barry@vaxwalle.UUCP (03/16/84)
Has anybody out there heard anything from Ambrosia lately? It's been almost two years since the release of their last album, "Road Island." These guys have always been known for the large amount of time between albums but two years? Does anyone know if they've broken up or if a new album is in the works? A friend of mine heard on the MTV music news that guitarist David Pack is about to put out a solo album. I hope this doesn't mean that the band is no more. If anyone has heard anything please post it. I think it's a real shame that more people haven't gotten into Ambrosia's music. Unfortunately, their only hits that seem to go over on AM radio are their Easy Listening ones such as "How Much I Feel", "You're the Only Woman", and "You're the Biggest Part of Me." Consequently people tend to pigeonhole them into the Air Supply, Barry Manilow category. In reality their music is extremely varied. Their first two albums - Ambrosia - and Somewhere I've Never Travelled - are my favorites. There were several "progressive rock" songs in the Yes vein on this album. Listen to Nice,Nice, Very Nice or The Brunt or Dance With Me,George. They were excellent at the art of using difficult time signatures and doing it so subtly and with such ease that you don't even realize it. They could also rock with the best of them. (This is very evident at one of their live shows where they are anything but a mellow, easy listening band) Rock and a Hard Place, No Big Deal demonstrate this. They also have used Jazz-Rock in Mama Frog, Apothecary, and Art Beware. I think most people would be very surprised if they listened to one of their albums to see how diverse they really were..........Were? I see that I've been using the past tense. Somebody please tell me I'm wrong. Barry Nesmith (no relation) Varian Associates
cdelliot@uokvax.UUCP (03/21/84)
#R:vaxwalle:-13900:uokvax:4000014:000:333 uokvax!cdelliot Mar 19 15:23:00 1984 I think that they do a lot of work for the Alan Parson's Project, as I have seen some of Ambrosia's band members names listed in the credits. The last I heard of them working together as Ambrosia, though, was back in 1979 when they toured with Styx. C. D. Elliott AT&T Technologies !ctvax!uokvax!cdelliot