80s style, 2000 production. This is
AOR done the right way. It slides down like ice cream on a hot summer day, and keeps you warm and cozy like beef stew on a winter night.
Three singers (including the Trillion vocalist Thom
Griffin making a hyped return to the fold), great songwriters, the guitars of Tommy Denander (again?), and Frontiers go-to-guy producer Fabrizio V.Zee Grossi, this project has been in no danger of flopping. It is wrapped in such a secure blanket of talent that no matter what happens, its bound to turn up atleast a few tracks that will be considered in the future to be pure
AOR gold.
Ambition was a project that was originally supposed to be a launching pad to rekickstart the career of Thom
Griffin who had faded into obscurity. Joe Vana, the Mecca frontman recruited him as backing vocalist for the celebrated Mecca CD and afterwards Vana had to split, leaving Thom in the lurch. In comes Fabrizio and a slew of songwriters to write appropriate tracks for
Griffin.
Grossi makes Denander sound like *the* guitar wizard of the
AOR style. His licks are brilliant and have real flair, fire and passion. Having someone else behind the production (as Tommy usually does his own) has given a new twist to what is selected to bring forth from his juicy string manipulating, and the result is a winning one. Those that think he might be putting himself out there too often lately might be right, but everything he has appeared on in the past couple of years has been top shelf material. Well, nearly. The Slama lead
AOR disc suffered a bit but that was not attributed to the contributions from Denander.
Thom
Griffin is who everyone has come to gawk at with the
Ambition release. There is rhyme and reason to that, for he sounds absolutely fantastic on the tracks that he is given lead on. It is almost a shame that they threw away another opportunity for him to shine by handing a frontman spot over to ex-Toto singer Jean Michael Byron on
Hunger. The Joe Vana appearances are another thing entirely, a pleasure to listen to and so forth, but spotting Byron here is a waste. He is just not in the same league as Vana or
Griffin, and being placed alongside them with the expectations of being equal is just sad. It makes his voice stand out like a sore thumb when sandwiched between the rest. Even on the duets you have to cringe just a little when he pops up. He is just over his head and far outclassed.
The two duets with Byron sound pretty good and have alot going for them,
Hypocrites and
Too Much.
Griffin just blows him away however, which makes the duet aspect kind of sad.
Hypocrites has this magnificent guitar from Denander that has a clean, sharp
Night Ranger kind of bite. Thom has a voice that was born to sing material such as this and he just impresses more and more with each verse that goes by. A masterful track with the best of everyone involved beaming brightly.
Hold On is the first piece hot off the CD and with its uptempo momentum and flying feel, it comes off as a great starter. You know you are in for a great ride when an album kicks off on a guitar blazing note as this. With a strong Giant-meets-Survivor feel, it has this huge, massive sound that shakes the foundations of melodic rock with sheer ability and whirlwind beauty. Lots of keys, guitars and gorgeous vocals to go around.
Shaping Fate and Destiny is another burner that screams It Came From the Eighties!! which is half of its appeal right there. The other half comes from its chorus, which will blow you away.
Griffin nails it and his voice just sucks you right in along with the catchiness of it all.
Alone I Cry is as smooth as butter and just drips with ballady-like goodness. It cannot be stressed enough what a beautiful, elegant and warm voice
Griffin has.
No Wasted Moments tugs at the heart strings, if not pulling them out completely, and is the perfect platform for the voice on display here.
The remake of the Mr. Mister track,
Waiting In My Dreams sounds absolutely fabulous with the addition of two superb vocalists making magic out of it. Only the Europeans will be able to sample the delicacies of this though. A tragedy, for it is a highlight. It tops off the
Ambition ride in the perfect manner. Both Vana and
Griffin are lending their soaring pipes to the song, which doubles its quality.
The result is a trio of vocalists, a great production, some killer songs and a great overall disc. A must-have, do not miss addition to the collection of every and any
AOR fan.
Ambition is an ambitious piece, but one that lives up to expectations. I cannot see too many fans of the genre being disappointed with this purchase. Unless you are looking for something more modern, because modern this is not. A great flashback to big poodle hair and crazy synthesizer it is. That is a fantastic thing to hear and inspiring from start to finish.
Written by
Alanna Wednesday, March 8, 2006
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