English label AOR Blvd Records has become more than just a hidden gem for releasing rare AOR treasures in recent years. The British band TORA is no exception, and the album title “So Strong” says it all: fans of driving AOR ala Outside Edge, 2AM, It Bites, ’80s Saga, and Cutting Crew with a touch of Hi-Tech will be delighted with the eighth installment in the label’s Collectors Series.
The recordings themselves date back to 1988, professionally done and mixed, but only a few cassette copies were distributed for promotion. TORA were very, very good, with gigs supporting the likes of lan Gillan, Gypsy Queen, Dare, Dogs D’Amour and, err… Celtic Frost and The Happy Mondays along the way, while Tora still didn’t have a record deal. What they needed was a Keith Olsen or a Mutt Lange, somebody that could explore this bands finer intricacies.
The CD is limited to 500 copies and comes with liner notes by expert Rob Evans (Rok Candy / Powerplay Magazines) and fully remastered audio.
Situated northeast of Manchester and southwest of Oldham, the former Lancashire mill town of Failsworth isn’t best known for its musical outpourings. So, when an old interview in the pages of issue three of the much-missed Boulevard fanzine ran with the banner headline of ‘Tora – Failsworth’s Finest’, not to do Tora a disservice, it was hardly like there was much competition.
Concentrating on the years between 1987 and 1990, this collection of songs features, what is widely recognised, as the definitive line-up of Tora, a band that were blessed with a pop-rock / AOR sheen, that was armed with a progressive edge.
As 1988 rolled into view, Tora took their songs and ideas into the studio to record ’em. Using The Cottage studio in Macclesfield, which was part owned by Debbie Curtis, the widow of lan Curtis (Joy Division) and her husband, Roger Boden, Tora visited the studio on several occasions. “I’m not sure how many sessions we did over the following 12 months,” says the singer. “But we recorded the eight songs that appear on this CD during 1988. Whilst the studio is small, it was very well equipped and had been used for some of the Stone Roses first album as well as Alistair Terry’s solo album, The Macc Lads and several others. As the band all had some previous recording experience, they were able to control much of the sound and production for themselves and would probably spend around three days at a time on recording and mixing.
The songs themselves garnered a very positive response from the music press, especially from local, Manchester journalists. You’ve got to remember that in 1988 the likes of The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and The Smiths were the (new) order of the day in Manchester.
So, for a band like Tora to garner favourable press from hackneyed journalists that were looking for the next big thing was tantamount to a miracle. However, the praise was begrudgingly given as quotes like “Listenable, harmless, polished,” “They are too perfect – all production and no songs,” and “They do not look, or sound hip, but when they play live, they sound stunningly note perfect,” are just a few of the back handed compliments that were thrown their way via features in the press.
There were also lots of positive and flattering articles in magazines like Raw and Kerrang! with John Dotters exclaiming in City Life that, “Tora are the best, strongest and most happening rock band Manchester has had in years, if ever” and Mick Middles, the music journalist with the Manchester Evening News and Sounds stating that Tora was, “Unhip but unmissable”.
And whilst it’s true that they didn’t look hip, no AOR band did in the Eighties, they were note perfect and peddled a brand of AOR that carried the pop-laden sensibilities of Cutting Crew and joined it together with the melodic prog of bands like It Bites.
As one journalist said of them, “They sound like the creamiest, lushest pop rock you’ll ever hear. Weeping guitars, lakes of synth and Pete’s voice glide along as Tora emit charisma and excitement.” And it was hard not to disagree, with tracks like ‘If This Is Love’, ‘Climbing Up The Walls’ with its choral sound and ‘What’s Become Of You’ all sounding huge. It saw Stephen Kingston in Sounds purring, “Like Bryan Adams with youth, or Bon Jovi without the hairy chests. Tora is the rock band that Manchester forgot.”
While supporting the likes of lan Gillan, Dare, Dogs D’Amour, etc, Tora still was unsigned. “I can’t remember any label having an interest in us,” laments the singer at the memory. “We, and the music press just couldn’t understand why. It wasn’t from a lack of trying!” The message seemed to be, invest in Tora for a couple of years, send them to the states and reap your reward. But no-one stepped up.
A shame, Tora was really good. But now we have the chance to hear these very good 1988 songs
Highly Recommended
Tracklist:
01 If This Is Love
02 What's Become Of You?
03 Insecurity
04 You And I
05 Climbing Up The Walls
06 Be So Strong
07 Nothing New
08 If I Ever Grow At All
Tora – So Strong – 2025 Aor Blvd Records, FLAC+MP3, CD-Rip w/ Scans
 |
