Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen
Fergie Frederiksen, best known as the vocalist of Toto on "Isolation" album, is back with his second album for Frontiers. Just like his previous one, this is a rather typical Frontiers product with songs penned by their trusted circle of songwriters and produced by one of their almost "in-house" producers, Alessandro Del Vechhio. Fergie's easily recognizable vocals keep it all together and naturally he's been given songs that have some links to his past. Take "Let Go" for example... the "Hold The Line" keyboards aren't in it by accident I believe. Not that he was in Toto back then, but anyway.. There's also a remake of Toto's "Angel Don't Cry" on the album.
"Easy Listening Melodic Rock" (ELMR) is a term I came up with to describe an album like this. It's easy to listen to, pleasant all the way through yet somehow lacking that extra spark. "Any Given Moment" is very much an ELMR album. No, I don't expect this term to catch on...
There are really no weak songs on "Any Given Moment", the production is good, Fergie sings his heart out... but although the likes of "Price For Loving You", "Candles In The Dark" and my personal favourite "When The Battle Is Over" are perfectly good songs, they're still two or three steps from being GREAT. That will be the reason why this album will probably end up being swept away by the flood of new releases in my household.
I can still recommend this album to the AOR fans, especially those who have enjoyed Fergie's previous works. His voice is in good shape, despite the health issues he has been battling over the last few years. Actually, just recently we heard the sad news that Fergie's cancer has returned and he'll have to fight it again. If you want to support him, you can - buy this album or donate to his GoFundMe project (link below).
Facebook group
GoFundMe
No comments:
Post a Comment