For a time in the early 1980's it looked like as if Jon Butcher's career would know no bounds. As anyone who picked up a copy of the self-titled Jon Butcher Axis album upon it's original release in 1983 would concur, here was a star on the rise. Such an upwards trajectory was well deserved given his undeniable talent, the quality of that debut and the ensuing sophomore affair "Stare at the Sun". Indeed both albums should have resulted in greater rewards than they ultimately did at the time. Although Jon would enjoy a good deal of recognition for later recorded work, such as "Wishes" (released under his own name rather than the band handle), perhaps the answer to any questions that are asked over Butcher's lack of bigger and more sustained success may be allied to the one that asks "why has it taken well over thirty years for his first two records to be officially released on CD? Sure, several of the best tracks from both albums have surfaced on compilations of Jon's work but never before has either album been issued on it's entirety on a silver shiny disc. That is about to change. This album reached No. 91 in the Billboard pop album charts and Axis' video "Life Takes a Life" became one of the first videos by a black artist to receive airtime on MTV. At that time, the only two black artists enjoying MTV coverage were The Jon Butcher Axis and Michael Jackson. The result of his success afforded further growing popularity for the band, which added the opportunity to tour with Rush ('Signals' tour '83), Def Leppard ('Pyromania' tour '83) and Scorpions ('Hurricane' tour '84). amongst others. Jon Butcher has an undeniable talent and this 10 track album from the classic early eighties era shows just what this man had to offer. Timeless.
