Bighorn-Bighorn (1978)

In the late seventies, pomp rock was experiencing its heyday in the United States. Bands like Styx, Kansas, Toto, Angel, Magnum, Boston and REO Speedwagon, among others, dominated the charts, and their albums were among the most acclaimed and best-selling. However, there were also many other bands operating in the underground scene, bands that didn't achieve the desired success or notoriety due to the dominance of these more famous and media-savvy bands, which unintentionally blocked their path to the charts. One of these was Bighorn, a band formed in the early seventies in Seattle, who had already released a single in 1974, "I Get High"/"Takin' Me Down", which went completely unnoticed. After a constant turnover of members, towards the end of the decade, this band embarked on an extensive tour of the western United States and southern Canada. They were fortunate enough to sign with a small Canadian label in Vancouver, a subsidiary of Columbia Records, who financed and released their first and only album in late 1978. On this debut, Bighorn showcased their AOR style fused with progressive hard rock sounds, highlighting their irresistible vocal arrangements and catchy, highly addictive, and commercially viable melodies. The lineup that recorded this album consisted of vocalist Bon Marcy, guitarist Joe Shikany, keyboardist Peter Davis, bassist Michael Ipsen, and drummer Steve Adams. Notably, all of them were also vocalists, a fact that greatly contributed to the superb vocal arrangements. Produced by Briton Martin Shaer, the album is a brilliant collection of tracks ranging from hard rock songs like "Triad Every Trick" and "Helen Betty" to melodic rock like "Stand Up" and "Mary-Anne", passing through more complex tracks such as "Sparrow" and "Penny For Your Dreams", not to mention catchy mid-tempo numbers like "(I Love You) I'm Not Afraid Anymore" or the progressive hard rock of "Star Rocker". After this album, some of its members decided to leave to pursue other projects, and Bighorn would ultimately disband at the end of 1979 without a trace, but leaving behind this brilliant and forgotten melodic rock album for posterity.