{"id":20979,"date":"2014-07-18T00:00:51","date_gmt":"2014-07-18T00:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=20979"},"modified":"2014-08-01T15:00:55","modified_gmt":"2014-08-01T15:00:55","slug":"album-review-aor-la-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-aor-la-connection\/","title":{"rendered":"AOR – L.A. Connection (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

AOR
L.A. Connection<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nEscape Music (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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When heavy metal and heavy rock music suffered at the hands of the grunge invasion in the early 90s it was up to talents such as Los Angeles-based French musician Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Slama to keep on delivering the rock anthems, the sort of songs that had become derided and no longer wanted by the airwaves.<\/p>\n

However, as Slama proved time and time again with consistent releases, if songs are good enough then there will always be an audience for them. Not only that, but as we all know, many trends go round in circles and what\u2019s hot one minute will be cold the next, only to then come full circle and become flavour of the month again.<\/p>\n

Melodic rock has appealed to millions of people the world over; radio friendly giants such as Foreigner, Journey, Toto and the likes have always been accessible bands \u2013 existing on the fringes of heavy rock but subtle enough to endear themselves to the pop crowd too. AOR is most certainly inspired by just about every band of that ilk, and for his 13th opus Slama has enlisted the help of a few friends within the field in creating another fascinating opus, providing the perfect soundtrack to glorious sun-blessed times on hot beaches and sizzling sidewalks. It\u2019s no coincidence that everything Slama has done has an American connection. In fact, one could just imagine some of the tunes on this new record gracing an 80s television cop drama; Miami Vice<\/em> anyone?<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m not familiar with every AOR opus \u2013 there are so many of them it\u2019s hard to keep track at times \u2013 but with L.A. Connection<\/em> you know what you\u2019re getting; a gorgeous blend of smoky vocals, lush arrangements, bombastic songs and enough shoulder pads, wicker shoes and bubblegum to keep the harsh winter at bay.<\/p>\n

\u2018On The Edge Of Glory\u2019 kicks of this sugary, sultry feast of anthems, coming in with a twinkling keyboard that flickers just like those city lights, and with Bill Champlin (ex-Chicago) at the helm you know it\u2019s going to be another sweltering, soulful treat for the ears. The track throbs from its simple guitar sway; a well-balanced mid-tempo rocker that never gives up hope lyrically as Champlin speaks of spending so many \u201clonely, lonely nights\u201d<\/em>, and yet while even being in the gutter knew that he would reach new heights. And that sums up the magic of this sort of music; for even when things seem at a loss, such songs appear to be the soundtrack of so many emotions that hopefully ring true to even those who no longer recall experiencing such anthems back in high school.<\/p>\n

Yeah, I admit that there are times on L.A. Connection<\/em> that the songs sound as if they\u2019ve been plucked from varying 80s movies, ranging from Teen Wolf<\/em> (1985), Flashdance<\/em> (1983), St. Elmo\u2019s Fire<\/em> (1985) and probably even Rocky<\/em> (1976), but that\u2019s the point; this is music to celebrate to and reflect upon.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Pride Of Strangers\u2019 is another simmering plodder featuring the talents of Paul Sabu (Only Child) \u2013 one of my favourite 80s rock vocalists known for his rich, earthy throat whose style slips in effortlessly alongside that trickling percussion and heartbeat pulsation of riff, synth and bass.<\/p>\n

The reality with an album of this quality is that it\u2019s nigh on impossible to find a flaw. Although the instrumentation does have a tendency to all melt together into one big melodic showdown beneath the palm trees, Slama has collated a heavenly array of joyous numbers bolstered by those archetypal melodies and images, and of course the array of guests on board the good ship lollipop.<\/p>\n

Former Boulvevard singer David Forbes takes \u2018Closer To Zero\u2019 to higher plateaus, even if the voice doesn\u2019t have the grit or determination of others. \u2018Once Off Guard\u2019 could also be accused of lacking fire in spite of its guitar wizardry, as Jeff Paris just doesn\u2019t cut the mustard in comparison to those who provide extra grit, but that\u2019s not to say he\u2019s a weak vocalist. Each of these numbers has its own personality, but when you hear \u2018Lost Souls Don\u2019t Cry\u2019, featuring Philip Bardowell (Unruly Child, Places Of Power), there\u2019s just that extra inkling of oomph vocally, which is matched by the more convincing musicianship of Slama, who is accompanied by Tommy Denander in carving out those forceful, swaying melodies.<\/p>\n

The Sherwood Ball (Jay Graydon) fronted \u2018Exiled In Sadness\u2019 is another soulful croon featuring warm backing vocals and Pat Thern\u2019s throbbing drum backbone. This is followed by the synth \/ guitar-driven \u2018Age Of Desire\u2019 featuring Rick Riso\u2019s rich, ascending tones \u2013 the riff hinting at early Bon Jovi. \u2018Circle Of Danger\u2019 is another steady lightweight rocker, meanwhile, featuring a bubbling intro and jerking solos, before Tamara Champlin jumps in with her gravelly tone and gives one of the best performances on the album.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Crystal Heart\u2019 caps off proceedings, this time as a simmering, evocative slow-burner featuring Bob Harris (Axe) who in smoky voice echoes, \u201cYou can\u2019t believe I\u2019m walking away\u201d<\/em> over a smouldering bass, drum and synth tinkle. The lyrics seems to act as a warning through a stormy relationship as Harris mourns, \u201cYou think I won\u2019t go… there\u2019s just too much sorrow\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And there we have it, nine very strong songs on what appears as a relatively short opus. While we can all pick and choose our favourite vocal performances, L.A. Connection<\/em> is a sum of many parts all wrapped up in the finest, most gorgeous melodic arrangements one could imagine when walking under the glittering stars that shine down on old L.A.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AORL.A. Connection Escape Music (2014)Rating: 8\/10 When heavy metal and heavy rock music suffered at the hands of the grunge invasion in the early 90s it was up to talents such as Los Angeles-based French musician Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Slama to keep on delivering the rock anthems, the sort of songs that had become derided and no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1355],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-aor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20979"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20992,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20979\/revisions\/20992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}