Bob Halligan "Window In The Wall (USA, ATCO Records, 7 91678-2)"

Robert Sidney Halligan Jr. (born January 3, 1953) is an American singer, musician, music producer and songwriter who has collaborated with many artists, particularly in the hard rock/heavy metal genre, throughout his career. He is currently the lead vocalist and guitarist for the band Ceili Rain, a group he founded that combines Celtic, rock, and contemporary Christian music.

As a songwriter, Halligan has contributed songs to three albums by the heavy metal band Judas Priest, namely "(Take These) Chains" from 1982's Screaming for Vengeance and the single "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" from 1984's Defenders of the Faith. Judas Priest lead singer Rob Halford included another song by Halligan, "Twist", on the album Resurrection by his band Halford. In 2024, he was credited with writing the song "The Lodger" from 2024's Invincible Shield.

Halligan also worked extensively with the hard rock/heavy metal band Kix, beginning in the mid-1980s, when he co-wrote most of the songs on the band's third album, Midnite Dynamite. Incidentally, one of the most successful songs he has ever written is Kix's near-top ten hit, "Don't Close Your Eyes" (co-written with one-time Crack the Sky frontman John Palumbo and Kix bassist Donnie Purnell), which was featured on the band's follow-up album, Blow My Fuse. The song remains Kix's highest-charting single.

He also wrote the songs "Beat 'Em Up" and "Make Rock Not War" on Blue Öyster Cult's Club Ninja record, "Rise to It" and "Read My Body" on Kiss' album Hot in the Shade, "Could've Been You" on Cher's album Love Hurts and the single "Rock You" for Helix's Walkin' the Razor's Edge album. In addition, Halligan wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on Night of the Crime by the 80s heavy metal band Icon. He also co-wrote the song "Bang Down the Door" on Bonfire's 1989's Point Blank record.

In the Christian rock domain, he has worked with Rick Cua, focusing on Cua's solo career (including his 1985 album You're My Road).

Their first album, Window In The Wall was released in 1991.

Tracklist:

1. Could've Been You 4:02
2. Now That It's Not Over 4:29
3. Still Feels Like Love 4:27
4. I Will Remember You 5:23
5. Who's Lovin' You Now 4:16
6. Window In The Wall 3:43
7. Midnite Mirage 5:46
8. The Way It's S'pozed To Be 3:31
9. Hard Rain 4:42
10. Standing On The Edge Of Goodbye 5:08

Anneke Van Giersbergen "The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest (Mexico, InsideOut Music, IOMLTDCD-577)"

The Darkest Skies Are the Brightest is the third solo studio album by Anneke van Giersbergen, released on 26 February 2021 by Inside Out Music. It was written entirely by van Giersbergen and produced by Gijs Coolen.

After releasing the first VUUR album in 2017 and going on tour, Anneke van Giersbergen and the band started plans of recording a second album for the project in 2018. This first effort, although, had been financially demanding, and recording a second album and going on a second tour would imply more financial risks. At the same time, the singer's marriage went through difficulties and she and her husband envisioned a divorce. As a way of recovering and think about her future life decisions, van Giersbergen retreated alone to a small house near the woods outside Eindhoven. She then started writing songs by herself there, with just an acoustic guitar and basic musical gear, without the intention of transforming them into a full album. In 2020, delving back to that songs, the singer invited her friend and producer Gijs Coolen to help her polish the songs. Eleven of them ended up becoming a full album, and so van Giersbergen decided to release them. The release was announced on 16 November 2020, along with the cover artwork and the tracklist. The title, The Darkest Skies Are the Brightest, reflects the album main themes and refers to the idea that people are forced to find answers regarding big life questions when facing personal challenges.

The first single from the album, "My Promise", was released on 4 December. The lyrics came from van Giersbergen reflecting on how her life after a divorce would be and revolves around her determination to fight for love. According to the singer, "for the new album [she] wrote a lot of songs filled with messages of love and heartache, but [she] also went on a more propulsive journey, with darker storytelling", which is clear in the second single released, "Hurricane". Musically, the album follows a more melancholic and modest landscape, opposite to the singer latest progressive metal ventures. It features mainly acoustic guitars, strings, horns and percussion, along with van Giersbergen's vocals.

Track listing

All music and lyrics composed by Anneke van Giersbergen and produced by Gijs Coolen.

1. "Agape" 4:09
2. "Hurricane" 3:57
3. "My Promise" 4:27
4. "I Saw a Car" 3:39
5. "The Soul Knows" 3:52
6. "The End" 4:19
7. "Keep It Simple" 3:56
8. "Lo and Behold" 2:50
9. "Losing You" 3:41
10. "Survive" 3:46
11. "Love You Like I Love You" 3:12

Total length: 41:48

Recording information:

Pieter Hoekstra (Pie Design) - artwork, layout

Snir Gedasi Design - design (heart)

Robbin Gielen - management (assisted by)

Rob Snijders - management

Darius van Helfteren - mastering

Guido Aalbers - mixing

Lida van Straaten - other (hair & makeup)

Dylan van Duijne - other (styling)

Mark Uyl - photography

Erik Spanjers - recording (string arrangements)

Private Life "Private Life"

Private Life is a 1980's Los Angeles quintet formed by guitarist Danny Johnson and keyboard player Jennifer Blakeman.

Private Life is their self-titled debut, released in 1990.

Tracklist:

1. Touch Me (4:35)
2. Domino (3:08)
3. Fallin' Apart (3:38)
4. Communication (3:39)
5. Night All Night (2:52)
6. Nothin' To Lose (4:21)
7. Give It Up (3:44)
8. Holiday (4:27)
9. Cure For Love (3:54)

Produced by Edward Van Halen & Ted Templeman.

Pain "Pain" (Japanese Edition)"

Pain is a Canadian AOR/Hard Rock band.

Pain is their album edited in May 24th, 1995.

Tracklist:

1. I Am = アイ・アム 3:38
2. No One Cries Forever = ノー・ワン・クライズ・フォーエバー 3:31
3. All That I Want = オール・ザット・アイ・ウォント 3:02
4. Something's Wrong = サムシング・ウロング 3:38
5. I Don't Care = アイ・ドント・ケア 5:26
6. Salvation = サルベイション 3:38
7. Give Me Something = ギブ・ミー・サムシング 3:37
8. Thirteen Sins = サーティーン・シンズ 3:12
9. The Truth About Me = トゥルース・アバウト・ミー 3:40
10. Faith In The New Christ = フェイス・イン・ザ・ニュー・クライスト 2:58
11. So Tired = ソー・タイアド 3:26
12. Fool's Paradise (live) = フールズ・パラダイス 4:17

Track 12 is Bonus Track for Japan (Recorded live at The Gasworks, Toronto, 1994)

Comes in a standard jewel case with obi and includes a booklet with liner notes Japanese/English track list, Japanese commentary, and lyrics translated into Japanese.