Label: CBS Records
Year: 1991
Home: Norway
Members: Rene Andersen ~ vocals/harmonica
Trond Holter ~ guitar/b. vocals
Ole Petter Hansen ~ drums/b. vocals
Rino Johannessen, Janne Titz ~ bass
Additional: Jon Terje Rovedal ~ organ
Leif Digernese ~ b. vocals
Started in 1989, Dream Police, named after the Cheap Trick album, fuse melodic hard rock with a heavy dose of the blues. It would have made more sense to name themselves after Cinderella, who takes the same approach. I have a sweet tooth for the blues, so I always am curious how hard rock bands interpret it. I did a review of Cinderella where I said they just needed to take the blues to the next direction & abandon the rock/glam thing that they came out the door with. Dream Police are doing it. The outcome is a must hear blues success for folks that like early Whitesnake or the rock end of Gov't Mule. Dream Police are gutsy, gritty, & straddling rock & blues in the best way. They aren't the most original of bands & wear their influences on their sleeves, but they have a good sound that is hard to not enjoy for those that like bluesy rock. Its almost a shame to call this a rock album as its gutsy than so many of the group's peers, but there's enough rock here to not be easily dismissed. Out the door with "Need Your Lovin'" there's strong hints of the groove side of Van Halen with David Lee Roth, in the guitar's style & the vocal approach. This swaggers so much, but doesn't have the over-the-top feel of Roth & company. The rhythm section even takes a laid back approach while the guitar chugs away, much like Van Halen, yet, this doesn't feel in the least like an imitator. Van Halen is only one of the influences that are heard throughout this album. A lot of the songs sound more like the blues rock in the way Whitesnake did it when David Coverdale first came out the door after Deep Purple (i.e. "Rock Me", "Surrender"), & before he became MTV's sex god with slick love ballads. There's also songs (i.e. "Little Angel") that are gritty & dark that would be bettered compared to early ZZ Top or perhaps Santana, while one will also find slow steamy ballads (i.e. "When The Sun Goes Down," "Surrender") that have more in common with Coverdale/Page's mood, to acoustic down home harmonica & slide guitar blues (i.e. "Hot Legs," "Uncle Gus"). This is so bluesy that when they break out the slide guitar it doesn't sound gimmicky or out of place. Its a bit of an addicting listen with a pretty solid set of songs from start to finish. I'd only skip "Moving" & "On Fire" which sound like lackluster Van Halen a bit too much. Think Van Halen before Eddie overdubbed a firecracker guitar solo. Other than that, I recommend this album a lot. I particularly like the singer who has the feel of David Lee Roth, but doesn't scream himself into orbit. Dream Police would make one more album the next year before breaking up in 1992. They occasionally reunite for concerts. The guitarist would go on to glam rockers Wig Wam, & has worked with Taylor Dayne & Jorn Lande. The other members have played with different European outings.
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