal reviews. Recently, there are not so many Adult Contemporary releases comparing with before. Thus, sometime this page might not be so much updated as before. Instead, please check my blog for the most updated infromation.

David Roberts / Better Late Than Never

<ACM Rating: >

It is really my great pleasure to review the David Roberts 2nd solo album "Better Late Than Never" released early summer of 2008! As you fully know, David Roberts' 1982 masterpiece album "All Dressed Up" was reissued in July 2006 on CD by VIVID SOUND, Japan and many AOR / West Coast fans are expecting his brand-new album since then. The wait is over! The first recording session of this 2nd solo album was done in the Summer of 2007 in Los Angels with Greg Mathieson as the producer, who was the one producing "All Dressed Up" in 1982! David recorded 5 songs including self-cover version of "Before I Go" originally recorded by STARSHIP for their smash hit album "Knees In The Hoopla" (1986) and a song titled "Stay WIth Me", unreleased material recorded by John Waite (ex Babys) in early 90's. The backing up musicians are awesome; Michael Landau (guitar), Greg Mathieson (keyboards), Abe Laboriel (bass), Mike Baird (drums) and Luis Conte (percussion) gathered to record 5 tunes for this David's come-back album. The rest half of the album was done in Nashville in March 2008, with Fred Mollin as the producer, best-known for America's 1980's album "Alibai" and/or Jimmy Webb's 1996 album "Ten Easy Pieces". It is not too much to say that David's voice are tremendous and perfect. Greg Mathieson's producing are really great as before. And Michael Landau rules! Last but not least, you should note that David is now very active for the future. Once his Japan tour starting on October 4, 2008 at Club Quatro Shibuya, Tokyo (and perforom also in Osaka and Nagoya, and again in Tokyo on October 8) would be successfully done with huge applause by audience, and many fans would buy this album as a token of your further expectation to David's next musical effort, David must not wait you so long. Therefore, please show the flag to David now by attending to his gigs and buy this brand-new album! The history will be made by your action!

• Label: Vivid Sound Corp., Japan (VSCD-3364)
• Release Date: July 23, 2008
• Producers: Greg Mathieson, Fred Mollin
• David Roberts : Lead and Background Vocals
• Musicians:
  • Guitars: Michael Landau, Brent Mason, J.T. Corenflos, Fred Mollin
  • Bass: Abraham Laboriel Sr., Larry Paxton
  • Drums: Mike Baird, Shannon Forest
  • Keyboards: Greg Mathieson, Pat Coil
  • Percussion: Luis Conte
  • Tambourine: Fred Mollin
  • Banjo: Fred Mollin
  • Background Vocals: Tim Buppert, Lyle Gudmunsen

International Order

• Tracks
  1. Best Thing I Never Had
  2. Better Late Than Never
  3. Someone Else's Song
  4. Before I Go
  5. Stay With Me Tonight
  6. Be Gentle With My Heart
  7. Eighth Wonder
  8. This Is How I Say Goodbye
  9. If I Woulda' Been There
  10. What I've Been Missing

Chicago / Stone Of Sisyphus

<ACM Rating: >

Most long-awaited release in the rock histroy must be the Chicago XXII "Stone Of Sisyphus". Recorded in 1993. The album's original release date in the United States was scheduled for March 22, 1994. However, Warner Bros. Records was displeased with the album, and thus dismissed Stone of Sisyphus as being "unreleasable." On the booklet of this album, detailed stories are shown. Briefly speaking, when the album was finished, the new executives of the label, who might not understand how this album was awesome musically, declared "This is the worst Chicago album yet. We can put it out, but we're not going to do anything with it, promotion-wise." Chicago left the label, taking the album with them. The sequential XXII was subsquently assigned to 1995's "Night & Day". Thus, "Stone Of Sisphus" is now officially, "Chicago XXXII". Even though most of the tracks from the album, and/or alternative versions surfaced on several kinds of Chicago's best albums or Chicago band member's solo works, but the complete album release had been eagered by many music lovers. Comparing with the original shape of "Stone Of Sisyphus" as of 1994, this official release seems to be a little bit diffrent. Track-order has been changed for this time official release. For example, the 1994 version opens with "All the Years", a horn-less version had appeared on Lamm's 1993 solo album, "Life Is Good In My Neighbourhood". And you should note that 1994 version includes one more song Dwayne Baily' penned "Get On This" featuring hard driving guitars, soaring vocals. This tune was said to be the type of song Chicago had never done before and will, more than likely, never do again. Probably, that's the reason why current Chicago members decided not to include on the official release. Instead, this momentous release also features 4 bonus tracks including "Love Is Forever", the unreleased demo material from "Chicago 21".

• Label: Rhino Records, USA <491580> (Japan: Warner Music Japan <WPCR-12970>)
• Release Date: June 17, 2008 (USA), July 23, 2008 (Japan)
• Producer: Peter Wolf
• Chicago (as at 1993) was:
  • Robert Lamm: Keyboards, Lead & Backing Vocals
  • Walter Parazaider: Woodwinds, Backing Vocals
  • Lee Loughnane: Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Backing Vocals
  • James Pankow: Trombone, Backing Vocals, Horn Arrangements
  • Bill Champlin: Keyboards,Rhythm Guitars, Lead & Backing Vocals
  • Jason Scheff: Bass, Lead & Backing Vocals
  • Dawayne Baily: Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar, Lead & Backing Vocals, Horn co-arrangement
  • Tris Imboden: Drums, Percussion, Harmonica
• Guest Musicians:
  • Bruce Gaitsch: Guitar
  • The Jordinaires: Backing Vocals
  • Sheldon Reynolds: Guitar
  • Jerry Scheff: Bass
  • Joseph Williams: Backing Vocals
  • Peter Wolf: Arranger, Keyboard Bass, Keyboards

International Order

• Tracks:
  1. Stone Of Sisyphus
  2. Bigger Than Elvis
  3. All The Years
  4. Mah-Jong
  5. Sleeping In The Middle Of The Bed
  6. Let s Take A Lifetime
  7. The Pull
  8. Here With Me (A Candle For The Dark)
  9. Plaid
  10. Cry For The Lost
  11. The Show Must Go On
  12. Love Is Forever (Demo)
  13. Mah-Jong (Demo)
  14. Let s Take A Lifetime (Demo)
  15. Stone Of Sisyphus (No Rhythm Loop)

Robert Lamm / The Bossa Project

<ACM Rating: >

Robert Lamm, the founding member of Chicago, has been enthusiastic musically in recent years. After the success of his 2003 solo release "Subtlety & Passion", it is not so long to start thinking about what to do next. The result is the Bossa Project. Robert and John Van Eps began writing and choosing jazz standard songs by late 2005. Robert explains how the concept of this project has been decided as follows; " We couldn't decide if this was going to be Bossa Electronic, or Organic/Acoustic, both approaches were sounding good in the early going. We decided to show both sides with John's great 're-mixing' skills, on 3 tracks: Girl Talk, Samba in Your Life, and Nice 'n' Easy. " Robert adds "I really loved exploring the lower ranges of my vocals, and lower volume and velocity of the Bossa Nova style. I have always had the greatest respect for the Brasilian artists who emerged in the 60's and 70's. This album is my bow of acknowledgment."

• Label: Blue Infinity, USA
• Release Date: June 3, 2008
• Producer: John Van Eps
• Executive Producer: Mark Fried
• Robert Lamm: Vocals, Co-producer
• Musicians:
  • John Van Eps: Piano, Percussion, Bass, Orchestral Programming
  • Ross Traut: Guitar
  • Sax: Larry Klimas
  • Flute: Ze Luis
  • Vibraphone: Dave Samuels

• Tracks:
  1. A Man And A Woman
  2. The Possibility Of Life
  3. Aguas De Marco
  4. Girl Talk
  5. Samba In Your Life
  6. Nice 'N' Easy
  7. Send Rain
  8. Speak Low
  9. Haute Girl
  10. Girl Talk (JVE Remix)
  11. Nice 'N' Easy (JVE Remix)
  12. Samba In Your Life (JVE Remix)

Martin Page / In The Temple Of The Muse

<ACM Rating: >

Martin Page, one of the most successful early / mid 80's songwriters, is well-recognized for his not-a-few Top-40 hits for Kim Carnes and Earth, Wind & Fire, among others. The best-known must be “We Built This City,” a Number One Hit for Starship in 1985. Or someone insists that it must be “These Dreams,” recorded by Heart. Page also wrote “King Of Wishful Thinking" for Go West, which was featured in the movie “Pretty Woman” and became a Top Ten hit for the duo in 1990. As a Recording Artist, Page gained success in the United States for his own band Q-Feel, with the dance hit, “Dancing In Heaven,” which brought him to Los Angeles from London, his naitive country in March 1983. After his huge success as mentioned above, Page had a chance to release his own solo album “In The House Of Stone And Light” in July 1994 for Mercury Records. In 1995, its title track "The Temple Of The Muse" became a substantial pop and adult contemporary hit ( positioned at # 12 on the Billboard Pop Chart) – breaking the record as the longest charting single in Billboard’s A/C Chart history; over 55 weeks, and garnering Billboard’s “1995 Top Adult Contemporary Single Of The Year” Award. In 2003, Pge wrote, arranged, produced and played on "Mi Morena" on the Josh Groban's multi-platinum album "Close" Special-Limted Edition. Martin Page is now releasing his 2nd solo album, “In The Temple Of The Muse”, the first release from Page’s independent label, IroningBoard Records. This soulful work is spiritually charged with Page's trademark layers of melodic atmosphere and emotive vocal performances.

• Label: IroningBoard Records, USA (IB00101-07)
• Release Date: April 14, 2008
• Producer: himself
• Martin Page : Lead & Background Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Drum Programming, Percussion
• Musicians:
  • Drums: Jimmy Copley
  • Guitars: Neil Taylor, Russell Broom, Jack Hues, Brian Fiarweather, Bill Dillon

• Tracks
  1. I Guess I Will
  2. Everything You Do
  3. Mi Morena
  4. Try
  5. Man In The Moon
  6. Blessed
  7. The Long Walk Home
  8. Song For Ruth
  9. When Johnny Sang The Blues
  10. Where The Sun Is Buried

Ole Børud / Shakin' The Ground

<ACM Rating: >

In Norway, where the musical diet consists almost entirely of white rock&roll, an artist such as Ole Børud is indeed a welcoming spice. With one leg planted in American West Coast / AOR music, and the other in soul and funk, his solo debut original studio recording album entiltled "Shakin' The Ground", will shake the country’s musical fundament, and most importantly, the dance floor. The album, however, is not merely a defining musical moment on these latitudes: "Shakin' The Ground" sounds unique by any standards, and showcases an abundance of musical qualities that are rarely heard these days. Ole Børud is far from a newcomer in the Norwegian music scene. Few artists are as widely experienced. Starting his singing career at the age of five, Ole appeared on his first record already the year after. From the age of sixteen, he has been a full-time musician, both singing and playing guitar, with numerous bands and artists in a variety of genres and settings. Ole has toured every continent, and starred on almost twenty album releases, ranging from the gospelgroup Arnold B Family to Extol, the internationally acclaimed Christian metal band from Oslo in Norway. His musical résumé also includes national luminaries as Sofian and Torun Eriksen, and he has shared the stage with international artists such as Andrae Crouch. Besides hard working with the band Extol, Ole released a solo project CD " Chi-Rho" featuring 10 CCM (Contemporary Christiain Music) tunes originally performed by Whiteheart and Rebecka St James in 2002. In June of 2004, Ole left Extol because he would like to pursue his versatile music activities and for the past years before releasing this album, Ole has been working as a session musician/singer in Norway. "Shakin' the Ground" is Ole Børud’s true debut as a solo artist. His music is a result of his diverse background, and is just as exciting. Close harmonies and sophisticated arrangements bears proof of his love for late 70's or early 80's West Coast / AOR music, whereas the rhythms are deeply rooted in funk and R&B. The album is in many ways a musical encounter between west coast sunshine and a gritty east coast urbanity, where you can hear inspiration from artists as different as Steely Dan and D´angelo. But what really gives the album its distinctive stamp, is Ole Børud’s incomparable voice: As crystal clear as it is funky, it leaves a unique personal signature, carrying the tunes with nerve, heart and soul. With some of the best Norwegian musicians in the band, the stage is set for one of the most groundshaking musical experiences of the year.

• Label: OBM Records, Norway (MUD2095)
• Release Date: June 5, 2008
• Producers: Ruben Dalen and himself
• Ole Børud: Lead & Background Vocals, Guitars
• Musicians:
  • Drums: Ruben Dalen, Per Erik Tørfoss, Espen Mangen
  • Bass: Lars Erik Dahle, David Fjelde
• Guitars: Andre Berg, Markus Lillehaug Johnsen
• Keyboards: Frode Mangen, Stein Austrud
• Horns: Jens Petter Antonsen, Børge Are Halvorsen, Torbjørn Sunde
• Background Vocals: Hilde Stavnem Børud

• Tracks:
  1. Backyard Party
  2. All Because Of You
  3. The Vow
  4. King Of The Road
  5. Spreading The News
  6. This Blood
  7. Under Control
  8. Shakin' The Ground
  9. Sanctified By Love
  10. One More Try
  11. Your Love
  12. City Lights

Various Artists

Richard "Dick" Rudolph , legendary American composer, guitarist, songwriter, and producer, musical director for numerous Hollywood movies over decades. Rudolph is also known as the husband of late soul singer Minnie Riperton, noted for her five-and-a-half octave vocal range, with her 1975 single "Lovin' You." Otherwise, among Westcoast / AOR music lovers, Rudolph is also known as the producer for Micheal Sembello's albums "Without Walls" (1986) and "Backwards In Time" (1997). It is a little bit sudden suprise for me that one of the Japanese cafe and bar chain stores has released Rudoplh producing 2 compilation CDs "Love In The Twilight" and "Starting Of Love" on their 20th anniversary. Theme of both compilation CDs would be "Love". The album "Love In The Twilight" is for the morning coffee drinking time, and "Love In The Twilight" is complied for the evening bar time. The CDs includes 3 songs from Bill Cantos' latest album "Love Wins". You should remark the special unit named "The Bossa Nova Hotel". Probably you recall the masterpiece album of Micheal Sembello. Yes, this is the project featuring Micheal Sembello. So, How about The Bossa Nova Hotel featuring Janey? Right, this project is featuring Janey Clewer and Bruce Gaitsch. How about "After The Love Is Gone" The Bossa Nova Hotel's version?

Love In The Twilight

<ACM Rating: >

• Label : Bai-le-la Tree Music, Japan (distributed by PRONTO Corp. <PRONTO-001>)
• Release Date: July 4, 2008
• Producer: Richard Rudolph
• Performers:
  • Ellis Hall: Track 1
  • Ronny Jordan: Track 2
  • Yusa: Track 3, 10
  • Bill Cantos : Track 4
  • Steve Khan: Track 5
  • The Bossa Nova Hotel: Track 6, 13
  • The Bossa Nova Hotel geaturing Janey: Track 14
  • Bebel Giberto-Cottonbelly: Track 7
  • Day And Night: Track 8
  • Ital Shur: Track 9
  • Kimiko Kasai: Track 11
  • Hallie: Track 12

Starting Of Love

<ACM Rating: >

• Label : Bai-le-la Tree Music, Japan (distributed by PRONTO Corp. <PRONTO-002>)
• Release Date: July 4, 2008
• Producer: Richard Rudolph
• Performers:
  • Tishiana: Track 1
  • Bah Samba: Track 2
  • Bill Cantos: Track 3, 12
  • Flying Monky Orchestra: Track 4, 17
  • The Bossa Nova Hotel: Track 5, 8, 11, 15, 18
  • Candido Fabre: Track 6
  • Ashley Poole: Track 7
  • Rebecca Pidgeon: Track 9, 13
  • Steve Khan & Rob Mounsey: Track 10
  • Bobby McFerrin: Track 14
  • Yusa: Track 16

• Tracks:
  1. Lovin' You
  2. Inner Soul
  3. Morning Coffee
  4. When The Moon People Come
  5. After The Love Is Gone
  6. Al Ritmo de la Banda
  7. The Tide Is High (Boost Mix)
  8. Feelin' Alright
  9. Tangerine
  10. Viajar y Viajar (Radio Edit)
  11. It's All In The Game
  12. Love Wins
  13. Learn To Pray
  14. Pat & Joe
  15. That's The Way Of The World
  16. La Fabula
  17. Back In The Pool
  18. Lovin' You

Greg Phillinganes / Pulse

<ACM Rating: >

Detroit born first-call keyboard player, Greg Phillinganes, firstly found himself as a member of Stevie Wonder's Wonderlove band from 1976 to 1981. This led to work with Michael Jackson and thus Greg played on Michael Jackson 's 3 smash hit albums "Off The Wall", "Thriller" and "Bad". In 1981, Phillinganes made a deal with Planet Records, which was created by producer Richard Perry in 1978, for his first solo album "Significant Gains". 3 years later, he released his follow-up album "Pulse", which featured a cover of Yellow Magic Orchestra's song "Behind the Mask." This single was much more successful on the Dance music charts. When he later joined Eric Clapton's backing band, Phillinganes would introduce the tune to Clapton, who covered it on his 1986 "August" album. Thus Greg Phillinganes became well-known as a prominent session musician for a multitude of different artists, performing on many albums of the time. During 2004, Phillinganes were welcomed by TOTO as a replacement for David Paich on tour. In 2005, he joined the band and set to helping Toto with their albums, as you know. The album "Pulse" was once reissued on CD early 90's in Germany but being for a long time not available since then. Now in 2008, you will have the remastered CD which is released as a limited edition with paper sleeve. Do not miss this chance to grab!

• Label: BMG Japan, Inc. (BVCM35429) (Original: Planet Records /RCA, USA <L-84698>)
• Release Date: September 24, 2008 (Original: 1984)
• Producer: Richard Perry
• Associate Producers: Anthony Marinelli, Brian Banks, Brook Walsh, Robbie Nevil
• Greg Phillinganes : Lead & Background Vocals,, Keyboards, Claps
• Musicians:
  • Guitars: David Williams, Robbie Nevil, Carlos Rios
  • Bass: Nathan East
  • Drums: Carlos Vega, John Robinson
  • Synthesizers: Michael Boddicker, Howie Rice
  • Percussion: Paulinho Da Costa
  • Synthesizer Programming: Michael Boddicker, Brian Banks, Anthony Marinelli, Bo Tomlyn
  • Special Guest Vocals (Track 2): Pointer Sisters
  • Special Guest Vocals (Track 3): James Ingram, Howard Hewett, Philip Ingram
  • Background Vocals: Richard Page, Steve George, Julia Tillman, Maxine Willard, Clydene Jackson, Darryl Phinnessee, Phil Perry, Maxi Anderson, Gwen Matthews
  • Horns: Jerry Hey, Jackie Jackson
  • Claps: Cherron Taylor-Phillinganes, Shyra Mason, Howard Dresden

• Tracks
  1. Behind The Mask
  2. Won't Be Long Now
  3. Playin' With Fire
  4. I Have Dreamed
  5. Come As You Are
  6. Lazy Nina
  7. Signals
  8. Countdown To Love
  9. Shake It