Musical Style: Melodic Metal / Hard Rock	Produced By: Chris Colbert & Larry Worley
Record Label: Blonde Vinyl / Roxx Records	Country Of Origin: USA
Year Released: 1991 / 2019	Artist Website:
Tracks: 16	Rating: 85%
Running Time: 62:14

We’ve admired Love Life for yours.  Back in 1991 at the time of its Blonde Vinyl Records debut full length Goodbye Lady Jane, it might have been a small fish in a big pond of other commercial to hair to pop metal & hard rock bands but more than held its own with its big hook, soaring to gritty vocal penchant and bluesy guitar take on the form.  No, nothing unique or outside the box but still highly regarded enough (at least to our ears) to bring the musical aptitude not to mention the songwriting depth and lick and chops to complete with its contemporaries of the time.  Lone complaint, however, and only factor to potential hold back the listening experience (again, to our ears) is somewhat thin production.

This is where the spring of 2019 Roxx Records re-issue to Goodbye Lady Jane comes in, which with its re-mastering to provide a much needed coat of polish allows for the more arresting low end and guitars that deliver added edge and bite.  Improvements are such it makes for the re-mastered version an essential purchase even to those that own the rougher sounding (not to mention long out of print and hard to find) Blonde Vinyl original- difference in sound quality between the two is that stark. 

The Roxx Records re-issue in addition comes in both the vinyl (150 gold copies & 150 black) and CD (500 copies) formats with highly upgraded cover art.  CD version is home to a 12-page mini booklet exclusive to lyrics, write-ups and vintage band photos in addition to bonus material in the form of five demo cuts Love Life recorded in 1990.

Prior to that the Los Angeles, California based four-pace traces to the late-eighties and founding member and guitarist Darin Eby, whom placed several ads in a local classified paper, which led him to drummer Gary Hanson and vocalist Larry Worley.  With bassist Rod Romero later rounding out its lineup, the group got its start under the Forever moniker before changing its name to Love Life and signing to Blonde Vinyl.

Opener “Real Love” proves commercial eighties metal all the way, with open-air guitars and a soulful ‘oh, yeah’ to start before dashing ahead in elated fashion to all the hooks you could ask (riffs are catchy as it gets) and enough polished backing vocals to taste.  Worley, in particular, puts in a strong showing with his raspy but melodic vocal style perfectly in step with the music at hand.  Lyric snippet:

I’m gonna turn this world upside down
I’ve been cryin’ all my life
Never had a place to hide
Real love come and take me

This song is of a man searching for real love
Something that obviously he hasn’t experienced before
But something he longs for

Up-tempo sentiments carry over to “Do You Love Me”, a melodic hard rocker that perhaps due to a bit too much refinement or leaning towards the pop side of things, I’ve never fully embraced.  No, it is by no means bad - understated hooks cannot help come to the forefront - but the overriding commercial sentiments seem forced ala Stryper’s In God We Trust.

Better in my opinion is “Heart On Fire”, which uplifts the guitar inclining in trending the mid-tempo but with a bluesy melodic metal vibe.  Of note is how Romero’s animated bass helps anchor the low end, while Eby accents the bluesy tendencies with his gritty playing, both rhythm and lead.

“When Loneliness Comes Knockin’” is a classy ballad done Poison style.  Acoustic guitar carries the emotional distance mixed with sparse suggestions of feedback and rhythm guitar, both of which combine to buttress the prodigious melody to play a commanding role.  Put this on mid-eighties FM radio and/or MTV and it would have more than held its own.  Lyric snippet:

Well, I’ve had enough, and I’m tired of fallin’
But there’s something about you
And when life gets tough
You give me strength to carry one
And that’s something I never knew
And when the rain comes down
You shelter me without a sound

“Girl Gone Bad” represents a return to the vibrant.  With its boogie flavored hard rock ardor - in somewhat similar vein as Stryper and Van Halen - the song grooves with its striking low end and non-stop hook focus.  Guitars once more reflect upon the earthy and bluesy.

“Fill ‘Er Up”, several seconds of open-air guitar, gives way to albums title track.  “Goodbye Lady Jane” separates as albums heaviest, traversing high-energy territory as Eby showcases his flashy guitar abilities (some of the riffs divulge a driving quality) and a bass heavy low end sen\t the unwavering tone.  Front to back, Love Life puts it all together on this one. 

I define “In Blue Again” as bottom heavy and straight on hard rock with a mid-tempo edge.  Bluesy grit imparts a raw feel to the guitars (an effect to be quite flattering), while contrasting elements shine in terms of the refined backing vocals (allowing the Love Life commercial sentiments to reveal).  In the end, a quality deep cut allowing a very good album to separate that much further.  Lyric snippet:

My heart is, my heart is on the line
And I’ve got to, gotta leave the past behind
I’ve had enough of this loneliness inside
Oh no, stuck in blue again, oh no, oh yeah

I’m finally on my way, goodbye, goodbye
Oh no, stuck in the blue again, oh no, oh

Same applies with second ballad “1000 Reasons”.  Projecting the heavier edge in comparison to “When Loneliness Comes Knockin’”, it allows rhythm guitar to make every bit the statement as that which acoustic to the extent I am reminded of Kinetic Faith era Bride.  The manner in which Worley stretches vocally allows melody to make that much more a pronounced statement.  Lyric snippet:

Your angels heard me cry
A voice cries out to say, we will never say goodbye
The miracles they seem never ending
They keep coming my way

And your’e giving me a thousand reasons, a thousand reasons
Oh’ your just what I’ve been looking for
A thousand reasons, a thousand reasons
Why I love you more and more

Second song to come into question is The Beatles cover “A Hard Days Night”.  Yes, Love Life imbues its signature melodic hard rock qualities and mirrors the upbeat aptitude to the original, but something seems amiss all the same. 
Perhaps it is due to Love Life trying too hard to sound like the Beatles as opposed to lending its signature raw and dogged imprint to the song; in other words, slow tempo and build up the bluesy muscle and (in my opinion) it would better translate.

I rank “Do You Believe In Love” alongside “Goodbye Lady Jane” as albums heaviest.  With drum solo to start, the song compels its length as trouncing guitars strike in and out but also does not forsake the accessible, made plain in the ever present Love Life glowing backing vocals.  Lead guitar again takes an earthy tone.  Lyric snippet:

High upon the mountain
Looked to the sky above
Put my hand in the air
Reached out for His love

Now I don’t believe in money
Cant’ believe in fame
Can’t believe in riches
I just believe in His name

Do you believe in love?

As for the bonus cuts, they might have some rough production edges but are in no way muddy and unlistenable demos either.  You will find two previously unreleased songs and three re-recorded from GLJ in “In Blue Again” (“Blue Again” in its demo rendering), “Do You Still Believe In Love” and “Real Love”.

Demo versions pretty much stay true to their album counterparts, albeit not without minor differences.  An additional forty seconds has been added to “Blue Again”, which also features the greater backing vocal mix, while “Do You Believe In Love” comes across that much rawer in pinpointing a blazing guitar solo.  Likewise, “Real Love” embodies a high-energy mindset in also featuring a fantastic lead guitar stretch.

Of the two new cuts, “Believed In You” opens to several seconds of distorted guitar prior to morphing into a commercial hard rocker with reverberant bass and al the pop hooks you could ask.  “Lonely” takes the heavier direction, mirroring a 
Stryper-ish sound in terms of not only prodigious guitar harmonies and catchy riffs but also the layered backing vocals to adorn its refrain.  Quality is such either wound not sound out of place on GLJ.

If interested in a throwback to melodic metal and hard rock rooted in the eighties, then Love Life and its debut Goodbye Lady Jane fits the bill.  The talent, songwriting and performance no doubt are in place to compete with the best the era had to offer.  Lone misgiving, however, is production, which received a welcome upgrade as part of the Roxx Records re-issue.  My advice is to pick up a copy before it - similar to the Blonde Vinyl version - goes out of print.  Love Life might have later drifted into obscurity, but three of its members - Worley, Romero and Hanson - resurfaced with guitarist Chris Howell as part of Fear Not to record the highly regarded Pakaderm Records self-titled offering from 1993.

Review by Andrew Rockwell   

Musicians
Larry Worley - Lead Vocals & Guitars
Darin Eby - Guitars
Rod Romero - Bass
Gary Hanson – Drums

Track Listing (Goodbye Lady Jane): “Real Love” (2:53), “Do You Love Me” (3:38), “Heart On Fire” (4:07), “When Loneliness Comes Knockin’” (4:29), “Girl Gone Bad” (3:34), “Fill ‘Er Up” (:14), “Goodbye Lady Jane” (3:49), “In Blue Again” (5:01), “1000 Reasons” (4:57), “A Hard Days Night” (2:34), “Do You Believe In Love” (3:11)

Track Listing (demo tracks): “Blue Again” (5:41), “Do You Believe In Love?” (3:27), “Real Love” (3:14), “Believed In You” (5:57), “Lonely” (5:28)