{"id":21419,"date":"2014-09-01T00:01:08","date_gmt":"2014-09-01T00:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=21419"},"modified":"2016-03-06T19:41:17","modified_gmt":"2016-03-06T19:41:17","slug":"album-review-david-a-saylor-strength-of-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-david-a-saylor-strength-of-one\/","title":{"rendered":"DAVID A. SAYLOR – Strength Of One (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

DAVID A. SAYLOR
Strength Of One<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nAOR Blvd (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Wild Rose frontman David A. Saylor continues the heartwarming trend of releasing a sophomore effort of rich, soulful and above all melodic rockers that are easy on the ears.<\/p>\n

Strength Of One<\/em> comes two years after 2012\u2019s City Of Angels<\/em> but once again it\u2019s a case of instant satisfaction from the former Push UK singer. American-born Saylor has a durable voice which enables the pop-tinged melodies to drift without effort across the airwaves, evoking images of music fans sitting by the radio on a humid night and bathing in a sea of cheesy, chirpy harmonies.<\/p>\n

With acts such as 101 South providing similar notes of grace recently, Strength Of One<\/em> continues that blessed cacophony homing in its skills of flimsy percussion, and crisp driving axe-work, with the result being 11 joyous incarnations which in steamy fashion groove right to the heart of radio-friendly, 80s-styled craftsmanship.<\/p>\n

\u2018Welcome To The Show\u2019 breezes in with a simple chime of lightweight guitar groove and that steady, heartbeat rhythm of the percussion. \u201cI\u2019m so alone, trying to be who I am, trying to understand\u201d<\/em> Saylor mourns amidst a sea of soulful backing vocals and that constant, prodding guitar and drum team.<\/p>\n

And it just goes on and on from there, floating in glorious fashion from the sizzling \u2018Now You\u2019re Leaving\u2019 with its tear-jerking, aching qualities rounded off by that searing hot ever-present solo, while \u2018Flying High\u2019 follows a similar theme initially with that piercing guitar before driving in typical nostalgic fashion through an array of almost danceable drum jab and Saylor\u2019s effortless croon. \u201cWhen you\u2019re flying high, no one can deny, you\u2019re in paradise, take a chance and try… when you\u2019re flying high\u201d<\/em> Saylor tempts. Sure, it\u2019s almost child-like in its lyrical twang but it fits the warm harmonies and melody so well; after all, we don\u2019t want brain-meddling complexity with AOR, but unassuming passion.<\/p>\n

\u2018My Heart Ain\u2019t Feeling Nothing\u2019 is again bolstered by a strong guitar solo and that \u2018Mustang Sally\u2019-styled soulful beat, while \u2018Beaten Black And Blue\u2019 is a summery jaunt caressed by a twinkling synth and teenage naivety.<\/p>\n

Strength Of One<\/em> is the sort of album that should\u2019ve been released around 1986-7 \u2013 with that crisp guitar and Saylor\u2019s rugged tones of conviction, one can just imagine the opus bolstered by hazy MTV<\/em> promotion and a backdrop of Miami Vice<\/em> as characters Crockett & Tubbs, adorned in sharp pink suits and open shirts, cavort with weapons and scantily-clad beach maidens.<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s my mind running away with me, but David A. Saylor provides that subtle, airy style of hard rock that flirts with Huey Lewis & The News as well as edgier, stadium-filling bands such as Foreigner et al. In other words, Strength Of One<\/em> is a rounded and delightfully moreish example of how pleasing rock should be conveyed.<\/p>\n

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

DAVID A. SAYLORStrength Of One AOR Blvd (2014)Rating: 8\/10 Wild Rose frontman David A. Saylor continues the heartwarming trend of releasing a sophomore effort of rich, soulful and above all melodic rockers that are easy on the ears. Strength Of One comes two years after 2012\u2019s City Of Angels but once again it\u2019s a case […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1401],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-david-a-saylor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21419","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=21419"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41378,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21419\/revisions\/41378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}