Palace
Rock and Roll Radio

A radio friendly album wouldn’t be a poor guess for the one trying to guess how Palace’s third album Rock and Roll Radio, songs for that rock and roll radio station. Palace does most of the stuff for the album himself, no doubt he is a skilled guy when it comes to making music. I am not so sure he does good cover art though; I do not think that this album looks particularly exciting or interesting. But it looks like what it is; and album within the AOR genre.

No alarms and no surprises here, that is what I think when playing through this. I also think Frontiers, it sounds like most of their AOR stuff, very heavily produced, polished until glittery and catchy as hell. Palace sings really well, the sound is very easy to like, the songs are simple and straightforward – easy to like. The dozen tracks show the usual variation, and you will not really be surprised anywhere along the line.

Upsides are many, there are many thinks to like about this album with good songs like the title track and a few more. I think that fans of the AOR genre will find this one really good, I like listening to it but I can’t say that it is an album that makes me want to play it. I kind of grow tired of the thought of listening to it, not because it is bad but because there are already so much AOR, it is like the wheel, it is already round and perfect so it would be wiser to place the energy on improving something less perfect. Palace does it well but offers nothing we haven’t already heard before, there is nothing exciting here.

Strong and impressive by Palace to do all stuff himself, but maybe song-writing help would be beneficial if he wants to make music that stands out. This album, as good as it is, lacks memorability and will probably drown in the big mainstream of AOR music. Still, you cannot really go wrong with an album that is as well made as this one.

HHHHHHH