Ambrosia - Life Beyond L.A. (CD)

Ambrosia's Finest Album

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Dec 14, 2001

I love every record Ambrosia has ever made. And it's difficult to really say which one is their best because each one is unique. Yet they all have that identifiable Ambrosia sound. Those fans who prefered the more arvant-guard type of sound of the fi...rst 2 albums may have been slightly dissapointed in their 3rd: "Life Beyond LA". "Life.." is slightly more mainstream which is not necessarily a bad thing. This album needs to be rated for it's own merits. The title song has a complex, alternating time-signature riff which is probably the most intricate and compelling riffs ever conceived by a jazz-fusion-rock band. Here for the first time is where the band's lyrics get more in depth and personal than some of the lyrics on previous records. Here we get to see the price Joe, David and Burleigh are paying from being in the music business trenches. The unfortunate departure of Christopher North showed that North gave the group it's 'classical' sound on Ambrosia's previous albums. North's musical influence would be noticeably missing on all future Ambrosia records including "Life Beyond LA". The 3 remaining members should be applauded for coming back with such a strong disc. If you love the marriage between jazz's sophistication and rock's rhythms and youthful passion, then "Life Beyond LA" will do it for you. I'm always impressed by an album when it's Top-40 hit is not the best song on the album. Although "How Much I Feel" is a worthy Top-40 hit, I never thought of Ambrosia as being a Top-40 band. I'm not surprized that it's the last song on side A. Certainly a most unusual position for the record's biggest radio hit. But not unusual for a group with such diverse songwriting strengths as Ambrosia. I've played this album a million times. I've learned how to play every song on the guitar. This is truly what I think a great album should be. Read more Less