Album review : THE LADDER – S/T (Remaster)

June 17th, 2024 by brianmc

Rock Candy Records [Release date : 24.05.24]

Another “obscure” 1980’s American AOR album, rescued by Rock Candy Records. It was “big in Japan” though. Aren’t they all.

The Ladder – writers Joe and Lou Parente, with vocalist Frank Mancano – came and went in 1986 without getting near any best selling charts. In fact, their album hardly registered a blip on the music media’s radar.

Since then, it has gradually risen in AOR consciousness, being compared by aficionados to the likes of Van Stephenson and Jeff Paris.

It became one of those long lost recordings that’s been suspended in aspic, frustratingly out of reach (except as a poor quality bootleg) until now.

It’s most certainly of its time, the layered effects, the delays and reverbs carbon date the sound to the mid eighties. Rock Candy’s remastering plays this down, making sure the moods and images don’t shift too far from the band’s lush, widescreen style of AOR.

And anyway, the sheer quality of Mancano’s earnest vocals, and the high calibre songwriting transcend the decades.

‘Time Soldier’ and ‘Double Shot’ are the picks, one mimicking Mr Mister’s sophisticated balladry. The second pulling together the melodic and muscular strengths of Foreigner into a powerful, hard hitting love song.

That said, album standout, by a huge margin, is the finely wrought, richly textured ‘Don’t Turn Me Away’, the best AOR/MOR ballad that David Foster and Chicago never wrote. ***1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

PS. most of the songs were written by Philadelphia brothers, Joe and Lou Parente. Lou was president of the city’s musicians’ union. Must have given him a pretty strong bargaining position with the label, ATCO :-)

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