#15 — Don Barnes — Ride The Storm

The next album on the list was 30 years in the making. Don Barnes was the lead singer of .38 Special in the mid-80s. They had just released a couple of big records and Barnes got together with Survivor keyboard player/writer Jim Peterik to make a Barnes solo record.

By the time the record was done the record company decided to shelve the record and it never saw a release. A few unofficial tracks made the rounds over the years but the album finally got an official release in 2017. I was a huge fan of both Survivor and .38 Special and this record sounds like it is right out of 1989.

There are some really good songs here. Peterik has always been a great songwriter and Barnes has such a great voice. “Ride the Storm” and “Looking for You” are great songs and “Maybe You’ll Believe Me Now”, “I’d Do It All Over Again” and “Every Time We Say Goodbye” are straight out of the 80s. There’s even a cover song of Chicago’s “Feelin’ Stronger Everyday”.

This record screams late 80s radio-friendly rock and I’m glad they didn’t try to change it or make it sound more modern. This record should have been released 30 years ago but it’s better late than never. It would have done well back in the day but I’m happy to finally have these songs in my collection.