Customer Reviews

Anthology

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ambrosia was one of the freshest sounds to come out of the seventies, and had much more to offer than their big hits "Biggest Part of Me," "How Much I Feel," and "You're the Only Woman." These are great songs, of course, but what a collection we have here. It features their early hit, "Holdin On to Yesterday," and a reworking of David Pack's solo hit, "I Just Can't Let Go," featuring James Ingram and Michael McDonald. Pack and these gentlemen should do a CD together. What a blend they have. "Life Beyond LA" is a searing look at life in that metropolitan nightmare; an unexcusably edited "Cowboy Star" (one of their finest moments from the "Somewhere I've Never Traveled" CD); and a couple of new tunes ("Mama Don't Understand" and "Sky is Falling".) Pack's vocals are as always powerful and stirring. David has spent a great deal of his time in the last few years producing and recording with other artists. I think it's time he got back in the spotlight, either with the group, the aforementioned McDonald and Ingram; or the great Patti Austin. This is a must in a true audiophile's collection!

Michael Butts

Ambrosia is one of the most overlooked bands from the seventies, an era which has become desperately overrepresented on "classic rock" radio. With top-40 hits like "Biggest Part of Me," "How Much I Feel" and "Holdin' On To Yesterday," they were a staple of the music scene from 1975 to 1982, and with adventurous fare such as "Somewhere I've Never Travelled," "Nice, Nice, Very Nice" (written with Kurt Vonnegut Jr.) and "Cowboy Star," they were stimulating to the mind as well. The band split amid legal troubles after five LP's, and is yet to release its entire catalogue on CD, but "Anthology" provides a generous helping of the sound which made it a welcome presence on the airwaves, including all the songs mentioned here, along with two new tunes and a reworking of "I Just Can't Let GO," featuring James Ingram and Michael McDonald. This collection's only limitation is that it whets longtime fans' appetites for the still-promised future CD releases of the other five collections. Pack, Puerta, Drummond and North produce distinctive melodies and harmonies, inventive instrumentation, and exciting songs. I HIGHLY recommend this disk, at LEAST until someone puts out the other disks (as has been promised for this year)!

Once in a while, not often enough unfortunately, I buy a cd just because I like one or maybe two of the tracks, not expecting the rest to be anything but filler and get a joyous surprise instead. Getting this album is one example of that.

Not only is every single track a great example of good song composition and great playing, the mix and sound engineered quality of this cd is just fantastic! Let's just say the way this one was produced, there would be no need for any remastered version to be released anytime soon.

I remember how sceptical I was before I got this album as I always remembered Ambrosia best from their hit "The Biggest Part of Me" which I liked but always felt that it was a rip-off or just too close-sounding to Earth, Wind and Fire's "That's the Way of the World" and being a big fan of EW&F, I took it as a personal insult for a long time.

Once I discovered that Ambrosia also wrote "How Much I Feel", I decided to grab the first compilation album of their greatest hits I could find. I'm so grateful that this was the one I found in the store and at a really low price as well. The rest is history as this cd never left my Discman for months afterwards.

The songwriting is exceptional, the musicianship is first-rate (being a musician myself, this is extremely important to me)and the sound production is excellent (being an audiophile, good production is also very important to me).

How can you tell if a greatest hits compilation is good? If when you play the whole album, there is a continuity and it sounds as if it is not a compilation. Very few albums fit this category (The Little River Band's original best of compilation, Naked Eyes'original compilation are a couple that come to mind)but this Ambrosia album is definitely one of them. Go get a copy and be pleasantly surprised yourself.

Ambrosia is a tremendous rock and roll group. The anthology CD does give a fairly good indication of this. The old tracks as well as the new ones are vintage Ambrosia. David Pack and Joe Puerta are the best two lead singers since Lennon and McCartney. Two of my favorite tracks, "Nice, Nice, Very Nice", and "Holding on to Yesterday" are featured on Anthology, but the hard driving "Can't Let a Woman", and "I Wanna Know" needed to be here to show that Ambrosia didn't just do ballads. They can rock with the best of them. It's a shame the boys at Warner Brothers and A&M only chose to release "How Much I Feel" and the like as singles. These were all very good songs and appear on Anthology, but unless you purchased their albums as I did, this was all you knew. I have recommended Anthology to friends, and those who have purchased it do enjoy it. I hope Anthology is the start of a new generation falling for Ambrosia as I did in 1976. Hopefully, the original albums will be released on CD in the near future (One-Eighty and Life Beyond LA are available as Japanese imports if anyone is interested). Also, check out David Pack on Alan Parson's "Try Anything Once" CD. Close your eyes and it's Ambrosia. If you like lyrics that actually invoke emotion and music makes you feel alive, do Ambrosia.

Ambrosia released their first album since 1982's ROAD ISLAND entitled ANTHOLOGY. Their best-loved tunes are on this album. I bought it because I knew and loved HOW MUCH I FEEL,YOU'RE THE ONLY WOMAN and BIGGEST PART OF ME. The other 13 songs I never heard of prior to purchasing this album. Take note on the cover what the 4 Ambrosia members David Pack,Joe Puerta,Chris North and Burleigh Drummond look like(those photos were taken in or about 1997). Well, since Ambrosia's disbanding in 1982,Puerta joined Bruce Hornsby and the Range. Hornsby briefly worked with Ambrosia before the disbanding. Ambrosia reformed in 1989 but only played live in clubs and on stage. Puerta quit the Range when Ambrosia reformed. Great move,Joe! I think that was the smartest thing he ever did! This album features two new tracks MAMA DON'T UNDERSTAND and SKY IS FALLING. The latter song was recorded in the style of BH&TR. Since the disbanding,Pack recorded a solo album ANYWHERE YOU GO. From that album comes I JUST CAN'T LET GO,a trio number between Pack,ex-Doobie Brother Michael McDonald and James Ingram. It's on ANTHOLOGY since Puerta and Drummond participated in the recording. From their 1975 self-titled debut come NICE NICE VERY NICE and HOLDIN' ON TO YESTERDAY. From 1976's SOMEWHERE I NEVER TRAVELLED come the title track preceded by the word 'and',an edited version of COWBOY STAR and TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE. From LIFE BEYOND L.A. come the title track,HOW MUCH I FEEL,HEART TO HEART and ANGOLA. From ONE EIGHTY come BIGGEST PART OF ME,YOU'RE THE ONLY WOMAN and LIVIN' ON MY OWN. The lone track from ROAD ISLAND is STILL NOT SATISFIED.

i agree with the majority of reviews. Great songwriting. listen to "youre the only woman" and youll find your head nodding up and down in time with the music. another fav was "I keep holding on" I love the bass lines and the leslie organ in it. you could tell the band had fun recording it. I enjoyed most of the songs, but the two i mentioned are my favs "biggest part of me" i liked as well as "how much i feel" also songs of my childhood. "angola" reminds me of Mungo Jerry's "in the summertime" that one is a toe tapper too. All around decent cd. if you are trying to capture your memories of the 70's, this cd would be excellent addition to your library. i gave this one 4 out of 5 stars

Progressive rock meets Adult Contemporary with bits of Smooth Jazz and it actually worked!
This band sure made a brave attempt to do something out of the ordinary.
These dudes were influenced by Crosby,Steals,Nash,and Young and King Crimson. It really shows when you get the vocal group influences along with synths and Jazz and Classical arrangements and movements.
This is a great collection. All the classics I remember hearing as a child and many more I think are just as great. One of the best bands during a dark time when punk rock and disco were trying to destroy good music. Great album you wont get tired of listening to. Brings back a ton of memories!

Behind Ambrosia's romantic, sweet radio hits like "How Much I Feel" and "Biggest Part of Me" lie incredible songs like "Can't Let a Woman," "Life Beyond L.A.," "Somewhere I've Never Traveled," and, of course, "Nice, Nice, Very Nice." The accomplished Ambrosia, in spite of its lightweight reputation, was a highbrow, artsy band of sorts: Guitarist/ keyboardist/vocalist David Pack's mentor (and friend) was none other than the great Leonard Bernstein, and "Nice, Nice" has lyrics written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Bassist/vocalist Joe Puerta, during Ambrosia's decade-long hiatus, was part of Bruce Hornsby's Range.

My popular musical memories growing up began in the early '80s, so I only knew these guys for their hits that adult contemporary radio stations played. I knew and loved the beautiful hits "How Much I Feel", "Biggest Part Of Me", and "You're the Only Woman" quite well; and I vaguely know the earlier hit "Holding On To Yesterday" and also found it a nice song. When I discovered the existance of this collection, I knew it would be worth it for those songs alone. My only question was wondering how the rest of the collection would be.

Well, without a doubt I am not disappointed. This collection as a whole shows what a talented band these guys were--and not just with their hit ballads. The write up in the CD booklet explains their roots very well and mentions when and where a lot of the songs were popular. Example: songs from their second album, including the classic "Cowboy Star", got them some notice on alternative radio stations of that era--something you would never know from just hearing their biggest radio hits.

Songs like "Nice, Nice, Very Nice", "Life Beyond LA" and "Time Waits For No One" are standout album tracks that are included. And for sure, the track "I Just Can't Let Go"--with Michael McDonald and James Ingram included--is a gorgeous pop track that deserves to be a big single.

This collection is definitely worth the purchase. Definitely for radio fans of the band (which I was) as well as long-time fans who want a summary of their catalog. This music is so good that I am tempted to buy some of their old albums as well. Perhaps someday I will, but for now this is a great starting point for getting to truly appreciate what this band was all about.

For those of you who truly appreciate music with incredible harmonies and lyrics that touch your heart and soul, then look no further, this CD is a must-have for your collection! Of course, you'll love "How Much I Feel" and "You're The Only Woman"(who doesn't?),which showcase David Pack's unbelievable voice!!! There's no other male singer who even comes close to his musical range and emotional power. Also, check out the hauntingly beautiful "Heart to Heart" and the classic "Cowboy Star." This CD is a refreshing welcome to all the garbage that is supposed to be "music" on the radio these days. Great music from the 70's - 90's.....simply timeless.