JOHNNY LIMA – Shine On [Japanese Edition +2 bonus]

JOHNNY LIMA surprised everyone with his very good debut album in the second half ’90s, an obscure era for this type of classy Melodic Rock. As requested, here’s Lima second effort 1999’s “Shine On“, in its Japanese Edition including 2 bonus tracks.

Mixed by TEN mastermind Gary Hughes, the album “shine” indeed combining elements of the classic Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Aldo Nova and Danger Danger, where not only songwriting is strong & varied, but musicianship, with most the instruments performed by Lima – no pro-tools, no AI, just real rock n’ roll music. Lima has a voice color that, while is his own, also compares favourably with Jon Bon Jovi and Paul Laine of Danger Danger II.
Released in a time when Melodic Rock still had to resurface, “Shine On” was like a breath of fresh air with a stadium rock feeling of yesteryear but an updated production and a vibrant classy sound appealing to classic rock fans in general.

The album opens with a monster arena rocker and winds through 10 tracks (12 in this Japanese edition) that leave no room for fillers – just pure high energy rock – an intensity that continues even through the power ballads.
‘Leavin’ In The Morning’ is a pure Def Leppard influenced hard rocker with big choruses and a wonderful thick guitar sound that gives way slightly to some keyboards during the chorus. ‘My Country ‘Tis Of Thee,’ while a little softer, runs at a faster pace and is a great emotion filled mood rocker. The chorus is not as much a mouthful as the title suggests and rolls out of and back into the next verse with ease.
‘Touch Of Love’ is a midpaced ballad and is again filled with big guitars and keys, mixed evenly and perfectly. Once again the chorus arrives smoothly and before you know it – it is gone again. That’s what we love about this whole record – it takes several listens for all the melodies and song structures to sink in.
Melodies, hooks and solo’s everywhere!

‘Star’ is a highlight and a Lima’s classic. This is a midtempo rocker built up with dramatic keyboards and instrumentation. The verse is slow and gets heavier into the chorus that is several layers of vocals deep and quite heavy. ‘Memory Lane’ is a more stripped back track to start with and has somewhat less impact than the opening four tracks. This works in it’s favour as the album needed a lighter break about now. The chorus is pure Leppard’s Hysteria.
‘Wild, Young, Crazy In Love’ is a great uptempo feel-good pop-metal tune, somewhat in the vein of the Paul Laine solo album. This is like a 60s pop rocker meets 80s hard rock. We get back into the heavier feel of the opening tracks with ‘Shout It Out’ – heavy guitar, keyboards and multi layered vocals.

‘Sweet Sixteen’ is another lighter weight good time pop rocker, more straight from the heart with less gloss in the production, just rockin’ raw. ‘Only The Strong Survive’ is another favorite. An uptempo anthem with everything you could want from a classic melodic rock song. Moody verse, big rising chorus and killer melodies.
Bonus track ‘In Someone Else’s Arms’ brings to mind Jon Bon Jovi solo album, very American in style with a sweet melody all over. The other bonus, ‘Girl Next Door’ rocks driven by a catchy riff, a bit funky and fun, with nice vocals by Johnny.

“Shine On” is a great album for stadium rock fans and the like. All songs are solid and provides 45 min. of cool melodies, sing-along choruses and an overall feeling of having a good time.
Highly Recommended

01 – Leavin’ In The Morning
02 – My Country ‘Tis Of Thee
03 – Touch Of Love
04 – Star
05 – Memory Lane
06 – Wild, Young, Crazy In Love
07 – Shout It Out
08 – Too Late
09 – Sweet Sixteen
10 – Only The Strong Will Survive
11 – In Someone Else’s Arms (Bonus Track)
12 – Girl Next Door (Bonus Track)

Lead & Backing Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards, Drums – Johnny Lima
Lead Guitar – Ritchie Cedillo, Craig Takeshita (tracks: 3 & 6)
Bass – John Prock
Backing Vocals – Dave Friday (tracks: 8 & 12), Jeff Silva (tracks: 1)
Mixed by Gary Hughes

MP3 FLAC