DA VINCI – Back In Bu$iness [Remastered]

In 1987, five guys from Oslo, Norway were signed by Polygram and released an album of some of the finest Scandinavian AOR and Melodic Rock with the band’s self-titled debut Da Vinci. In the tradition of other Scandinavian Rock bands of the mid-80s such as Treat, Europe, or Dalton, Da Vinci delivered well-produced songs full of hooks, driven by melodic guitars and effervescent keyboards. The success of the critically acclaimed debut resulted in the band publishing a second effort in 1989. Entitled Back In Bu$iness, it also garnered the attention of Melodic Rock aficionados worldwide (other than the annoyingly frustrating market in the States).

Today, Da Vinci’s albums are high priced collector’s gems, selling for an average of $70 USD -– if one is lucky to find a copy. Leave it to the friendly MTM Classix, a subsidiary of the MTM Music label, to once again digitally remaster and rerelease another classic, adding a bonus track and selling it for a reasonable price to boot (E-Bay sellers must hate when that happens).

The endearing qualities of this release were many. Starting off with the Europe-like “Touchdown” that not only has a catchy chorus, but also has guitars and hypnotic keyboards that have an almost Saga flair about them. “9 And 10” has an anthemic chorus and proved that Da Vinci was capable enough to write a catchy chorus based around the simple act of counting from 1 to 10, Sesame Street style, child’s play? Perhaps, but it turned out to be a Melodic Rock gem. “Millions Like Us,” a mid-tempo rocker, has more radio appeal than the other tracks with its softer, but no less effective, chorus. “Hold Back The Tears” is another melodic winner with the same formula –- keyboards, melodic guitar, and a catchy chorus.

All is not completely perfect, though, from a Hard Rock aficionado’s point of view, since ballads do consume nearly half of this ten-track release. Not that they are awful by any means … they just tend to slow down the tempo a bit when surrounded by the aforementioned true gems. Thankfully, the bonus track here, “Blame It On The Radio,” is upbeat and worth owning.

Americans can only wonder why these guys weren’t known in the States as much as bands like Europe around the era that Back In Bu$iness was originally released. Perhaps Da Vinci failed to break the MTV music video barrier that existed back then. Nevertheless, the re-release is worth owning today, at a nice price, especially if you are a Treat or Europe fan!

Lineup

Robert Aass – Vocals
Gunnar Westlie – Guitars
Bjorn Boge – Bass
Dag Selboskar – Keyboards
Jasle Maloy – Drums