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Anteater · 01-25-2016, 10:14 PM

05. Ambrosia - Life Beyond L.A. (1978)

On their first two albums, Ambrosia had already established themselves as the Los Angelian answer to commercial art rock bands such as Styx or Supertramp. They had the high level musicianship of Steely Dan but hooks and vocal harmonies on par with the Eagles or Fleetwood Mac. Couple those traits with god tier producer Alan Parsons and you had the blueprint of something special.

By the time recording for album number three rolled around however, the label was pressing for a hot single and Parsons had begun to embroil himself in his newfound partnership with Eric Woolfson for his Project, leaving Ambrosia to chart their course alone. To make matters worse, founding keyboardist Christopher North left the group right after recording sessions began, forcing the group to begin to widen their circle and bring in more session players (including, funnily enough, Steely Dan backing vocalist Royce Jones).

The ultimate result of these changes ended up being the band's most AOR album up until this point. The arrangements were leaner, the harmonies more straightforward, and the instrumental soling was pared back in favor of something slicker. They could still play circles around pretty much anyone that wasn't the 'Dan or Toto, but even the darkly cynical opening title track has a certain commerciality about it despite a very proggy keyboard line running through its core like an underground river. And speaking of harmonies, when bassist Joe Peurta opens up after the title track into the very Freddie Mercury-ish 'Art beware / Its all been done / There's nothing new under the sun', you see that the band has gotten even more clever than before at implementing progressive, even jazzy ideas into their burgeoning radio Westcoast-AOR rock formula. Not a common trait even among their peers!

The album's biggest hit, and arguably the first of their major "yacht rock" hits, comes in the form of ballad 'How Much I Feel', and it's certainly a highlight. Could have been on Steely Dan's Aja or The Royal Scam with a few tweaks. David Pack wasn't considered one of the best singers in that part of the world for nothin' after all, and he brings a lot of power when it counts. A rockier soul-inflected AOR sound returns on the calypso tingled 'Dancin' By Myself' whilst 'Not As You Were' is a keyboard-laden stomper that wouldn't have been out of place on Boston's self titled. Things close out beautifully with the spacey blues of 'Ready For Camarillo', and the last thing you hear is the sound of thunder and lightning as a storm cloud rolls over the final notes into silence.

All in all, this is an absolutely fantastic record with a lot to offer beyond AOR fans. Ambrosia are always unfairly lumped as some kind of soft rock ballad group, but that's only one small facet of what they brought to the table in both songwriting and performance. Their sound is a myriad of multiple genre touchstones (jazz, West-coast rock, progressive rock, blues, soul/funk) and yet they synthesize it into a weirdly compelling whole. This album marked a midway point in their career where their experimental and commercial aspirations were in perfect balance, and I can't recommend it enough.