Lionville – A World Of Fools

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Terrific Italian AOR with a touch of Swedish class…

Released by Frontiers Music on 24 February 2017 and reviewed by Stephen Brophy

Italian AOR maestros Lionville return in 2017 with their third album, the follow up to 2013’s Lionville II and with a new lineup for the band, A World Of Fools is 11 pure AOR songs written and developed by people that quite obviously understand the music they are trying to make very well. Musically they haven’t strayed very far from their previous sound – the core of the band remains with Stefano Lionetti (guitars, vocals, keyboards) and Lars Säfsund (lead vocals), so the songwriting and distinctive vocal sound stay the same – but it does sound a little more expansive in places.

There are many highlights on this release, from the excellent opener ‘I Will Wait’ that allows Lars to stamp his marker right from the beginning, through the beautiful closing track ‘Image Of Your Soul’ to the rocking ‘Bring Me Back Our Love’ and ‘One More Night’ which begins with a lovely piano intro and then it develops into another really well made song that has just about everything. And there’s not one filler on the album.

There is the excellent flow right the way through this album, and as with their previous work, that West Coast feel is still there. It’s a very classy sound, a light touch, airy without being too fluffy. The guitar sound is excellent, not too heavy to overpower the sound but with that small amount of crunch in the riffs to add a little punch. Stefano hasn’t just pumped up the guitars in the production, he’s taken a lot of care to ensure all elements of the band are looked after in the mix and we are presented with a very full and melodic sound. Another great piece of work from the Lionville guys.

This album has everything you want from an AOR album – great hooks, wonderful voice, well written songs, that laidback West Coast vibe, and a more up tempo rock monster pushing through. The band are getting better with every release. I really hope there are a lot of live dates on the back of this one because these songs deserve to be heard live.

Lionville – A World Of Fools9 out of 10

Track list:

  1. I Will Wait
  2. Show Me The Love
  3. Bring Me Back Our Love
  4. Heaven Is Right Here
  5. World Of Fools
  6. One More Night
  7. All I Want
  8. Livin’ On The Edge
  9. Our Good Goodbye
  10. Paradise
  11. Image Of Your Soul

 

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