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Mecca
falls into the bracket of super-group as they consist of former Toto
front man Fergie Fredrickson and fellow Toto bassist David Hungate. The
position of band guitarist it taken on nicely by Mike Aquino (World
Stage/Daniel Grove Band).
All ten tracks smack heavily of the bands that influenced the 80's
melodic rock scene. Bands like Toto (for obvious reasons), Survivor,
Hall and Oates, Mr. Mister. Call them pop, call them melodic rock,
whatever category you class this type of music in there's simply no
getting away from it, this is one blend of music that has stood the test
of time and will always find a profitable market out there.
Someone once told me that AOR stood for American Orientated Rock,
obviously they wrongly assumed the 'A' stood for American because at
that time a lot of the bands that were making this type of music so
successful were indeed from America.
This is one album that I could well imagine would do very well on
certain American radio stations whose truck driver audience still holds
a torch for the ballads and easy listening songs that we treasure so
fondly in our collections.
With Jim Peterik and Larry Millas doing the production on this album you
know it's going to be something special. Like the morning sunlight
that finds it's way through the curtains and brings warmth and light
onto the sheets on your bed, the songs on this album will bring a little
ray of sunshine into your life and will brighten even the dullest day.
A relatively new face to the melodic rock scene is lead singer Joe Vana
who takes on the role of lead vocalist for a good proportion of this
album. For a real treat then listen to 'Can't stop Love'. Not only do
you get to hear the vocals of Mr. Vana at his best, but you also get to
hear those of Mr. Fredericksen. Yes, they do a duet, well more of a
harmonizing duet of vocals. There voices sound remarkably similar but on
this particular track if you listen carefully you can hear the slight
differences between the two.
The band insist that Mecca is not a side project and lets hope they
stick to that and this assembly of musicians release more albums under
this banner. This album is melodic rock at a very high quality.
This album is a gentle collection of full-blown power ballads and
meaningful melodic guitar riffs. Easy on the ears it does not intrude on
your thoughts, what it does is cradle them in its arms and soothes the
stresses of the day away.
Sadly the band had to drop out of the 10th anniversary celebrations of
Now & Then, however we have been promised that they will definitely
appear at the one in November. Lets hope so because I know there's a
great many people who are just dying to see them perform these songs
live.
My favourite track off the album is probably the opening track 'Velocitized'.
Ok so it's slightly cheesy but who cares, it sounds good and gets you in
the mood for what's to follow. Quickly followed by 'Without You' with
its chocolate smooth vocals reminiscent of the mighty Survivor.
'Wishing Well is another track that stands out from the rest as it's
quite a strong lively little number. 'Close the Gap' is a very
traditional rock ballad. Sung with passion and commitment it blends the
keyboards played by Jimmy Nichols beautifully with the percussion put
forward by Shannon Forrest. Well presented it trickles along until it
slides gently into the chorus.
Not bad, not bad at all. This is an album that will appeal to those of
you out there that can remember what rock ballads and super-groups are
all about. Great music, well produced tunes with songs that will grow on
your affectionately.
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