Brad Love is the former lead singer of the progressive rock band Aviary, who recorded one major-label album back in the late 70's that mixed Queen/ELO vocal harmonies with tight instrumentation that fused influences from Kansas, Journey, Yes, Ambrosia, and Gentle Giant. On his new solo album, Love takes a more pop based approach, but the songs are all a catchy mix of commercial hard rock, soaring ballads, and some quirky progressive flourishes.
Tunes like the hard-hitting opener "Perfect Worlds" and "Annie Annie" are great melodic rock songs, with fluid guitar work from Jason Husbands and tasty piano from Love. His vocals have a hint of Freddie Mercury, a little Brian May, and a touch of Jeff Lynne, and are the highpoint of this CD. His soaring voice carries a ballad like "I Do" to another level, and with sparse instrumentation, he becomes the soloist. 'All Over Now" has a very 80's Chicago meets Ambrosia feel, with addictive melodies and a catchy chorus. Fans of vintage Queen will love "Remember Me", a song with lots of pomp and HUGE melodies, and certainly one of the strongest tracks here. Perhaps if Brian May and the boys heard this song they might consider putting the band back together with a new singer? Love shows off his keyboard chops on the brief instrumental "Techno Toccata", and adds some modern hard rock vocals on the muscular "Simple Answer", which also features some huge symphonic keyboard orchestrations.
With this CD, Brad Love shows the world that he is a skilled vocalist who knows how to write great hooks. If he decides to put together a solid band (or reform Aviary?) there is no doubt he could make a mark in the melodic rock or commercial prog world.
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