As I was looking through the list of new releases of the past couple weeks to review, I noticed Atlantic had a new album out, Another World, and figured, “That’d be cool to explore! After all, it’s been a minute since we heard from Atlantic.” *pauses* “Wait, hold the phone. Could this be THEE Atlantic who dropped one of the greatest AOR albums of all time in 1994’s Power? No way.” Considering today’s current age of every veteran outfit under the sun being excavated in some form or another to fulfill a record contract or a run of dates, I’m sure you could understand my skepticism.
Alas, it IS indeed the same Atlantic of yesteryear. While only guitarist/songwriter Simon Harrison remains from the Power days, it should be noted that he was the principal musician/writer/visionary of the “band” to begin with. I put the term band in quotation marks because Atlantic was less a band and more a glorified studio project. I guess in an odd way, vehicles like they, Phenomena, and GTR paved the way for the melodic rock studio project industry of the past 20 years, but I digress. Joining Harrison for Atlantic’s long awaited sophomore affair is an equally compelling group of studio musicians, rounded out by frontman Mark Grimmett, brother of late Grim Reaper legend, Steve Grimmett.
While it most definitely is Another World compared to the era Power was released in, Atlantic’s knack for lush, accessible AOR remains the same. It’s a glorified continuation of Power, albeit with perhaps an even stronger emphasis on the adult contemporary friendly side of the spectrum as opposed to the hard and heavy side. Cuts like “Ready Or Not” and “If This Is Goodbye” captivate in all their neon-lit glory, daring you to hop behind the wheel of your car and take a long, late night summer drive into the unknown. Meanwhile, poppier tunes like “I’ll Be Waiting”, “Loving Arms”, and “Dream About You” boast a sort of bittersweet nostalgia to them that’s really key when making this type of music.
The only songs on here I’d classify as flat-out rockers are “Whole Lot of Love” (not to be confused with the similarly titled Zeppelin classic) and the closing “This Ain’t Love”. Clearly, Harrison is less concerned with hitting you across the head with fiery riffage and more concerned with luring you in with retro production, earworm hooks, and most important of all, lavish atmosphere (you know you whispered those last two words to emphasize the pomp). And when Harrison does step out front with his axe, it’s to lay down some ultra-melodic leads in the tradition of Gary Moore and Neal Schon, packed to the brim with passionate emotion.
Is Another World an instant masterpiece on the same playing field as Power? No. Was it worth the 30 year wait? Yes, but it also makes us wonder what the hell Harrison was doing for the past three decades that prevented him from putting another excellent collection of melodic rockers together sooner. At this rate, I’ll be the age Sammy Hagar can’t drive (55, in case you forgot) before we get Atlantic album #3. Who knows WHAT on earth this world will be like by then? What I do know is multi-decade wait or not, the melodies on Another World are timeless, making this a must have for any self respecting AOR aficionado.
8 out of 10
Label: Escape Music
Genre: AOR
For fans of: Survivor, FM, Signal
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