Getting his start in the pop rock band Matchbox Twenty, singer and songwriter Rob Thomas has emerged as one of the more successful artists of the modern era. His first chart appearance outside of Matchbox Twenty was a monster duet with Santana: "Smooth" spent an impressive 12 weeks at #1 in 1999 and won multiple Grammy Awards. Thomas did not release his first proper solo album until 2005 when he dropped "Something To Be." It yielded another Top 10 hit with "Lonely No More," which made it to #6. He scored another Top 20 single with his 2009 sophomore release, "cradlesong": "Her Diamonds" reached #23. His 2015 record, "The Great Unknown," failed to produce a charting single. "Give Me The Meltdown" goes back to 2009, an overlooked rocker from "cradlesong."
The Storm is an AOR supergroup formed in 1991 by former members of Journey, Santana, and Kevin Chalfant, the lead singer for 707. Chalfant also took the helm for Steel Breeze in 1984 and the modern AOR outfit Two Fires. Things got off to a promising start with the minor hit "I've Got A Lot To Learn About Love," which cruised to #26 in 1992. But the band could not crack the Top 100 again with other singles from their debut self-titled record. The band completed a follow-up album in 1993 called "Eye Of The Storm" (see what they did there?) but it languished as their label moved into rap and hip-hop. Another label allowed it to see the light of day in 1995, but by then everyone had forgotten about AOR, much less The Storm. "Eye Of The Storm" is a worthy follow-up to its predecessor, with many songs besting their debut. If you miss the glory days of that Journey sound, you're sure to like "Soul Of A Man" and the other offerings the band produced.
Sammy Hagar's career starts way back in 1973 when he became the lead singer for Montrose. He went solo in 1976 and released several albums before and after his time in Van Halen. Along the way, he also recorded as part of a supergroup called Hagar, Schon (Journey), Aaronson (Stories), and Shrieve (Santana) in 1984. In 1987, as his tenure with Van Halen started to take off into the stratosphere, Hagar released "I Never Said Goodbye," his ninth solo effort. The album's name derives from an MTV contest. It yielded hits like "Give To Live" (#23) and "Eagles Fly" (#82). "Back Into You" is another terrific AOR track that I thought would have performed well. His then buddy Eddie Van Halen even played bass and sang backing vocals on the record. Some extra trivia - what was Hagar's best chart performance as a solo artist? That was in 1982, when "Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy" hit #13. Perhaps his better known classic, "I Can't Drive 55," went to #26 in 1984.
