Frontiers [Release date: 09.12.22]
Quite a line up Rob Moratti’s put together here.
Tony (Blue Murder) Franklin, Joel (Whitesnake) Hoekstra, Pete (James Christian/ Robin McAuley) Alpenborg, Fredrik (Bloodbound) Bergh, with Steve (Tyketto/ Journey) Augeri on backing vocals.
Moratti has been a moving target down through the years, impossible to pin down. And although he’s not exactly being flying under the radar, a one album stint fronting SAGA, a couple of late period Phenomena albums, and a handful of recordings with Final Frontier, the band he formed with M’Laden (ex Von Groove) hardly add up to Champions League contention.
And yet, this is the vocalist often compared to Steve (Journey) Perry.
All that said, if you’re looking for a warm and effective mix of Scandinavian and US sounding Melodic Rock/ AOR – pacey, airy, tuneful, textured, the sharp edges all sanded down, then look no further than his new “solo” album, Epical.
It’s easy (and lazy) to critique an artist by opinionating on who he “sounds like”, so that’s what we’re gonna do (it’s that time of year).
On ‘Hold On’ and ‘Love’, the band sound like they’ve been thumbing through a dog eared copy of the Eclipse & Work Of Art blueprint, with maybe a Bro Firetribe addendum, with maybe a page or two of “When Seconds Count” Survivor. Nothing if not derivative. In a good way, of course.
What’s also notable is the consistency of the writing … it’s an album of remarkably sustained melodies and song structures. No surprise really, Pete Alpenborg and Fredrik Bergh collaborated with Moratti on many of the songs.
‘Nothing Left To Say’ is a peach. It’s an elegant, mid paced AOR song that reclaims the space vacated eventually by Alias, Starship, and perhaps even Journey. It catches the mood of that era, where sentimentality and romantic musical moments, coated with a commercial sheen, were the currency of Melodic Rock.
Moratti adds the pulse quickening adult pop of ‘For The Rest Of My Life’ (sung by Augeri) and the Southern Sons / Daryl Braithwaite influenced ‘Valerie’. Closing out his perspicacious and indeed fulfilling look in the musical rear view mirror with a bit of Oz. ****
Review by Brian McGowan
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Power Plays w/c 15 April 2024
ENMY The Ledge (FiXT)
KAROBELA Get Hard (indie)
KATH & THE KICKS Neptune (indie)
THE BEE TELLERS River Poem (Black Sand Records)
LAUREN FREEBIRD Like A Bomb (indie)
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09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 KATARINA PEJAK – Pearls On A String (Ruf Records)
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