Year : 1987 Style : Melodic Hard Rock Country : Germany Audio : 320 kbps + all scans Size : 109 mb
Bio:
The band was formed in 1985. They had one mini-LP "We Want Rock'n'Roll" and three albums, called "Born To Boogie" (1987), "Fasten Seatbelts" (1989) and "Unlimited" (1990).True Rock'n'Roll like in the good old days are TRANS AM, a Bonner band that is probably unique with their commitment and professionalism in Germany.
Album:
In 1987 they recorded their debut album called 'Born To Boogie', with vocals supplied by Bernd Grunen, who went on to play bass for Zar, which if you remember were fronted at one time by Uriah Heep's, John Lawton. I have probably found more about previous members of Trans Am, than those who appeared on the two under question, although while I've had a few of Zar albums in my collection I alas never knew of the connection I would be interested if anyone has listened to the debut, plus what happened after 1990, the only other fact being that Klaus Opree was drafted In from a group called Stainless, over to you! One interesting note for collectors, while these two albums seem to be distributed by SPA/, they were recorded for Bernie Productions, and have serial numbers BP006 and BP008, and after closer inspection of the booklet, numbers BP003, BP007 seem to be used for the EP's and BP004 for the debut, wonder what titles made up the other serial numbers? Contrary to all trends ruled a mix of boogie and hard rock on "Born To Boogie", the unique highlight is a ballad: '24th Of June'. Undoubtedly TRANS AM have here delivered a good work, now takes the band to the very good singer Klaus Oprée only to find their audience, then the breakthrough can not actually be far (8).
Line Up:
Klaus Opree lead vocals Ronny Van Assel guitars Thomas Schumann guitars Miachael Schell drums Ingo Krauss bass
Tracklist:
01. Born To Boogie 3:47 02. You Can Go 3:50 03. Winternights 2:42 04. 24th Of June 5:47 05. Rock The Nations 2:57 06. Crazy Guy 4:13 07. The Stuff 3:30 08. Rock The Night 3:17 09. Watch Out 3:33 10. Cold Sweat 5:06
Year : 1989 Style : Melodic Hard Rock Country : Germany Audio : 320 kbps + all scans + Video Size : 141 mb
Bio:
The band was formed in 1985. They had one mini-LP "We Want Rock'n'Roll" and three albums, called "Born To Boogie" (1987), "Fasten Seatbelts" (1989) and "Unlimited" (1990).True Rock'n'Roll like in the good old days are TRANS AM, a Bonner band that is probably unique with their commitment and professionalism in Germany.
Album:
The Bonn-based hard rock band Trans Am first appeared in 1986 with a well-cultivated EP and followed it up the following year with the brilliant and also recommendable debut album "Born To Boogie". Many club gigs later, the second album "Fasten Seatbelts" was released, which was stylistically a little more metallic and therefore even more multifaceted in places. The singer had a charm all of his own. His voice was quite distinctive and had recognition value. The virtuosity on the guitars was amazing and also the rhythm section did a first class job. From all these traditional ingredients, the quintet cooked up their own delicious soup. The music fan didn't get an overproduced and polished major production, but a handmade and honest headbanger pearl in a coherent sound. But now to the songs included: The stomper "Around Midnight" immediately sets an exclamation mark. This is exactly how earthy and melodic hard'n'heavy music should sound. A cool groovy riff, catchy and straightforward vocals and the successful opener is finished. "Go Down Shootin'" then comes around the corner with a touch of AC/DC and a hint of Saxon, but without sounding entirely like either band; a thoroughly hard rock'n'roll track that is simply fun from front to back. With "Just A Dream" they have a dreamlike half ballad at the start. The whole thing is underpinned with beautiful guitar work, which gives me several goosebumps at once. Even Michael Schenker couldn't have done it better in his ballad songs. These melodic arcs are great cinema! With "Hot For Love", the pedal is pressed down hard. The speedy piece is stylistically almost out of the ordinary and can keep up with Accept's fastest tracks in terms of tempo. Very strong! Thrills In The Night" also sounds like German eighties metal. Similar Teutonic bands like Victory or Thunderhead are still mentioned from time to time, at least today, when one philosophises about this important decade in retrospect. Why this does not apply to Trans Am in any way is completely beyond me. The catchy tune "Miss Marple" contains a very memorable chorus. This quick-fire melody is still going through your head days later. With the title track "Fasten Seatbelts" they have recorded a spot-on number, which even almost three decades later doesn't seem a bit dusty; a timeless and razor-sharp piece of music. The song "Hard Enough" is a cleverly thought-out, unadorned metal crusher. The precise interplay between vocals and guitar here is simply impressive and complements each other phenomenally; a clever arrangement that provides enough space for all the instruments to unfold. "Now It's Your Turn" (with wildly galloping bass and electric guitars) sounds like an original mix of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden; very exciting song structure with a thoughtful middle section. Once again, the musicians' technical skills are on full display here. The last song, "Mother Earth", is a quieter, dreamy number. Harmonious and simply overwhelming, Trans Am end an album here, which has indeed set off an exquisite firework, but which nevertheless never received the attention it deserved, although this small masterpiece appeared with a simple, but one hundred percent accurate and memorable album cover.
Line Up:
Klaus Opree - Vocals - See also: ex-Stainless Chris Hoppe - Bass Mike Viebahn - Guitars Thomas Schumann - Guitars - See also: ex-Throne Michael Schell - Drums - See also: ex-Throne
production:
Recorded At – Dierks Studios Mixed At – Dierks Studios Mastered At – EMI Recorded By – Henning Schmitz Recorded By – Rolf Klein Published By – Edition Beathouse Mastered By – John Cremer Producer – Bernie Gelhausen, Henning Schmitz, Rolf "Rocco" Klein
Tracklist:
01. Around Midnight 04:12 02. Go Down Shootin' 03:38 03. Just a Dream 05:41 04. Hot for Love 03:06 05. Thrills in the Night 03:20 06. Miss Marple 04:04 07. Fasten Seatbelts 03:46 08. Hard Enough 04:18 09. Now It's Your Turn 06:37 10. Mother Earth 02:46
Year : 1990 Style : Melodic Hard Rock , Melodic Heavy Metal Country : Germany Audio : 320 kbps + all scans Size : 118 mb
Bio:
The band was formed in 1985. They had one mini-LP "We Want Rock'n'Roll" and three albums, called "Born To Boogie" (1987), "Fasten Seatbelts" (1989) and "Unlimited" (1990).True Rock'n'Roll like in the good old days are TRANS AM, a Bonner band that is probably unique with their commitment and professionalism in Germany.
Album:
You can say whatever you want about TRANS AM - but you have to give them credit for one thing: They don't give up and have been doing their thing uncompromisingly for years. "Their thing", to be more precise, is earthy hard rock with a lot of melody and occasional boogie touches, which, however, take a back seat on the new (now fifth) release "Unlimited". The musical mixture is right, the musicians once again prove to be competent, and the lead vocals can be described as clearly above average by German standards. International format, on the other hand, is only achieved in parts (for example in the opener 'Fire In Me' or the varied sing-along number 'I Want You'), which is simply due to the fact that TRANS AM still venture into unexplored territory too seldom. What the band offers here has already been heard somewhere else in some form or other - even though TRANS AM approach their work with conviction and playfulness. Since it is almost impossible to deliver really original records in view of the completely overloaded market anyway, and in the case of TRANS AM not only the songs but also the packaging (professional Dierks studio sound) is pleasing, 8 points from 10 are justifiable despite minor shortcomings. After all, where can you still find real idealists these days?
Line Up:
Klaus Opree - Vocals - See also: ex-Stainless Chris Hoppe - Bass Mike Viebahn - Guitars Thomas Schumann - Guitars - See also: ex-Throne Michael Schell - Drums - See also: ex-Throne
production:
Recorded At – Dierks Studios Mixed At – Dierks Studios Mastered At – EMI Recorded By – Henning Schmitz Recorded By – Rolf Klein Published By – Edition Beathouse Mastered By – John Cremer Producer – Bernie Gelhausen, Henning Schmitz, Rolf "Rocco" Klein
Tracklist:
01. Fire in Me 04:04 02. Leavin' You 03:58 03. I Want You 04:36 04. Close My Eyes 04:56 05. Everybody 04:02 06. Rockin' Rocket 03:17 07. The Gallery 04:51 08. Nobody 03:31 09. Rage Heart 03:21 10. Give a Little 04:07 11. Mark the Scotsman 04:13 12. Woody's Blues 05:03 (Bonus Track - CD Only)
