Sometimes, compilation albums which 'only' feature unreleased stuff and left overs are a real struggle but no so with TOUR DE FORCE's output "Unreleased" which actually starts at the point where they stopped with their two previous albums.

All of the 13 tracks have something and one might wonder why those here didn't make it onto the albums they supposedly have been recorded for some time ago. How does TOUR DE FORCE sound? Being one of my personal faves from the 90's they definitely sounded like a classic US melodic rock band in a similar vein to fellows such as HOUSE OF LORDS & VAN HALEN meet BAD ENGLISH for example - but somehow TDF are very hardly to compare to somebody else since they've definitely found their very own place within that genre. Some of the songs even seem to have a little Broadway feel like "All Nite Long" for example.

The album offers everything from great uptempo rockers like the above mentioned "All Nite Long", "Can't Change" and "City Nites", ballads like "Diana" and "Over 'N' Over" plus also some very keyboard influenced mid-tempo stuff like "Lies" or "Take My Love".

"unreleased" is an album for fans of the above mentioned bands and styles even though the sound isn't perfect 100% for todays standards. A very good one with fantastic songs!

tracklist: 1. Stand Up, 2. All Nite Long, 3. On My Way, 4. Diana, 5. Over 'N' Over, 6. City Nites, 7. Roads, 8. Can't Change, 9. Lies, 10. Take My Love, 11. Back to Basics, 12. Can't Wait, 13. On The Edge

line-up: Chali Cayte - vocals, Bill Froehlich - bass, Alex Salz - keys & guitars, Billy Pauly - drums, Christian Palladino - guitars

Like Foreigner and Night Ranger, Tour De Force is a competent blend of precision and energy. In other words, the cleanliness of commercial prog yet less indulgent.

"Stand Up" is the big fish here. A huge, layered chorus and barebones riff get an extra pad from the spider fingers keyboards. "All Nite Long" cruises along nicely, sending the beat forward as opposed to anthemic qualities of the opener. "On My Way" works too hard to get to its chorus, which ends up rather vanilla anyway. "City Nites" is pure pop rock heaven. Tasty intro, effortless groove and harmless good vibrations. One of the more "metal" tunes on the album is "Can't Change", more bark in the riff than bite in the chorus, but that's forgiven, because we really don't expect anything else. "Lies" is pure Foreigner, from strutting keys to studio enhanced chorus. "Take My Love" is a pleasant surprise in that the band delivers an elevated soul and swing to mighty effect. Kind of like a Frampton rock during the verses and a mid 80s Heart chorus collide. Okay, not mega-soul, but at least vocalist Chali Cayte is feeling a little anguish on this one.

With 13 tracks, its tough to maintain the quality each time out and it shows in parts. Also, the band's exactitude strips any uniqueness that could possibly be found. The upswing is that the material should please the melodic rock fan who prefers his or her music dirt and grease free. - Brian Coles www.electricbasement.com

BIRGITT - ROCK IT

Sometimes, compilation albums which 'only' feature unreleased stuff and left overs are a real struggle but no so with TOUR DE FORCE's output "Unreleased" which actually starts at the point where they stopped with their two previous albums.

All of the 13 tracks have something and one might wonder why those here didn't make it onto the albums they supposedly have been recorded for some time ago. How does TOUR DE FORCE sound? Being one of my personal faves from the 90's they definitely sounded like a classic US melodic rock band in a similar vein to fellows such as HOUSE OF LORDS & VAN HALEN meet BAD ENGLISH for example - but somehow TDF are very hardly to compare to somebody else since they've definitely found their very own place within that genre. Some of the songs even seem to have a little Broadway feel like "All Nite Long" for example.

The album offers everything from great uptempo rockers like the above mentioned "All Nite Long", "Can't Change" and "City Nites", ballads like "Diana" and "Over 'N' Over" plus also some very keyboard influenced mid-tempo stuff like "Lies" or "Take My Love". Sometimes, compilation albums which 'only' feature unreleased stuff and left overs are a real struggle but no so with TOUR DE FORCE's output "Unreleased" which actually starts at the point where they stopped with their two previous albums.

All of the 13 tracks have something and one might wonder why those here didn't make it onto the albums they supposedly have been recorded for some time ago. How does TOUR DE FORCE sound? Being one of my personal faves from the 90's they definitely sounded like a classic US melodic rock band in a similar vein to fellows such as HOUSE OF LORDS & VAN HALEN meet BAD ENGLISH for example - but somehow TDF are very hardly to compare to somebody else since they've definitely found their very own place within that genre. Some of the songs even seem to have a little Broadway feel like "All Nite Long" for example.

The album offers everything from great uptempo rockers like the above mentioned "All Nite Long", "Can't Change" and "City Nites", ballads like "Diana" and "Over 'N' Over" plus also some very keyboard influenced mid-tempo stuff like "Lies" or "Take My Love". Sometimes, compilation albums which 'only' feature unreleased stuff and left overs are a real struggle but no so with TOUR DE FORCE's output "Unreleased" which actually starts at the point where they stopped with their two previous albums.

All of the 13 tracks have something and one might wonder why those here didn't make it onto the albums they supposedly have been recorded for some time ago. How does TOUR DE FORCE sound? Being one of my personal faves from the 90's they definitely sounded like a classic US melodic rock band in a similar vein to fellows such as HOUSE OF LORDS & VAN HALEN meet BAD ENGLISH for example - but somehow TDF are very hardly to compare to somebody else since they've definitely found their very own place within that genre. Some of the songs even seem to have a little Broadway feel like "All Nite Long" for example.

The album offers everything from great uptempo rockers like the above mentioned "All Nite Long", "Can't Change" and "City Nites", ballads like "Diana" and "Over 'N' Over" plus also some very keyboard influenced mid-tempo stuff like "Lies" or "Take My Love".

Reviewer: Fred Monster

I was told that I really missed something not owning Tour De Force’s debut album. Fortunately now there’s Unreleased, a collection of previously unreleased Tour De Force material. That way I can make up for my omission a little. And that there was something to make up for became clear immediately listening to the album for the first time. Stand Up (which makes me think of Le Roux a little) is one of the best Pomp/AOR songs I’ve heard this year. But it’s not just the opener that sounds great. All the tracks on the album are first class material the way it could only be made in the good old Eighties.

The crystal clear vocals of Chali Cayte, supported by the backing vocals of the complete band heavily put their stamp on the album, but there’s enough space left for the rest of the instruments of which the layers and layers of keys are the most notable. I haven’t got the faintest idea when these tracks have been recorded, but I believe that I have to make Alex Salz, who mixed and remastered the album, a big compliment as the sound of the album is very very good. Kivel Records has been making quite a name for themselves lately and they’ve been releasing some good material over the last year, but this must be the best I’ve heard by them so far.

MMMM½

Reviewer: www.ontherocks.de

The second TOUR DE FORCE album "World On Fire" is still a real hot tip in the Melodic Rock scene. So I am sure, that some people will be very pleased about their new album "Unreleased". Again it is a very powerful and dynamic Melodic Rock album, that is moving in the vein of glory 80´s acts like NIGHT RANGER, DOKKEN and RED DAWN. The band around main songwriter Christian Palladino has a fine flair for the right combination of screaming guitars and varied keyboards on the one side, and strong hooklines and melodies on the other side. So the album has everything it takes for a first-class album and it´s indubitable the best album on the young Kivel Records label so far! The only weak point in the music of TOUR DE FORCE could be the very dominant voice of Chali Cayte, which isn´t everyone´s cup of tea. I didn´t have any problems with his style of singing, but a friend of mine was a little disappointed of it. But who cares, he he...? So check out "Stand Up", "Diana", "Lies", "Back To Basics" (what a great song!) or "On The Edge" (with great and majestic sounding keyboards), and you will see, that it would have been a shame when "Unreleased" would have stayed unreleased. Congratulations TOUR DE FORCE - a clear winner CD!

Rating:
82 %

Discography:
Tour De Force (1993) / World On Fire (1995)

Rating:-9/10 (Review By Nicky Baldrian)

"Unreleased" is the long awaited follow up to Tour De Force's excellent second album "World On Fire" (Long Island Records 1995). The band recently signed with hot US label Kivel Records and this new album is going to suprise alot of people as"Unreleased" is one of those albums that you can get lost in, thanks to the masterful musicanship and the bands brilliant craft for writing killer songs.

"World On Fire" was a more melodic hard rock based album a'la Silent Rage, Danger Danger, Prophet etc, "Unleashed" however is much heavier in the music department, songs like "Over 'n' Over", "Lies", and "Can't Change" are killer melodic songs a'la Zeno, Millenium, TNT, Rainbow, Kharma, Talk Of The Town etc.."Over 'n' Over" lets rip a killer guitar solo and features lots of keyboard twists, singer Chali Cayte reminds me of a mix of Jorn Lande, Jeff Scott Soto and Thomas Vikstrom, thus alot of "Unreleased" sounds almost like German power rock, but fans of "World On Fire" needn't panic as songs like "All Night Long", "On My Way" ( a ballad a'la Survivor/Hit The Ground Running), "City Nites", "Can't Change" and "Can't Wait", cater for your melodic hard rock tastes that will leave you stuffed - these songs are like many of the songs on "World On Fire" and bare comparisons to Eyes, Shotgun Symphony, The Storm, Journey,Survivor, Hit The Ground Running, Intruder etc..

Also worth a mention is "Diana" which is my favorite song on the album, the chorus is superb, and the melodies are fantastic a'la The Storm and Survivor. All in all, "Unreleased" is a very powerful album, that I'm sure will be in many a fan and writers list of top ten albums of the year, I know it will be in mine. Highly Recommended.

Strutter AOR

Another dream come true for the fans of Pompous AOR/Melodic Rock has got to be this release of TOUR DE FORCE. Remember their CD 'World on fire' on LONG ISLAND RECORDS in the mid 90s. That CD was filled with Classic 80s AOR/Melodic Rock with catchy choruses and hooklines all over the place. This 'Unreleased' CD release contains another 13 songs that basically are in the same style as the 'World on fire' CD. The songs were recorded during the period the band existed, so from the late 80s until the mid 90s. Basically you'll get 13 fantastic pure 80s typed AOR/Melodic Rock songs. If you love one song, you'll love them all. My favourites are the uptempo Pompous Melodic Rockers "Diana", "City nites", "Lies" (lovely keyboards), "Take my love", "Back to basics" and "Can't wait" (beautiful harmonies, super catchy!). This is a must-have-record for fans of acts like PROPHET, DANGER DANGER, WHITE SISTER, CRYSTAL…

(Points: 9.0 out of 10)