Record Label: Infamous Butcher Records
Canadian Moonlight Desires have transformed a number of 80's pop hits into hard rock covers. This is a fun album and the band do a good job of beefing up 80's tunes. 80's Gary Moore rather than Me First and the Gimmees sprang to mind as these aren't punked up covers but slightly metallic versions.
The question that a reviewer with personal bias favouring the eighties needs to ask is: do they always work? Most of them do but there are moments that don't quite gel. Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf" falls towards the end of the song when the band slow down but the rest of the song actually works surprising well. Rod Stewart's "Young Turks"is sped up with guitar solos and absolutely rocks. The original version of Simply Red's "Holding Back The Years" is an absolutely ghastly song which the band make listenable with guitar solos however it's still a cringe-worthy song. Thankfully, the follow-up track, Stevie Winwood's "Valerie"is as upbeat and fun as the original and rids the mouth and ears of the horrid taste of Simply Red. The Naked Eyes track "Promises Promises" works well as a beefed-up chunky hard rock tune and is a great tribute to the original version. If you've wondered what Level 42 would have sounded like if they'd started playing hair metal around the time New Order wore those hair metal wigs then you need to give Moonlight Desires version of "Something About You" a listen. Frankie Goes to Hollywood get the Moonlight Desires through "The Power of Love" conveys the idea of a North American Suede.
While the songs on "Just the Hits 1981-1985" are fun re-workings, it's difficult to see this album as anything other than a novelty album. The album full of covers doesn't have long-term replay value unlike a number of the originals.
Release Date: 15 September 2017
2.5/5
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