ROAD ISLAND

• Nice, Nice, Very Nice Ambrosia, 1975

Ambrosia released a quite successful album in terms of sales prior to this one. But successful doesn't mean full of quality. And it was definitively the case of "One Eighty" which was just a poor collection of AOR songs.

This one (and their last one) is not as weak though. But don't expect too much prog extravaganza of course. A good opener ("For openers - Welcome Home"), which is nicely rocking and features some fine guitar breaks and powerful organ, is the best that you can get out of this "Road Island".

Here and there, one can hear some nice instrumental parts (mainly guitar) but the songwriting is average ("Still Not Satisfied"). The band also felt necessary to record some syrupy and useless track like "Feelin' Alive Again" which is only a dreadful rock ballad that can easily be avoided. Should I recommend the press next button? Yes, I guess?Well, to be honest, the guitar break that sits in the second part is quite good.

This album is not as bad as their previous ones but I didn't rate any of their albums with more than two stars. The same applies here because it holds too many weak tracks ("How Can You Love Me" and the long and basic rock "Ice Age") to deserve the three stars rating.

Send comments to ZowieZiggy (BETA) | Report this review (#307284) | Review Permalink
Posted Friday, October 29, 2010

Hats off to ambrosia for this one!! After two great albums which showed their progressive leaning fused with memorable melodies, the band went for a much simpler and sticky kind of songs in their next two albums, which you should avoid with all costs. despite their great success and good sales ... (read more)

Report this review (#635194) | Posted by sagichim | Friday, February 17, 2012 | Review Permanlink

On Ambrosia's last album, "Road Island", they seemed to be trying to get back to some progressive elements and they actually made some respectable songs here. However, after the commercial success of "One Eighty", music enthusiasts were not taking them seriously and the music on this album wa ... (read more)

Report this review (#265976) | Posted by TCat | Saturday, February 13, 2010 | Review Permanlink

Good album by Ambrosia as they return to their Prog and Rock roots. The song Ice Age is a Prog Rock gem only Ambrosia could have recorded a song that begins with a Saber tooth tiger grawl and ends with a Glacier crash Brilliant song! Engineered and Produced by James Guthrie who engineered and cop ... (read more)

Report this review (#166770) | Posted by philhepple | Monday, April 14, 2008 | Review Permanlink

After their first two albums, Ambrosia seemed to shift gear and move towards soft R&B and pop fluff. Life Beyond LA, apart from its singles, seemed morose and bland. One Eighty was a bit more energetic but still lightweight and starting to get silly. Buying this CD, I was expecting to hear mor ... (read more)

Report this review (#59352) | Posted by | Tuesday, December 06, 2005 | Review Permanlink

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