KIMBALL-JAMISON / KIMBALL-JAMISON (2011)

Bobby Kimball and Jimi Jamison, two legends of AOR for the first time together to offer us a great piece of melodic rock stuff. Kimball with TOTO gave us some timeless tunes such as "Hold The Line" and "Rosanna" among others. Jamison with SURVIVOR achieved to write two of the best rock tracks ever; "Eye Of The Tiger" and "Burning Heart". So with these two legendary and high-skilled musicians, you can't go wrong here! In this album, we have, also, the participation of the elit of today's AOR scene like Jim Peterik (Survivor), Richard Page of Mr. Mister, John Waite (Bad English), Robert Sall ( W.E.T.) and Erik Martensson (W.E.T., Eclipse). Responsible for the production of this release is the mighty Mat Sinner.

So, what we are going to hear from this release is a pure AOR bliss full of great performances, a tight musicianship and, most of all, heart and soul. The production here is solid and every single track has strong arrangements, memorable chorus lines and huge melodies. After some listenings of this effort, I really didn't find any weak moment or something that is going to make me push the forward button.

"I Did Everything Wrong" is a suberb slice of melodic rock stuff with a catchy as hell chorus. Brilliant melody in this one and a song that's going to whisper for days! One of the album's highlights and, for sure, one of the best 2011's tracks. "Find Another Way" reminds me of Survivor's earlier works and "Worth Fighting For" has the Survivor elements as well. Other highlights here are the up-tempo tune of "Hearts Beat Again", the rhythmic "Get Back In The Game" and the sentimental ballad of "Your Photograph".

All in all, this is a brilliant release from the two legends of AOR. Quality stuff, well-played and well- performed; all these in a cd that will please every single fan of this gerne! One of the best albums this year.

HeavyParadise's Rating : 9/10

TRACK LIST : 01 - Worth Fighting For, 02 - Can't Wait For Love, 03 - Sail Away, 04 - Chasing Euphoria, 05 - Find Another Way, 06 - Get Back In The Game, 07 - I Did Everything Wrong, 08 - Shadows Of Love, 09 - Hearts Beat Again, 10 - We Gotta Believe, 11 - Kicking And Screaming, 12 - Your Photograph