You know who’s got The Touch? Stan Bush, that’s who. For the second consecutive album, Stan Bush has released a new version of his hit from the 1986 Transformers movie “The Touch”. The “Power Mix” featured here is a remix of the “Sam’s Theme” version released on Bush’s 2010 release “Dream the Dream” (which itself was a reworking of an atrocious re-imagining of the song recorded in 2009 and intended for use in the second Michael Bay Transformers movie: The Revenge of the Fallen. It never made the cut) Bush has also re-recorded the song, in a more straightforward manner, for use in the video game Guitar Hero.

Gotta give him credit, he knows not to let a good thing pass him by.

He also knows that his bread and butter is writing 80’s-style action movie anthems. On his newest record “The Ultimate” he delivers them in spades. Existing in that area half-way space between power ballads and driving rock, the songs act as inspirational call-to-arms. Bush is constantly dropping cliches, whether it’s about fighting to survive and being pushed to the limit on “Heat of the Battle” or burning desire on “Thunder in Your Heart”. The lyrics are hokey as hell, but it’s all in good fun. That being said, there’s very little here that you haven’t heard before. The ballad “Love Again” essentially follows the same template as “In My Life” (the big ballad on “Dream the Dream”)

Despite its title, It’s hard to call “The Ultimate” an essential Stan Bush album, as it doesn’t really do anything that he hasn’t done before. But it is one of the better records in his discography. If you’ve only heard “The Touch” and want to hear more from the man, or just want some hard-pumping rock songs to fire you up, I can happily recommend “The Ultimate”.