KING OF HEARTS - 1989 (1999, Cool Sound Inc.)

King Of Hearts were a band project put together by session players Bruce Gaitsch and George Hawkins.The guys were then joined by Kelly Keagy and Tommy Funderburk.The guys recorded an album, which turns out to be the very one we are talking about, unfortunately, fate was not kind and the album was never released.But it was picked up by the Westcoast label in the early to mid 90's, re-mixed from it's original form and released as the self titled King Of Hearts album.The album saw a few new tunes added, a few rockier more AOR numbers left off and saw the raw live feel mixed out of it completely.It was a very smooth, very soft, but still very good Westcoast style album. The second album saw more tracks from the sessions used and again a few new tracks added.

Well, finally the injustices have been corrected and King Of Hearts 1989 is the original album, presented in it's intended form. Guests credited on this album include CJ Vanston, Bill Champlin and Timothy Schmit. It is great to hear Kelly Keagy sing lead vocals on two tracks. The mix is also a lot more AOR than westcoast, with more guitar and an overall rawer feel easily detectable. The album is a mix of pure smooth and laid back westcoast with some more guitar driven pure rock. Either way the band provide some of the best quality songs available. Pretty much as one would expect given the caliber of the guys involved. It is one of the best Westcoast/AOR album of all times and it was recorded in 1989, a magic year for AOR. The Cd is hard to find because it was released only for the japanese market.

The Band: Kelly Keagy: Lead vocals, Drums. Tommy Funderburk: Lead, bk vocals. Bruce Gaitsch: Guitars. George Hawkins: Bass, vocals. Produced by David Cole.
1.-Working man 2.-In So Many Words 3.-Don't Call My Name 4.-Smack Dab 5.-Remember When 6.-Hold On To Love 7.-Under The Gun 8.-Lovin' Arms 9.-Was It Good For You 10.-Everyday 11.-King Of Hearts