Album Review — Robin McAuley

Robin McAuley — Standing On The Edge

After quite a few years away from the spotlight, Robin McAuley is back, this time with his second solo record and first since 1999. “Standing On The Edge” comes out Friday but we got a preview.

McAuley is probably best known for his stint in the McAuley-Schenker Group. He also fronts Black Swan that also features Reb Beach, Jeff Pilson and Matt Starr. Black Swan released their debut record last year. McAuley also had stints in Grand Prix, Elements of Friction and Survivor, among others, and has been a part of Raiding The Rock Vault for many years.

The album starts off with a keyboard heavy rocker “Thy Will Be Done”. It’s a little more epic sounding than much of the record but really works. It’s a good start to the record.

The title track is next and is a little more familiar sound for McAuley. It actually has a pretty heavy Dokken feel to me. McAuley still sounds terrific. He’s always been incredibly underrated as a singer and his performance on this record is very impressive.

“Late December” is a little more mellow although not really a ballad. It’s quite catchy and shows why the guys in Survivor thought he’s be a good fit there.

“Do You Remember” is another solid mid tempo rocker. It definitely has more of an 80s radio rock feel.

The catchy rockers keep coming with “Say Goodbye”. McAuley can sing anything but he really sounds at home on these more melodic rockers. Another great track.

Former Heart and current Bad Company guitarist co-writes “Supposed To Do Now” while former Grand Prix bandmate Phil Lanzon contributes on “Like A Ghost”.

The album closer, “Running Out Of Time”, is one of the heavier tracks on the record and probably resembles the MSG period more than anything else on the record. It’s a great way to close things out.

This is a really good record. Every song is high quality and McAuley’s voice is simply fantastic. There is some variety here with a few heavier songs and quite a few more melodic offerings that gives McAuley the opportunity to show off his range.

I’ve only had this record for a few days but I’m already into it. I’ll definitely be spending more time this week in the car with “Standing On The Edge” and I imagine it will pop back up on my end of the year list.

A little more time might move this rating up a bit, but I’ll be conservative for now. But I can wholeheartedly suggest you should get this record.

90 out of 100

Track Listing

1 Thy Will Be Done
2 Standing On The Edge *
3 Late December *
4 Do You Remember *
5 Say Goodbye *
6 Chosen Few
7 Run Away
8 Supposed To Do Now
9 Wanna Take A Ride
10 Like A Ghost
11 Running Out Of Time *

*Best Songs