Customer Reviews

Empires

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

 

 

Originally released in 1999, Empires was a solo effort by former Survivor frontman Jimi Jamison. The music you hear on Empires is of course quite similar to Survivor's particular brand of AOR. In fact, the album was originally released under the name "Jimi Jamison's Survivor."

Empires is a very solid, very old-school AOR album, full of ballads and love anthems. It's an album very much in the classic Survivor mold. Believe it or not, one of the album highlights is the song I'm Always Here, which was the theme song to the TV show Baywatch. Jamison carries the album with his warm and powerful voice. The songs are for the most part quite well written, though they do tend to get a bit cheesy at times. I guess that's just one of the pitfalls of this kind of music. Still, this is an enjoyable album that should please most old-school AOR fans, especially Survivor fans.

The 2004 reissue of Empires features a pair of bonus tracks. The first is a Christmas-themed ballad called Keep It Evergreen. The second is a live version of Survivor's Too Hot to Sleep. Whether or not they make it worth replacing your original version of Empires depends on just how much of a Jimi Jamison fan you are.

Perhaps the most controversial album of the "Survivor" family of artists, "Empires" is commonly regarded as the 1999 solo album by iconic singer Jimi Jamison. "Empires" was marketed at a time when "Survivor" were inactive, and proved in many ways similar to their original style while also baring striking differences.

Songwriting-wise you get the same craft of guitar-keyboard driven AOR/ melodic rock with emphasis on catchy choruses. For that matter songs like "Cry tough", "First day of love", "Have mercy" and "Calling America" are just as infectious as "Survivor"s chart hits, clearly matching the standards of landmark albums as "Vital Signs" and "Too hot to Sleep" (never forgetting the inclusion of the "Baywatch" series hit "I'm always here"). Jimi Jamison is once again on top form, adding the same feeling and artistc charisma on each of the songs on offer.

On the other hand "Empires" production is fundamentally different to the original sound, featuring thick guitar riffs and equally fat bass which never the less makes "Empires" sound all the more contemporary. In retrospect "Empires" turned out to be one of the heavier rocking albums in Jamison's catalogue featuring no shortage of standout tunes; with a total of fourteen songs on offer this is easily his most complete album to date.

Jimi Jamison Rocks Love this cd His voice is amazing nothing like it in the world his music doing it his way awesome Susan King

Jimi Jamison gave Survivor what they desperately needed; a voice to bring in the fan base and the money. Boy, did he ever. Sure, he didnt sing

Eye of the Tiger but he did sing on "High On You", "I Cant Hold Back", "The Search is Over", "Burning Heart", and "Is This Love". Id say that makes him the golden throat Cash Cow...dont you? Anyway, this solo effort sounds very similar to Survivor. Musically, it may sound a little TOO polished and precise. There's not much character to the guitar or the drums but thats not what people pay for when they buy a Jimi Jamison CD. They want the voice...and Jamison delivers. "Cry Tough" opens up the CD and Jamison carries the vocal torch with ease and confidence. Other highlights include the heavy-chugging "First Day of Love", a fantastic vocal ballad "November Rain", the Survivor-esqe "Reach", and hell even the Baywatch theme song "I'll be there"; re-recorded. How bout a little Holiday music? Jamison has got you covered. Check out the last track and have yourself a Merry Christmas...just like the past. Jamison delivers the goods; catchy songs with great vocal melodies. You'll be humming these tunes in the shower in no time!

Great cd.like all of jimis songs,calling america is one of the best as well as buring heart live.............a must have for all fans.

I love the cd...wonderful voice of Jimi Jamison...an absolute must have for music lovers.

This is Jimi Jamison of Survivor. It's got more of a kick to it than his Survivor cuts. It also includes the song he did for Baywatch. There's a few ballads, that are fantastic. But if you're looking for Jimi at his best, this this is a "must have".

The most recent recordings of Jimi Jamison with Survivor were very good. But I have to say that I prefer the older recordings from 1976 & 1977 with the band called Target. With David Spain on drums, Tommy Cathy on bass, Buddy Davis on guitar and organ, Paul Cannon playing lead guitar. That was some really great Rock and Roll. I have looked all over the country trying to replace my old vynil albums of target, but I have been unsuccessful. They are out of print and have never been reproduced on cd's. It would make my day if I walked into the store one day and there they were on cd's.