Search - New England :: New England

Excellent Debut

John Murray | Fredericton, NB, Canada | 10/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The comparison by another reviewer to Boston is rather confusing to me - New England only shares geography with Boston. New England's sound was based as much in Jimmy Waldo's mellotron work as John Fannon's guitar stylings. Although this album has some great tracks, New England's best album is their next one, "Explorer Suite", which has unfortunately vanished off the radar even on Amazon! Even so - while "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya" is a tremendous anthemic rock song, New England was at its best with quick pop rock songs like "Hello, Hello, Hello" and "Alone Tonight". New England would never rise to the heights of a major rock band, to some degree because they never settled on a consistent style in an age when New Wave was emerging to the mainstream. But while the sound is dated, the music remains catchy. A final note on their follow-up, "Explorer Suite" - the lyrics are chillingly relevant today, filled with isolation and loneliness - but tinged with hope."

Time For Reassessing Great Album By Grossly Underrated Band

The Footpath Cowboy | Kingston, NY United States | 12/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"New England's self-titled debut album, along with releases by ELO, Boston, Foreigner, and Shooting Star, as well as Journey's INFINITY and Kansas' LEFTOVERTURE, provided the basis for what became known as AOR in the 80s. Combining Beatlesesque vocal harmonies, Boston-influenced guitars, and ELO-meets-Kansas keyboards and orchestration, this band played a pure pop version of what those bands had to offer. The reason the press were so hard on them, and, I think, why people still question my working out to them to get in shape for my favorite actresses, is because their sound was even slicker than that of their AOR contemporaries, but these people's concerns are pointless, because under all of the gloss are four extremely talented musicians. In other words, it's time for a reassessment of the great band that was, and is, New England."

Great overlooked band

Mark S. Smith | Santa Clara, CA United States | 11/28/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I remember hearing this on vinyl in the early eighties. "Nothing to Fear" is an all time classic and with the help of Mike Stone's production this album has a big sound. Love the lush keyboard work that enhances this solid power-pop album."