Special Deluxe Collector’s Edition / Fully Remastered Audio shaped from 24 bit digital technology / Includes Back on the Streets, Life’s Just an Illusion and Forever / 16- page full colour booklet – 3,000-word essay, enhanced artwork, and new interviews.

Back in the late 70’s melodic hard rock was blossoming with bands such as Foreigner, Journey and Styx forging a righteous path to gold and glory. Axe were no exception, one of many acts looking to emulate the commercial trajectory of these platinum trailblazers and make the most of what the burgeoning market had to offer. Band leader Bobby Barth took control of the act demonstrating vision and ambition.

But the band at this point had already been through the ringer, having recorded an album, as Babyface, for the independent Chicago label ASI but were left with a bitter aftertaste when the producer led project didn’t represent the band’s style or ambition. After that they decided to move location upping sticks from Colorado to Gainsville, Florida where they eventually attracted the attention of MCA and in particularly a new affiliated label CURB Records, to whom they eventually signed.

The label viewed Axe as a melodic rival to the big acts of the day and promptly packed them off to Los Angeles where they crafted an album of wholesome melodic/pomp rock that was a vast improvement on their previous incarnation as Babyface. Just check out the tracks ‘Life’s Just An Illusion’, ‘Forever’, ‘Doin’ The Best That I Can’ and the epic ‘Battles’ for proof that Axe were onto something rather special.