VALENTINE: Valentine. Cassette Tape 1990 debut album. US AOR, killer power ballads. Hugo. Voted as one of The 10 Greatest AOR Albums Of All Time! Check videos

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Voted as one of The 10 Greatest AOR Albums Of All Time!

….bad timing and misfired opportunities. For most people the results are of no great consequence but occasionally, the repercussions – especially with years of hindsight to put the loss into perspective – are truly lamentable. The failure of ‘Valentine’s sole album is one such case in point. If any melodic rock band should have made a huge international splash then this should have been the one. Formed in New York during the mid 80’s and fronted by the sensational vocalist Hugo Valenti, the band soon made friends amongst the NY music business cognoscenti, leading to major management opportunities (Michael Bolton’s manager Louis Levin) and a coveted major label deal with Columbia Records. It was easy to see why they attracted such a passionate reaction, armed with music that was not only powerful and memorable but also displayed a song writing ability that left the competition in the dust. Amazingly the band’s fortunes took a nose dive when executive changes at the label left them high and dry, forcing them to switch to another company, Giant Records, helmed by industry heavyweight Irving Azoff. Produced by Neil Kernon (Autograph, Queensryche, Lynch Mob) the album was eventually released in late 1990, and it received a great reception from the melodic rock aficionados. Packed with incredible songs, ranging from gilt-lined AOR such as ‘Runnin’ On Luck Again’, ‘Too Much Is Never Enough’, to the pomp blast of ‘Where Are You Now’ and Once In A Lifetime’. But the icing on the cake must surely be ‘Never Said It Was Gonna Be Easy’, one of the greatest power ballads of all time.

Label: Giant Records – 9-24404-4
Format: Cassette , Album
Country: US
Date: 1990
Hard Rock
Tracklisting
A1 Runnin ‘On Luck Again 5:54
A2 No Way 3:46
A3 Tears In The Night 5:29
A4 Too Much Is Never Enough 4:51
A5 Never Said It Was Gonna Be Easy 6:49
B1 Where Are You Now 4:38
B2 Naughty Girl 4:25
B3 Once In A Lifetime 3:41
B4 Someday 4:08
B5 We Run 3:49
B6 You’ll always have me 5:29

Backing Vocals [Additional] – Jon Fiore, Terry Brock
Bass – Gerard Zappa
Drums – Neil Christopher
Guitar – Adam Holland
Keyboards – Craig Pullman
Keyboards [Additional] – Mark Radice
Producer – Neil Kernon
Vocals – Hugo

The insert J card is a multi-page gatefold with colour and black and white photos, lyrics, and credits.
Barcode: 07599-24404-4 8

Personnel: Hugo lead vocals Neil Christopher drums Adam Holland guitars Craig Pullman keyboards Gerard Zappa bass

Existing comments about this album

Great melodic hard rock! A heavier version of Journey with Perry-like vocals from Hugo and great guitar work from Adam Holland. This is more hard rock-oriented than the Open Skyz CD by the same musicians.

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They sounds like SKAGARACK, just in a party version. Greatest!!!! A mega rarity. I love this !!!!aaaaawwwwwwwwsssssssoooeee!!! great album

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has enough AOR elements to make a Survivor or Journey fan wet in their seats. AMAZING. This is one album you MUST own. If this was any more killer, it would be in line for the electric chair!! BRILLIANT. ESSENTIAL!!

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They have songs in here that Journey couldn’t do any better…very good/unknown band….definitely worth having.

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This band had much potential, and were highly under-rated. They unfortunately got on the trail at the end of the 80 rock era. like Dokken crossed with Journey…..

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Good to have. Pretty strong tracks. Never said it was gonna be easy is the best and a killer song for a ballad.

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One hell of a melodic rock album… I can listen to it all day long, and it was recorded very clean too. My favourite song is “someday” 😉

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Really great album!! An American version of Skagarack with a little more edge to the guitars…Love every song on this album. Very inspiring melodies…BUY IT!!!

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‘you’ll always have me ‘ is the best ever love song I’ve ever heard…I think this one has it all. A really great AOR/Melodic rock album! My favourites songs are, Tears in the Night and Once in a Lifetime.

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Brilliant crystal clear sound big production and Hugo’s voice make this an absolute classic Aor. Every track is cool but stand out are Runnin on Luck again, Tears in the night, Where are you now and once in a Lifetime.

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Some instant classics are recognizable, most notably ‘Tears In The Night’, ‘Where Are You Now’ and the duo ballads of ‘Never Said It Was Going To Be Easy’ and ‘You’ll Always Have Me’. Elsewhere, the strong melodic theme continues with “Someday’, ‘We Run’ and the cutting ‘Runnin’ On Luck Again’. All the way through it a great listen.

two words on this album: PURE MAGIC

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This album is a must have for any fans of AOR or Melodic Rock… pure classic.. the best ballad is ‘ Never said it was gonna be easy ‘….

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…melodic / commercial bliss and the rest of the rockers are pretty cool stabs at commercial rock. Killer songs throughout especially ‘Never Said it was Gonna be Easy’, and I think the mix is reasonably good; brilliant release with killer melodic songs. This is a true classic. ‘Never Said’ possibly the greatest ballad ever?

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One of the early 90s classics along with gems like Tyketto. Hugo debut album, and is all of the classic material it is made out to be and more. 11/10. Highly recommended and worth the money for songs like Tears in the Night and Once in a Lifetime alone.

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With more hooks than a bait shop, and with vocals that would make Steve Perry proud, this album is sure to appeal to fans of Red Dawn, Signal, The Storm, and Alias. Not a weak song in the bunch but stand-out tunes for me were Runnin’ On Luck Again, Tears In The Night, Too Much Is Never Enough, and Once In A Lifetime. Not as good as Signal LOUD AND CLEAR, but definitely worth owning. Very classy album.

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this is what I love about aor. hard rock, what a great tape!!! Where are you now is the standout to me but too many to list, high vocals and great choruses, what more can u ask for, a great one indeed!!! a standout

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Killer indeed!!I love the musicianship and Hugo performance too. a must and killer,9.5/10.

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This is without a doubt an all time killer classic album. If you are into melodic/AOR rock then this is IT. GET YOURSELF A COPY TODAY !

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wow!!!this is a great album! TEARS IN THE NIGHT use to be my favourite song, it has a monster chorus!!!!the rest of the album is absolutely great too…I new from the first song it was going to be Excellent!!!!!!! A+ all the way!

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Bona Fide melodic rock perfection. perfect blend of keys/big guitar solos and killer vocals. From brilliant ballads like ‘Never said’ to all out rockers like ‘Once in a Lifetime’ and ‘Naughty Girl’. Even a bestiality moment at the beginning of ‘Too much..’ between horny woman and horse.. the mind boggles, where are the wet wipes and the toilet! PS it was the music which gave me an orgasm – honest! 10/10.

My fave tracks spanned from the opener “Runnin’ On Luck Again” with a heavenly chorus, the great midtempo AOR of “Tears In The Night”, the brilliant “Where Are You Now”, to the best track of the album, “Once In A Lifetime”, an upbeat melodic rock with a flawless composition. The semi-ballad track, “Someday”, showed an exceptional solos by Holland and Hugo’s magical soaring vocal. The beautiful ballad, “You’ll Always Have Me”, is such a perfect song to entice a broken-hearted girl with its pacifying lyric.  “Too Much Is Never Enough” and “We Run” are also great.

Valentine offers a lot of great songs, especially if you like melodic hard rock and AOR. Hugo’s tenor voice is majestic, if you like how Perry reached those impossible notes, Hugo is capable of doing that. The band later continued under a different name, Open Skyz, and then record a come back album in 2008, “Soul Salvation”, but the song writing quality of both albums are inferior to this one. This is a classic and enthralling record for fans of later-day glam metal, AOR, and melodic rock. Recommended!