In the late 80s keyboardist Eric Ragno (Takara, Ted Poley, Steve Grimmett, American Angel, Danny Vaughn, Hugo/Ramos and countless others) started a new band called CHINA BLUE, with many songs that were written at the time.
Eric’s career gained momentum performing & recording with various bands and moved in a different directions until he played some of the old China Blue demos to his friend Michael Riesenbeck. Michael encouraged Eric to take the best out of the songs and add new material to round out a complete album. He and Eric co-wrote some great songs together and he pushed Eric to start the job to put together a recording line-up for the album and just go out and do his own thing.
On vocals, Eric recruited none other than at the time new TNT and former SHY singer Tony Mills, a legendary voice that added a special touch to the recording. As soon as Riesenbeck stepped out of the project, Josh Ramos (The Storm, Hardline) immediately took the chance to be part of the project. Eric and Josh had already worked on a number of projects together (Ramos, Los Angeles, From The Inside) and the pair spent several weeks together writing in San Francisco.
Zane Petersen (Malicious, Conditioned Response) was a long-time friend of Eric’s who helped him in various career circumstances and was the perfect choice with his powerful drumming. The final piece of the puzzle was Doug Odell on bass, he and Eric played in the “Melodic Rock All Stars” band.
As requested, here’s CHINA BLUE very good album titled “Twilight Of Destiny“, an absolute delight for all fans of classic Shy, Journey and The Storm.
Additional musicians on “Twilight Of Destiny” include Pete Newdeck (Nitrate, Midnite City) on drums, Ronny Smith on guitar, and Fabrizio Grossi (James Christian, Los Angeles) on bass appear as special guests, offering their incredible performances on this fabulous album.
“Twilight of Destiny” was produced by Eric, mixed by JK Northrup and took shape as a true Melodic Rock highlight during 2008 under the direction of executive producer and manager Ron Vining. The classic 80s looking album artwork inspired by Journey was designed by Wavid.
“This China Blue record has truly been a journey for all involved” concludes Eric Ragno. “We hope the music touches you in some way as it helped us explore who we are, when we faced those defining moments in life at the Twilight of Destiny”.
Of course this is keyboard driven classic AOR but Ramos delivers some impressive guitar work, and very good performances by all involved, especially the unique, late Tony Mills.
The CD is out of print (used copies for over $150) and not available digitally / streaming.
HIGHLY Recommended
Tracklist:
01. What Do You Need But Love (5:37)
02. I Feel Like Dying (4:51)
03. Changing Ways (5:45)
04. So Wrong (4:59)
05. Don’t Be A Stranger (5:33)
06. Crimes (5:12)
07. Passions (4:54)
08. Movin’ On (5:56)
09. Twilight Of Destiny (1:25)
10. Lost (3:24)
11. Take Me As I Am (4:30)
12. A Last Goodbye (3:29)
Band:
Tony Mills – Vocals (ex-Shy, ex-Siam, ex-TNT, Dante Fox, Atlantic, Crying Steel, ex-Dale, State of Rock, ex-Kaisas, ex-The Andersson Mills Project)
Josh Ramos – Lead Guitars (Hardline, L.R.S. (Laverdi, Ramos, Shotton), Ramos / Anur Project, ex-Axe Men, ex-Le Mans, ex-Elan, ex-Ramos, ex-Ramos – Frigo Firing Squad, ex-Ramos – Hugo, ex-The Storm, ex-Two Fires, ex-Velocity, ex-El Reencuentro (ex-Menudo) (live), ex-The Carmen Milagro Band (live))
Ronny Smith – Rhythm Guitars (St. Elmos Fire)
Doug Odell – Bass (ex-TNA, Ice Age)
Eric Ragno – Keyboards (ex-Takara, ex-Vox Tempus, ex-M. Bormann, ex-Damir Simic Shime, ex-Black 13)
Zane Petersen – Drums (Solna, ex-Conditioned Response, ex-Malicious Mischief, ex-Scream at the Sun, ex-Inflict, ex-Malicious)
Fabrizio Grossi – add.bass (Alex De Rosso, ex-Solna, From The Inside,ex-Indigo Dying, ex-Faithsedge, ex-Death SS)
Pete Newdeck – add. Drums (Tainted Nation, ex-Eden’s Curse, ex-Steve Grimmett, ex-Killers, ex-Seven Deadly Sins, ex-Paul DiAnno)
Michael Reisenbeck – Add. Percussion
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