【Pls look at the top comment first】For melodic rock fandom, Boulevard is not a strange name. This band was formed in 1983 in Calgary by Mark Holden (saxophone/vocals). It is worth mentioning that this Boulevard should be distinguished from another Finnish band of the same name as we can also found on Wikipedia as well as another Swedish melodic hard rock band Boulevard on Heavyharmonies. Remember that this Canadian gem Boulevard released two representative records of 1980s pure commercial aor, which made them stand out and remembered by the fans with their melodious, clean, peaceful, decent and neat music. I trust they have left deep impression on almost every aor lover. Just think that a band with saxophonist as the core member that Boulevard is the one. Their self-titled debut was released in 1988 by MCA Records. This album was recorded at Ocean Sound in Vancouver by producer Pierre 'Baz' Bazinet, and was mixed by rock producers Bob Rock and Mike Fraser. The album produced four singles with videos for "Never Give Up" and "Far From Over". From their early music videos, the founder Mark Holden played a vital role as we can hear his brilliant solos on saxophone that pushes the songs to the climax. The everlasting charms of saxophone can make magic vibes in aor sounds as Boulevard is a good example.

By 1990, Boulevard had revised their line-up with Thom Christiansen on bass (formerly of Idle Eyes, later to play with Econoline Crush, Josh Kelly) and Randall Stoll on drums. (Randall later moved on to play with k.d. lang and Tom Cochrane.) They recorded the second album "Into the Street" at Venture Studios in Vancouver with John Punter and released two singles in Canada. It's a pity that one year after this album, Boulevard disbanded in 1991. I select this single "Crazy Life" from "Into the Street" with its music video. In this album, few saxophone hooks were displayed but their music sounds as melodious as the debut, like walking alone the Boulevard, what a delightful name they're called !

In 2013, singer David Forbes came back to the music scene, taking part as guest on Charming Grace, an AOR all-star project founded by members of Shining Line and Wheels Of Fire, officially released the same year by Avenue Of Allies Music. The band was invited to play at Firefest in 2014. After a 25-year hiatus, the band released Boulevard - Live from Gastown, a DVD which features all five of the band's Canadian top 40 singles, as well as some tracks from the band's catalog, including some songs performed live in their entirety for the first time. The DVD was filmed live on 27th February, 2015 at Vancouver's Warehouse studio. On 16th July, 2017, the band released the first song from their reunion record. The song, "Life Is A Beautiful Thing", was aired live on the Steve Price Rock Show on ArFM. The following day, Melodicrock.com announced the name of the new album as Luminescence. It was released on 22nd September, 2017.

From their foundation to today, Boulevard is not a prolific band with limited works in quantities like many other epic names in the past decades. Quantity is not equal to quality as we know. After hearing numerous aor releases, I dare say Canadian wizards absolutely appeal to music world as always, bringing the essence of aor and making melodic rock forever. Musicially, here I mention another Austrian band that sounds quite similar to Boulevard. If someone wants to know which band that is, pls wait for my future uploading.
#MelodicRock #aor #Boulevard

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