P A U L . R A Y M O N D
UFO guitarist/keyboardist
goes solo.
Paul Raymond Project - World's Apart (Zoom Club) 1998
DISC ONE
1. "Left Hand Driver" (:41)
2. "Burned Again" (3:41)
3. "Party On The Phone" (3:46)
4. "Gypsy Heart" (3:43)
5. "Boys And Girl" (3:40)
6. "Whose Blues?" (1:20)
7. "Public Enemy #1" (3:16)
8. "Somebody Like You" (3:57)
9. "Fatal Attraction" (5:25)
10. "I'll Make It Up To You" (4:49)
11. "Wonderful World" (3:33)
12. "Bitter Blue" (4:29)
13. "Hero To Zero" (4:07)
14. "I Go To Pieces" (5:02)
15. "Thank Heaven For Rock 'n' Roll" (2:42)
DISC TWO
1. "Now And Till Forever" (4:27)
2. "Under The Rising Sun" (4:41)
3. "Brain Demolition" (4:26)
4. "One Day At A Time" (4:11)
5. "One Love" (4:39)
6. "Shimo Kitazawa" (1:02)
"World's Apart" is double CD re-issue of two Paul Raymond Project releases. Disc one is "Raw Material" and disc two is the "Under the Rising Sun" EP. I've actually had this CD for over a year before finally putting it up on my site. Why? Because despite the fact that Paul Raymond comes from one my most respected and favorites bands (UFO), I really couldn't get into "Raw Material" like I had hoped. As such I wanted to give this disc plenty of spins before I wrote anything about it. I sort of figured that this would be one of those discs that grows on you over time. That was the case with this disc. I suppose I was expecting something more akin to UFO's brand of heavy metal, which was the reason for my initial disappointment. The music ranges from melodic rock to blues based rock n roll, with a touch of that hard rockin' UFO sound from time to time. Of course, as to be expected, the guitar work is all first class. However, the songs here are actual songs, and not just riffs to showcase Paul's guitar solos. "Under the Rising Sun" EP features the vocal talents of Angel's Frank DiMino, making this disc of maga-interest to me, being that I am a huge fan of both Angel and UFO. The music here would most likely be labeled AOR. Certainly the music has an 80's flair not unlike House of Lords; slick production, keyboard laced, sing-along rock 'n' roll. Frank DiMino's vocals are immediately reconizable, but he sings in a slightly lower register than some of those classic Angel platters. Overall, a bit more enjoyable to me than disc one, although as I stated, both discs have become more enjoybale over time.