Jimi Jamison-Never To Late

Frontiers Records
2012

If it's Frontiers Records it's got to be AOR or melodic rock right? The answer is of course yes. Journeyman singer Jami Jamison (Target, Cobra and Survivor) has quite the resume. With collaborations with ZZ Top, (reportedly Billy Gibbons refers to Jimi as the fourth member of ZZ Top) Joe Walsh and numerous others (not to mention  having the Billboard hit "Burning Heart") Jami Jamison (try saying that one fast 10 times in a row!) obviously has talent. Of course it's also obvious that these sort of solo outings are, at best, often hit or miss. According to the promo Jami's solo career actually started in 1991 with the release of “When Love Comes Down” followed by “Empires” in 1999. "Empires" included the theme, "I'm Always Here" for Baywatch. In a nutshell that should tell you a little about where this one leads. On one hand it's excellent melodic rock/AOR with flashy guitar work and plenty of synthesizers to make you think it's the eighties all over again. With tracks like "Street Survivor" you can almost picture an 80's movie about an ex-athlete getting one last shot at glory. Since these days there is still a small (but very loyal and very vocal) audience for this sort of stuff Jami Jamison should be able to find his niche. And honestly it isn't a bad album at all. It's got a very slick sound and the songs are catchy, but it all seems a bit too "shiny" if you know where I'm coming from. There are moments when bands like Survivor and Whitesnake come to mind and then there are times when this sounds way too much like soundtrack rock from an era that does not necessarily need to be relived. If synthesizer-driven rock butters your toast or makes you feel all warm and fuzzy then by all means lay your money down. You could do much worse.