Just because a group or project has been created by some well-known musicians doesn’t always mean that it is going to be a success, and often the opposite is true, but when I saw who had been involved in this album I was both intrigued and hopeful that this wouldn’t be the case this time. The lead singer is none other than Terry Brock (Giant, Strangeways), while he has been joined by Robert Berry (Three, Alliance) on bass and vocals, Gary Pihl (Boston, Sammy Hagar, Alliance) on guitar and Matt Starr (Ace Frehley, Mr Big) on drums. I still love the Three album, and back when I was getting into Sammy Hagar his wingman was Gary, so I looked at the line-up and wondered, could it live up to expectations?
Could it? This is class melodic rock from the first note to the very last, with hooks aplenty, and bringing together influences from Mr Big, Strangeways, Hagar-period Van Halen, Toto, Journey and Alliance. For anyone into this style of music then this album is essential, as it just hits every mark with ease, and is a “review killer” in the sense that it wants to hog the player so much that I find it hard to move onto other albums that I need to play to be able to review! Terry Brock has long been recognised as one of the voices of the genre, and he suits these songs perfectly. No matter how cold it is outside (and it’s snowing and freezing here in NZ now), this is an album that screams summer, parties, and long days with late nights.
I have heard many Frontiers albums over the years, but I find it hard to imagine that label maestro Serafino Perugino has released anything as so damn enjoyable and indispensable as this one. If melodic rock is your thing, then you must get this.
