Hungryheart – One Ticket To Paradise
HUNGRYHEART
ONE TICKET TO PARADISE
Released June 18, 2010 (Tanzan Music)
Track List:
01. Stand Up
02. One Ticket To Paradise
03. Let Somebody Love You
04. Boulevard Of Love
05. A Million Miles Away
06. Angela
07. Love Is The Right Way
08. Let’s Keep On Tryin’
09. Just A Little Closer
10. Get Lost
11. Man In the Mirror
12. You Won’t Be Alone
Band:
Josh Zighetti – lead/background vocals
Mario Percudani – guitars and lead/background vocals
Steve Lozzi – bass
Paolo Botteschi – drums and background vocals
Additional Musicians:
Alessandro Del Vecchio – keyboards and background vocals (1,2,4)
Marco Tansini – guitar and keyboards (3,6,12)
Nicolo Fragile – keyboards (5,11)
Paolo ‘Apollo’ Negri – Hammond organ (8)
Stefano Bertoglio – percussion (12)
Graziano ‘Il Conte’ DeMurtas – background vocals (2,10)
Barbara Boffelli – background vocals (3)
Elisa Paganelli – background vocals (5,8,9,11)
Luke Paterniti – background vocals (9,10)
Brad Mormino – background vocals (12)
Production:
Produced and arranged by Mario Percudani and Hungryheart. Recorded by Mario Percudani and Paolo Botteschi. Mixed by Alessandro Del Vecchio. Mastered by Michael Voss.
Review:
Hungryheart completely caught me off guard a couple years back when they unleashed their self-titled debut. That CD was such an incredible blend of AOR and melodic hard rock that it quickly became one of my favorite discs from 2008. With their second release, One Ticket To Paradise, Hungryheart has revamped their rhythm section and altered their sound ever so slightly.
The massive choruses and perfected harmonies are still represented on One Ticket To Paradise, but the band seem to have moved further into the AOR direction and thus have left some of the furious hard rock behind. For that reason this new album is mellower than its predecessor while containing the same winning formula in the songwriting. The title track finds these Italians at their best, adding some crunchy riffing to the perfectly crafted melodic rock. “Boulevard Of Love”, “Angela”, “Let’s Keep On Tryin'” and the infectious “Get Lost” also keep the Danger Danger/Saraya inspired ’80s melodic metal coming at you. But for every song that delivers there seems to be one that falls flat. “Let Somebody Love You” and “You Won’t Be Alone” are ballads that comes across as being way too soft, “A Million Miles Away” never seems to find its footing and “Love Is The Right Way” shows some early promise but ends before going anywhere.
Personally I prefer Hungryheart‘s 2008 debut over One Ticket To Paradise. While the band continue to walk that fine line between mellow AOR and picture perfect melodic rock, on this album the scale often tips too far in the former direction. A bit more rock, and a little less easy listening, would have made One Ticket To Paradise a much more consistent album. As it is, Hungryheart are an exceptional band that have released an average album — I know they are capable of so much more.
www.hungryheart.it – www.myspace.com/hungryheartofficial – www.tanzanmusic.com
Reviewed by Skid for Sleaze Roxx, August 2010
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