Stan Bush
Change the World

Change the world, is that what he is trying to do with his new album? Stan Bush, a man with extensive experience with a first album dating all the way back to 1983 and some songs known from Transformers and video games he has done at least something of a mark – and he has an Emmy award to show for it. But I doubt he will change the world with his new album despite having the Transformers song and that sort of thing on it, the artwork looks good though and that’s always a positive thing. I don’t know if wanting to change the world is positive or negative, I guess it depends on how you want to change it – and changing it into a world of AOR is probably not such a bad thing.

And AOR/melodic rock/hardrock is what this album is all about, in full compliance with the established parameters. There are no new ideas, no surprises, and no outstanding hit songs – even though there are some old songs. It is a very strong production with strong melodies, catchy choruses and good vocals – everything you expect from an AOR album, the problem is that greatness doesn’t really lie in doing the expected but rather in the unexpected and in that regard Stan Bush has very little to offer. The songs are more or less the usual variety and I guess the guidebook is followed to the letter. The label claims that it is an almost perfect album for those into the likes of House of Lords, the problem is that House of Lords did an album earlier this year and that was way better than this one.

This gem of an album is it written in the press release, and all I can say is that I don’t think so, that it is a gem I mean. It is good, certainly. Even very good, I like the track Warrior and several of the other tracks as well, but none of them stand out as exceptional. It is not the weaknesses that are the problem for this album, it is the lack of real strength – you need either originality or outstanding quality to make a mark in this genre and Change the World offers none of that. Fans of AOR and that sort of thing probably likes this album as it is easy to take in and easy to like with good catchy songs and all of that which is usually liked amongst the fans – it presses the buttons and offends no one. But by playing it according to the rules and safe he also makes sure that his album will be forgotten quite quickly and I would be surprised if anyone thinks of this album in September 2018.

Change the World isn’t an album that changes the world, not even the world of music. And if this thirteenth album is the best one in Bush’s career then it doesn’t matter that I have mist the majority of that career because in my opinion it is not even close to being the best AOR album of 2017, not even close. It is another solid effort in a genre that usually blesses us with good albums, so many that this one will pass by without being really noticed.

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