Review: As their five excellent recordings in the PAC catalog will show, Ac Rock, the all-male quartet from Chicago is really into a cappella Rock n' Roll - arranging it cool, have big fun with it, recording it, but mostly singing it together, particularly in front of appreciative audiences! Not a bad gig, and as they keep getting better at singing, recording and arranging it, we will be expecting to see more rockin' albums from this prolific quartet. 14 spirited cuts, some of our favorites are Lennon/McCartney's "Paperback Writer," Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues," Roy Orbison's "Only the Lonely," Brian Wilson's "I Get Around," The muscle car anthem "Hey Little Cobra," Randy Bachman's "Takin' Care of Business," Lieber & Stoller's "Yakety Yak," and the title tune. Fun stuff from the rockin' Windy City!

Songlist: Paperback Writer, Summertime Blues, Only the Lonely, Hold Me Tight, I Get Around, Hey Little Cobra, Spooky, Build Me Up, Buttercup, Takin' Care of Business, Sunglasses at Night, I Think I Love You, The Way You Look Tonight, Yakety Yak, Ridin' the Storm Out

Review: Chicago's high-energy all male Contemporary quartet Ac-Rock, anchored by Mark MacLean's yummy, deep bass and sweet leads by tenor Paul Iams gets us into a boogying groove right away on "Flying," their 5th excellent CD. The Ricky Martin hit "Livin'," CCR's foot-tapping "Down on the Corner," the Doo-Wop classic "Little Darlin'," the Rockabilly hit "Waitin' In School" and Tommy James' "Draggin' The Line," which is impossible not to start moving to. The manic "Girls, Girls, Girls," Jackson Browne's "James Dean," "Poison Ivy," the make-out anthem "I Think We're Alone Now," the bubblegum hit "Elenore," Chicago's schmaltzy "Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is," Kenny Loggins' "I'm Alright"... the words to these songs are engraved on our brain cells, but here is Ac-Rock, having big, silly fun with them, and suddenly so are we!

Songlist: Livin' La Vida Loca, Down On The Corner, Little Darlin', Waitin' In School, Draggin' The Line, Girls, Girls, Girls, Elenore, James Dean, I Think We're Alone Now, Does Anybody Really Know What Time It is?, Poison Ivy, You're The Inspiration, I'm Alright

Review: "Box" is the fourth excellent CD by all-male Chicago quartet Ac Rock (pronounced Ak-Rock), who are into a cappella Rock n' Roll, and just keep getting better at singing and arranging it! Paul, JD, Mark & Chris share solos on these 14 songs (actually 18, considering the final cut, "Best of Doo-Wop" includes "Duke of Earl," "The Book of Love," "Get A Job" and the Harmony Sweeps anthem "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight"). Just listen to cut #9, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (before a live audience at an elementary school in Wilmington, IL) if you want to see how much these guys (a) love their work, and (b) have big fun in concert. It's hard to pick favorites here, but "Who Put The Bomp," Brian Wilson's "Little Deuce Coupe," the Drifters' "Under The Boardwalk," Maurice White's "Shining Star," Hanson's "MMMBop," and James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)" (which segues into a short, surreal sample of Strauss' "Blue Danube"), and a nice original by Mark, "Get Out The Way" will do for starters. See these guys live if you can, and get a sweet taste of their good stuff on "Out of the Box!". Then, after you've listened, put Out Of The Box in your computer (PC or Mac) and check out the amazing Enhanced Content: the Ac Rock Concentration game, The Ac Rock Sound Machine, a QuickTime Virtual Reality walkaround of the AcRock sculpture, and interactive bios for all of the guys. A free multi-media bonus that appeals to all ages!

Songlist: Shining Star, Absolutely Right, Happy Together, Who Put The Bomp (In The Bomp Ba Bomp Ba Bomp), Under the Boardwalk, I Got You (I Feel Good), (So Nice) Blue Danube, Get Out the Way, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Little Deuce Coupe, Pretty Little Angel Eyes, MMMBop, So Fine, Duke of Earl, Book of Love, Get A Job, Goodnight

Review: Fourteen songs with hilarious studio outtakes and interesting links make this AC Rock's best CD yet. AC Rock does not wait to get your attention on Guaranteed To Satisfy. The exciting opener, "Drive My Car" will leap out of your speakers and get you into the groove. High pitched vocals from tenor Paul Iams and the deep bass of Mark MacLean augment each other perfectly on another one of our favorites, "Rocket 2 U" which shows the groups astounding range. Also included on this remarkable album are new arrangements of Brian Setzer's "Stray Cat Strut," Steve Miller's "Abracadabra" and The Cars' "You Might Think." As the title of the album states, this album is guaranteed to satisfy.

Songlist: Drive My Car, What's Your Name, You Won't See Me, You Might Think, No Particular Place To Go, Rocket 2 U, Crazy Little Thing, Rockin' Robin, Stray Cat Strut, Abracadabra, Desperado, Runaway, Ice Cream Man

Review: The second CD from this Chicago foursome (plus guest percussionist), who like rock and still admit to it. In fact, they even perform rock songs on this CD! Yes, INXS, Grand Funk Railroad and Cheap Trick fall victim to the AC (pronounced "Aack") Rock onslaught. Even "Vehicle," a seventies rock anthem written by Jim Peterik (of cult favorites "Ides of March" and later of eighties AOR band Survivor), receives the AC treatment, complete with an actual guitar solo played by Jim himself! What's more, AC Rock are fine singers, they're tight, and they're in tune. To prove it, and to refute any aspersions that may exist about their musicality, the group includes Seal's "Kiss From A Rose," the Beach Boys "409" and the Hollies "Bus Stop," and even "Istanbul" for you jump swingers. (Actually, we have it on good authority that members of AC Rock received serious musical educations, but we'll never tell!) Party on!

Songlist: Istanbul, Come Go With Me, Because, Vehicle, I Want You To Want Me, Bus Stop, It's For You, Kiss From A Rose, Need You Tonight, 409, Coconut, Witch Doctor, Some Kind Of Wonderful

Review: Ah, sweet rock 'n roll! Say what? Yes, "Suite Judy Blue Eyes" (CCNY) is sweet. "Silhouettes" takes us back in time to the stone age of rock. A rap/reggae intro to "Get Off Of My Cloud" makes it into an original all over again. Bob Dylan is here.You won't even know its "Like A Rolling Stone" until a minute or so has passed. The Beatles are here. OK, lets go out with one of the intriguing tunes in rock n' roll, "Bohemian Rhapsody". Four singers with great voices and unusually fine arranging skills apply themselves to the world of rock with grand results.

Songlist: Suite Judy Blue Eyes, Silhouettes, Get Off My Cloud, More Than Words, Break My Stride, Like A Rolling Stone, Things We Said Today, Carry On Wayward Son, Bohemian Rhapsody