Los Angeles is the vehicle by which Frontiers are hoping to launch the melodic rock / AOR career of Italian vocalist Michele Luppi, better known for heavier work with prog metallers Vision Divine. Helping him achieve this is a backing band consisting of Gregg Giuffria (House Of Lords), the ubiquitous Tommy Denander and Fabrizio Grossi. 

Songs have been supplied by the likes of Richard Marx and Jeff Paris amongst others so every possible help has been afforded Mr Luppi in his quest and to be fair he has a really decent voice, with very little trace of an accent. Given the supporting cast and songwriting help, it is unsurprising that the result is melodic rock with a distinct AOR feel, but it feels more like an album than another Frontiers collection of individual songs as we have seen on several previous releases. 

Luppi certainly delivers on the vocal front and I’m sure this is not the last we’ll hear of him in this genre. At times he reminds me of Richard Marx (in his slightly rockier moments), whilst at other times Eric Martin comes readily to mind. It would be unfair however to simply dismiss Luppi as a clone of anyone, as he is a genuine talent in his own right. 

The album kicks off in fine style with a couple of really good up-tempo rockers, “I Will Carry You” and “I Must Be Blind”, with Luppi giving full vent to his crystal clear delivery. 

There are also a couple of decent ballads for Luppi to get to emotional grips with in “Thanks To You” and “When You Think Of Me” and even a couple of slightly more modern sounding broodier numbers in “Edge Of Forever” and “Last Chance”, the latter an excellent cover of an old Night Ranger song. 

Overall, a really decent melodic rock / AOR release by someone from whom I would like to hear more. All fans of the genre will be impressed by Luppi’s initial foray into these waters and I hope sufficient support is garnered to allow a follow up shortly.

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Track Listing

I Will Carry You
I Must Be Blind
Thanks To You
Edge of Forever
Last Chance
Run
When You Think Of Me
One More Try
The Other Side
Caroline
Measure Of A Man

Line Up

Michele Luppi - Vocals
Tommy Denander - Guitars
Frankie DeGrasso - Drums
Fabrizio Grossi - Bass
Gregg Giuffria - Keyboards
Jamie Teramo - Keyboards