Second and final release from Canadian arena rock act Boulevard, Into the Street is now being reissued and remastered by Metal Mind Productions. Their mix of melodic hard rock and pop is in full swing here, and it's really surprising that this band never had the success of their contemporaries like Toto, Mister Mister, The Outfield,and Glass Tiger.
Plenty of catchy AOR fare to be found on Into the Street, as the band toss in plenty of hard rock guitars, keyboards, tight rhythms, soaring vocals, and sax on solid radio friendly tunes such as "Talk to Me", the majestic "Lead Me On", the driving pop rocker "Eye of the Hurricane", and the pomp/prog of "Light of Day". Probably a few too many ballads on this one compared to their debut, which in the face of grunge in the early 1990's doomed both this album and the band, as the whole hard rock & ballad schtick was already quickly dying a slow death. It's a real shame, as Boulevard show on tunes "Eye to Eye" and "Where Are You Now" that they had a gritty edge to go along with all that sheen, and with the right amount of push should have been a mainstream success from the years 1985-1990. The songs are there, the playing is great, but it just never came to be.
Never having heard the original album or CD, it's hard to compare this remastered version to the original, but Metal Mind has delivered a bright, punchy, and clean sounding product here, which is probably how this slick album was meant to be heard. It comes in a digipack complete with lyrics, photos, and an essay on the band. Into the Street, and the debut Blvd. for that matter, are by no means essential, but if you like slick late 80's AOR with smatterings of hard rock, jazz, and prog rock keyboards, Boulevard is worth investigating.
Track Listing
1. Talk To Me
2.Where Is The Love
3.Lead Me On
4.Eye Of The Hurricane
5.Light Of Day
6.Crazy Life
7.Rainy Day In London
8.Where Are You Now
9.Need You Tonight
10.Eye To Eye
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