Album review: LIONVILLE – Magic Is Alive

Frontiers Records [Release date 07.08.20]

Fourth album from Lionville, an emphatically Westcoast Rock band. Each new release confirms that guitarist/songwriter Stefano Leonetti couldn’t have found a more suitable front man than Lars (Work Of Art) Safsund. What this celebrated vocalist does with these songs is amazing. He takes the fragile quality of the music and amplifies it several times, giving it a robustness and flexibility that shows just how much he’s plugged in to the history of the genre.

Leonetti’s version of Westcoast Rock has all the ingredients of Melodic Rock and AOR, but on a much more nuanced, intimate level. At first glance it looks like soft rock, but Leonetti coats it with a veneer of sophistication. This credits his audience with musical intelligence, which means they’ll give the songs time to work.

Underpinned by the distinctive shading of Fabrizio Caria’s Paich like keyboard fills and frills, ‘Runaway’, ‘Living With The Truth and ‘I’ll Never Give My Heart Away’ have a welcome sense of familiarity, creating an instant emotional connection with genre enthusiasts. In old fashioned cinema-going speak, this is where they came in. It’s Bruce Gaitsch, Tommy Denander territory, with echoes of Joseph Williams in Safsund’s intonation on opener, ‘Nothing Without You’.

‘If You Don’t Know Me’ and ‘Reaching For The Sky’ have a derivative, Steely Dan/Boz Scaggs shuffle, with Leonetti’s jazzy interludes riding Caria’s keyboard swells, but it’s grounded in precision and solid songwriting. In fact, the band seldom try to colour their music outside the lines. Which can make it sound overly formulaic at times. You could argue that Leonetti is keeping a tight rein on the arrangements, and that it’s this discipline that makes the songs work. And you would probably be right.

It’s only when he loosens up a little … ‘You’re Not Alone’ has the breezy crispness and melodic rock fire and thrust of Stan Bush in its makeup, and on ‘Finally You’re With Me’, an elegant ballad, completely shorn of bloat and bombast, that you truly appreciate Leonetti’s skill as an arranger and a producer. ****

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)