Newman - One Step Closer (1999) [Japanese Edition]

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Newman - One Step Closer (1999) [Japanese Edition]

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It is a strong piece of AOR & rock, with an emphasis on more keyboard influenced songs and an modern, but 80's influenced sound.But the production is with 90's values, insuring that this does not sound dated in any way. Any fan of Escape's back catalogue should be pleased to add this to it.Steve Newman produced this album himself, which he has done a good job of. His voice is one I can't pigeon hole, so I will just say that it is quite a deep voice and capable of holding a good melody.In typical grand rock style, the album opens with One Step Closer.This sounds remarkably close to the style of The Distance. There is a small connection there - the label and Delwyn Brooks who mixed both records.Desperate Hours compares a little to early Survivor - strong vocals and guitar without going over the top. The songs rolls along comfortably.Don't Walk Away is one of the album's standouts and a very good track. A big anthem chorus is the highlight of this mid paced keyboard filled AOR rocker. I like the instrumental break also.Judgement Day is a cool moody mid tempo track. It the chorus comes and goes from the verse with little addition to the sound, save for some extra harmony vocals. Great effect.Should've Been Me opens the ballad account. This also has a Heartland feel to it, but stands alone regardless. A mid tempo and mid sized AOR anthem. Some good vocals.Taboo follows the route of the Harlan Cage album. Yep, the guys go guitar heavy, and relegate the keyboards to low in the mix, in this mid tempo hard rocker.Fire Of Love continues to rock harder then the rest of the album, but not as intensely as Taboo. But there is a better chorus and overall melody to this track. A good anthem-ish tune.Strongest Heart sees the album continue to get better and better. This is the only other ballad. Like Should've Been Me, it is not typical ballad fare, but a slow to mid paced AOR ballad. Some really good harmonies throughout this.Strange Animal is an OK track. A mid paced rock song, the hooks are not quite as prevalent as some of the other tunes. However, I just love the way the song picks up tempo at the end. It turns into a real anthem with some blazing guitars that could have been even better had they kept going.The Call makes up for that big time. In fact, this is my pick of the album.A good pace, strong melodies, a big chorus and plenty of harmonies make this song.Joanne ends the album on a high note. A good solid uptempo melodic pop rocker.I have been playing this album a lot over the past few weeks and have to say it is a real grower.It only adds to the high standard of release Escape have been keeping to.And I must say that Escape's packaging has been of equally high quality. This looks really nice.So if you are a fan of the label and keyboard filled pop rock albums, check this out now!
Steve Newman was born in Bedford on July 3rd 1966 and 14 years later was to pick up his first acoustic guitar. It wasn't long before he acquired an electric guitar and formed his first band with school buddy Kim Beadle. He continued to play guitar and experiment with various studio equipment such as drum machines and keyboards. At the age of 16 he joined the college band Early Warning and played numerous gigs to enthusiastic audiences for the following 2 years. All this time Steve was writing and recording songs by very basic means, recording guitars on one tape player then playing the tape back and singing vocals while recording onto a second tape player!In 1984 Steve was asked by John Gilmore to join the Southsea based melodic rock band Jaded Heart as lead guitarist. The five piece band began to write songs together heavily influenced by bands such as Tobruk and the very popular Portsmouth band Explorer. Unfortunately they were never to play live, although they did record a 3 track demo receiving great reviews, shortly after this the band broke up.After a break from the scene in 1988 Steve went on to co-form the Pop Rock band Cloud 10 and his strengths as a songwriter were truly realized. At this point in time Steve's writing was heavily influenced by bands such as The Outfield, Van Stephenson and Sugarcreek. The band, consisting of members Steve on Guitar, Bill Leath(Guitars),Ginge Shurman(Bass), Andy Briar (Drums) were to later be joined by vocalist Darren Ball. The band continued to rehearse and tighten up their sound, eventually producing some recorded rehearsals which caught the attention of Queen's management company. After playing a few shows the band were to eventually split up due to…. you guessed it!… musical, and personal differences.Steve then went back to an intensive period of songwriting after being frustrated by the confines of a band. All this time he had kept in contact with John Gilmore, and after a few lengthy phone calls they decided that the time was right to form another band. Shere Khan was born, they inlisted the help of Johns younger brother Chris Gilmore, on drums, Iain Jacobson on Bass, and the ex Wildfyre, XS singer Phil Bennett. Steve was back in the driving seat writing songs with John, this time in a more heavier direction and influenced by bands such as Bonfire and TNT. After 2 years and a name change to Cairo the band was to go from strength to strength, entering the Southsea Battle of the Bands competition and completing a string of dates including some live appearances at festivals in London. The band then became a four piece after John and Chris decided to leave, Chris was replaced by Mark Mulholland on drums and the group continued to gig regularly until it's final demise in 1993.After a short break from music, disillusioned at the scene and lack of support for rock music in general Steve then started to write songs which would form the basis of the first Newman album. During this time he received a call from Mark Mulholland asking him if he would like to audition for a band that Mark Thompson-Smith (Idol Rich, Praying Mantis) was putting together. He agreed and was soon in rehearsal for returning to the live scene in the Mark Thompson-Smith Band. Unfortunately, due to the drummer being seriously ill the band was put on hold indefinitely. However, through this meeting both Steve and Mark TS would form a great friendship and mutual respect for one another.Steve went back to writing more songs and asked Mark TS if he would like to sing on the album he was putting together, however, unfortunately, due to Mark's other commitments he was unable to find the time needed. Steve then set about trying searching for another vocalist but very soon realized that good ones were not easy to find. After another year and the album musically completed he decided to go into the studio and sing the songs himself. Another few weeks of frustration and hard work ensued but finally he was happy with the results. Steve submitted the recordings to Ivan Gunn, who was so impressed with what he heard he approached Point Music in Germany. It was at this time that Ivan suggested that the songs would need to be re-recorded. Lionel Hicks was approached to work on the album and although he was very keen to work on the production unfortunately his commitments with his band Balance Of Power were too great at the time. Ivan then approached Chris Jones (Freefall, Kick) to work on the album and after a couple of meetings in London Steve and Chris went about planning how the album should be recorded. Steve inlisted the help of William Marshall to play bass and Mark Mulholland to contribute drums.