Having closely observed Lee Aaron’s three previous efforts from 2016 onward, I can safely declare that ‘Radio On!’ goes to the top of the class.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Lee Aaron
ALBUM: Radio On!
LABEL: Metalville/Big Sister Records
SERIAL: MV0278
YEAR: 2021
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: 
LINEUP: Lee Aaron – vocals * Sean Kelly – guitars * Dave Reimer – bass * John Cody – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Vampin’ * 02 Soul Breaker * 03 C’mon * 04 Mama Don’t Remember * 05 Radio On! * 06 Soho Crawl * 07 Devil’s Gold * 08 Russian Doll * 09 Great Big Love * 10 Wasted * 11 Had Me At Hello * 12 Twenty One
RATING: 
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
Our resident Canadian hard rock queen Lee Aaron is back at it again with her latest album, the rather excellent ‘Radio On!’ She and her band have been intact since 2016 and this is their fourth album together. Having closely observed those three previous efforts, I can safely declare that ‘Radio On!’ goes to the top of the class, it’s bristling energy and hard rock delivery contains more punch than Anthony Joshua left hook!
The Songs
It’s all guns blazing with the lead-off ‘Vampin’, a sassy rocker that typifies the direction that the Lee Aaron Band now follow. If it sounds good in the studio you can bet your bottom dollar it’ll sound great live. ‘Soul Breaker’ provides an alternative to the tried and true classic rock template. No surprises here.
‘C’mon’ is the obligatory pop-rocker of the album, definitely suited to modern youthful audiences rather than 80’s metallers. Instead, ‘Mama Don’t Remember’ is that bluesy throwback to yesteryear, you can toss in the title track ‘Radio On!’ into this retro pairing too. ‘Soho Crawl’ will mean something to all those Londoners out there, another bitchin’ tune.
There’s a change of pace on ‘Devil’s Gold’, a somber track, very soulful and reflective. Unlike ‘Russian Doll’ which is a short two minute sugar bullet that comes and goes in a heartbeat. ‘Great Big Love’ is a lyrical waxing of how opposites attract, and despite it all, a great big love can still be achieved. ‘Wasted’ is another poignant ballad with an acoustic focus initially before the chorus kicks in with some electric ruckus.
The final two tracks are a contrast to each other. ‘Had Me At Hello’ cranks out bluesy classic rock tones as we heard earlier on the album while ‘Twenty One’ is a love story and time travel jaunt to an earlier time in the life of the song’s subject matter.
In Summary
The pattern within these songs has become a familiar friend since Lee Aaron’s return to the classic rock fold back in 2016. There’s no need to change it up like she did through the 80’s where every album was different to the other. We as the listener and she as the performer are a lot older now, and probably more set in our ways than we used to be. All I need to do now is find an old antique crystal set radio and turn it on. That might be a lot harder to do.
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[Gdazegod] Why did Metalville remove all the official produced videos off YouTube? Is there something to be read in the tea leaves here?
[Dave T] Strange, isn’t it? This is one of the precious hard rock albums in a year that hasn’t seen much for the genre so far.