For those not in the know, Gentlemen's Academy is a quite wonderful new group led by guitarists Mike Marks and Patrick Klein (The Lizards) and also featuring lyricist Randy Pratt (Cactus & The Lizards).

Having just released (November 20th, 2019, via CD Baby) their brilliant new soft rock album Joy, the 11 track album comes complete with half a dozen excellent soft rock genre singers (some you might know, some you won't know, but should), that bring life to all these tracks as if they were all still stuck in the late '80s, early '90s.

1. 'What the Rain's For'
2. 'Be Brave for Love'
3. 'The Keepin' Kind'
4. 'Heaven Must Have Told You'
5. 'Paradise'
6. 'Fantastic Planet'
7. 'When We Were Young'
8. 'Tears of Joy'
9. 'Always Is Forever'
10. 'Crush'
11. 'Teetering'

The album kicks off with the mid-tempo ballad 'What the Rain's For' and backs that up with the Steve Perryesque 'Be Brave for Love,' the rocker 'The Keepin' Kind,' and then both the balladeering reach of 'Heaven Must Have Told You,' and the Steely Danesque lite pop rock breeze of 'Paradise.'

Next up is 'Fantastic Planet' which is followed by the beautiful acoustic guitar ballad 'When We Were Young,' and then we get the poppy 'Tears of Joy,' and then the summer breeze of 'Always Is Forever.'

This album of melodic masterpieces then rounds out with the reminiscent storytelling of 'Crush,' and comes to a close on the mid-tempo wanderlust of 'Teetering.'