Lionville
II

It could have been an american small town in Montana, or an AOR-project by a Stefano Lionetti. I am of course speaking of Lionville which is Stefano and guests from the AOR elite. Some say that such thing is an easy way towards fame while others say that it is a recipe for good music and the truth is that it could probably be either. It does not lead to good looking album covers that is for certain, as neither the first nor this album has such a thing. But what about the music, can it be something other than AOR?

No, it would appear that it can’t. It is the archetype of said genre as well with the classic melodic disposition and obligatory catchy choruses and the classic AOR singing voice. The guitars and soloing are also typical of the genre so one would not be wrong to call this a rather typical AOR album in style. The sound is brilliant, excellent in fact and despite the fact that most all AOR albums are well produced, this one is better than most. It is not different than most bands in the genre though. The album has twelve tracks of excellently sounding AOR to offer us though and that cannot be bad, can it?

No it cannot, I was thinking of slamming this album’s lack of musical imagination but it is so good that I cannot really do that as I like it too much despite the lack of differentiating songs. I am very positive towards this album but I have to make a note of caution though as I am a fan of AOR and might be somewhat biased towards such albums and someone not that into this genre might find this just another typical AOR album as it is many regards is, it is only the great quality of the songs that sets it apart from your everyday AOR band.

There is one more slight niggle with this album as well making me evaluate if I wasn’t to rate it lower but decided against it, it is the long playing time that makes me think like that. Fifty five minutes is quite a bit on the long side and had a few songs been cut away it would probably not be any doubt about the rating as I would not have had time to tire enough while listening to the album as I do now. I think all the songs are good but the first six are better than the rest which is something that might be down to me loosing bit of interest during the second half of the album. There is no real standout track on the album though.

In the end I think that we can describe this as a slightly above average album which may be seen as a bit dull and common for those not really into AOR but for us who is I would say that this is a brilliant album that shouldn’t be overlooked by anyone. So, if you like AOR, remember and look up the name Lionville.