This is a release I have been looking forward to since Andrew at Melodic Rock Records starting touting it on his site a few months back and he truly has unearthed a little gem for melodic rock fans here. INFINITY is a set of songs recorded in 1986-87 featuring two revered names in AOR music - David Rosenthal (RAINBOW, RED DAWN, Billy Joel) and Mitch Malloy. These two talented musicians even got a helping hand on the material from Reb Beach, who of course would end up with WINGER (and now WHITESNAKE). In some ways I’d say these songs were a precursor for what Rosenthal would do with RED DAWN several years later. The RED DAWN record was a classic in the melodic rock world and so that makes this INFINITY release something of a companion in a way, as several songs from this release ended up finding their way onto the RED DAWN record.

What you get from this release is 9 tracks of surprisingly good sonic quality considering the age of the recordings and the fact that this was probably never a properly completed record. The music is keyboard-driven AOR and melodic rock with the great vocals of a young Malloy as an added bonus.

Opening the disc is the rocking “I’m On The Edge”, which is very close in sound to Rosenthal’s RED DAWN project. The following track, “Secrets”, has lighter and even poppy 80’s-era TOTO sound with its prominent keyboards throughout.

“She’s On Fire” is a mid-paced number, which was later recorded on the RED DAWN album. Here you get to hear the vocals of Malloy give his take and they sound much as he did on his epic debut record; letting his voice soar a little on the track and it sounds great. “Christine” is another song that was featured on the RED DAWN record also and it is your typical (and fun) 80’s sounding song about a girl. It’s certainly nothing new but it has a good melodic vibe and has something of a Bay Area (California) sound to it. The INFINITY version sounds more like HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS but with more AOR-sounding keyboards whereas the RED DAWN version had a tad more bite and ended up sounding like a poppy version of 80’s Y & T.

“Let It Go” is a keyboard driven rocker that has the feel of an 80’s movie soundtrack song. It’s a bit “paint by numbers” in its approach but it is very 80’s sounding and has a cool chorus, which get it some points in the end. “Liar” is yet another song that appeared on the RED DAWN record. It was a highlight on that album and it is here too. It’s interesting to hear Malloy’s vocals on it as his are smoother than that of RED DAWN’s Larry Baud. Because of the vocal styles it gives each version its own identity but the song is so good that both versions come off as winners in their own right.

“Promise” is a slow number and your typical 80’s sounding ballad. There are some good arrangements on the song but it is fairly standard ballad territory. “Over You” is a mid-paced song, which has hints of the debut Mitch Malloy record.

The disc finishes with “Running”, which was an unfinished track that was recently completed with Malloy adding fresh vocals. A great job was done to keep the original vibe intact and it fits in nicely with the rest of the songs on the release.

All in all, this is an interesting listen that any Mitch Malloy and/or David Rosenthal/RED DAWN fan will want to add to their collection for sure. The songs may not set the world on fire in 2011 but this is an archive release of importance for fans of Malloy and Rosenthal and AOR/80’s melodic rock in general.