Album review – LIONVILLE “II”

Italy-based Lionville brings together a group of highly skilled and experienced musicians from all over in order to create “pure AOR with a touch of Westcoast and Melodic Rock”, to quote the bio. And that is exactly what Lionville’s second release, “II”, delivers. This is an extremely well-crafted album that strings together a great selection of highly polished AOR gems, featuring beautiful melodies, a sparkling clean sound, and an appealing, upbeat, soaring feel to the music.

Lionville brands itself as a project rather than a band, and the musical talent gathered to collaborate on this album is quite outstanding. The core group consists of Lionville’s frontman Stefano Lionetti on vocals and guitar, Lars Säfsund on vocals and backing vocals, Alessandro del Vecchio on backing vocals and keyboard, and Pierpaolo “Zorro11” Monti on drums.

Several other musicians contribute as well, and their work is nothing but top-notch with plenty of terrific guitar-playing, gorgeous keyboards, and solid performances on bass and drums. That said, Lionville’s focus is really on the flawless, smooth-as-silk vocals, with some fantastic work on both lead and backing vocals.

Lionville puts in some great up-tempo rockers to start up the album, beginning with the terrific opening track “All We Need”, and the feel-good beauty “The Only Way Is Up”. Third track, “Another Day”, is probably my favorite track: an AOR-star with gorgeous harmonies and backing vocals, and the kind of catchy chorus you find yourself singing along to as soon as you hear it.

Other standouts are the catchy, pop-rocking “All this time”, and a really good version of “Waiting for a star to fall”, a track made famous by Boy Meets Girl in the 1980s.

The ballads on “II” really shine and sparkle. “No Turning Back” is just a lovely track, all shimmer and sweet-sounding sadness, while the more rock-flavored “Don’t Walk Away” features a great chorus and flawless vocals. Final track, “Open Your Heart”, is another soulful beauty with an easy, breezy feel to it.

“II” is a feel-good album with a beautiful, glossy, and rich AOR-sound. It is not the kind of album that reinvents the wheel, or any musical genres, but it delivers the goods with some fabulous tunes and hugely enjoyable music. Lionville’s self-titled first album did very well, and “II” seems poised to build on that success. For anyone with a taste for classic AOR with its roots in Journey and Toto, this album will be a treat.

Lionville’s web-page / Facebook.