IF ONLY: "No Bed Of Roses"

Rating: 9/10

Label: Avenue Of Allies 2011


Review by Alan Holloway

“No UK band can play AOR that good, they must be from America!” said Geoff Downes of If Only, and to be honest he was pretty much on the ball. A lost gem in every sense, “No Bed Of Roses” should have been massive, but due to a much delayed release in Europe (2 years after Japan) and the death of talented lead singer Tina Egan, it disappeared.


Tina Egan is definitely the star here, and lovers of the likes of Fiona and Vixen will have a ball with this. The songs are uniformly strong and catchy, and when she belts it out she just sounds out of this world, with perfect pitch and a bit of a rasp that is the icing on the vocal cake. Also included are a few songs with vocals by Girlschool’s Jackie Bodmead, who Egan replaced, and although she has a good voice, she’s not in Egan’s league at all.


As an AOR album, this really is near perfect, and should not be hidden away. You really owe it to yourself to get it and enjoy one of the best female vocalists there was. Excellent in every way.