A little fun today. Today a friend and fellow writer and I are both doing a album review, but we are guesting on each other's blog. So filling up the space here is Jim Wood from gojimmygo.net Read his take of the CD then jump over to his site to read mine.
Go Jimmy Go!
I have to give a big thank you to Kat for allowing me to guest post on herblog today.
Ironically, it was through a mutual admiration of Jimi Jamison and Survivorthat brought us together. So for our first cross-post to be about Jimi’s newalbum, “Never Too Late” is pretty cool.
Kat and I both have had the pleasure of meeting Jimi on several occasionsthis past year. But once we discovered he was releasing a new CD, our eyes litup like saucers.
As most writers do, (and admittedly with a bit of bias towards the subjectmatter) we both set forth to write a review of the new album. But once werealized just how amazing this new music was, we thought it might be evencooler to “guest post” our reviews on each other’s blog. So, without anyfurther ado, here is my review on Jimi Jamison’s ‘Never Too Late’: the absoluteBEST melodic rock album of 2012.
As most of you know, I’m a tried and true music fan of the 80′s. For me,growing up during the age of the Members Only jacket was a great time to bealive (at least as far as music is concerned).
Whenever my favorite bands would put out anew album, it was an event. I remember rushing home from the mall with my newfound treasure and making my way to my upstairs bedroom, where an emptyturntable eagerly awaited. For the next hour or so, it didn’t matter if theworld was ending; the music was all that mattered.
A great album from the 1980′s would typically have at least three hits onit. Songs that would be regularly played on the radio. The remaining trackswere usually just as good, but although these gems would never find a place onthe FM dial, they’d still become fan favorites.
Over the years, the “event” of buying and enjoying an entire album went theway of the dinosaur. Today, you’re lucky if there are even two songs from analbum that are worthy of repeated listenings. But just when I thought I’d belost in the wilderness of musical despair, along comes “Never Too Late” by JimiJamison.
Fresh off the heels of ‘Crossroads Moment’ and his duets album with BobbyKimball, Jamison again proves why he’s one of the greatest voices in rock. Injoining forces with writer/producer Erik Martensson, he’s given us a melodicrock treasure chest. One that’s filled with enough musical booty to fill thesoul and immerse our senses in tasty hooks and melodies and reunite us onceagain with the voice that defined a generation.
It’s worth noting that all eleven tracks on ‘Never Too Late’ are worthy ofa place in any music collection. From the opening piano intro on the track‘Everybody’s Got A Broken Heart’, the entire album is a cacophony ofsonic euphoria.
The standout for me though is the title track. With its multiple hooks andinspirational message, it’s reminiscent of many classic Survivor songs aboutkeeping faith and finding love. A song that will certainly endure the test oftime, and one that would surely blow up any arena wherever it’s performed.
On ‘The Air That I Breathe’,Jamison pours out his heart and soul about finding a complete love; evencomparing his personal defenses and walls with sand. Brilliant. In ‘Heaven Call Your Name’, Jamison asksthe question, Why? An emotionally haunting ballad that could easily be sungwithout music and still deliver the same impact.
‘Walk On (Wildest Dreams)’ closesout the album with the same power and intensity that began it all, and makesone lament why such a great collection of songs has to end. Fortunately though,21st century digital technology makes it easy to simply press repeat ratherthan flipping over a piece of vinyl to Side A. I guess progress is a goodthing.
In an age where talent shows give record deals out freely and careers aredictated by how many auto-tuned singles you can release at any given time, it’srare to find an entire album that can be this darn good. ‘Never Too Late’indeed.
For the next fifty minutes, I’d like you to conduct an experiment. Hop inyour mini-van (or whatever it is we middle aged connoisseurs of real music ownthese days) and drive somewhere with ‘Never Too Late’ as your soundtrack;preferably through the back winding roads of your own hometown on a beautiful,crisp day. Make sure you play the album from start to finish, and don’t justlisten to it; immerse yourself in it.
Do you hear it? Can you feel it?
It’s real music, and what could possibly be better than that?
Track Listing:
01. Everybody’s Got ABroken Heart
02. The Great Unknown
03. Never Too Late
04. I Can’t Turn Back
05. Street Survivor
06. The Air I Breathe
07. Not Tonight
Thanks for stopping by Jim. Next stop...
gojimmygo.net
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