Da Vinci's self titled was a good album. Rough around the edges, a tad simplistic, and even boring in places, it had its moments. The high regard for which it is held has more to do with the disc that came after it. For if you even liked
Da Vinci just a bit from that first effort, then
"Back In Business" will blow you clean away. Everything you loved from the first disc has been expanded and improved upon. The guys really meant business this time and cranked through an album chock full of saccharine sweet treats that will leave you spinning on a sugar high for days. It sports all the trademarks of the Scandi
AOR sound from that era and is classified as one of the greats, along with Treat, Madison, Skagarack, Fate, Mydra, Dalton, Shy, Dominoe and many others. While it may have not attracted a huge following originally, it is one of those rare discs that became popular and praised after the fact. With the internet buzz giving the opportunity for music to reach a wider audience,
"Back In Business" managed to create quite a following and the album was highly sought after by enthusiasts and collectors alike. Now with a re-release, everyone is given a chance to take
Da Vinci for a spin.
With infectious songs like the repetitively hypnotizing charmer
"Pink Champagne",
"BiB" is not a cd that you can easily eradicate from your mind. It keeps playing in your memory banks for days after the last listening. Highly contagious for its poppy presence, gigantic choruses and synth swimming melodies, the replay value is considerably high. Mellow, smooth as silk and rolling like a gentle wave comes
"Call Me A Liar".
"Young Hearts" is bursting with keyboards and an over the top fluffiness that oozes 80s ballad excess.
"Million Like Us" is pure bouncy fun. No substance, all gloss and perfect just as it is.
"Touchdown" gets the album off to a sparkling start with the emphasis on putting power in the hook and
"Hold Back the Tears" flares with a touch of icy romance. Lars (Robert) Aass (love the name!) has a beautiful voice with a lovely range and he easily carries even the typical fare with ease. Without such great vocals backing it,
"9 and 10" would just seem cheesy now. It does prove that some songs have aged better than others, with many trapped in that extinct regional sound that is such a rush to hear so many years later.
MTM has offered up a second life and made this semi obscure collector's prize, available to all at a reasonable price point and not anything close to the ebay gouging that occurred in years gone by. IF you are a fan of any of the bands mentioned in this review and this cd is NOT currently sitting in your collection, then you owe it to yourself to discover the magic of Scandi pop melodic rock and snag a copy of this
Da Vinci classic. As an added bonus there is a previously unreleased track
"Blame It On The Radio" which first appeared on the demos for the unreleased third album. That never came to fruition but here you are given a taste of it. Kudos to MTM for putting this out on the market and for the extra song too. Now if only they could dig the rest of the
Da Vinci demos collecting dust down in the vaults...
Written by
Alanna Sunday, November 26, 2006
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