UK’s, Kent band THE PETAL FALLS have an interesting backstory. Originally they were a five piece band that began in the mid 90s, fronted by songwriter Keith Leahy. Early on they signed a deal with an intermediate record label – The Petal Falls seemed destined for success. But that signing ultimately led to their undoing. After years of unfulfilled promises and tons of frustration, the band dissolved without the opportunity to release a single track.
Surprisingly, now The Petal Falls‘ entire catalogue will be available for release. Working with friend and producer, John King, Leahy was able to re-master the original recordings with additional instrumentation into four albums. The first one was released in 2020, the second 2021.
Now it’s time for the third: “Everything About You“, and let me tell you, this is one of the best previously unreleased album you’ll hear this year: powerful Lite AOR / rock&pop with tons of class, like mix of 2AM, Cutting Crew, Mr. Mister, John Waite, even some Giant and Michael Bolton circa 1986 into one terrific package.
From the opening track, ‘Somebody to Love Me’ there’s absolutely no doubt that fans of ’80s good music will fall in love with this CD. Next up is ‘The Gift’ with glorious harmonies to match the sentiments of the lyrics. When “The Sun in her Eyes” starts I’m fully expecting a ballad but the melodic rock upbeat tempo soon moves this into another foot tapping, catchy track.
It starts out with a piano playing with a subtle drum beat, with the lyrics sung with a warm loving voice. Then the bridge, guitars come in with that classic 90s sound along with the lyrics similar to Journey around that time. A winner.
“Nothing New” has an opening reminiscent of an Aerosmith early era song, this is classic rock at its best. Guitars roaring and drums beating that transitions to the lead vocals, the track slows a bit. Instead of a love song this is a break up song. It has very nice chord structure to it and is played beautifully.
“Everything About You” starts out with incredible sounding synth style organ, truly amazing. Then transitioning into the guitars and vocalist singing about experiencing the natural wonder’s like staying up till the sun comes up. This is a song about loving someone so much that you want to experience everything with that person. Definitely a Pop Rock style done with class. Oh, how I love the break of this song, beautifully done; synths, guitars and drums play in unison with Keith vocals as if they were suspended in time, just wow! What a fantastic track! This must be my favorite track by The Petal Falls.
”Testament of love” is rock&pop delight, although the solo hardens the song a bit, (pushed by the more bucolic landscape of the melody that directs the song) the acoustic rhythms and the delays place us in those parameters, which enriches the overall concept of the album.
“The Way You Walk The Way You Talk”, is a song that personally captivates me from the first notes, thanks to the atmosphere with which it grows until all the rhythm is incorporated and gains strength, to give way to a solo effective and continue with that level of energy to the end.
“The Chill of Love” is another one of those songs in which the charge of sentimentality is channeled into a powerful chorus that, incidentally, lowers the tempo, to flow back into that channel. A song that brings us closer to the structures and concepts of the 80s.
Of, and Keith leave for the end one of the highlights: “Big Pond”. This song is simply stunning. An epic AOR tune with a John Waite feel all over it, or a lighter Bad English if you want. The verses, the chorus, that guitar work in the vein of Dann Huff – love it all!
The whole album sounds like an amalgam of ’80s soundtrack rock heard in a variety of movies of that time. If I was told that this was a lost album from the decade, I would absolutely believe that to be true.
Leahy wanted to preserve the original recorded takes as much as possible, and at places you can hear little flaws because some of these were demos, but the overall sound production is really good.
If you love the ’80s, you need to check out this album.
HIGHLY Recommended
You’ve seen it first at plotn08
01 – Somebody To Love Me
02 – The Gift
03 – The Sun In Her Eyes
04 – Nothing New
05 – Everything About You
06 – Hold On
07 – Testament Of Love
08 – The Way You Walk The Way You Talk
09 – The Chill Of Love
10 – Big Pond
Keith Leahy – Lead vocals / Guitar / Keyboards
Robert Harpum – Guitar
Robin Tucker – Drums
Dave Richards – Guitar
Marius Ryndziewicz – Bass
Additional Personnel :
Duncan Lowe – Keyboards / Bass
Lee Tucker – Keyboards
Avril Davis – Backing Vocals
Tracy Tucker – Backing Vocals
John King – Drums (Big Pond)
THE PETAL FALLS – Everything About You (2022)+FLAC
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