Canadian arena rock act Boulevard released this self-titled debut in 1986, which has been out of print on CD for some time, but is now being reissued and remastered by Metal Mind Productions. Pretty slick stuff with a somewhat dated late 80's sound, Boulevard should easily appeal to those who like the rock/pop/jazz sounds of acts like Toto, Mister Mister, and Glass Tiger.
Apparently this band had a bunch of singles and videos, and created a bit of mainstream stir, but even though I can't say I remember hearing anything about them in the day, it's not hard to see the promise here. Sadly, the band only ever released two albums before disbanding, which is a shame considering how solid much of this material is. Tunes like "Dream On", "Never Give Up", "In the Twilight", and "When the Lights Go Down" are slick, flashy numbers, filled with plenty of catchy hooks, hard rock guitars, layers of keyboards, and jazzy saxophone. David Forbes had a perfect voice for this kind of stuff, and the guitar work of Randy Gould is quite impressive. Those who like the proggier side of the whole AOR spectrum will be happy to know that Andrew Johns makes his impression felt all over this album, adding lots of symphonic layers on "Missing Persons", "You're For Me", and "Far From Over", among many others.
Like I mentioned early, if you dig Toto, who always did a nice job of mixing pop, hard rock, fusion, prog, R&B, and many other styles, you might like what you hear on Blvd.. It's not the most original stuff you'll ever hear, but it's catchy and quite enjoyable. Metal Mind's remaster is crisp and clear (never heard the original album or CD), and though the digipack is pretty bare bones, you do get an essay on the short history of the band.
Track Listing
1. Dream On
2.Far From Over
3.Western Skies
4.Never Give Up
5.In The Twilight
6.When The Light Go Down
7.Under The Moonlight
8.You And I
9.Missing Persons
10.You're For Me
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