Column from August 23rd, 1999 edition

Sojourn have completed their comeback album and the final masters have already been delivered to Point Music/AOR Heaven in Germany. I haven’t actually heard what the exact release date will be, however the US version is due later this year on Song Haus and will likely have different artwork from the Euro version. Should be a very interesting release displaying many 1970s pomp influences. It’s clear the band have recorded exactly what they wanted to rather than adapting it to meet any semi-imagination ideal that might be forced on them by others - which is refreshing in these times!

Shotgun Symphony are also finishing work on their new album "Sea of Desire" and it’s due to be released November 8th. A deal with Now and Then/Frontiers has just been recently signed for its release and then band will also be appearing at the Gods of AOR show in Wigan on November 20th. Get more details at http://home.att.net/~shotgunsymphony .

Still no let up in the good releases coming out in Japan. Newman’s "One Step Closer" is due September 1st and Johnny Lima’s "Shine On" comes out there September 22nd with two bonus tracks. Yes’ new album "Ladder" also comes out the same day and will initially be presented as a limited edition with a bonus 3-inch CD single included. On the re-release side, Michael Ruff’s early album "Once in a Lifetime" finally makes in to CD on September 29th along with Alessi’s "Long Time Friends" which was far and away their best release and even features the indomitable guitarist Eric Johnson on one track.