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AMBROSIA

Prog Related • United States


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Ambrosia biography

Founded in LA, California, USA in 1970 - Hiatus between 1982-1989 - Still active as of 2018

Ambrosia formed in 1970, in the South Bay/San Pedro area of Southern California. The musicians were inspired by the progressive rock era, and developed a large regional following for their inventive musicianship and skillful arranging. Ambrosia came to national prominence in 1975 with the release of their self-titled debut album on 20th Century Fox Records. Ambrosia was produced and engineered by the legendary Alan Parsons, and featured the top ten hit "Holdin' on to Yesterday", as well as the FM classic "Nice Nice, Very Nice". After lengthy touring, the band returned in 1976 with "Somewhere I've Never Traveled," also produced and engineered by Parsons. The Album yielded the title song, which quickly became an FM favorite. Both Ambrosia and "Somewhere I've Never Traveled" received Grammy nominations, and set the stage for the band's signing to Warner Bros. Records. During that time, the group also scored a top 40 hit with a cover of the Beatles classic "Magical Mystery Tour", from the motion picture "All This and WWII." In 1978, Warner Bros. released Life beyond L.A., which simultaneously scored their first gold CHR hit' "How Much I Feel", as well as the #1 rock track "Life Beyond L.A." Extensive touring with Fleetwood Mac and the Doobie Brothers, in addition to major headlining shows, cemented Ambrosia's reputation as a stellar live act. In 1980, Warner Bros. released "One Eighty," a smash LP that produced two of the year's biggest hits, "You're the Only Woman" and "Biggest Part of Me." Though a headlining world tour and three Grammy nominations followed, one of the biggest honors bestowed upon them was Quincy Jones' declaration that "Biggest Part of Me" was one of his all time favorite songs. Ambrosia released their fifth and final album, "Road Island," in 1982.

The Year 2000 marks the 30th anniversary of Ambrosia, and the band has celebrated with a very busy touring schedule that has reaped box office success, while proving to the world that Ambrosia will be a driving force in the new millennium.

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AMBROSIA discography


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AMBROSIA top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.91 | 162 ratings
Ambrosia
1975
3.19 | 82 ratings
Somewhere I've Never Travelled
1976
2.76 | 50 ratings
Life Beyond L.A.
1978
2.16 | 49 ratings
One Eighty
1980
3.44 | 57 ratings
Road Island
1982

AMBROSIA Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

2.08 | 8 ratings
Live at the Galaxy
2002
3.50 | 2 ratings
Standing Room Only
2007
0.00 | 0 ratings
The Biggest Part of Me - Greatest Hits Live
2010
5.00 | 1 ratings
Live... 5th Floor Cincinnati
2017

AMBROSIA Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

AMBROSIA Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.00 | 9 ratings
Anthology
1997
2.33 | 3 ratings
The Essentials
2002
4.50 | 2 ratings
How Much I Feel and Other Hits
2003
4.00 | 3 ratings
Ambrosia / Somewhere I've Never Travelled
2012

AMBROSIA Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

4.00 | 4 ratings
Holdin' On To Yesterday
1975
4.00 | 2 ratings
Nice, Nice, Very Nice
1976
4.00 | 2 ratings
Can't Let a Woman
1976
4.50 | 2 ratings
Magical Mystery Tour
1977
0.00 | 0 ratings
Rhino Hi-Five: Ambrosia
2006

AMBROSIA Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Somewhere I've Never Travelled by AMBROSIA album cover Studio Album, 1976
3.19 | 82 ratings

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Somewhere I've Never Travelled
Ambrosia Prog Related

Review by Lupton

5 stars Symphonic Pop anyone? Ambrosia's follow up to their progtastic debut is a very different sounding album in many respects.In some ways it is even slicker and poppier but at the same time it is more symphonic with Alan Parson's Project's Andrew Powell providing some excellent orchestral arrangements. And of course with Alan Parson's himself in the producer's chair this time the sound is as rich and as immaculate as you would expect.The opening two tracks "And....Somewhere I've Never Travelled" are very catchy pop songs played and sung with particularly gorgeous harmony vocals and lead directly into "Cowboy Star" the first of the symphonic tracks.The main song is fairly basic pop song but the instrumental section is a full blown orchestral extravaganza very reminiscent of Copland.If like me you are a Copland fan you will probably like this track- a lot.Side one is completed by a couple of pleasant pop songs.I am one of the few (I think) Prog fans who like big bombastic tracks broken up with simpler songs and actually make an album feel more balanced. Genesis were masters of that as evidenced on "Wind and Wuthering".

Side two is in some ways even more ambitious. The opening track "I Wanna Know"has a great emi-improvised slowburn build up before the song proper kicks in and a great big fat bombastic prog-rocker it is too."The Brunt" which follows is another very quirky number about dealing with traffic and likening it to a .The main instrumental section is head spinningly complex almost Zappaesque ending up as a bizarre soundscape full of jungle noises and chants mixed with the sound with the sound of elephants trumpeting in the background.The musical pastiche."Danse With Me George" presumably referring to Chopin's relationship with George Sands is even more ambitious at just over seven minutes and close in spirit to what 10CC were doing on the "Original Soundtrack" but frankly more innovative and enjoyable. The album is rounded off with a punchy power-pop rocker "Can't Let a Woman"jwhich perfectly shows up their dynamic style and a wistful ballad "We Need You Too"although even that last track has some dramatic moments. I must admit when I first heard this album many moon ago I found it almost too dense to fully appreciate but with repeated listenings the shear richness of this recording really does reveal itself.Clearly it is not for everyone but as a pop-prog cross-over this album is hard to beat.

Another Classic- 5 stars

 Ambrosia by AMBROSIA album cover Studio Album, 1975
3.91 | 162 ratings

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Review by Lupton

5 stars "Nice Nice Very Nice"

Poor old Ambrosia are still remembered primarily for their string of hits in the early eighties like "How Much I Feel" and "Biggest Part Of Me" all very pleasant love ballads but hardly Prog right? In fact there is a lot more to them than those singles. Their eponymous debut is an absolute stunner. Style-wise it could be described as a very proggy form of West Coat Rock incorporating elements of ELP,Bernstein and Blue Eyed Soul along the way.The opening track "Nice Nice Very Nice" seems to leap out of the speakers with its bombastic thudding contrapuntal base and swirling hammond organ and an extremely catchy chorus. The next track "Time Waits For No- one" is even more striking with its latin infused rhythms and one of the most inventive instrumental sections clearly inspired by Bernstein circa "West Side Story" Just superb.In fact it is interesting how similar to ELP the band sound on this track no doubt due to both bands being so heavily inspired by people like Copland and Bernstein."Holding On To Yesterday" is certainly not Prog even in the loosest sense but nevertheless is a gorgeous soulful ballad and probably an indicator of the more mainstream music they produced later on."Make Us All Aware" which opens side two is another brilliant and very proggy song with its celtic style instrumental section.Probably the most astonishing track is "Mama Frog" - a full on slice of Jazz Fusion even incorporating a couple of spoken verses from "The Jabberwocky". On top of the sheer sophistication of the playing, the actual production is first rate probably helped by Alan Parsons engineering input.Ambrosia would never produce anything quite as progressive as this album but I am probably one of the few Prog Archive reviewers who like all of their albums almost as much as their debut. Everything they did was pretty slick and classy to these ears anyway.As for the debut though I cannot recommend it enough.An absolute blasty of an album

5stars

 Ambrosia by AMBROSIA album cover Studio Album, 1975
3.91 | 162 ratings

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Review by Zoltanxvamos

5 stars Alan Parsons has been involved with this band since his first solo record "Tales Of Mystery and Imagination". The colour and style of this album is different than "Life Beyond L.A" because of the lack of hit tracks. The only hit track of this album is the one that got them on the map, titled "Nice, Nice, Very Nice", a soft rock piece and a very well written and well structure piece on the album. However with Alan Parsons engineering, do you think that's the best this album can get? If you do, then you'll be mistaken, the amount of creativity and Alan Parsons magic found on this gem is staggering. Songs like "Time Waits For Noone", "Holding Onto Yesterday", "Make Us All Aware", and "Mama Frog" are the key hard hitters on this wonderful album. The singing from David Pack and Joe Puerta is just tonally beautiful, Joe's bass playing on the album is very technical and well written, Christopher North is masterful behind the keys, and Burleigh Drummond is a very good drummer who con clearly play all the odd times on Mama Frog. The orchestration on the album is unbelievable, the narration on Mama Frog and the bass undertones send chills up your spine. Just for Mama Frog alone, this album deserves a 4 Star review, but there are a lot of great pieces on this album. "World Leave Me Alone", "Lover Arrive" and "Drink Of Water" are nice soft songs with great hooks, good playing, and of course unbelievable vocals.

My conclusion is, this is a fairly underrated album, the vocals are gorgeous, the keyboards are strong and well played, and the songwriting is top notch. What's not to like about this album? Whatever anyone sees, I can't see it, this album is beyond amazing.

 Ambrosia by AMBROSIA album cover Studio Album, 1975
3.91 | 162 ratings

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Review by sgtpepper

3 stars The debut album by Ambrosia is the most progressive one but still does not quality beyond an average prog-related material despite scoring high in a pop-rock territory.

Excellent vocal harmonies, catchy songs and various instruments used belong to the definitive highlights. Neither compositions nor instrumetanl performances amaze with complexity but the musicians are competent enough to find themselves somewhere between Eagles/Kansas. The keyboardists and the drummer seem to be the most proficient players here.

"Mama frog" bears echoes of Yes and Canterbury, it is one of the most progressive tracks on this album.

Solemn moments with church organ and angel harmonies are present in the beginning and end of the last track as well as in a more rocking fashion on track, too.

Though a higly professional, well arranged (by Alan Parson) and thought-out record, it can't get more than 3.5 stars for it is not special progressive effort.

 Ambrosia by AMBROSIA album cover Studio Album, 1975
3.91 | 162 ratings

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Review by Kingsnake

3 stars Okay, this is prog. It's a special kind of album, because I've read the other albums of the band are more disco-pop, which can be a good thing aswell.

But for a progressive rock-website, a prog-album is what we want. And a prog-album it is. The album starts of with some easy listening pop-rock songs, but when the listener reaches the final part of the album, there are some treats.

The musicianship on the entire album is outstanding and the production (Alan Parsons) is top! The vocals are like any 70's record; really good and harmonious.

The band is a kind of mix between Alan Parsons Project, Eagles, 10CC and Steely Dan but more progressive. The best tracks are Mama Frog and Drink of Water.

 Ambrosia by AMBROSIA album cover Studio Album, 1975
3.91 | 162 ratings

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Review by BrufordFreak
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars I got this album when it first came out cuz "Holdin' on to Yesterday" and "Nice, Nice, Very Nice" got a lot of airplay on our local progressive-minded AM radio station. The album has always intrigued me with its complex and diverse song compositions--some quite proggy, others quite poppy. I always thought its high points, its proggiest points, were a bit like quirky and condensed versions of YES. The songs throughout the album are all of excellent musicianship and compositional quality--in places they may be perhaps even a bit too tricky for their own good--and too YES-like, in others a bit too imitative of some of the pop masters of the late 60s and early 70s.

Five star songs: "Time Waits for No One," Holdin' on to Yesterday," the jazzy, GENTLE GIANT-like "Mama Frog," the medieval folk/THE ASSOCIATION-llike "Make Us All Aware," and the beautiful and emotional CARPENTERS/SIMON AND GARFUNKLE-like "Lover Arrive"

Song on the Breech: "Nice, Nice, Very Nice"

Songs that bring the album down a bit: The Beatles/pre-XTC-like "World Leave Me Alone"; the plodding STYX/PROCUL HARUM/URIAH HEEP-like "Drink of Water"

Still, a four star effort that, in my opinion, contributed something positive to the progressive rock world.

 Somewhere I've Never Travelled by AMBROSIA album cover Studio Album, 1976
3.19 | 82 ratings

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Review by Progfan97402
Prog Reviewer

4 stars I've had this album for few years, it was the 1978 Warner reissue, then I upgraded to the original on 20th Century with the pyramid gimmick. It seems my attitude towards this album has changed. I had no trouble warming up to their debut. Any fan of crossover prog will enjoy that, but for the longest time on their followup, I felt they overdid themselves, but then I started noticing how the music started to click in. "Cowboy Star" is a rather enjoyable song with elaborate arrangements and strings from Andrew Powell (who also did strings for the Alan Parsons Project, which comes as no surprise as Alan Parsons did engineer this album). "Runnin' Away" is a soft rock ballad, the kind the band did in an attempt to score a hit. ""Harvey" is a nice rock piece, but I think the biggest problem I have with this album is "Danse With Me George". I still find it a bit gimmicky, with all the Chopin quotes, lounge influences, and even flirtation with Latin music really through me off. Now I just get a kick off how utterly ridiculous this song is. For years I was wondering why the song title was spelled "Danse" instead of "Dance", and who was this George they were referring to? Turns out they were referring to George Sand, an author, a lady posing as a man (apparently women in 19th Century France couldn't be authors, so she had to go under an assumed name) who had an affair with Chopin, and the lyrics were on this romance, from the point of view of Chopin. So hence the French spelling of "Danse". "Can't Let a Woman" and "We Need You Too" are rather appropriate closers after hearing the ridiculous "Danse With Me George". Of course most people might only think of Ambrosia as marginally prog, given the hits they scored on easy listening stations, but I still can't see how fans of crossover prog would not enjoy their first two albums. The second one really needed a lot more patience to stick, and I'm glad to finally give it a second go and liking it much more. Their following albums are not prog, apparently. Life Beyond L.A. featured their major hit "How Much I Feel", but obviously that's no surprise they'd head that way, even their first two albums had straightforward songs in pop/rock fashion for hopes of radio airplay. Glad to finally say I finally enjoy their second album, but start with their debut first.
 Somewhere I've Never Travelled by AMBROSIA album cover Studio Album, 1976
3.19 | 82 ratings

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Review by Suedevanshoe

3 stars I like this album. Harmonies are definitely the bands strong suit, but this album shows them pushing their sound as far as they can before the pull in the reins on Warner Bros. This album does sound like a typical Alan Parsons Project (get it) - his sonic fingerprints are all over this album. The hooks are strong, and the melodies are catchy. While not essential, "Somewhere I've Never Travelled" is a good album overall, a mediocre progressive record at best. I happen to like Ambrosia's niche in the "Southern California" pop scene (the Eagles, Jackson Browne, Fleetwood Mac) and for their sound, I think it's mostly a winner.
 Somewhere I've Never Travelled by AMBROSIA album cover Studio Album, 1976
3.19 | 82 ratings

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Review by maryes

2 stars The secound studio album from AMBROSIA was to me a great deception in all of senses, first by the addition of some orchestral moments that daze the band by the fact which this orchestral arrangements is several moments becomes the main melody ( im my opinion they must be the complement or simple accompaniment), as for instance in the track 1 ' "Somewhere I've Never Travelled" 7 "The Brunt" and track 8 "Danse With Me George (Chopin's Plea) and ....The rest of the disk is very poor in really progressive moments and only track 9 "Can't Let a Woman " escape . But the album is a "suffering", mainly in comparison with the first album. My rate is 2 stars !!!
 Ambrosia by AMBROSIA album cover Studio Album, 1975
3.91 | 162 ratings

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Review by Warthur
Prog Reviewer

3 stars Here's an odd one - Ambrosia's debut album leads off with the occasionally grating Nice Nice Very Nice (which features vocals which are either a half-hearted and somewhat racist attempt at an Indian accent or just whimsical and weird for the sake of it) and is littered with more commercial moments here and there, but when you get into the meat of it the band actually excel at vivid prog-psych instrumental workouts - it's just a shame they don't make as much space for those on the album as they could have done. It's decent enough pop-prog which doesn't quite hit the tier of the likes of, say, Supertramp or the Alan Parsons Project, but you can see how Ambrosia might have made it to that tier had they stuck with this approach and polished it a bit. Three stars, maybe three and a half if you don't mind cheesy vocals and unexpected outbursts of dirty funk or blues.
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