It’s 1987. Hollywood, with its style and sounds, is exploding. Five California kids… and a guy from Alabama… working in various bands come together with a shared dream - making it big on the Sunset Strip with their band, RARE TOUCH! Five guys, busting their asses on the stages of The Roxy, The Whisky, Gazzarri’s, and The Troubadour. Five musicians, following the path of their Hollywood heroes, shared the bill with bands such as Julliet, Southgang, Harlot, and many others who were pursuing the same dream. Five guys walking the streets of Hollywood, plastering posters and flyers anywhere they would stick and be seen, hustling to sell tickets to fill the clubs, to make themselves seen and heard. Five guys trying to keep that dream alive in any way possible…
It’s a common story, to be sure… well, minus the guy from Alabama. Everyone else was from the LA area. Phil, Frankie, Dante, Bradley, and Trevor had the look, the sound, the style, and the drive, but like so many other Hollywood stories, the story of RARE TOUCH didn’t have the magical ending they had hoped for Despite their not-quite-there status, RARE TOUCH had a hell of a ride trying, and the band leaves behind a musical legacy that deserves to be heard today as much as it did in the late ’80s. Fortunately, before calling it a day, RARE TOUCH entered DM3 Studios in the fall of 1991 and cut the tracks for an album that the changing musical tides would never allow to surface. Hundreds of shows and thousands of laughs helped the band hone their sound and craft these songs, combining Phil’s strong, gritty vocals, the twin guitars of Trevor and Frankie, and the rock-solid rhythm section of Bradley and Dante. Not content to sound like everyone else, RARE TOUCH melded the glammy Hollywood style with a gritty, bluesy feel that created a sound that built upon the strengths of the boys in the band. Ranging from the straight-forward, guitar-driven hard rock of “One Way Ticket,” to the whiskey-soaked barroom boogie of “Badlandz,” complete with Hammond organ flourishes and gritty guitar flash, RARE TOUCH played the way they lived: hard, loud, and filled with swagger and attitude.
Thirty-plus years later, the legacy of RARE TOUCH lives on with this collection of songs never released as a package. While their story may be similar to that of other bands, these songs are all RARE TOUCH and stand on their own and stand the test of time for those who love the sound of the ’80s and early ’90s Sunset Strip. While the big label record deal wasn’t there 30 years ago, RARE TOUCH’s recordings have found their way into your hands today, which is what the band always hoped for—getting the chance to have their music heard... Who says dreams don’t come true?
Artist: Rare Touch
Album: Rare Touch
Year: 2024
Label: Eonian Records
Style: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal
Format: mp3/320, flac (tracks, cue, log, 44.1kHz/16bit)
Band
Phillip John Maldonado: Lead Vocals, Slide Guitar, & Harmonica
Frankie Oliveri: Guitars & Backing Vocals
Trevor Stevens: Guitars & Backing Vocals
Bradley Curtis: Bass & Backing Vocals
Dante Pacifici: Drums & Backing Vocals
Phillip John Maldonado - All instruments on "Sweet Hunger"
Phillip John Maldonado - Rhythm & Lead Guitars on Alternative Versions
Special Guest: Teddy Andreadis - B3 on "Badlandz (Alternative Version)"
Tracks 1 - 6 were recorded at DM3 Studios in Torrance, CA, Fall of 1991
Produced by Rare Touch, Engineered by Chris Madalone
Tracks 7 - 9 were recorded at The Pit, Thousand Oaks, CA, Summer of 2016
Produced & Engineered by Phillip John Maldonado
Tracklist
01 Sin City 3:00
02 One Way Ticket 4:19
03 Don't Forget Me 4:41
04 Fallen From Grace 4:58
05 To The Wire 3:56
06 Badlands 3:33
07 Sweet Hunger (Bonus Track) 3:41
08 One Way Ticket (Alternative Version) 3:51
09 Badlandz (Alternative Version) 3:32
Rare Touch – Rare Touch (2024) [Remastered Eonian Records] mp3+flac
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