{"id":42391,"date":"2014-07-09T06:55:53","date_gmt":"2014-07-09T11:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=42391"},"modified":"2014-07-09T06:55:53","modified_gmt":"2014-07-09T11:55:53","slug":"aor-la-connection-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/aor-la-connection-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"AOR | LA Connection<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"aorHave you, melodic rock aficionados, managed to cool off after the late 2013 release of Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Slama\u2019s AOR project, The Secrets Of LA\u2026<\/em>? The apparently restless French musician and producer doesn\u2019t let his listeners for this, as just a few months later he returns again under the AOR moniker with LA Connection<\/em>, another star-studded and promising album. This time it features the guest contributions from the likes of Tommy Denander, Bill Champlin (Chicago) and his wife Tamara, Bob Harris (Axe), Philip Bardowell (Places Of Power, Unruly Child), Paul Sabu (Only Child, Kidd Glove), Jeff Paris or David Forbes (Boulevard). Only nine songs having been included on the album, since the project\u2019s mastermind Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric values quality over quantity \u2013 and as for LA Connection<\/em>, quality is the key word here.<\/p>\n

Again gravitating towards a bit heavier, slightly more feisty AOR\/melodic hard rock sound and drifting apart from the Westcoast style of the early AOR releases, the album starts with \u201cOn The Edge Of Glory\u201d. Enriched with Bill Champlin\u2019s trademark vocals, this keyboard-and-guitar-duel could have been as well a lost Survivor gem of their late \u201880s recording sessions. The first seconds of the second track, \u201cThe Pride Of Strangers,\u201d leave no doubt to those who are familiar with the recordings of Only Child or Kidd Glove \u2013 this raspy, sensual and very strong voice belongs to no one else but the mighty Paul Sabu. This fiery vocal performance of him is, without a doubt, one of the highlights of the entire album.<\/p>\n

More mellow, but nevertheless perfectly melodic is \u201cCloser To Zero\u201d with David Forbes (Boulevard) singing lead. Its follow-up is \u201cOnce Off Guard,\u201d largely anticipated by the fans of the project (and the genre) because of the announced contribution of Jeff Paris. This is another highlight of the album, not only because of the Paris\u2019 vocal input but also a blistering guitar solo. <\/p>\n

In \u201cLost Souls Don\u2019t Cry,\u201d sung by Philip Bardowell, some distant echoes of Giant and Foreigner can be heard. Further on, you\u2019ll find some other flavors, as the perfect groove of \u201cExiled In Sadness\u201d or keyboard-driven \u201cAge Of Desire.\u201d The next to last \u201cCircle Of Danger\u201d is embellished with the solid and emotional performance of Tamara Champlin, this time the only woman behind the microphone in AOR \u2013 as well as a solid portion of Tommy Denander\u2019s guitar licks. \u201cThe Crystal Heart,\u201d a nostalgic and reflective ballad sung by Bob Harris, closes the album on a very high note. <\/p>\n

LA Connection<\/em> is the thirteenth album in Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Slama\u2019s AOR discography \u2013 and a clear proof that all the superstition regarding the unluckiness of the number “13” is much hyped anyway! At least, for the melodic rock and AOR fans who are treated with a high quality performance and top production for the thirteenth time. This fact \u2013 and apparently unfading ardor of Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Slama \u2013 makes us all look forward to the number 14, another album potentially as splendid as LA Connection<\/em>. Much recommended.<\/p>\n

Genre: AOR, Melodic Hard Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nFr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Slama: Guitars and keyboards
\nTommy Denander: All instruments
\nBill Champlin: Lead and backing vocals
\nPaul Sabu: Lead and backing vocals
\nJeff Paris: Lead and backing vocals
\nSherwood Ball: Lead and backing vocals
\nDavid Forbes: Lead and backing vocals
\nPhilip Bardowell: Lead and backing vocals
\nBob Harris : Lead and backing vocals
\nRick Riso: Lead and backing vocals
\nTamara Champlin: Lead and backing vocals
\nPete Newdeck: Backing vocals
\nColin Rodgers: Guitars and bass
\nPat Thern: Drums<\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1. On The Edge Of Glory
\n2. Pride Of Strangers
\n3. Closer To Zero
\n4. Once Off Guard
\n5. Lost Souls Don\u2019t Cry
\n6. Exiled In Sadness
\n7. Age Of Desire
\n8. Circle Of Danger
\n9. The Crystal Heart<\/p>\n

Label: Escape Music<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.slama101.fr\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Columnist — Have you, melodic rock aficionados, managed to cool off after the late 2013 release of Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Slama\u2019s AOR project, The Secrets Of LA\u2026? The apparently restless French musician and […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":42642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[8939,2317,1016,9557,9558,9556,2847,8847,3594],"class_list":{"0":"post-42391","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-aor","9":"tag-cd-review","10":"tag-escape-music","11":"tag-frederic-slama","12":"tag-jeff-paris","13":"tag-la-connection","14":"tag-melodic-hard-rock","15":"tag-paul-sabu","16":"tag-tommy-denander"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}