Drive, She Said – Drive, She Said

From the outset, the style of "Drive, She Said" is reminiscent of Michael Bolton's initial corporate rock phase. Laden with pop flourishes and bathed in a gorgeous electronic sheen, perhaps attributable to the duo's keyboard player Mark Mangold, who played for Bolton during said era, the album is far better than an overlooked independent supposedly unimportant record has any right to be. As each composition seamlessly flows into the next without ever decreasing in quality, any similarities to Bolton's early career are less conspicuous once the listener is overwhelmed by the adeptness and prodigious musicianship being demonstrated. Consistently sublime, infectious and unexpectedly soulful, with Al Fritsch's soaring vocals and understated guitar work heightening every aspect of the proceedings to ever loftier levels, refraining from the overuse of either instrument, which on other AOR records can appear to be a battle for supremacy. Herein, with powerful vocals as the dominating factor, Mangold's electronic instrumentation is perfectly balanced, merely punctuating and accentuating Fritsch's voice; it is immediately apparent that his delivery is at the forefront of the production, with Mangold's technical dexterity the augmenting complement. It is primarily for this reason that the album's contents are as enchanting and appealing as they are, a fact further reinforced by the swoon-inducing pomp present on each and every song, and why no singular track overshadows the other, because of how concordant and lucid it is.

A lost classic of a much-maligned genre and one of the most cohesive and rewarding AOR creations, an unabashedly varnished, slick record with boundless charm. I urge any fan of AOR to experience this well-crafted, assertive debut and find out for yourself if it is as superbly executed as I perceive it to be.

Rating: 4.5/5