AOR is the type of amalgamation that could’ve only come to fruition in the late 70s and flourished in the 80s. It was a full blown musical contradiction: hard enough for the headbangers, trendy enough for the popular kids, and light enough for both demographic’s parents. Granted, some acts focused more on one end of the spectrum than the other. For example, Night Ranger’s twin guitar attack earned them airplay on heavy metal radio, whereas Air Supply’s unabashed balladry made them the pride and joy of wine drinking moms all across the country. Every now and then, a band would come along that seamlessly blended all these facets into one giant stew of melodic grandeur, like the subject of today’s review, Lionville. There’s only one catch: Lionville formed about 30 years too late.
Lionville is the brainchild of Italian guitar virtuoso, Stefano Lionetti. Joining him in this band dedicated to singlehandedly reviving all things 80s is Work of Art singer/Richard Marx vocal doppelganger Lars Säflund, and Frontiers Records everyman Alessandro Del Vecchio. It’s hard to believe that just a little over two weeks ago, I was singing Del Vecchio’s praises for his work with melodic metal masters Edge of Forever. Now here I am doing the same with yet another project of his, albeit said project being firmly on the melodic rock side of things as opposed to metal. Does this man ever sleep? Perhaps I’ll ask him that in a future interview.
For those who have been reading the site from day 1, my love of Lionville is well documented. Their latest album, So Close to Heaven, not only picks up where past releases left off, but arguably raises the bar. These songs are chockful of soaring vocals, retro keys, energetic guitar work, and uplifting lyrical content faithful to the genre’s forefathers. The album opens on a bombastic arena rock inspired note with a one-two punch in “This Time” and “Cross My Heart”. Both songs boast arrangement and production reminiscent of Raised on Radio era Journey, which is always a plus in my book.
The Journey influence makes itself known on subsequent cuts like “Only the Brave” and the closing title track, but there’s more to Lionville than the formula that made Steve Perry and Neal Schon multimillionaires. “True Believer”, “Can’t Live Without Your Love”, and “Angel Without Wings” see the band dipping their toes into the guitar driven side of adult contemporary, somewhere between Toto and Bad English. “We Are One” is a short and sweet pop rocker that sounds like something from the soundtrack of a Michael J. Fox movie circa ’86, while “I’ll Be Waiting Tonight” is the obligatory nod to breezy west coast yacht rock.
What more can I say? If you’re a melodic rock diehard, So Close to Heaven has it all. It’s one thing to attempt classic AOR. It’s another thing to do so with such conviction. No need to check for a pulse here! Between Lionville, New York newcomers Station, and those saucy Swedes in The Night Flight Orchestra, AOR is alive and well!
EDITOR’S NOTE: It was just brought to my attention that keyboards on this album were handled not by Del Vecchio, but by Fabrizio Caria. My apologies for this mix up.
7 out of 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: AOR
For fans of: Work of Art, Toto, Journey