Boulevard is considered as one of the most important arena rock bands in the history of Canadian music. Their two classic albums – the self-titled “Blvd” and “Into The Street” – brought a fantastic mixture of 80’s pop and rock, similar to what bands such as Toto, Mr. Mister and Glass Tiger had to offer. Sadly, their career ended with the birth of the grunge movement, which pretty much dominated the entire rock scene in the 1990’s…
The band’s story began around 1983, when Mark Holden (saxophone/vocals) started working at the Thunderhead recording studios in Calgary, Alberta. There he met guitarist Randy Gould and together they joined forces with vocalist David Forbes, forming a group which they called Blvd. In 1985 the studio was closed and the band moved to Vancouver, where they recruited Jerry Adolphe (drums), Randy Burgess (bass) and Andrew Johns (keyboard) and recorded their first demos. The effort paid off in 1987, when Blvd was offered a recording deal by MCA. The band released their debut self-titled album in 1988. “Blvd” was recorded with producer Pierre ‘Baz’ Bazinet at Ocean Sound studios and mixed by legendary rock producers Bob Rock (known from working with Metallica, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, The Cult) and Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Dio, Joe Satriani, Poison). The LP spawned four singles and two videos, and got a bunch of very promising opinions from the critics. With a majestic combination of old-school riffage with clear, crisp vocals and the overwhelming saxophone and keyboard sound, the group managed to gather a loyal following and soon toured all over Canada supporting Glass Tiger. Before releasing their second album, the band extended their name to Boulevard and experienced some line-up changes, with Thom Christiansen replacing Bugess on bass and Randall Stoll replacing Adolphe on drums. The group recorded “Into The Streets” at Venture Studios in Vancouver and eventually released it through MCA in 1990. Two singles were released in Canada, where the group was most successful. Unfortunately, Boulevard’s music did not survive the confrontation with the wave of grunge bands coming from the US. In 1991 the five-piece officially called it quits…
Today, Boulevard is yet another group of lost rock ‘n’ roll heroes, whose albums were truly appreciated only after their demise. These exclusive reissues of “Blvd” and “Into the Streets” bring back two absolute AOR classics, filled with prime melodic rock ‘n’ roll straight from the Canadian soil… Both albums will be available in new digipak editions, each limited to 2000 copies. The material was remastered using tube technology, digitally edited on a golden disc. Metal Mind Productions set up the release date for 6th September in Europe and 9th November in USA (via MVD).
Boulevard
“Blvd” (remastered)
Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1379 DG
Barcode: 5907785036161
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numbered copies)
Genre: AOR
Release date: 06.09.2010 Europe / 9.11.2010 USA
Tracklist:
1. Dream On
2. Far From Over
3. Western Skies
4. Never Give Up
5. In The Twilight
6. When The Light Go Down
7. Under The Moonlight
8. You And I
9. Missing Persons
10. You’re For Me
Boulevard
“Into The Street” (remastered)
Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1380 DG
Barcode: 5907785036178
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numbered copies)
Genre: AOR
Release date: 06.09.2010 Europe / 9.11.2010 USA
Tracklist:
1. Talk To Me
2. Where Is The Love
3. Lead Me On
4. Eye Of The Hurricane
5. Light Of Day
6. Crazy Life
7. Rainy Day In London
8. Where Are You Now
9. Need You Tonight
10. Eye To Eye
