AOR – L.A. Attraction

Frédéric Slama was originally a French music journalist who had lived in L.A. (Los Angles, California, USA) for more than 10 years. One of his claims to fame was bringing “West Coast Music” back to his native country in the late 70’s through hundreds of interviews, radio shows, and several thousand reviews in different music magazines. After having done a couple of solo albums and having produced some French and American artists, Frédéric decided to start a “session band,” his own kind of Toto, if you will. 2000 marked the birth of his project AOR, and five albums later he now has released L.A. Attraction. As with the prior five releases, Slama continues his tradition of utilizing top U.S. session players to get his point across.

The release starts off in fine fashion with “How Could I Forgive Her”, which is an up-tempo Adult Oriented Rock-er (AOR), much in the fashion of radio-friendly Toto, Foreigner, Survivor and the like. The song really shines in the area of lead guitar as it, and the rest of the lead work on this release, has “teeth” and “bite.” Presumably, the lead work is a combination of Masters Lukather and Denander. It’s this outstanding lead work that will hold the attention of most Metal Express Radio listeners and Guitar Gurus, and is worth the price of admission for its own merits. Without their lead work, the release is more or less Light Rock music. “Like An Open Book”, for example, has a very “Lou Graham-ish” chorus, which is from where the Foreigner comparisons are derived. Each track has its own steady backbeat and, for the most part, a slightly different chorus/vocal approach. What each track does do well is exude an almost “summertime feel” that is almost very much in sync with the pictures of palm trees and oceans on the packaging … an almost (dare it be said?) Beach Boys/Santana feel. Of course, the “ripping” lead guitar work dissuades these feelings for merely a few minutes in the middle of each track.

One would think that including Guitar Maestros Lukather and Denander on a release would be a recipe for instant success. But, the bottom line on this one is it’s a tough sell for most Metal fans, even though pure Guitar Maniacs will find some value here. It’s certainly not the “hardest” Rock you’ll have heard from the likes of Tommy Denander and Steve Lukather in the past year. If Foreigner and Survivor’s style of AOR music is your thing (assuredly, nothing to be ashamed of), then this is a worthwhile buy, as the music is high class AOR that will hold its own in a mixed, albeit older, crowd.

Lineup

Frédéric Slima – Guitars, Keyboards
Tommy Denander – Rhythm & Lead Guitars, Keyboards, Bass
Joey Heredia – Drums

Guest Musicians:
Steve Lukather, Philip Bardowell, Rick Riso, J. Lynn Johnston, Dane Donahue, Peter Friestedt, David Diggs and Michael Landau, Marcos Udeba, Tobias Marberger.