Hear!

Hear! strips away the glitter of the debut and pushes into a harder, thicker sound. MCA released it on 13 October 1992. James “Jimbo” Barton, known for Queensrÿche and Rush, produced, with Steve Brown and Dean Fasano sharing production credit, and Liad Cohen added keyboards. Critics who disliked the thin production of the first record generally rate this one above it, in both playing and writing. The glam colouring has receded, and the centre of gravity in the riffs has clearly dropped. The opener “Road of a Thousand Dreams” was pulled as a single, and “Rockin' Horse” launched a club tour called the Hear Club for Men. In North America they also opened for Kiss. “As the Candle Burns,” a fully acoustic ballad scored with woodwinds and harp, shows the range of Loran's voice better than anything else here. But the year was 1992. With grunge repainting the market, the album stalled at number 109 in the US and MCA dropped the band. Japan went the other way: it sold well there, and shows were booked at Moda Hall in Osaka and Club Citta in Kawasaki.