Stan Bush: Dare To Dream (Cargo, 2020)

Stan Bush, one of the most distinctive voices in AOR and melodic rock, is back with a new album, titled Dare To Dream. It’s his 14th studio album, and finds him continuing his collaboration with guitarist/bassist/keyboardist Holger Fath. The choice of title was probably not an accident, as it calls to mind why some folks might remember Stan in the first place: that iconic song from the Transformers soundtrack.

Stan Bush always wants his listeners to be in a nostalgic mood, but at least this time he didn’t rerecord any of those ’80s mainstays. Dare To Dream is an album of brand new songs, and it’s a really good one at that. It’s completely plugged into that classic ’80s AOR sound, full of epic love songs and rousing anthems for your ultimate training montage. Stan’s voice is in tip-top shape, soaring to the heavens as he encourages us to “Dream Big” and “Never Give Up” as we, well, “Dare To Dream.” Sure, it’s cheesy, but what AOR aficionado can complain about that? There’s only one minor misstep, and it’s “The ’80s.” It seems like a lot of these veteran rockers are penning odes to the glory days, and most of them are cringeworthy. Still, that’s a minor gripe on an otherwise very enjoyable album.

You know what you’re going to get from a Stan Bush album, and he never disappoints. Dare To Dream is another fine melodic rock album that brings to mind the classic AOR soundtrack rocking era, and Bush still has amazing pipes. If you’re in the mood for some upbeat, inspiring, old school melodic rock in the Survivor/Glen Burtnick, Robert Tepper vein, you won’t want to miss Stan Bush’s latest gem.