Michael Palace is an extraordinary musician. Let me go ahead and get that out of the way now. A true multi-instrumentalist, equally as capable behind a drum kit or keyboard as he is behind a guitar, he also composes, produced, mixed and mastered this release; a feat rarely seen in the music industry to be certain. He also possesses an impressive vocal range and singing ability.

"Rock And Roll Radio" is his third release for Frontiers Music Sri, and it was released on December 4, 2020. It is twelve songs and approximately forty-seven minutes, all very heavily rooted in Eighties style AOR bliss; and should stand well as evidence to the above statements. The album is loaded with layered keyboard and guitar driven tracks that feel as if they would have been well at home in 1986. The hook laden lyrical content only adds to that summation.

The album's opening cut and namesake, "Rock And Roll Radio", has a resemblance to some of STARSHIP'S more upbeat work, with a bit better musicianship involved. It opens with a harmony vocal into a heavy keyboard riff, and never really takes its foot off the gas from there. Palace's musical ability and vocal skills are on full display here, breathing life into what could be considered one of the weakest (if not THE weakest) tracks on this release. He obviously has an incredible feel and love for the Eighties style, and his delivery here tells that story.

"Castaway" is a power ballad, of sorts, with an incredible lyric and more outstanding musical talent on display. Palace's production skills also come to light on this particular song, as it would be very easy to become a little heavy handed with a track of this nature. It never goes in that direction, and the song comes off swimmingly. Palace has stated that he spent hundreds of hours in the studio, after his 2018 release "Binary Music", honing his production skills; and on this record, that time shows to have been very well spent, indeed.

From the beauty of the lead single, "Way Up Here", to the fire and thunder of tracks like "Hot Steel", there isn't a dull moment. This is a fantastic release.