SIDEWINDER - “FADE TO BLACK” (1985/EXECUTIVE RECORDS/USA)

How many more rare 80s releases will there pop up in the future, because here we have another little gem for all the fans of classic 80s female fronted rock/aor. The band is called SIDEWINDER and they hailed from North Carolina, with 2 lead singer, a great rawer female singer and a more polished male vocalist, but musically sticking to a classic early 80s AOR/Poprocksound, very much like TORONTO sometimes ("Fade to black"), while at other times bringing out some awesome AOR ("Jealous eyes", "Rock-n-roll man" and "Just goes to show ya").

Although I mentioned TORONTO as a comparison, there are countless others I could mention here, such as DONNA CRISTY, CINDY CRUSE, CONNIE SCOTT, CINDY VALENTINE, PAT BENATAR, MARCY LEVY, TERI DESARIO, TANE CAIN, FIONA, well I think you get the picture now. The female singer happily sings most songs, which is a good think I think. She is called Wendy Upchurch and sounds a lot like CHRISSY STEELE and LEE AARON actually, but musically it's more polished aor/poprock the 80s way. The absolute highlight for me is the superb classic mid 80s uptempo AOR rocker "Don't run to me", which sounds like the perfect cross between FIONA and DONNA CRISTY.

In the end, a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED piece to all fans of 80s female fronted AOR/Poprock!

Rating: 8.3 out of 10