The Big Prize by Honeymoon Suite

Just would like to take a break from the CD hunting report and just write about one of my most favorite Canadian band of all time and their second release, The Big Prize. I've been holding on to my copy of this CD for several years now even though one of the tracks skips and I still haven't found another copy of this in my recent CD hunting expeditions. I'm not that in a hurry, though because this one is still available thru their official website and even on eBay. Anyway, the music on this CD packs more punch than their self-titled debut that was released in 1984. Released on Valentine's Day of '86, it went platinum in Canada in just a short time which is not a surprise. Music fans in those days still know what was done right and with class unlike today. This is pure AOR heaven! Like what was written earlier, this one rocks more than their first release. More crunch on their guitar sound and more aggressive. Though they still have their "old" sound that is melodic rock in songs like What Does Is Take, they have taken it a notch more in terms of "heaviness" with songs like Wounded. I can still remember in my high school days listening to that song on our old cassette player, liking it very much and wondering who the hell it was. I thought then that it was Night Ranger because of the keyboards, for no one (I thought) can use the keyboard on their songs and not sounding like a wimp like NR. Then after more than a decade, I finally heard this song again inside our car after getting a hold of this CD. Then I finally learned more about this band and got the idea that "maybe Canadians do it more with style?". Of course I know Rush and Triumph, but it is as if this band opened my eyes to what is more out there. And one more thought, this one was done a year ahead of Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi which was also produced by the same producer of this one (Bruce Fairbairn), maybe, the Bon Jovi guys thought that this is exactly the kind of sound that they're looking for so they got the same producer and also recorded in the same recording studio where Honeymoon Suite made this album. Maybe.