Review PAUL LAINE “The Long Road Back”

With The Long Road Back, a circle that began back in 1990 comes around again. Born in Vancouver, Canada, Paul Laine launched his career with Stick It in Your Ear, a debut that eventually led him to Danger Danger. After parting ways with the band in 2005, Laine spent the following years involved in various bands and projects, only to return to his solo roots 36 years after that first album.

The Long Road Back is therefore more than just an album title. There is a deeper meaning behind it, and Laine himself sees the record as the result of a long musical journey that has brought him back to where it all started. The experience he has gathered along the way meets some of the carefree spirit of his early days, and you can hear that right from the opening track.

“Love Me or Leave Me” gets things moving with a fine mix of melodic lines and crunchy guitar riffs. Melodic rock sets the tone, occasionally crossing into AOR territory, while Laine never forgets to give the guitars plenty of room to do their thing.

Tracks like “Save Me Saturday Night” bring some loose, upbeat hard rock to the table, with clear roots in the ’80s. That is followed by the sleaze-rock flavor of “Her Name Is Trouble.” And as we reach the middle of the album, “Heaven and Earth Collide” delivers the softer side of the record. The same goes for “Kiss Me California,” a song with a little more depth and plenty of feeling.

With The Long Road Back, Paul Laine delivers a solid solo album that feels equally at home somewhere between the sound of Bryan Adams and the Sunset Boulevard spirit of ’80s rock. It may not reinvent the wheel, but it does exactly what it sets out to do — keeping the fading summer around just a little longer.