AOR - L.A. Concession
What I have in my hands now has been worth 150 euro’s eBay, as a CD-R only. Actually, AOR is a one man band from Frédéric Slame, who has been a journalist for 15 years in France and lived in Los Angeles for more than 10 years. This album was originally released as a debut in 2000 but due to the success of the project, a re-release now sees daylight with four previously unreleased tracks.
And I must say, the music sounds very relaxing and sure is a good addition to the AOR scene. I haven’t read any information on the web without the comparison with Toto so I guess I’ll just do that too. But besides that I’d like to mention the progressive parts which can be compared with the melodic elements from a band like Spock’s Beard. Furthermore, the ambience on the album is mostly soft, which means high details to the intros, lots of space for the keyboards and vulnerable, mellow vocals. Therefore, the sound of AOR is mellower compared with others.
Sometimes this works out pretty well, and the composition of the songs is outstanding. For instance, ‘Worlds Away’ shows such a great sense for detail where the guitar makes just the right sounds to intervene with the other instruments, while the vocals do not try to emphasize the capabilities of the singer, that it takes my breath away. Absolutely brilliant!
On the other hand, AOR tries to profit from the same characteristics too many times. Whereas ‘Caught Inside Your Heart’ is a cool song on its own, ‘The Way of the Night’ or ‘Lost in Your Eyes’ show too many similarities. If that’s your cup of tea, be my guest and make sure you’re gonna own this album, but for me, the more than 70 minutes are too much in this matter. Also, the bonus tracks are not that distinctive in my opinion to have a special addition to the whole concept.
Concluding, L.A. Concession sure isn’t such a bad album and I dare to say that it could well end up high in the year lists of the fans, due to its outstanding sound. Yet, I believe that a bit of different songwriting could have lead to a bigger total picture, although there are some parts I’ll always be listening to.
71/1001Details MTM
Released on Friday Nov 10th, 2006
AOR
Writer @CarpeSiem on Monday Nov 13th, 2006
Tags: #AOR
Tracklisting
1. Never Gonna Let Her Go
2. On Dangerous Ground
3. Caught Inside Your Heart
4. Worlds Away
5. In My Crystal Ball
6. The Way of the Night
7. Leave Her to Heaven
8. Only in My Dreams
9. From L.A. to Tokyo
10. Lost in Your Eyes
11. Don't Let Her Go
12. Love Has Found Its Way
13. Can One of Your Kiss Do All This?
14. Secrets in Her Heart
15. The Spark of My Soul
16. Never Gonna Let Her Go
2. On Dangerous Ground
3. Caught Inside Your Heart
4. Worlds Away
5. In My Crystal Ball
6. The Way of the Night
7. Leave Her to Heaven
8. Only in My Dreams
9. From L.A. to Tokyo
10. Lost in Your Eyes
11. Don't Let Her Go
12. Love Has Found Its Way
13. Can One of Your Kiss Do All This?
14. Secrets in Her Heart
15. The Spark of My Soul
16. Never Gonna Let Her Go
Line up
Fr�d�ric Slama: guitars, keyboards
Tommy Denander: rhythm&lead guitars, keyboards, bass
Joey Heredia: drums
Tommy Denander: rhythm&lead guitars, keyboards, bass
Joey Heredia: drums