JEFF PARIS: Wired Up LP 1987, U.S Melodic Hard Rock AOR w. drummer Matt Sorum (Guns N Roses, Slash, Cult, Velvet Revolver). Vixen covered 2 songs “CRYIN'”! SEE VIDEOS and a review video

 6.59

The following rules are working:

In stock

SKU: YP-7168 Categories: , , , , Tag:

Description

JEFF PARIS: CRYIN’ —> Vixen became famous playing this song.

and here is their cover version:


Back in the mid Eighties the Rock world seemed fixated on Melodic AOR singer / songwriters. Jon Bon Jovi, Richard Marx and Bryan Adams were of course leading the field, but just below the surface there were numerous contenders ready to ascend the throne. 
Jeff Paris was, naturally, a prime contender, with songs and a sound that suggested success would be a sure fired certainty. That he sank without trace remains one of life’s great mysteries.
Signed to Mercury Records by the very same person who inked Bon Jovi, Cinderella and Kingdom Come, things looked very good indeed. So good in fact that, despite a lack-lustre reception to Jeff’s debut album ‘Race To Paradise’, the label dug down deep to back a follow up, this sensational “Wired Up”, a record brimming over with confidence and optimism. 
Produced by Tony Platt (Foreigner, AC/DC, Krokus) and mixed by Bob Rock (Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi,) the record was infused with some of the best melodic hard rock of the era.


JEFF PARIS - Wired Up [Rock Candy Remastered & Reloaded] (2015) inside

Issued in 1987 to gushing reviews, the album contains 10 melodic rock nuggets, garnished with razor sharp guitars performed by awesome guitar master Michael Thompson, and a souped up rhythm section part consisting of future Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum, and Night Ranger’s Gary Moon on bass, a talented lead vocalist itself.
Tracks such as “Saturday Nite”, “Heart To The Flame” (also recorded by Van Zant) “Charmed Life” and “Cryin” (later successfully covered by all female rock band Vixen) makes for an album that not only exudes excitement but showcases Paris as an exceptional songwriter. And the man proves he can sing greatly, with a swagger and feeling on par with the renowned cats of the genre.
If you never heard JEFF PARIS’ “Wired Up” you’re missing an important piece in your American AOR / Melodic Rock puzzle. 
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Band Members
Gary Moon – Bass, Backing Vocals
Jeff Paris – Lead/Backing Vocals, Guitars, Keys
Matt Sorum – Drums, Backing Vocals
Michael Thompson – Guitars

Tracks
01. Saturday Nite
02. One Night Alone
03. Trial By Fire
04. Cryin’
05. Wired Up
06. Charmed Life
07. I Can’t Let Go
08. Heart To The Flame
09. A Matter Of Time
10. Illusions

Personnel: Jeff Paris: lead and backing vocals, guitars, keys Gary Moon: bass, backing vocals Matt Sorum: drums, backing vocals Michael Thompson: guitar


Worst song of the album and a horrible video clip, but at least here you can see the band in “action”:

Jeff Paris – “Saturday Night”

10 track album

label: Mercury Records 1987
pressing: US
w. lyric inner sleeve (not in good condition),


with MATT SORUM on drums (drummer for Johnny Crash,Guns N’ Roses, Slash’s Snakepit, Neurotic Outsiders, The Cult, Velvet Revolver
With Guns N’ Roses
* Use Your Illusion I (1991)
* Use Your Illusion II (1991)
* “”The Spaghetti Incident?”” (1993)
* Live Era: ’87-’93 (1999)
* Greatest Hits (2004)

With Slash’s Snakepit * It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere (1995)

With Neurotic Outsiders: * Neurotic Outsiders (1996)

With The Cult: Sonice Temple (tour + video clips) *Beyond Good And Evil (2001)

With Velvet Revolver: * Contraband (2004)* Libertad (2007)


Matt Sorum drums  [The Cult (3 albums), Guns N’ Roses (4 albums), Sammy Hagar (2 albums),  Glenn Hughes (3 albums), Velvet Revolver (3 albums), plus: Camp Freddy, Neurotic Outsiders, Slash’s Snakepit, Hawk, Y Kant Tori Read, Johnny Crash, Kings of Chaos, Motörhead’s Phil Campbell, Nick Valensi, Hollywood Vampires, Power Rangers Orchestra, Billy Gibbons, Deadland Ritual, Stevie Salas Colorcode]


style: US Hard Rock

Paris gained a deal with the band PIECES, touring with Stanley Clark, George Duke and A TASTE OF HONEY after the demise that act. Paris met Jeffrey Osborne and wrote songs for his early solo albums and also contributed ‘Go Now Before There’s Trouble’ to an album by KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND. Stanley Clark and George Duke also recorded tunes emanating from the prolific Paris pen.

With a Mercury deal in his pocket Paris duly delivered his ‘Race To Paradise’ debut in 1986. Produced by David Thoener the album features Roger Fiets on bass and future MR. BIG man Pat Torpey on drums. Ex-THE STRAND vocalist Moon Calhoun sings back-ups.

A second album, the Tony Platt produced ‘Wired Up’, found Paris working with a new band line-up. Included were bassist Gary Moon (later to join NIGHT RANGER for the ‘Feeding Off The Mojo’ album), drummer Matt Sorum (who would find more fame and fortune replacing Steven Adler in GUNS N’ ROSES) and the noted session guitarist Michael Thompson. The latter already having achieved co-write credits on ‘Race To Paradise’.

During 1987 Paris toured in the States on a ‘Double Thunder’ co-headlining package with the Canadian outfit REFUGEE.

Having been dropped by PolyGram in 1987 Paris settled to work as a songwriter, the all girl band VIXEN recording four of his songs with Paris also offloading tracks to the likes of MR. BIG and the Canadian group ALIAS. The man also found time to produce the sole album for OUTLAW BLOOD.

VIXEN’s rendition of ‘Cryin” was a top 20 hit in America and ‘Waiting For Love’ by ALIAS, which Paris wrote with Brett Walker also scored big. The song had originally been conceived by Paris who had offered it to the likes of NICK GILDER, PAT BENATAR and erstwhile BABYS bassist Ricky Phillips with no joy until he hit it off with Walker

Paris worked for a period with former THE STRAND vocalist Rick ‘Moon’ Calhoun in the aptly titled MOON OVER PARIS and dallied with a part-time R&B outfit with session guitarist Michael Thompson called VINTON’S FAMILY. During 1992 Paris worked with guitarist JENNIFER BATTEN then toured Japan in early 1993 with Michael Sembello.

Paris’ comeback album, ‘Lucky This Time’, was essentially a collection of demos that Now And Then Records felt were too good to just leave lying on a shelf. The tracks included featured ‘Wrong Side Of Love’ and ‘House On Fire’ – both written with MR. BIG, ‘Jump The Gun’ (co-written with KISS man PAUL STANLEY), ‘Baby Break Mine’ (penned with SKIN guitarist Myke Gray), ‘State Of The Heart’ (with VIXEN’s Jan Kuehnemund) and tracks co-written with the likes of Brett Walker, Rick ‘Moon’ Calhoun (from the MOON OVER PARIS sessions, presumably) and Todd Meagher. The title track itself had previously been recorded by MR. BIG for the ‘Lean Into It’ album having originally been tapped by John Kalodner for FIONA’s first album for Geffen.

Paris made his debut live appearances at the Now And Then organized Gods Of AOR events in Milton Keynes and Manchester in 1993 utilizing the Swedish AOR band STATE OF MIND as his backing musicians.

1997 found Paris promoting his ‘Smack’ opus with a short batch of acoustic dates in Germany on a bill including HEARTLAND and BRAZEN ABBOT. In mid 1998 the Japanese label Bareknuckle issued a brand new Paris album entitled ‘Freak Flag’. The record found the man back on track, offering a selection of songs very much in the vein of ‘Lucky This Time’. Guests included BABYLON A.D.’s Derek Davis, Australian AOR man Juno Roxus and SKIN members Myke Gray and Neville MacDonald.”


melodic-hardrock.com Review:

“Wired Up” is the second solo album by American songwriter/singer Jeff Paris originally released in 1987. Despite the glamorous image that the band put forward on “Wired Up”, the album has a clear AOR identity, strongly differentiated from the glam/sleaze metal sound of the time. A fantastic slice of melodic rock

where every song is a potential single in the AOR kind of music, there are great melodic hooks in each song, with lots of big backing vocals, catchy choruses, great guitars, punchy keys, strong lyrics and amazing songwriting. Everything is just so cool!!!.

The album produced by Tony Platt (AC/DC, cheap Trick, Bob Marley, Iron Maiden, Foreigner, Shy, etc.), where found Paris working with a new band line-up. An all star band consisting of bassist Gary Moon (later to join Night Ranger for the “Feeding Off The Mojo” and well known for his work with Brad Gillis and Kelly Keagy), drummer Matt Sorum (who would find more fame and fortune replacing Steven Adler in Guns N’ Roses, but also with Velver Revolver, The Cult, Johnny Crash, Slash’s Snakepit and Glenn Hughes), and the noted session guitarist Michael Thompson (Robin Beck, Doro, Richard Marx, Tim Feehan, Harvest, Mark Spiro, Radioactive, etc.), nothing could go wrong.

The album opens with the rocking “Saturday Night”, a rock club dancefloor filler song without doubt. Very crunchy and sleazy vocals, hard riffs, harmony backing vocals and a strong catchy chorus brings you memories back from the 80’s. A great rock party song that I always having such a good time hearing. “One Night Alone’,

Cryin’” and “Charmed Life” all appeared on the debut Vixen album, but these are the better versions overall. Great guitar riffs, amazing keyboard melodies, harmony vocals, outstanding backing vocals with a great stimulating rhythm section and of course the amazing and catchy choruses. Especially “Cryin” the AOR radio hit, arguably sums up all the qualities that make melodic rock a great genre. The trip to AOR heaven continues with the smash-hit “Heart To The Flame”, one of the best AOR composition you will ever heard. The song walks on a perfect melodic line with beautiful harmony and melodic vocals, an amazing beat and a catchy refrain, talking about temptation and the warning voice you hear inside you telling you to not give in. The best moment of the album in my opinion comes with “I Can’t Let Go”, a great song with chorus that are so infectious. Jeff signs with attitude and with a voice extremely appropriate and melodic, while the amazing and fluffy keys mix perfect with the guitar riffs give us a perfect sample of AOR at its best. It doesn’t get better than this.

The ballad of the album has name and that is “A Matter Of Time”. An excellent and beauty ballad so sensitive that worth a place in the top ten ballads of the 80’s. The lyrics spell out real emotions and avoid cliches. Having harmony and touchy vocals, nice keys and great rhythm guitars that get me a pain of nostalgia in my heart listening to them. “Trial By Fire” and the album’s title “Wired Up” had a harder edge with great solos, lots of backing vocals, great keys and hooks soar higher than the Eiffel Tower while Jeff just plugs in his electric guitar and rocks out like a hot spark-hurling livewire. What more to say about this guy. “Illusions” finishes the album off with a nice kind of off the wall rocker. Just listen the dynamics of guitars in the intro with the keyboard passes that will blow your mind away. Definitely a song to be heard on high volume. Without doubt an album to track down at all costs. Highly recommended!!!

Rating: 9.7/10

 

Additional information

Weight 0.25 kg

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “JEFF PARIS: Wired Up LP 1987, U.S Melodic Hard Rock AOR w. drummer Matt Sorum (Guns N Roses, Slash, Cult, Velvet Revolver). Vixen covered 2 songs “CRYIN'”! SEE VIDEOS and a review video”

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *