Life Beyond L.A.

When this "LP" came out, as a Musician I realized what a work of ART this was. You had to hear the work they put in vocally & most of these Players/Composers would become, "The Studio Guns for Years & Bands to come! A very fine Compilation of Stellar Talent! Gregg Robert Carlson

I always thought "Holding On To Yesterday" was one of the best songs ever recorded and when I heard "How Much I Feel" in 1978, I knew Ambrosia had another hit single. I immediately purchased "Life Beyond L.A." and as expected, I found the album to be an extraordinary collective set as well. Ambrosia continues their hybrid of cynical humor, soaring harmonies, and catchy pop-rock full of hooks and frills in their work especially on this album. Added is the fact that David Pack has a superb vocal range and knows how to deliver it on a recording. The 10-song set starts out with the fantastic title track with Pack's ultra smooth vocals and accompanying keyboards soaring to dreamlike heights as the rest of the album blends in and flows along with each other between mainstream melodic rock pop, the cynical humor as well as a few catchy, romantic ballads such as the standouts "How Much I Feel" and "Heart To Heart".

Ambrosia's third album was transitional in many ways; for one thing, keyboardist Chris North was on some sort of hiatus, although he contributes to a couple tracks. He is sorely missed, as is the band's sense of adventure, which was so prevalent on the previous two albums. Still, this is a great pop record, or at least it has its moments. "How Much I Feel" and "Heart to Heart" really do hold up as a pair of great love songs, and "Ready for Camarillo" displays the harder, darker edge that marked some of Ambrosia's earlier work. After this, the band would go waaaay overboard with the smooth pop/R&B that marred albums such as "One Eighty." Here, they still were searching, and that was a good thing.

This album was a breath of fresh air in the middle of the disco era. Life beyond L.A. was & always will be my favorite Ambrosia cut! If you're an Ambrosia fan & haven't picked this one up yet, it's time! ENJOY!