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The Magnificent


zacharyamelie

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Some really strange comments going here, I do agree.

 

Nicholas, Nicholas, Nicholas... my handsome young furry friend. Completely to each their own and I would never wish to badmouth my favourite pirate, but is it fair to say that regardless of the quality of what is currently being released, the AOR / MHR style of music may have done it's dash with you? I notice your new purchases get more and more obscure as time passes - with nothing in common with this type of music, and singling out Hardline and Robbie (The Vomit) Valentine from recent years just suggests to me that, like you readily admit, you are a little out of the loop... but maybe that's just the way your tastes have evolved in time?

 

I have to say, as a handsome young man who does still love this type of music, I want to marry Frontiers for keeping our genres so deliciously alive and well, having had a big hand in making 2010 and 2011 incredible years in music. Arguably the best since 1990-1992. :)

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I've played this through once (and it usually takes me a few listens to get into stuff) but this leaves WW for dead IMHO. Lush.

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I'm not too impressed with this after 1 listen. It started off good with the first 2 tracks but then it's more melodic rock by numbers , like most Frontiers releases these days. Really bad lyrics too.

Gotta completely agree...not for me, I think I'm just out of the AOR loop these days, dunno what it is but it's just not rocking my world...is it the production? just boring ..no grunt, nothing sexy or mind blowing, or BOOM, no dynamics that put you close to the edge before pushing you off ...no wow put the window down I wanna have the world here this! Just chug-a-lug stuff. Maybe bands should start recording analogue again coz I tell ya I find it hard to distinguish one band from another these days. I'd be interested to see if they were a gigging band before this release or just something that's been thrown together by like minded individuals just before they went into the studio...sat in front of a computer...whatever..

For me 9 times out of 10 the Frontiers label sucks. they need some kind of quality control. But it's getting rave reviews everywhere...so obviously I'm wrong.

I may be 49 but I'm not ready for a bath chair yet...now where's that Rods album! :)

 

You're not wrong, Nick, it's just that people tend to go wild over just about anything that is released under the MHR / AOR label these days. Look around at the review sites and you will see the most average of AOR releases getting top scores and rave reviews. Same here on this board.

 

I guess I can understand that people like this album. It's all very well done, nice, listenable, etc etc... but where's the magic? The identity? Something that distinguish it from every other MHR release today and make it stand out from the heap. I don't hear it.

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I'm not too impressed with this after 1 listen. It started off good with the first 2 tracks but then it's more melodic rock by numbers , like most Frontiers releases these days. Really bad lyrics too.

Gotta completely agree...not for me, I think I'm just out of the AOR loop these days, dunno what it is but it's just not rocking my world...is it the production? just boring ..no grunt, nothing sexy or mind blowing, or BOOM, no dynamics that put you close to the edge before pushing you off ...no wow put the window down I wanna have the world here this! Just chug-a-lug stuff. Maybe bands should start recording analogue again coz I tell ya I find it hard to distinguish one band from another these days. I'd be interested to see if they were a gigging band before this release or just something that's been thrown together by like minded individuals just before they went into the studio...sat in front of a computer...whatever..

For me 9 times out of 10 the Frontiers label sucks. they need some kind of quality control. But it's getting rave reviews everywhere...so obviously I'm wrong.

I may be 49 but I'm not ready for a bath chair yet...now where's that Rods album! :)

 

You're not wrong, Nick, it's just that people tend to go wild over just about anything that is released under the MHR / AOR label these days. Look around at the review sites and you will see the most average of AOR releases getting top scores and rave reviews. Same here on this board.

 

I guess I can understand that people like this album. It's all very well done, nice, listenable, etc etc... but where's the magic? The identity? Something that distinguish it from every other MHR release today and make it stand out from the heap. I don't hear it.

 

Again your comments make no sense.....you hear nothing in this release and yet love White Widdow, which is one of the most unoriginal, generic releases of the whole year.

 

& no-one is raving here about every release this year - perhaps you are confusing us with Melodicrock.com where a band literally has to pick up a guitar to earn a 90% score.

 

I have only bestowed that type of score on about 5 or 6 releases all year and I can honestly say they are all well worthy of that score and stack up to any release in the last 20 years.

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I'm not too impressed with this after 1 listen. It started off good with the first 2 tracks but then it's more melodic rock by numbers , like most Frontiers releases these days. Really bad lyrics too.

Gotta completely agree...not for me, I think I'm just out of the AOR loop these days, dunno what it is but it's just not rocking my world...is it the production? just boring ..no grunt, nothing sexy or mind blowing, or BOOM, no dynamics that put you close to the edge before pushing you off ...no wow put the window down I wanna have the world here this! Just chug-a-lug stuff. Maybe bands should start recording analogue again coz I tell ya I find it hard to distinguish one band from another these days. I'd be interested to see if they were a gigging band before this release or just something that's been thrown together by like minded individuals just before they went into the studio...sat in front of a computer...whatever..

For me 9 times out of 10 the Frontiers label sucks. they need some kind of quality control. But it's getting rave reviews everywhere...so obviously I'm wrong.

I may be 49 but I'm not ready for a bath chair yet...now where's that Rods album! :)

 

You're not wrong, Nick, it's just that people tend to go wild over just about anything that is released under the MHR / AOR label these days. Look around at the review sites and you will see the most average of AOR releases getting top scores and rave reviews. Same here on this board.

 

I guess I can understand that people like this album. It's all very well done, nice, listenable, etc etc... but where's the magic? The identity? Something that distinguish it from every other MHR release today and make it stand out from the heap. I don't hear it.

 

Again your comments make no sense.....you hear nothing in this release and yet love White Widdow, which is one of the most unoriginal, generic releases of the whole year.

 

& no-one is raving here about every release this year - perhaps you are confusing us with Melodicrock.com where a band literally has to pick up a guitar to earn a 90% score.

 

I have only bestowed that type of score on about 5 or 6 releases all year and I can honestly say they are all well worthy of that score and stack up to any release in the last 20 years.

 

I'm pretty sure there was a big rating for the Airrace disc too. Seriously - that thing should be alongside the word 'generic' in the dictionary...

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I'm not too impressed with this after 1 listen. It started off good with the first 2 tracks but then it's more melodic rock by numbers , like most Frontiers releases these days. Really bad lyrics too.

Gotta completely agree...not for me, I think I'm just out of the AOR loop these days, dunno what it is but it's just not rocking my world...is it the production? just boring ..no grunt, nothing sexy or mind blowing, or BOOM, no dynamics that put you close to the edge before pushing you off ...no wow put the window down I wanna have the world here this! Just chug-a-lug stuff. Maybe bands should start recording analogue again coz I tell ya I find it hard to distinguish one band from another these days. I'd be interested to see if they were a gigging band before this release or just something that's been thrown together by like minded individuals just before they went into the studio...sat in front of a computer...whatever..

For me 9 times out of 10 the Frontiers label sucks. they need some kind of quality control. But it's getting rave reviews everywhere...so obviously I'm wrong.

I may be 49 but I'm not ready for a bath chair yet...now where's that Rods album! :)

 

You're not wrong, Nick, it's just that people tend to go wild over just about anything that is released under the MHR / AOR label these days. Look around at the review sites and you will see the most average of AOR releases getting top scores and rave reviews. Same here on this board.

 

I guess I can understand that people like this album. It's all very well done, nice, listenable, etc etc... but where's the magic? The identity? Something that distinguish it from every other MHR release today and make it stand out from the heap. I don't hear it.

 

Again your comments make no sense.....you hear nothing in this release and yet love White Widdow, which is one of the most unoriginal, generic releases of the whole year.

 

& no-one is raving here about every release this year - perhaps you are confusing us with Melodicrock.com where a band literally has to pick up a guitar to earn a 90% score.

 

I have only bestowed that type of score on about 5 or 6 releases all year and I can honestly say they are all well worthy of that score and stack up to any release in the last 20 years.

 

I'm with Lennie!!!

 

The production factor alone gives the Magnificent a huge edge. I will admit the White Widdow is easier to digest and is less complicated and busy on the ears....my (top 40 loving wife) enjoys the White Widdow and finds the Magnificent a bit to loud and busy. She said the same about Bother Firtribe and Allen/Lande. The guitar solos on the Magnificent blend beautifully, however on the White Widdow, they don't blend as well but tend to stick out, not like a sore thumb but like a great big pair of lucious tits :tits: , love the killer solos provided by the Neal Schon look alike guy in WW. At the moment The Magnificent is sitting at or near the top of my fav list, with WW sitting between 7 and 9. Both are making 2011 another great year in music....well for me.

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Some really strange comments going here, I do agree.

 

Nicholas, Nicholas, Nicholas... my handsome young furry friend. Completely to each their own and I would never wish to badmouth my favourite pirate, but is it fair to say that regardless of the quality of what is currently being released, the AOR / MHR style of music may have done it's dash with you? I notice your new purchases get more and more obscure as time passes - with nothing in common with this type of music, and singling out Hardline and Robbie (The Vomit) Valentine from recent years just suggests to me that, like you readily admit, you are a little out of the loop... but maybe that's just the way your tastes have evolved in time?

 

I have to say, as a handsome young man who does still love this type of music, I want to marry Frontiers for keeping our genres so deliciously alive and well, having had a big hand in making 2010 and 2011 incredible years in music. Arguably the best since 1990-1992. :)

I agree with you Geoff.

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Some really strange comments going here, I do agree.

 

Nicholas, Nicholas, Nicholas... my handsome young furry friend. Completely to each their own and I would never wish to badmouth my favourite pirate, but is it fair to say that regardless of the quality of what is currently being released, the AOR / MHR style of music may have done it's dash with you? I notice your new purchases get more and more obscure as time passes - with nothing in common with this type of music, and singling out Hardline and Robbie (The Vomit) Valentine from recent years just suggests to me that, like you readily admit, you are a little out of the loop... but maybe that's just the way your tastes have evolved in time?

 

I have to say, as a handsome young man who does still love this type of music, I want to marry Frontiers for keeping our genres so deliciously alive and well, having had a big hand in making 2010 and 2011 incredible years in music. Arguably the best since 1990-1992. :)

I agree with you Geoff.

 

Then ye both shall walk the plank :lol:

 

No I'm not saying the AOR is over and done with me by any stretch of the imagination - but I guess the reason it feels like I'm really not interested and the stuff I'm buying may be getting a little more obscure is because I'm a bit fed up of hearing the same old thing. I want something a little bit different I think and I guess I'm just going back to the past (to find something new! See how f*cked up I am...actually it's probably more to do with the groove and passion and innocence that music seemed to have then whereas now a lot seems a little too calculated to me), or a bit off the track to look for it! Which I've always done, I've never purposely gone and become an AOR follower, it was something that I was listening to - back in the 70's when I was a mere whippersnapper of 80 years age when I got into Boston, Foreigner, Spys e.t.c. they were just rock bands to me as opposed to AOR bands same with most of the other genres they were just rock bands.

 

It's great to see that the AOR / Melodic scene is pretty darn healthy, it's just not quite giving me what I want that's all.

 

Who's this handsome young man your talking about anyway?? hahahaha!!!!

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Some really strange comments going here, I do agree.

 

Nicholas, Nicholas, Nicholas... my handsome young furry friend. Completely to each their own and I would never wish to badmouth my favourite pirate, but is it fair to say that regardless of the quality of what is currently being released, the AOR / MHR style of music may have done it's dash with you? I notice your new purchases get more and more obscure as time passes - with nothing in common with this type of music, and singling out Hardline and Robbie (The Vomit) Valentine from recent years just suggests to me that, like you readily admit, you are a little out of the loop... but maybe that's just the way your tastes have evolved in time?

 

I have to say, as a handsome young man who does still love this type of music, I want to marry Frontiers for keeping our genres so deliciously alive and well, having had a big hand in making 2010 and 2011 incredible years in music. Arguably the best since 1990-1992. :)

I agree with you Geoff.

 

Then ye both shall walk the plank :lol:

 

No I'm not saying the AOR is over and done with me by any stretch of the imagination - but I guess the reason it feels like I'm really not interested and the stuff I'm buying may be getting a little more obscure is because I'm a bit fed up of hearing the same old thing. I want something a little bit different I think and I guess I'm just going back to the past (to find something new! See how f*cked up I am...actually it's probably more to do with the groove and passion and innocence that music seemed to have then whereas now a lot seems a little too calculated to me), or a bit off the track to look for it! Which I've always done, I've never purposely gone and become an AOR follower, it was something that I was listening to - back in the 70's when I was a mere whippersnapper of 80 years age when I got into Boston, Foreigner, Spys e.t.c. they were just rock bands to me as opposed to AOR bands same with most of the other genres they were just rock bands.

 

It's great to see that the AOR / Melodic scene is pretty darn healthy, it's just not quite giving me what I want that's all.

 

Who's this handsome young man your talking about anyway?? hahahaha!!!!

 

I can see your point to an extent about the sameyness of alot of AOR/MR stuff coming out. Gone, as we know, are the good old days of the more original sounding AOR bands (S.P.Y.S, Boston, Foreigner, New England etc etc - all good examples) and we now have to live with it all over again with the bands trying to sound like 'em (unsuccessfully in quite a few cases) and probably why I listen to less newer AOR, like yourself. Saying that, I do think the genre is in alot better state now than it was 10 or so years ago, when you were hard pushed to find a handful of good titles every year never mind every month. Your point about good old Anologue/ Digital recordings is a good one and obviously leads to a fair few titles sounding a little sterile and lacking in passion, which doesn't help

Frontiers, I am split on, as they release some great albums and have tried to keep the Melodic rock flag flying admirably. That said, they do release too many very average titles and should definitely get someone on the quality control side of things a little more often. Quality over quantity as the saying goes. Also in agreement about not purposely being an AOR follower, just good music in general which I can completely empathise with and why I have always listened to loads of different types of stuff besides AOR.

Getting back to The Magnificent - I really think it is an exciting album in general and for me brings back the feelings I had when Brother Firetribe released their debut a few years back. Ok, it's not exactly original sounding, but it does have some fire in it's belly and obviously a lot of time and effort has gone into producing what for me is a very fine album. Hopefully the genre will produce a few more like it in the future and keep the flag flying higher.

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I'm not too impressed with this after 1 listen. It started off good with the first 2 tracks but then it's more melodic rock by numbers , like most Frontiers releases these days. Really bad lyrics too.

Gotta completely agree...not for me, I think I'm just out of the AOR loop these days, dunno what it is but it's just not rocking my world...is it the production? just boring ..no grunt, nothing sexy or mind blowing, or BOOM, no dynamics that put you close to the edge before pushing you off ...no wow put the window down I wanna have the world here this! Just chug-a-lug stuff. Maybe bands should start recording analogue again coz I tell ya I find it hard to distinguish one band from another these days. I'd be interested to see if they were a gigging band before this release or just something that's been thrown together by like minded individuals just before they went into the studio...sat in front of a computer...whatever..

For me 9 times out of 10 the Frontiers label sucks. they need some kind of quality control. But it's getting rave reviews everywhere...so obviously I'm wrong.

I may be 49 but I'm not ready for a bath chair yet...now where's that Rods album! :)

 

You're not wrong, Nick, it's just that people tend to go wild over just about anything that is released under the MHR / AOR label these days. Look around at the review sites and you will see the most average of AOR releases getting top scores and rave reviews. Same here on this board.

 

I guess I can understand that people like this album. It's all very well done, nice, listenable, etc etc... but where's the magic? The identity? Something that distinguish it from every other MHR release today and make it stand out from the heap. I don't hear it.

 

Again your comments make no sense.....you hear nothing in this release and yet love White Widdow, which is one of the most unoriginal, generic releases of the whole year.

 

& no-one is raving here about every release this year - perhaps you are confusing us with Melodicrock.com where a band literally has to pick up a guitar to earn a 90% score.

 

I have only bestowed that type of score on about 5 or 6 releases all year and I can honestly say they are all well worthy of that score and stack up to any release in the last 20 years.

 

I never said The Magnificent sucked, just that I wasn't impressed after one listen. Now that I've listened again it was better, but still far from a killer album IMO. Will probably land at 65-75% just like most releases I've heard this year.

 

As for White Widdow, it's indeed as unoriginal as it gets, and in fact that's one of reasons the debut wasn't a top album for me. I just feel the songs on "Serenade" were so much stronger than it didn't matter. Still one of the top releases this year.

 

Out of interest, which releases do you rate at 90% and above this year? For me there's only a handful too:

 

Steel Panther 94%

Airrace 93%

Chickenfoot 92%

White Widdow 92%

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I actually just got around to finally dropping a rating on the WW disc this morning. I'm too scared of the backlash to actually write what I scored it (:lol:), but let's just say that if I score this Magnificent album higher it'll be my favourite album of the year. ;)

 

Not the thread or the place, but I don't know why White Widdow are copping such an unwarranted beating here. As was the case with the debut, they're still not doing anything wildly outside the box, but they are doing what they do almost immaculately and creating melodic rock close to perfection, imo. And they're a real band too, who are writing their own songs and using their own musicians etc. I don't know yet what the Magnificent CD will bring, but in a year of studio project after studio project, with the same writers and players on half the CDs released, I'm all for seeing a real band create something that, to me at least, is pretty magical. And did I mention again how amazing the guitarist is? ;)

 

I do want to make it clear that I LOVE these studio projects and don't want them to end and I lap them up and masturbate on them. But I do definitely have a soft spot for the "real" bands. :)

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I'm not too impressed with this after 1 listen. It started off good with the first 2 tracks but then it's more melodic rock by numbers , like most Frontiers releases these days. Really bad lyrics too.

Gotta completely agree...not for me, I think I'm just out of the AOR loop these days, dunno what it is but it's just not rocking my world...is it the production? just boring ..no grunt, nothing sexy or mind blowing, or BOOM, no dynamics that put you close to the edge before pushing you off ...no wow put the window down I wanna have the world here this! Just chug-a-lug stuff. Maybe bands should start recording analogue again coz I tell ya I find it hard to distinguish one band from another these days. I'd be interested to see if they were a gigging band before this release or just something that's been thrown together by like minded individuals just before they went into the studio...sat in front of a computer...whatever..

For me 9 times out of 10 the Frontiers label sucks. they need some kind of quality control. But it's getting rave reviews everywhere...so obviously I'm wrong.

I may be 49 but I'm not ready for a bath chair yet...now where's that Rods album! :)

 

You're not wrong, Nick, it's just that people tend to go wild over just about anything that is released under the MHR / AOR label these days. Look around at the review sites and you will see the most average of AOR releases getting top scores and rave reviews. Same here on this board.

 

I guess I can understand that people like this album. It's all very well done, nice, listenable, etc etc... but where's the magic? The identity? Something that distinguish it from every other MHR release today and make it stand out from the heap. I don't hear it.

 

Again your comments make no sense.....you hear nothing in this release and yet love White Widdow, which is one of the most unoriginal, generic releases of the whole year.

 

& no-one is raving here about every release this year - perhaps you are confusing us with Melodicrock.com where a band literally has to pick up a guitar to earn a 90% score.

 

I have only bestowed that type of score on about 5 or 6 releases all year and I can honestly say they are all well worthy of that score and stack up to any release in the last 20 years.

 

I never said The Magnificent sucked, just that I wasn't impressed after one listen. Now that I've listened again it was better, but still far from a killer album IMO. Will probably land at 65-75% just like most releases I've heard this year.

 

As for White Widdow, it's indeed as unoriginal as it gets, and in fact that's one of reasons the debut wasn't a top album for me. I just feel the songs on "Serenade" were so much stronger than it didn't matter. Still one of the top releases this year.

 

Out of interest, which releases do you rate at 90% and above this year? For me there's only a handful too:

 

Steel Panther 94%

Airrace 93%

Chickenfoot 92%

White Widdow 92%

 

ha ha, Airrace aint one of em, and nor is Chickenfoot. & nor is WW come to that :-)

 

Glad you like The Panther, now that is a cool album!

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I'm not too impressed with this after 1 listen. It started off good with the first 2 tracks but then it's more melodic rock by numbers , like most Frontiers releases these days. Really bad lyrics too.

Gotta completely agree...not for me, I think I'm just out of the AOR loop these days, dunno what it is but it's just not rocking my world...is it the production? just boring ..no grunt, nothing sexy or mind blowing, or BOOM, no dynamics that put you close to the edge before pushing you off ...no wow put the window down I wanna have the world here this! Just chug-a-lug stuff. Maybe bands should start recording analogue again coz I tell ya I find it hard to distinguish one band from another these days. I'd be interested to see if they were a gigging band before this release or just something that's been thrown together by like minded individuals just before they went into the studio...sat in front of a computer...whatever..

For me 9 times out of 10 the Frontiers label sucks. they need some kind of quality control. But it's getting rave reviews everywhere...so obviously I'm wrong.

I may be 49 but I'm not ready for a bath chair yet...now where's that Rods album! :)

 

You're not wrong, Nick, it's just that people tend to go wild over just about anything that is released under the MHR / AOR label these days. Look around at the review sites and you will see the most average of AOR releases getting top scores and rave reviews. Same here on this board.

 

I guess I can understand that people like this album. It's all very well done, nice, listenable, etc etc... but where's the magic? The identity? Something that distinguish it from every other MHR release today and make it stand out from the heap. I don't hear it.

 

Again your comments make no sense.....you hear nothing in this release and yet love White Widdow, which is one of the most unoriginal, generic releases of the whole year.

 

& no-one is raving here about every release this year - perhaps you are confusing us with Melodicrock.com where a band literally has to pick up a guitar to earn a 90% score.

 

I have only bestowed that type of score on about 5 or 6 releases all year and I can honestly say they are all well worthy of that score and stack up to any release in the last 20 years.

 

I never said The Magnificent sucked, just that I wasn't impressed after one listen. Now that I've listened again it was better, but still far from a killer album IMO. Will probably land at 65-75% just like most releases I've heard this year.

 

As for White Widdow, it's indeed as unoriginal as it gets, and in fact that's one of reasons the debut wasn't a top album for me. I just feel the songs on "Serenade" were so much stronger than it didn't matter. Still one of the top releases this year.

 

Out of interest, which releases do you rate at 90% and above this year? For me there's only a handful too:

 

Steel Panther 94%

Airrace 93%

Chickenfoot 92%

White Widdow 92%

 

ha ha, Airrace aint one of em, and nor is Chickenfoot. & nor is WW come to that :-)

 

Glad you like The Panther, now that is a cool album!

House Of Lords- Big Money for me for sure is above 90%, I'd say 95%.

The Magnificent cd is up there as well at about 94%

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it's always fascinating to see how different people rate an album but we need to remember that rating is always subject to change and it's based on personal opinion, no matter how objective we're trying to see, so there's no point to keep bashing 'are you insane for not liking that?' or 'that's crap, how come you like it' kind of stuff.

 

and it's based on age range as well. I think Nick, Jez, and Kim probably has been around since the early heyday of 80s, so most AOR bands from that era has that magic that probably they didn't see in most of the bands nowadays, and on the contrary, on the younger folks like some of us here where we listened to this genre probably only since 1991-1995 in our teenage days, we didn't see lots of magic goin around in those obscure AOR bands like we see in the newer bands that actually playin' the classic style.

 

back to the topic. I still rate Magnificent at around 85%, with a possibility to reach 90%, while HoL, Panther, and Chickenfoot were all lumped in 80%. White Widdow was initially 90% but possible to drop to 85% maybe after 5-6 more spins, but there's a chance that it's still hold up at that rating.

 

I'm also unsure why Widdow got slated heavily here, it's basically an excellent release and better than the debut, and if some of you guys found it generic and not so good, well so be it, nothing's gonna change the fact that it's also a fantastic album to some others :popcorn:

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I think Nick, Jez, and Kim probably has been around since the early heyday of 80s

 

Damn, do I sound that old? :lol: Actually I haven't even reached 30 yet and have only been listening to AOR since about 2003 or something...I do prefer the classic AOR sound above the more modern sounding bands, I guess that's part of the reason I rate Airrace so highly. TO each their own :)

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it's always fascinating to see how different people rate an album but we need to remember that rating is always subject to change and it's based on personal opinion, no matter how objective we're trying to see, so there's no point to keep bashing 'are you insane for not liking that?' or 'that's crap, how come you like it' kind of stuff.

 

and it's based on age range as well. I think Nick, Jez, and Kim probably has been around since the early heyday of 80s, so most AOR bands from that era has that magic that probably they didn't see in most of the bands nowadays, and on the contrary, on the younger folks like some of us here where we listened to this genre probably only since 1991-1995 in our teenage days, we didn't see lots of magic goin around in those obscure AOR bands like we see in the newer bands that actually playin' the classic style.

 

 

 

You nailed it mate, couldn't have said it better. The 80's heyday of AOR - How I miss it, how I would love to have it back, but alas!. Oh and me and Nick were around in the 50's aswell ;)

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The 90%+ albums for me are:-

 

The Magnificent (after only 2 spins) - 90%

Toby Hitchcock - 95%

Work of Art - 93%

Lovex - 90%

 

 

The others mentioned in this thread are:-

 

White Widdow - this one's grown to about 80%

House of Lords - 80%

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My 90+ so far:

 

Toby Hitchcock - Mercury's Down - 94%

White Widdow - Serenade - 94%

Trust Company - Silence in black and white - 93%

Steel Panther - Balls Out - 92%

Work of Art - In progress - 91%

Xorigin - State Of The Art - 90%

 

Not heard The Magnificent or Vain.

 

HOL ended up with a 71% for me. Songs just didn't have any real punch or staying power and the production job was just unforgivable in the end. Easily my most hated production job of 2011. :( Sad, because otherwise HOL have been shoe-ins for a quality high rating album for me in the last 3 albums.

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Some people would say that naming your band (project) after such an adjective / superlative was just asking for trouble - or else being highly pretentious.

 

Well, being now a fair few spins in I am glad to report that this actually lives up to its name and has inspired me to do only my second summary of the year so far - so here goes -

 

1. Holding On To Your Love - (8.5) Good solid start to the album - you can already sense the quality to come, even if this hook could be a tad stronger

 

2. Cheated By Love - (9.5) Yikes how good? Just a storming rocker in the vein of Place Vendome with a very cool chorus and KILLER solo

 

3. Memories - (8.75) Maybe just a little too sugar coated for me but you cant deny the hook here and the playing is excellent

 

4. Angel - (9.75) Simply put one of the best ballads this year. Over the top chorus and again a brilliant solo

 

5. Satin & Lace - (9.0) A real groove to this song and love that chorus - verses as well are particularly juicy

 

6. Love's On The Line - (9.5) Killer verses again! Great riff here and all in all just another great slab of melodic rock. Oh and did I mention the solo again? Smokes!

 

7. Bullets - (9.0) Yet another great track - uptempo rocker with great chorus and solo

 

8. Smoke & Fire - (9.25) Great mid-tempo track - lush sound/hook/solo. Reminds me of Treat

 

9. Tired Of Dreaming - (8.75) Slight dip, but that's only below the level of excellence - would be a cool track on most other releases this year!

 

10. If It Takes All Night - (8.75) Ballad. Not as good as Angel, but still worthy and again a pretty special solo. End slightly flat and pointless

 

11. Lost - (10) Melodic rock perfection - crack this bad boy up to 10...the end is particularly killer. Brilliant stuff.

 

12. Harvest Moon - (8.75) Mid tempo end to the album but still a lush track with nice keys/chorus

 

 

Well by my dodgy maths I make that 91.25% which would tie equally with Work Of Art. Truth be told, Work Of Art will maybe just edge it, but this is an excellent melodic (almost hard) rock release. The production is spot on (for a change), the hooks are great and the solos are pretty much excellent throughout.

 

Stick Place Vendome, Treat and maybe Allen Lande through a mixer and out pops The Magnificent.

 

Mandatory purchase IMO.

 

Cheers

 

Just revisiting this rating after about 10 spins, and changing the following rating to

 

Memories (9.25).....has grown massively

Smoke & Fire (10).....everything about this song is AWESOME.

 

That changes my overall rating to 92.3% meaning this can now possibly usurp WoA from number 2 spot, but will decide for sure later on when I can listen to both back to back.....both awesome albums tho :-)

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I think Nick, Jez, and Kim probably has been around since the early heyday of 80s

 

Damn, do I sound that old? :lol: Actually I haven't even reached 30 yet and have only been listening to AOR since about 2003 or something...I do prefer the classic AOR sound above the more modern sounding bands, I guess that's part of the reason I rate Airrace so highly. TO each their own :)

Well I'm 42, so I was teenager in the 80's. But for me it was not the aor (Toto, Survivor etc.)for me,although I do like them groups. I was a Crue, Leppard, Dio,Jovi, Poison,Van Halen etc. guy.

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I think Nick, Jez, and Kim probably has been around since the early heyday of 80s

 

Damn, do I sound that old? :lol: Actually I haven't even reached 30 yet and have only been listening to AOR since about 2003 or something...I do prefer the classic AOR sound above the more modern sounding bands, I guess that's part of the reason I rate Airrace so highly. TO each their own :)

Well I'm 42, so I was teenager in the 80's. But for me it was not the aor (Toto, Survivor etc.)for me,although I do like them groups. I was a Crue, Leppard, Dio,Jovi, Poison,Van Halen etc. guy.

 

How I wish I had been a teenager in the 80's. Seemed like magic times. BTW, I love those other groups you mentioned too!

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I think Nick, Jez, and Kim probably has been around since the early heyday of 80s

 

Damn, do I sound that old? :lol: Actually I haven't even reached 30 yet and have only been listening to AOR since about 2003 or something...I do prefer the classic AOR sound above the more modern sounding bands, I guess that's part of the reason I rate Airrace so highly. TO each their own :)

 

and I think you're 50 man! damn your taste needs some variation lol just kiddin', i guess you're also a fan of H.E.A.T judging by your old avatar, so we're also in the same team here, only I still prefer Kenny's voice over Erik, but that kid Erik is a very good singer too.

 

btw back to The Magnificent, i haven't got the CD yet, anybody knows who's behind the songwriting machine?

'Smoke & Fire' is pure AOR bliss Glen - nice song, but perhaps 'Love's On The Line' and 'Lost' still sitting high on the throne.

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My 90+ so far this year:

 

 

The Magnificent - 94%

Miss Behaviour - 93%

Work of Art - In progress - 92%

Lovex - 95%

Pendragon - 92%

Reckless Love - 90%

Saxon - 90%

Shy - 90%

Within Temptation - 92%

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My 90+ so far this year:

 

 

The Magnificent - 94%

Miss Behaviour - 93%

Work of Art - In progress - 92%

Lovex - 95%

Pendragon - 92%

Reckless Love - 90%

Saxon - 90%

Shy - 90%

Within Temptation - 92%

 

Looks like you accidentally added-in those two albums from your top 10 in 1978 list, rather than 2011. Easy mistake to make.

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Here is my track by track scoring

 

1. Holding On To Your Love - (8.5)

2. Cheated By Love - (9.5)

3. Memories - (10)

4. Angel - (9.5)

5. Satin & Lace - (8.5)

6. Love's On The Line - (9.0)

7. Bullets - (8.5)

8. Smoke & Fire - (9.0)

9. Tired Of Dreaming - (8.5)

10. If It Takes All Night - (8.5)

11. Lost - (9.0)

12. Harvest Moon - (8.0)

 

In my opinion it's the strongest release this year. It's a slightly heavier Brother Firetribe, brilliant stuff.

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