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.