Hidden Treasures Artist Showcase - Ambrosia

[Scott]

Artist Showcase - Ambrosia

Time for another showcase. I decided to go with a band who is most likey well known by evryone on here but also an after thought to the majority.

Some wiki facts for you...

• The group was founded as a quartet with guitarist/vocalist David Pack, bassist/vocalist Joe Puerta, keyboardist Christopher North, and drummer Burleigh Drummond.
• After the group attended a show at the Whisky a Go-Go in December 1969 to see an unknown but highly recommended new band called King Crimson, their perception of music was changed.
• The group auditioned for Herb Alpert and A&M Records early on but the audition did not go well. Although it has been alleged by some sources that the band members showed up late and heavily intoxicated to the audition, all of the band members showed up on time and sober. In spite of their poor performance, Alpert let the band do some demos.
• Alan Parsons was the engineer for Ambrosia's first album and the producer for their second. All four members of Ambrosia played on the first Alan Parsons Project album, Tales of Mystery and Imagination, which was recorded soon after Ambrosia's first album. David Pack later appeared on the Alan Parsons album Try Anything Once (1993), co-writing, playing and providing vocals on three songs.
• Much of the material on their five albums is progressive in nature

So thats the focus here, it's the progressive stuff and not the Top40 hits, you may just come away with a whole new perspective on this band...


PLAYLIST --> http://www.podsnack.com/CA69EFD9E8C/avk84nnp

	Ambrosia 1975 1 - Drink of Water Although they would become better known for smooth AOR ballads like "How Much I Feel," Ambrosia first made their name with this album of progressive rock with a pop music twist. Its songs skillfully blend strong melodic hooks and smooth vocal harmonies with music of an almost symphonic density. Good examples of this crossbreeding are "Drink of Water," which sounds like the Beach Boys tackling a Pink Floyd space rock epic, and "Nice, Nice, Very Nice," which utilizes a combination of stately close-harmony vocals and dynamic instrumental breaks to put forth a clever lyric derived from a Kurt Vonnegut novel. The complexity of the music is further highlighted by its crystal-clear sonic landscape, mixed by Alan Parsons, which highlights unique touches like the use of a Russian balalaika ensemble and 300-year-old Javanese gongs on "Time Waits for No One." Despite this prog rock ambitiousness, the group is smart enough to avoid letting their instrumental chops take precedence over their music's melodic content: They keep their songs succinct and punchy.
	Somewhere I've Never Traveled 1976 2 - I Wanna Know After achieving moderate success with their self-titled debut, Ambrosia decided to up the ante by going for a bigger, more symphonic sound on this follow-up outing. To achieve this goal, they enlisted Alan Parsons, who mixed their first album, to produce and Andrew Powell (arranger for the Alan Parsons Project) to do full-blown orchestral arrangements on a number of the tracks. The resulting album lacks the careful fusion of pop and prog elements that characterized Ambrosia, with songs tending to fall into either progressive or soft rock categories. Just the same, it is a strong album with a number of sonically arresting moments.
	Life Beyond L.A. 1977 3 - Not As You Were It marked a move away from their lush arrangements and introduced a more raw, aggressive jazz/r&b influence. Christopher North, who had family obligations and was not totally happy with the group's shift away from the sound of the first two albums, left the group in 1977 during the album's recording. The year 1978 marked their biggest pop breakthrough with their first Gold single "How Much I Feel" from the album, which was a No. 3 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Warner Bros advertised the title cut for radio and Life Beyond L.A. started to get significant airplay on radio stations a few months after the album's release. Extensive touring with Fleetwood Mac, Heart, and the Doobie Brothers, in addition to major headlining shows, cemented Ambrosia's reputation as a live act.
	One Eighty 1980 4 - Livin' On My Own The prog rock style that characterized the group's early work is almost completely gone: The only real progressive cut is "Kamikaze," which attempts to create a stylized blend of prog rock and traditional Japanese music but comes off as stilted and awkward. The rest of the album's songs are either pop/rock tunes or ballads. Rockers like "Ready" go for an ambitious blend of radio-friendly rock and new wave elements, but sound too forced to be convincing. The ballads are the album's redeeming feature. They are all lovingly crafted and boast strong, often complex melodies that keep them from getting too sappy or sentimental: "You're the Only Woman" is a keyboard-rich song that highlights Christopher North's soulful Hammond organ playing, and "Livin' on My Own" layers harmonies reminiscent of the Doobie Brothers over a jazzy tune driven by an intricate bassline. The album's finale, "Biggest Part of Me," is the best of these ballads. It combines rich Beach Boys-styled harmonies with a heartfelt lyric to create a rich slice of blue-eyed soul that gave the group a number two hit single. These classy ballads make One Eighty worth a listen for devoted Ambrosia fans.
	Road Island 1982 5 - How Can You Love Me On their final album, Ambrosia forsakes the airbrushed AOR sounds that defined Life Beyond L.A. and One Eighty in favor of a strong, rock-oriented sound. They are aided in this aim by a gutsy production from James Guthrie (a producer better known for his work with groups like Judas Priest and Pink Floyd) that takes the group to a new level of sonic firepower. Songs like "For Openers" and "Still Not Satisfied" reverberate with a newfound sense of rock & roll muscle: The drums kick, the basslines throb, and the guitars and Hammond organ wail with abandon. Even Ambrosia's trademark ballads benefit from their newly beefed-up sound: "Feelin' Alive Again" features the airy harmonies and delicate keyboard shadings expected from this style of song, but it also gains an added sense of dramatic weight from Burleigh Drummond's thick drumming and piercing, emotional guitar solos from David Pack. The group also revives their early progressive sound on "Ice Age," an impressive epic tune built on a militaristic drum pattern, heavy power chords, and Pink Floyd-styled sound effects. The end result is an album that harkens back to the blend of slick musicianship and prog rock imagination that characterized Ambrosia's early work.

[Niels (Mod)]

I don't think, I've ever heard of this band. I can't remember it.

Well, the term "Scott-rock" is getting a bit old, so nevermind that. Still...!! AOR is not exactly a four-letter word, but for me it is.

DOW - Reminds me a bit of YES, but when the woman sings at the end, Floyd comes to mind. At first, I didn't really care for the song, but listening to all of it, it ain't half-bad at all.

IWK - A Marilion-start of some kind. But I like the start. I must be in a mellow kind of mood today. As the first song, it's a bit too slow, and if the rest of the songs are this slow, I will be very bored, I'm afraid. But for now, I like, what I'm hearing. Not love, but like. I guess, it's the prog, I like.

NAYW - A bit more straightforwarded pop/rock, but again, not really bad. Still getting a YES-vibe. I don't know why, but I'm also thinking of american bands from around 1984, like King Cobra, Night Ranger and Keel. I liked that back then, and this is probably my favorite so far.

LOMO - Oh, that start sounds way too funky for me!! This is DEFINITELY "Scott-rock"!!!! Me don't like!!!!

HCYLM - I like the speed of the song. Much better than LOMO!! Now I'm thinking STYX, but not entirely. Also European Song Contest, which is VERY, very bad to think of. A nice little pop-tune, but nothing special.

1. NAYW

2. IWK

3. DOW

4. HCYLM

117. LOMO

Interesting post, Scott.

[Scott]

Must say I'm a bit surprised this went over as well as it did for you. You would've hated their top40 tunes since they are all ballads, but here they still play pretty well.

[Jon]

Kind of funny if you do buy their greatest hits disc just so you could have the hits and what you get is the hits but you definitely won't be expecting what else is on the disc. The band name really doesn't help, "Ambrosia" sounds like a soft rock group.

If you get the studio albums, the first two covers look like prog albums (especially the first one), the third one kind of does, but not as much as the first one, the fourth one looks like a soft rock album cover and the last one looks like.....well, it's hard to explain.

Anyway, I have albums 1,2 & 5 and they're all quite good. Don't know why I haven't picked up 3 & 4 though.

Anyway 2, this is some really cool music. You should do a post of the hits just to have a comparison between the two.

Nice job even though I have listened to Ambrosia recently and it WAS duly notated. Can't win 'em all. 

[Scott]

I missed the recent listening post. I will correct my erroneous ways and get better!

I'd hoped this would go over well and it is surpassing my expectations.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Before I start, let me just say I had no idea that this band was anything other than soft rock...

1. Drink of Water - Wow, that is some nice, bluesy guitar.  Nice keys too.  It definitely sounds like prog.  I'm serious, I did not know this was a prog band.

2. I Wanna Know - At first it reminds me of the soft rock stuff that I thought they were known for.  But then it sounds like even more prog.  And the first two songs are pretty long as well.

3. Not As You Were - Didn't like this one at first.  The keyboards sound a bit fruity on it, but it may just be a grower.

4. Livin' On My Own - This one definitely has the soft rock style that I was expecting.  Is Michael Mc'Donald on this?  I don't think he is, but it sounds slightly similar to him.  As a matter of fact, his voice would fit perfectly here for the backing vocals.  

5. How Can You Leave Me - This has a very nice guitar sound on the intro.  Does this band have multiple vocalists or is it the same vocalist on all tunes?  This is the most melodic tune represented here, and when you add the killer guitar, it becomes the best track here for me.

Nice job.  All I have from this band is a greatest hits disc.  Might have to dig a bit.

[RJhog (Admin)]

I will add that I'm a big fan of the hits.