“Aerial” is the 11th studio album from Newman, the band fronted by singer song-writer Steve Newman since 1997. The albums are generally at the mellower end of the melodic rock / AOR spectrum, but well within my boundaries and I’ve always found them to be a great listen. The latest album was released on 22nd September on the AOR Heaven label. I included the track “High Tonight (Aerial)” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 29th September.
Saying that Newman is fronted by Steve Newman is a bit of an injustice really. He doesn’t just sing on the albums; he plays just about every instrument you’ll hear, with the exception of the drums. On all, but the first couple of albums, the drummer has been Rob McEwen. Vocal support on two tracks comes from Mark Thompson-Smith.
The album was mastered by Harry Hess from Harem Scarem – a name that features heavily when checking out melodic rock releases. He was a guest on the Friday NI Rocks Show earlier this year – http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/3129-ni-rocks-interview-with-harry-hess-from-harem-scarem.html
The first Newman album was released in 1998 and the tenth studio album was “The Elegance Machine” in 2015 – http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/back-stage/music-reviews/2227-ni-rocks-recommends-qthe-elegance-machineq-by-newman.html
There are 12 tracks on “Aerial”. So far Newman has added audio videos for “Life To Remember”, “Can’t Stop Loving You” and “High Tonight (Aerial)” to his YouTube channel.
About “NI Rocks Recommends”
The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!
My musical tastes cover most things rock; from the not too melodic to the not too heavy. The albums that I’ll be recommending are those that you’ll hear me playing tracks from on my shows on Rock Radio NI.
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