ALBUM REVIEW ~ GENERATION RADIO ~ 'GENERATION RADIO'

I'm music magazine, generation radio, journey, chicago, rascal flatts, Jay Demarcus, Jason Scheff, Deen Castronovo, Tom Yankton, Chris Rodriguez, frontiers music srl, lights go out in paradise, why are you calling me now

When I had the chance to review this album, I jumped at it. Members from Journey, Chicago, AND Rascal Flatts all fused into one group? No way. That’s too many big names for one band…

Right?

For half a second I thought my editor was pranking me with the assignment since I was a rookie on the writing crew. But, admittedly, I could not click the possibly fake link fast enough. I had to see it to believe it. And to my disbelief, it was real. I was staring at the promo page for Generation Radio’s upcoming album.

Staring back at me was a cover photo of some of music’s biggest stars, all together, looking cool, although slightly older albeit, as ever. A plain yet distressed gray background stood behind as Jay Demarcus, Jason Scheff, Deen Castronovo, Tom Yankton, and Chris Rodriguez stood together, looking right at you, as a band. There were no super stylized outfits or awkward poses to be found. All on one album front, just them was enough of a statement. They knew who they were making this music for. And they knew that we knew them already. No need for gimmicks or flash.

Below the photo was a summary of the band’s formation. Jay Demarcus, from Rascal Flatts, and Jason Scheff of Chicago had the desire to team up for a shared musical mission of bringing great 80s music back. Also joining was Rodriguez, a longtime friend of Jay’s from his Christian music days. Yankton, a music veteran, was added in as well. And to finish the incredible lineup, there was Castronovo from Journey, contributing his amazing voice and drum skills. Truly, a great team is devoted to a great mission.

And every great team needs a great name. A name that would let us know this new group was exactly that: a NEW group. Yes, with familiar faces obviously. But still, they are a totally new band APART from the previous groups they were once part of. So any sort of cliche attempt at meshing the former band names simply would not do. This is a legitimate band, not just a haphazardly stitched, Frankenstein-Esque musical experiment. But the name also had to make it obvious as to who this music is for.

“Generation Radio” made it abundantly clear who its target audience is. After all, the use of the radio grew insanely popular in the 80s due to better sound quality making FM stations sound amazing. And it was also a defining time for stations as they established the different genres they would play. So almost every young person at the time could find a station they could relate to and enjoy. There were no #trending links for new artists. Instead, radio airplay was the goal for any band with a dream. Disc Jockeys became heroes. In short, the radio shaped the generation that grew up in the 80s.

Get it now? Generation Radio?

And boy, they will not disappoint said generation! It pays to be legendary artists with the best of music production at your fingertips. There isn’t an ounce of carelessness on any track. It’s absolutely clear to see (or hear) that the album was not some hodgepodge, whim project, thrown together because some icons were bored. This album was very much a project of pure love of the music. The mission was not to just sell some cheesy sense of nostalgia, make a profit off of records or pack stadiums (although the concerts are sure to be incredible). The mission was to bring back a genuine piece of time and share it… and they did that.

There has been a shared trend amongst the newer music artists to try and sound retro. The most prominent current artists are not only sampling old favorites, but also trying to recreate some of the most iconic sounds from different decades. And those of us from those decades aren’t mad! No! Kudos to them for trying to bring those sounds back! What’s more honoring than having the younger artists be so inspired that they try to carry on the legacy? Art begets art and some of these kids are doing the 80’s proud!

Ultimately though, even the best homages to older music are still only respectful recreations. Any fan of real 80s music can still tell a difference between a song FROM 1984 and a song that WANTS to sound like it was from 1984. The newer tunes are like fan-made collages of the most popular sounds that defined those eras. They’ve got heart. There’s love. They’ve got saxophones, keyboards, and synthesizers. They’ve got beats from the electronic drums.

But they don’t have the experience of creating those beats. Origination is an inimitable sound if that makes sense.

This is not a review on the younger artists though. We honestly love them! We just had to explain WHY, despite their awesome throwbacks, we still needed this unexpected fusion that is Generation Radio. And we need them because they have THAT sound. And why wouldn’t they? The founding members are some of the original creators of said sound! Who’s going to get it more right than them?!

In summary, this debut album is worth looking into. If you’ve burnt yourself out on listening to all of your old records but still miss that je ne sais quoi feel of legit 80s-style music, you’re not going to get any closer than this album…unless you can time travel. And if you grew up in the 80s, you’ve probably seen how dangerous that can be.*

*For those youngsters that don’t get it, it’s a reference to the “Back to the Future” movie series. Now go back to your TikTok.

Our Personal Favorites on the Album:

-“Lights Go Out in Paradise”

A song about making a last stand for love.

-“Why are You Calling Me Now?”

A call after midnight leads to some harsh truth.

I’m Music Magazine Contributing Writer Bianca Rutledge