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Ambition : :
In a year that has brought us new albums by King Crimson, Radiohead, and an
excellent offering by Steve Hackett, it’s this little gem that has gotten the most
play for me. I really love this disc. It’s like a mixture of Supertramp, Gentle
Giant, Styx, and The Beatles. The last two bands mostly just seem to have
influenced the vocal arrangements, for there are tons of lovely harmonies all over
this baby.
It would appear that Aviary was
a solid little progressive rock band in the late seventies that recorded one album
before their songwriter moved on to a quiet solo career. That self-titled album was
recently re-released, and now they’re coming out with Ambition, which is a
collection of previously unreleased tracks. I haven’t heard the self-titled album,
but if these tracks were the ones that didn’t make the cut, then that album must be
quite a treat indeed.
What we have here is ostensibly
a great album on its own, although if you really pay attention you can probably tell
that the tracks were recorded years apart. They demonstrate a variety that makes an
album great, while revealing a common style that makes a band great. All the
musicians are very talented, and they play together very tightly, but the strongest
performances are probably by the drummer Richard Bryans, and the late bassist Ken
Steimonts, to whom this recording is dedicated. Those two sound particularly
excellent on “Fine Lines”, an exceedingly catchy number which sounds like a lost
track from Gentle Giant’s “In A Glass House”.
Yeah, I said “catchy”. This is
some of the catchiest progressive rock I’ve ever heard, with songs like like “Yes
and No”, “The Sun, The Sand”, and “Ambition” suggesting what Supertramp might have
sounded like if they had wanted to sound a little more challenging. “Working Girl”
and “Hello” sound a lot like what Jellyfish would put out about a dozen years
later. But some of this music is a little headier. The longest track, “Desert
Songs/Pharaohs March”, meanders atmospherically for eleven satisfying minutes, going
beyond that era’s AOR sensibilities for more of an arena art-rock feel.
And then there’s “Apathy”,
which is, for my money, the highest quality composition on this disc. “Apathy” is a
soft piano ballad whose ever-shifting chords remind me what I’ve always loved about
Tony Banks’ best songwriting with Genesis. Between this and “Fine Lines”, I
actually am at a loss to understand how such great music went so unappreciated for
so long. All this, and I haven’t even mentioned the most unique and humorous track,
“Eva’s Birthday”. This album has so much depth and quality that it puts most of its
turn-of-the-millennium imitators to shame. It might be a little bit difficult to
find (if Amazon.com is out of stock, try
www.bradlove.com), but if you can get your hands on this fantastic release, you
should. It deserves to be treasured.
Rating: 9/10 Keyboards
Bob Amaden
: : Visit the artist web site : :
: : Discography : :
Aviary - Self Titled -
songs recorded between 1975 & 1979)
Ambition - 1975 |
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