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On disc: Mecca



Mecca - Claudia Ehrhardt - 9 stars
Undeniable - Claudia Ehrhardt - 9 stars


www.meccaband.com/







Undeniable

Undeniable
(Frontiers Records - 2011)


I remember well the Mecca debut and that they had me right from the start. That was back in 2002. So I was curios to hear their new album Undeniable which took them 6 years to finish.

They open up with Perfect World, a catchy AOR tune with singing guitars and Joe Vana's powerful but melodic voice. Very 80's and with a big dash of Foreigner they present Closing Time, the guitars are pretty heavy and tempi changes make this even more obvious. At the debut Mr. Vana hooked up with Jim Peterik, now he got a helping hand from Tommy Denander who helped with the songwriting and plays guitar on this one. He teams up with different guitarist, guess that's partly due to the long time they worked on this one... Ten Lifetimes reminds me a bit of Mr. Mister... Life's Too Short sticks out, the opening passage has a funky-edge and reminds me of Dan Reed Network, but then the song becomes a Westcoast-influenced AOR tune. With the spoken words passage and the funky bass they give the song a different vibe. It's like two sides of Mecca... At least you can say it's different facets of Mr. Vana's Mecca Bass is played by Tony Levin, drums are hit by Pat Mastellotto, keyboards by Brian Moritz and partly Tommy Denander. At this track Christian Wolff and Tommy Denander join their forces on the six strings. I Know sounds familiar, but I can't fathom it... But I know that it's fun. ;)

The power ballad Did It For Love is a classy AOR tune and would also work in a 'simple' piano version, coz it's Joe Vana's vocals which touch you. After From The Start they slow down for Deceptive Cadence, a truly enchanting ballad. W2W is another rocker with lots of emotions, heavy riffs and soaring melodies. The title track Undeniable will hook you up and it will haunt you. One spin and you'll fall for it! Mecca closes this chapter with a piano-based ballad, a very emotional piece called As I Walk Alone.

Well, I hope we don't have to wait another 9 years for another Mecca album! If you loved their debut, you will dig this one. Friends of AOR won't be disappointed by this quite personal album of Joe Vana.


9 stars

Claudia Ehrhardt
 

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Mecca

Mecca
(Frontiers - 2002)


Never heard of the band Mecca before? Same with me, but you will know the musicians who are involved, perhaps not every single name, but the bands they played in!

If you like the music of Toto, Survivor, Foreigner, then you'll like Mecca! The album opener Velocitized is sung be Joe Vana who is also the founder of this super group. But he's charring vocal duties with former Toto / Leroux frontman Fergie Frederiksen. But back to the opening track Velocitized, a rock song which soon will make you swing and sing along.

Other tracks are a little moody, love songs... But tunes like Can't Stop Love have a message, in this case to believe in love and to fight for love. That track is outstanding, not just because on this song both singer took part! The high quality of the songs is not just based on the talent and experience of the musicians involved, they got a helping hand from Jim Peterik who also took part in production the album. Jim Peterik is known for his work with Survivor, 38 Special and Sammy Hagar! His partner in crime during the production was Larry Millas who worked with Billy Idol and Bruce Hornsby! Another highlight is You Still Shock Me a rock tune sung by Fergie Frederiksen and which reminds me of the powerful ballads from Foreigner.... The title track Mecca reminds me partly of Sting which isn't bad! Sting is one of the best artists these days, so.... But there are more rocking parts, kinda Sting meets Toto meets Foreigner.

Anyway, I won't do more name dropping, coz I can highly recommend this album to all fans of the above named bands!


9 stars

Claudia Ehrhardt
 

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           ©2008-2014 by Claudia Ehrhardt • E-Mail: contact@ice-vajal.com


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