The Everest material here were originally recorded as demos after the debut album came out, and prior to the band jacking it in during 1985.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Everest
ALBUM: One Step Away
LABEL: Long Island Music
SERIAL: LIRC 00076
YEAR: 1995
CD INFO: Discogs Info List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
LINEUP: Frank Reid – lead vocals, keyboards * Ric McDonald – lead vocals, bass * Jim MacLellan – drums * Don Gaze – guitars
TRACK LISTING: 01 One Step Away * 02 I’ll Never Let You Go * 03 How Does It Feel * 04 Hold Me * 05 Will Your Love Last Forever * 06 Runnin’ On * 07 We’re All In This Together * 08 Fugitive * 09 Stand Up * 10 Coming Back For More * 11 Don’t Know What You Do * 12 I Don’t Know
Background
We reviewed this Canadian band Everest years ago. I even got the chance to interview lead singer and bassist Ric McDonald during January 2002. Long revered as a clone of fellow Canucks Saga, this second release from the band was even rarer than the legendary debut which came out in 1984 and then promptly disappeared off the map. I recall seeing it listed on a Shades advert on Sounds magazine at the time but the trail then went cold.
Shifting forward a decade, Long Island Records (the pre-cursor to Escape Music) reissued that 1984 debut on their label in 1994, and a year later, this one followed it out the door. The Everest material here were originally recorded as demos after the debut album came out, and prior to the band jacking it in during 1985. Recalling my interview with Ric, he mentioned that both Terry Brown and Alex Lifeson from Rush were involved in production assistance, though not together.
The Songs
‘I’ll Never Let You Go’ is a fantastic pomp laced track, with keys straight out of the Eight Seconds songbook. Everest even do a cover of a Toto song; ‘How Does It Feel’ which featured on their ‘Isolation’ LP. Vocally, ‘Hold Me’ is a cross between Yes warbler Jon Anderson and Tony Lewis of The Outfield. Not bad. ‘Will Your Love Last Forever’ is the slo-mo moment on the album, straight out of 1985 it would seem.
‘Runnin’ On’ is a decent tough rocker while the ballad ‘We’re All In This Together’ has a CCM feel to it. Think Twenty Twenty, especially those lush keyboards. ‘Coming Back For More’ is probably the purist AOR moment here, while the bouncy ‘Don’t Know What You Do’ is an energetic instrumental that references Eight Seconds yet again.
In Summary
Still, there’s a good batch of twelve songs. Probably not a consistent set when compared to the Everest debut, but in fairness they don’t come across as cobbled either. Unfortunately, this was the band’s final throw at the stumps; just the two albums worth but worth tracking down both the LIRC discs if you are a collector.
Everest on Video
One Step Away
