JOHN PARR / LETTER TO AMERICA (DOUBLE CD / 2011)

John Parr is well-known for his success of  'St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)' , the popular '80s song that he wrote and performed for the movie of the same title. He, also, had another hit-single which was called 'Naughty, Naughty'. As a Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter, he has enjoyed a long and successful career as a musician in the US and all over the world.


After a 15 year hiatus, Parr is returning to his second home for an extensive tour, to celebrate his new album titled “Letter To America”. This double cd inludes some of the artist's greatest hits but some new and unreleashed tracks as well. Parr is responsible for the production of the album and showcases Parr performing live with his band the fans favourites. The sound of the live recording is polished and has an overall 'fat' sound with nice arrangements and Parr's great performances. The second cd features acoustic versions of Parr's earlier recordings and some new ones. I, personally, am a big fan of acoustic performances and this one really impressed me. For me, a good track is always a good track, no matter if it's unplugged or is in full-power! And these acoustic tunes are all well-produced and the final result pleased me.

John Parr, also, wrote the tune "Comin' Home" exclusively about his trip back to America to play what he loves the most, his music. This is a really 'touching' melody not only about John's journey home to America but everyone's heartfelt journey back to their home's and loved ones after having ventured away.

All in all, this is a very interesting release and a must have for every single fan of power pop-rock music of the 80's.

HeavyParadise's Rating : 8/10

TRACK LIST :
CD1 - Live 01 - Come Out Fighting 02 - Somebody Stole My Thunder 03 - Time 04 - Man with a Vision 05 - Dirty Lovin' 06 - Secrets 07 - Two Hearts 08 - The Natural Thing 09 - Restless Heart 10 - World Keep Turnin' 11 - Naughty Naughty 12 - Steal You Away 13 - It's Startin' All Over Again 14 - Love in a Layby 15 - Under a Raging Moon 16 - St Elmo's Fire

CD2 - Acoustic & New - 01 - Dream On 02 - The Best 03 - Naughty Naughty 04 - Bedsit Paradise 05 - The Minute I Saw You 06 - Comin' Home 07 - Practice 08 - Firework 09 - At the Cathedral 10 - Oh Well 11 - St Elmo's Fire 12 - Letter to America 13 - Ghost Driver