Stephen Former guitarist of Def Leppard who contributed some of his writings in their 'Pyromania' era built the band Roadhouse which has their sole eponymous album released in 1991 by Vertigo. Although not very familiar to non-AOR fans, Roadhouse basically successfully spawned four singles and managed to break into MTV's rotation back in the days. Similar to what Def Leppard did in the late 80s, which is stripping down their metal edge and favors toward pop-oriented approach, Roadhouse also adapted the approach. Musically, I can easily compare the band to the likes of FM, Dare or Giant, but of course still with that Def Leppard touch they gained from Willis.

'All Join Hands' make a great opener but I found this album's strength actually lies on their extra-ordinary heart melting power ballads. 'Time' is such a mover, 'Loving You' is magical but the chorus could have been better, and the first single, 'Hell Can Wait' is a blast, many casual fan probably recognize this band from this track. 'One Heart' is a brilliant uptempo pumper but shame 'A Little Love' can't keep up the quality. 'Stranger In Your Eyes' is probably the worst of the bunch, but other tracks such as 'New Horizon' and 'Desperate Calling' actually is pretty good.

Fronted by Paul Jackson, his voice without a doubt is clearly enhancing Roadhouse's music. If you know some names such as Steve Overland or Darren Wharton, I swear his pipes are too similar to be true. If only they put up more uptempo gems, I'll rate this higher but at the end of the day, I'm afraid some strong ballads and fast-paced winners aren't enough to grant this album with anything beyond 75%. Quite easy to find this for a reasonable price so it won't be a harm to pick up one for 'Hell Can Wait' and 'One Heart' alone.