Ambrosia (1975)

While best known for ballads like How Much I Feel, Biggest Part of Me, and You're the Only Woman Ambrosia's earlier material showed a much more multi-faceted sound fusing symphonic art rock with lush multi-layered pop music for a sound entirely unique to them.

With their 1975 debut, Holdin On To Yesterday caught the attention of the listening public-- and many of those who opted to purchase the album upon hearing that hit went on to say that as excellent as that track was it was actually the weakest on the album. While the rest of the tracks aren't necessarily as "accessible" this was one of those rare albums that lacks "filler" material-- you know those weak tracks all too common tossed in just to fill up space on the record (or today on the CD player). Whether it was Alan Parsons exceptional production or the musicianship of David Pack, Joe Puerta, Christopher North, and Burleigh Drummond-- someone made sure that all of the material that was inevitably recorded for this album was of superlative quality.

The symphonic nature of their music acts as a lush palette on which their voices can make their most artistic of paintings. Whether it's the tip of the hat to Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle on Nice, Nice, Very Nice, the melancholic Time Waits For No One, the pleading rocker World Leave Me Alone, or even their hit Holdin' On To Yesterday there's a musical seamlessness that touches on the alienation they would later and more fully explore on 1978's Life Beyond L. A. album.

Pack whose voice is the most prominent on most of the tracks is imminently pleasant and thoroughly listenable. His tone soft and soothing beautifully complements the music which graces this exceptional debut. Puerta's coarser and sometimes almost menacing vocals are generally reserved for the uptempo and often cynical tracks. However both Puerta and Pack show their versatility in their ability to switch roles from time to time with Puerta handling some of the more soothing and melodic pieces and Pack taking a turn on the more uptempo works-- adding a hint of grit to his vocals to give them that extra conviction which made those songs that much more believable to the listener.

In short this album is the first of Ambrosia's trifecta. The follow-up, 1976's Somewhere I've Never Travelled is the logical next step in Ambrosia's musical journey followed by 1978's Life Beyond L. A. Their final 2 albums One-Eighty and Road Island are noticeably more pop-oriented and lack the symphonic lustre of their first 3 albums-- while they do have their high points they lack the cohesiveness which made Ambrosia's first three albums consistently interesting and enjoyable.

Ambrosia - Life Beyond LA (1978)

While not as strong as their first two albums, Life Beyond LA still bears many of the prog-rock elements and flourishes that their fans had come to know and expect from them.

At the same time the album is superior to its predescessors in that it is far more successful in its marriage of prog-rock with pop elements. While their first 2 albums were rather firmly rooted in progressive rock there's more of a pop influence on this outing. And despite the absence of producer Alan Parsons who had helmed their first two albums, this album still bears the trademark symphonic lushness that the first two albums also had.

The songs tread upon a common melancholy ambience. It strikes down the positive illusions of life in LA and focuses more heavily on the negative sides of the city of angels. There are strong jazz influences throughout the entire album, but nowhere are they more evident than on Apothecary, essentially a love song from a junkie to his "apothecary," which has some beautiful jazz guitar flourishes by David Pack.

One of the strongest tracks and a bit of a commercial breakthrough for them, How Much I Feel, features the stellar vocals of the multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist, David Pack. While it is a love song to "the one that got away" that might come across as trite if sung by a lesser musician, Pack manages to insert enough passion into his vocal delivery to give the song conviction, not to mention a bit of soul. Unfortunately, the success of this song was a double-edged sword leading the band to all but abandon their prog-rock roots for a more pop-friendly sound.

This album is a portrait of a band in transition, chasing a new musical direction-- at its best it's an excellent symbiosis of prog-rock and pop, at its worst it's a significant departure from the direction Ambrosia travelled on their first 2 albums.

Ambrosia - Somewhere I've Never Travelled (1976)

My discovery of this classic was spurred when I got Ambrosia's prom/wedding staple How Much I Feel stuck in my head. Something about David Pack's vocals had made me hungry for more. So I checked out the the All Music Guide and Amazon.com both of which recommended Somewhere I've Never Travelled as one of Ambrosia's best. It seemed as good a place as any to begin my musical journey. Little did I realize the musical treat my ears were in for. If more of the soft rock of the late seventies and early eighties had shown this level of creativity and experimentation it might have better withstood the tests of time.

Considering I'm already a bit a fan of Alan Parsons it truly was quite a mystery as to why I hadn't yet discovered this Parsons produced album. It has the lush orchestral flourishes Parsons own Project material is known for.

The vocal harmonies of David Pack, Burleigh Drummond, Christopher North, and Joe Puerta are tight and reminiscent of the harmonies of Little River Band and Player. And while none of the tracks on this album are as memorable as their classics Holdin' On To Yesterday or How Much I Feel, the album remains consistently interesting.

One of the standout tracks, I Wanna Know features a Chicago-esque horn chart and some ELO inspired string flourishes. Despite sounding rather dated, it shows the band's breadth of creativity. Another of the exceptional tracks is Dance With Me, George which showcases a bewildering breadth of musical styles from classical to pop to jazz.

So if Ambrosia is a group to which your ears have never travelled or if you're own peripherally familiar with their music, this album marks an excellent starting point to journey into their musical catalogue.