http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005YBGVTE/?tag=imwan-21

1. Let Me Be Your Fantasy
2. Get It Right The First Time
3. Mystery
4. Roll Away The Stone
5. It Could Be The Fever
6. I Know Trouble When I See It
7. Waiting For Your Love
8. Crying Inside
9. I Won t Be Staying

CD Description
Special Limited Deluxe Collector s Edition / Fully Remastered Sound shaped from 24 BIT digital technology/ 16 page full colour booklet 4,000 word essay, enhanced artwork, memorabilia, rare photos and involvement from the band. Originally released in 1980, LeRoux s Up album is regarded as one of the cornerstones of pomp rock. Embellished with flamboyant keyboards but utilising traditional hard rock as its backbone, their style accommodated complex arrangements, melodic guitar work and impressive vocals from Jeff Pollard. Sandwiched between leading contenders of the day such as Toto, Trillion, Kansas and Starcastle the band attracted a fevered response from not only long term fans but also casual observers.
Formed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, LeRoux had previously cut two albums in a rural rock style before switching allegiance to their firebrand version of pomp rock. Produced by feted session musician Jai Winding (Jackson Browne, Boz Scaggs), the Up album exploded out of the starting gate to huge approval by those that took notice. Although sales may have been somewhat limited, their influence was persuasive and powerful, especially in Europe where Up was hailed as a solid gold masterpiece by connoisseurs of the genre. Stuffed to the brim with astonishing tracks including Let Me Be Your Fantasy , Get It Right The First Time , Mystery and the truly impressive Roll Away The Stone , the album oozes both class and control, delivering maximum melody at every available opportunity. The sound is big, bold and crystal clear propelling the contents to the stars and beyond.

Louisiana LeRoux's catalog on CD has been a spotty mess to this point, so it's nice to see any titles get what looks to be a quality release. I'm not saying that the versions that are out sound bad, it's more that each seems to come out on a different label at a different time.

There was a period of time in the late-70's when I lived in Nashville and it seemed like almost every concert I went to had LeRoux as the opening act. I saw them at least 4-5 times in a rather short period of time this way. I'd love to see them get their due, because I loved their sound. This was the album where that sound actually started to become a little more commercial, but it was still pretty good. Thanks for pointing this one out IP.

Walter:
Yes, this is where the Journey/Foreigner/Boston sound started to develop. Although they had some success, they should've been bigger.
I fondly remember MTV playing "Addicted" (a great song) all the time in 1982 when that came out, and of course their big hit was "Nobody Said It Was Easy". Having not heard this in decades, is it a worthy purchase? Would it hold up musically?
Rock Candy do 100% top-notch work, so no worries there.

Since I very much like Rock Candy's reissues and with comments by Walter P & IP I decided to go for it.

Reading comments like "Sandwiched between leading contenders of the day such as Toto, Trillion, Kansas and Starcastle the band attracted a fevered response from not only long term fans but also casual observers."
That iced it for me.

Of course used our IMWAN link for preorder.

Thanks guys!

Rick A.

Rick:
You da man! Let us know what you think-I am thinking about this one.

For me, Le Roux was somewhat a diminishing returns kind of band, though I liked at least a little bit of everything from all stages. I loved the first album and liked "Keep The Fire Burning" and "Up" quite a bit as well. After that, at least in my eyes, it was a slow decline. "Up" was the beginning of a more polished sound and started to move them away from the first two albums, but it was still pretty good and at least where I was, FM radio played some tracks when it was released. I particularly remember hearing "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" and "Mystery" on Nashville FM radio in the late-70's, though oddly enough "Mystery" didn't make the "Bayou Degradable" compilation. Speaking of that compilation, it remains the best overview of Le Roux for the uninitiated. It's an excellent and representative compilation.

Will do IP, my friend!

Rick A.

Damn, they hook you in with those write-ups, don't they! But having been suckered before with Keel and Riot and New England and Giuffria, to name just a few, and none of them sounding anywhere near as good as my memories, I'll pass on this.

Off the top of my head, the only "minor" act reissue that I've loved as much as first time round is The Godz.

Received my Rock Candy remaster today. Looking forward to Friday nights spin.

Rick A.