Tony Mitchell – Hot Endless Summer Nights (AOR Heaven)

Tony Mitchell is one of those journeymen musicians who garner little praise but are absolutely essential to the music business being renowned session men and live musicians working on an almost guitar for hire basis. He has been involved with and played with many bands over the years and was the singer and songwriter in Kiss Of The Gypsy, a band formed in Lancashire, England by Mitchell which released just the one album of blues based classic rock but it did attract considerable attention. He also featured on Rick Wakeman’s Return To The Centre Of The Earth and performed live with artists like Alice Cooper, Jon Anderson, Alan Parsons Project and even Tony Hadley and It Bites as well as spending a year or so with Stealers Wheel as well as a being a member of Kingdom Of Deadmen and Dirty White Boyz.

Mitchell’s new album follows on rapidly from last year’s Church Of A Restless Soul which was a rather enjoyable melodic rock delight which showed Tony to be a very fine singer, guitarist and songwriter and it was also his most successful album to date. Hot Endless Summer Night keeps up the good work being very much an ’80s themed melodic/AOR recording with elements of bands like Toto, Mr. Mister, Cutting Crew and a little bit of U2 as well.

As should perhaps be expected then, this album is a very easy and eminently listenable record being very slick and glossy rock with just a touch of a pop sensibility to aid the easy listening factor. Mitchell again sings, plays guitar and keyboards and has once built a high quality team around him for valuable support with Miles Meakin on lead guitar, Nigel Bailey on bass and backing vocals, Eddie Antony on drums with Daniel Sings supplying some glorious sax on the tracks No Hard Feelings and Whyte Lies. Together, they have produced a set of quality songs that very much call to mind the classic AOR of the 1980s but all with a modern sheen so if you are into cultured melodic rock then there is much here that you will admire.

If you have followed Tony Mitchell’s career then you will know that you are getting some very slick melodic rock from an artist who never lets you down and 100% entertainment is always guaranteed.