Year : 2013 (Japan Edition)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock , AOR
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 133 mb
Bio:
Arc Angel was an AOR rock band that was formed by musicians Jeff Cannata and Michael Soldan.Jeff Cannata and Michael Soldan had previously been in the popular Connecticut-based band Jasper Wrath. Cannata played drums and Soldan played keyboards; both composed most of the group's songs. After Jasper Wrath's demise in 1976, Cannata and Soldan continued writing songs together. Cannata started working with guitar and keyboards more in order to develop his songwriting abilities. In the early '80s, Cannata and Soldan presented some of their new compositions to the staff at CBS Records. CBS really liked what the duo were doing and they signed them for a record contract. The only problem was that there was no live band to perform the songs. Cannata and Soldan got the idea to record the album with a large group of session musicians, similar to The Alan Parsons Project.The self-titled debut was released in 1983. Jeff Cannata sang lead vocals and played guitar, bass, and drums, while Michael Soldan played keyboards and sang backing vocals. Included on the roster of session musicians were former Jasper Wrath bandmates James Christian and Jeff Batter, as well as keyboardist Jeff Bova and bassist Hugh McDonald.The album became a huge hit in Europe. A music video for the song "Tragedy" was also filmed and showcased on MTV. The video featured Cannata on lead vocals and guitar, Michael Soldan on keyboards, and local Connecticut band Cryer as the backup band. Cryer consisted of Jay Jesse Johnson on guitar, Steve Shore on bass, and Jeff Zajac on drums.Unfortunately, the album didn't do so well domestically. Arc Angel was dismissed by U.S. critics as a Boston/Kansas clone. Jeff Cannata abandoned releasing albums under the Arc Angel name and began recording solo albums under the name Cannata for a while, starting with 1988's Images Of Forever. In 2002, Jeff Cannata released the album Tamorok, which was credited as a joint effort between Arc Angel and Cannata and also featured Michael Soldan on keyboards.
Album:
Arc Angel is Jeff Cannata’s tool for rediscovering traditional AOR recipes, freshening them up a bit with a distinctive progressive rock twist. The end result is a truly tantalising musical cocktail.»Harlequins of Light« is a feast for melodic rock tropes, radio friendly rock sprinkled with shy progressive turns, as with “The Legend of Mary Celeste” and “Fortune Teller 2”. Interestingly enough, Jeff Cannata’s slightly gravely voice grants his performance the required grip on the slick melodic rock surface, ultimately raising “Voice of Illuminati” as one of the albums favourites. Jeff’s formidable musical experience makes room for “Tonight… Forever”, an ambitious, consolatory crossover between pompous rock and prog, that is sadly cut all too sudden in the end. Retreating far enough from any unnecessary musical experimentation, Jeff is keen on keeping things fresh and simple. Coming head on through adversity is his evident sense of melody, finished off with his fittingly bruised vocal delivery. This pays dividends on the searing ballad “Through the Night”. “California Daze” is predictable enough, but done in such an upbeat, uplifting style, that it makes your heart sweat with overexcitement. There’s also a huge amount of hope bursting through “Get to You”, and “As Far As the Eye Can See” is a reflective AOR gem building into a beautiful crescendo of life celebration.
Line Up:
James Christian - Vocals
Jay Jesse Johnson - Guitar
David Coe - Guitar
Jeff Batter - Keyboards and vocals
Michael Soldan - Keyboards and vocals
Jeff Cannata - Guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, and vocals
Tracklist:
01. Harlequins Of Light (4:29)
02. As Far As The Eye Can See (4:15)
03. War (Battle Wounds Of Life) (4:11)
04. Voice Of Illuminati (3:54)
05. Through The Night (4:07)
06. Amnesia (4:06)
07. Fortune Teller 2 (4:13)
08. California Daze (3:31)
09. Tonight …Forever (5:10)
10. Get To You (3:32)
11. Diamonds And Gold (4:45)
12. Legend Of The Mary Celeste (4:57)
13. California Daze (Acoustic Re-Mix) (3:35) (Japan Bonus Track)
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
