Customer Reviews

Aldo Nova

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Aldo Nova's 1982 self-titled debut is a blueprint for the pop metal, or sometimes deridely called hair metal, music that would become tremendously popular throughout the 80's. The album is built around double tracked guitar riffs, sledgehammer drums and crisp melodies. The songs are either rocking anthems or power ballads. Mr. Nova spent three years as George Harrison in a Canadian version of Beatlemania, so he brought a strong sense of melody to the power chords. The album's open track and first single is the superb "Fantasy". The song opens to the sounds of helicopters and then kicks in with a searing guitar riff. The lyrics are pure 80's hedonism with talk of street girls and white powder. Mr. Nova was also one of the first artists to embrace MTV and his video for the song is a classic and peaked at number 23 on the charts. "Ball & Chain" and "You're My Love" are strong power ballads. "Foolin' Yourself" has a strong pop sound and was a small hit peaking at 65. "Heart To Heart" & "See The Light" heavily incorporate synthesizers into the mix. The album had a strong influence on Bon Jovi (whose cousin engineered the album) and he practically copies the album's format on his first few releases (Mr. Nova plays guitar on Bon Jovi's first hit "Runaway"). The album peaked at number 8 in early 1982, but Mr. Nova would never again crack the top 50 on the charts. He would later go on to big success as a songwriter and producer mostly notable for fellow French-Canadian Celine Dion for which he would win a Grammy for his production.

I let some dude borrow my vinyl copy of this album in 1985 and I haven't seen it since - Luckily, I also have it on cassette and am now finally picking it up on CD. When this album came out in March, 1981, it was the end-all, be-all for anyone who listened to rock-n-roll at my junior high school. I travelled the local party circuit as a dj and this album was a requirement - else you might find you and yer mixer headfirst in a snowbank. Bottom line - every song rocks! - there is no filler. And that was, and still is, the beauty of this album - you could drop the needle on any track and kids dug it. BALL AND CHAIN for a slow dance; HEART TO HEART, FOOLIN' YOURSELF or HOT LOVE for more up tempo work and of course, FANTASY for good old fashion banging your head up and down.

At the time - we'd been fed a steady dose of excellent rock from the Great White North: April Wine, Rush, Harlequin, Triumph, Saga, Loverboy, Chilliwack ... Aldo Nova just seemed to be the rock-n-roll crown prince of the bunch. It seemed like the early 80's was the golden era of Canadian rock-n-roll and this album is easily one of the best from that time period.

Wow! This one album captures a perfect rock sound coming from the 80-82 era. Even though this came out a year before I was born, I'm old enough to appreciate a music writer who can sing, and play the guitar, keyboards and drums on all of his music. Fantasy is a great feel-good song that has excellent lyrics and instramentation. Even though it's not as synthasized as Subject or Twitch, Aldo Nova's first album is still very original and great for anyone who needs something to rock to. I've listened to many singers from the era, and not a single one sounds quite like Aldo Nova. Hot love, It's Too Late, and Heart To Heart are the perfect followups to Fantasy. For those who want something slow, Feels Like A Ball And Chain is a great ballad song. This album's got something for everyone. I think nowadays Aldo Nova should start making some more albums like this instead of just writing songs for Celine Dion. It would please hundreds and thousands of long time fans. In short, if you want to rock to something classic and original, but with an 80's touch of keyboards, Aldo Nova's first album is a must have. Buy it and you won't be disappointed. I sure wasn't.

This album is a masterpiece of sonic and compositional genius. Aldo Nova wrote, performed and produced this masterpiece and it has the most unique audio qualities ever captured on vinyl, tape or cd.

The conceptual aspects of the album complimented by a lush landscape of layered guitars, places this album in the top 10 albums of all time.

As a sound engineer and audio technophile, I appreciate and understand the complexities that Aldo Nova meticulously produced. This album should be the musical thesis to all serious sound engineers.

THIS IS A 1980'S CLASSIC. ALDO'S STYLE OF GUITAR PLAYING HAS ALWAYS IMPRESSED ME, AND SO HAS HIS ALMOST GIRLISH SINGING. ON MANY OF THE TRACKS, HE FLIRTS WITH HARD ROCK AND OTHER SUCH ELEMENTS. ROCK ON, ALDO, CAUSE THIS IS ONE ROCKIN' ALBUM, AND IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITES!

I know that this album was made in the early Eighties,but to me it has a faint echo of the complex arrangements and ethereal sounds of its precursors from "Yes" and "Pink Floyd", the "moonscape" and atmospheric sounds,and the echo chamber quality of the singer's voice. It has all that without getting tedious as some of the music by the aforementioned artists can do. This is a great album for getting a flavor of that music without having to committ wholeheartedly,because as earlier reviewers say,it also has the power-ballad/early hair metal flavor also to keep it grounded and listenable.Just a great album by a great musician.

It doesn't get any better than this if you remember listening to the radio in 1980! Every single track is a catchy tune. This is the best of his albums, by far! Guitar and keyboards are awesome. Ballads are sickly sweet, but you'll be humming them anyway.

"Hot Love... in the night, oh baby you're so hot, and let me make this clear... I've got love comin' out of my ears". When Aldo sings of the urgent rush of teenage love he speaks for all of us. Lyrically, the thesaurus may desert him fron time to time, but there's an honesty, a naked passion here that I still find endearing, nearly 20 years after first hearing this record. Ball And Chain is the tear-jerker to end all tear-jerkers; Fantasy the killer opener, It's Too Late a personal favourite - the lyrics to which have a deep personal meaning, ...Here's to Aldo and his love-spilling ears!

I remember getting into Aldo Nova a few years ago. This is a good album that's energetic. I used to listen to it quite a bit when I first got it. I still listen to it sometimes. There are some cool songs throughout. Every tune is listenable. This is a rock pop album. I especially like how the album has nice amounts of both guitar and keyboard playing. Aldo Nova has a good voice, too. I've never heard another singer that even sounds similar to him. He plays a lot of the instruments himself, also. This disc contains a nice blend of tunes. There are some rockers and some ballads. Some of the songs that I like are "Under the Gun," "You're My Love," and "Fantasy." There's some catchy stuff on this debut from Aldo Nova. The ballads are really nice. This is a satisfying album.

This is the CD to play LOUD anywhere, anytime. We used to listen to this tape over and over again back in the early 80's and never got tired of it. I'm listening to it now for the first time in a long while and even though my tastes have changed since then, this album still sounds great! Wherever you are, Aldo Nova, thanks for this great CD.