Customer Reviews

One Eighty

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like the Yes albums of the 1980s, this project is best heard in it's own context, not in view of all that came before. The addition of Royce Jones and David Cutler-Lewis improves the level of creativity which is often lost as bands develop, normally resulting in a less homogenous sound throughout the album. I must admit I was quite disappointed with this album, in the wake of their first two efforts. "One-Eighty" is a definite departure from their prog-rock beginnings, although some echoes of their earlier style can be heard in "Kamikaze" (sung, incidentally, by Joe Puerta, the principal vocalist on the first albums). Hopefully, this album suceeded in bringing new listeners to their earlier music, as was the case with listeners to Yes' "90125" and "Big Generator". All in all, not a bad album. Worth buying.

This is Ambrosia's third album and their most accessable. This album features The usual lineup of David Pack on vocals & guitar, Joe Puerta vocals & bass and Burleigh Drummond on drums & vocals. This album also benefits from the addition of Former Steely Dan alumnus Royce Jones on percussion (He was in a touring lineup of Steely Dan which also featured future Doobie Brothers Jeff Baxter & Michael McDonald)this album also features the wonderful organ work of returning member Christopher North as well as the synth work of David cutler Lewis. The first cut Ready is a firey rocker featuring the soaring harmonies of Royce jones & Joe Puerta with the lead vocals of David pack over the top Royce Jones takes the lead on the next cut Shape I'm in and shows what a great addition he is to the band. Other highlights include the their two biggest hits the David Pack penned hits You're the only women & Biggest part of Me Also Check out the mean organ solo on Cryin' in the Rain by Christopher North. This is a great recording of highly polished well crafted and well performed songs.

It's difficult to reconcile an Ambrosia album like "One Eighty" with their previous, predominantly progressive, hard-rock extravaganzas including their debut masterpiece effort (self titled), followed by an arguably even LOFTIER orchestral, rock-opera creation called "Somewhere I've Never Travelled" (which, if you own the LP, is unique, creative and imaginative [and a definite collector's gem] in that the album cover actually opens out and up into the shape [suitable for a table centerpiece] of a perfect pyramid!). Wow! And then Ambrosia's third offering, "Life Beyond L.A.," is worth the price of purchase alone with its eponymously-titled opening track, a progressive-rock "quo vadis" that even received respectable-enough airplay on selective radio stations in 1978.

But by then however, Ambrosia fans were beginning to notice a rather disconcerting change in their beloved, "intelligent-rocker-audiophile" quartet's musical direction. To put it mildly, Ambrosia was beginning to show signs of "mellowing out." Worse yet, they seemed to be "selling out." You could say that the worry began to settle in with 1978's adult-contemporary hit single, "How Much I Feel." With this song, Ambrosia started to gain a whole new audience, while undermining their faithful base of progressive-rock worshippers.

That loyal base could have forgiven Ambrosia their 1978 commercially-driven faux pas, were it not for their fourth offering and the album reviewed here, "One Eighty" (released, not coincidentally enough, in 1980). Two more hit singles reminiscent of "How Much I Feel," namely "You're the Only Woman" and "Biggest Part of Me," nailed the coffin lid shut on Ambrosia (as rock-and-roll pioneers) forever, typecasting them as "easy listening" to the masses of listeners right up until the present day.

Tragically enough, being typecast as easy-listening was never what band members and erstwhile audial imagineers David Pack, Joe Puerta or Christopher North ever had in mind. But something happened between "Somewhere I've Never Travelled" and "One Eighty." Perhaps it was the fact that David Pack was (literally) losing his hearing in both ears. Or maybe the reality was best summed up in the lyrics to the outstanding, progressive-rock swan song "Life Beyond L.A." (from the album released 2 years before "One Eighty"): "Living out here you soon come to know that it ain't how good you are as much as who you know ... now you fake it."

They did. And they made a lot of money doing just that.

But surprisingly (or perhaps not, at least to the legions of "true" Ambrosia aficionados), just as Ambrosia began to be recognized in a rather major fashion by the Billboard Pop Chart, rather than "ride the success wave" to further pop popularity, "One Eighty" marked both the apex (commercially) and the collapse (artistically) of Ambrosia's career. Their followup album, "Road Island," sank into the ocean of oblivion like Krakatoa. And along with "Road Island," Ambrosia itself disappeared beneath the waves.

I recall vividly in 1980, leafing through an issue of Billboard Magazine shortly after "One Eighty" and its attendant, light-on-the-ears, soft-on-the-brain hits dolloped onto the scene like so much hospital-vanilla pudding, amazingly and amusingly enough (and ostensibly as a kind of "sop to Cerberus" to their "hard core" audience): Ambrosia posted a full-page, full-color, heavy-text "disclaimer" in the industry-standard rag, defending their new album and insisting vehemently that "Ambrosia still rocks!" All humor aside, most implicit in this defense was, "please, please don't judge us by our hit songs; buy our new album and you'll hear for yourself - all the REALLY GOOD HEAVY stuff WHICH YOU LOVE and which the radio ISN'T playing! It's in here TOO!!" So I bought "One Eighty."

And I kind of had to agree with the guys. I love the thickly-layered, power-rock opening track, "Ready" (reminiscent of their equally power-driven "Can't Let a Woman" off "Somewhere I've Never Travelled"), and I also thought "Kamikaze" jammed effectively enough. But the rest of the album?

Hmmmmm ...

In any case, I had purchased the LP. And when the CD of "One Eighty" finally made it to market, yup - I bought that as well. So, like it or not, if I was upset with the way Ambrosia had declined artistically, I still feel, even to this day, that the band's definitive oeuvre just isn't complete unless all four of their albums (up until "Rock Island" which, although I do own it, confessedly, I couldn't tell you any of the names, let alone hum any of the tunes, of a single one of the songs from this album off the top of my head).

Thus, "four" seems to be a kind of "magic number" for Ambrosia, which is why, albeit semi-reluctantly, I give "One Eighty" four stars, even though (intellectually) I might wish to assign it merely two, or two-and-a-half. Maybe I give "One Eighty" 4 stars because their opening song "Ready" redeems the rest of the album. That and "Kamikaze." Or perhaps because ... ummmm ... "je ne sais quoi" (*sigh*) as the French say - I just don't know why.

Call it a "lifetime achievement award" to a band I once loved to pieces, and still do - for their aboriginal, brilliant work early on. Fortunately, you can still hear vestiges of that work here on "One Eighty."

Let me start by saying that I am and have been a fan of Ambrosia since I first heard them in 1975. In my opinion, this is one of their best albums, although I cannot actually pick my favorite album of theirs. (They are all THAT good.) If you listened to FM radio in 1980 (and who didn't) you knew every word of two of the songs on this album. This should be in everyone's collection. Everytime I hear 'You're the Only Woman' or 'Biggest Part of Me', it TO THIS DAY evokes an intense emotional feeling in me that I have never experienced listening to any other group or music. David Pack's voice will reel you in. Ambrosia is still around, but without David Pack. Pack's voice is sorely missed in the current incarnation of the group and the music sounds mechanical and insincere without him. It is a shame that this has been discontinued by the manufacturer. BUY this before it's too late. You won't be disappointed... this group was way ahead of it's time. Put it in your CD player, turn out the lights, close your eyes and FEEL the music!

July 28, 2009
I've thought about it again...and THIS IS my favorite Ambrosia album. It was different than their first three albums having more of a ballad or mellow love tone to it, and unfortunately was much maligned by many of their fans. That being said, it produced more top of the chart hits for the group than any of their other albums and those songs are still staples of many radio and satellite stations today.

ONE EIGHTY was inspired by the month and year this album was finished,January 1980. Burleigh Drummond's arms around Joe Puerta is not a sign of homosexuality,as some people might think. This album was re-released in February 2000 on compact disc in America. This album is Ambrosia's fourth with their last biggest hits YOU'RE THE ONLY WOMAN and BIGGEST PART OF ME written by Ambrosia member David Pack. They're both jazz-flavored. LIVIN' ON MY OWN is also jazz-flavored. Those three songs appear on 1997's ANTHOLOGY. READY,also written by Pack, is a hard-rocker just like ROCK 'N A HARD PLACE(not to be confused with the Rolling Stones recording of almost the same title with different words and music). Drummer Drummond takes the lead on his personally penned CRYIN' IN THE RAIN. NO BIG DEAL,SHAPE I'M IN and KAMIKAZE are all cool. Ambrosia would record one more album after this,ROAD ISLAND,released in 1982 and disband thereafter.

So, first off---what's with the album cover? Is it homsexual to hug another band member? What about all the football guys who hug each other and pat each other's derrieres? Come on, guys, physical contact is pretty common amongst most men, they just don't admit it.
With that said, the music: it's one of their best, I think. "Kamikaze" with its stilted off-tempo beat, is a killer song. The vocals by Pack and Puerta on all the songs lift them way beyond the norm for those 80's bands. Their two hits, "The Biggest Part of Me" and "You're the Only Woman" are great top-40 songs; you even hear them today. "Cryin in the Rain," "Livin on My Own," "Ready"..they're all great tunes.
If you've heard their "Anthology," you can see how great these guys have developed. They were actually involved with the Alan Parsons' classic "Tales of Mystery and Imagination." Pack has since become a producer and backup singer, having helmed Patti Austin's awesome "The Real Me." These guys knew their stuff, and they obviously even LIKED each other.
RECOMMENDED.

As I read a few of the other reviews I thought to myself that I had never thought of this album as anything but great though I have to agree that it was a commercial departure from their earlier roots. However I had the opportunity to see them twice on tour when this album was released and the songs on here take on a whole new dynamic when played live and mixed with all their other great songs. Their studio musician background made for a great live performance with great technical focus (The song "Time waits" from their first album....might be one of the best I ever saw performed live) and the quality of the vocals was enhanced with the additional artists on this album. Joe Puerta's base on "Livin on my own" is still one of my favorite grooves and both the live performances started off with "Ready" which has a lot of energy in it and the studio version has a nice David Pack fade out which sets the tone for the albums mix. When I listen to the album "Life Beyond L.A." I hear a lot of the same song crafting and think this album just took the next progressive step and perhaps without apology really let people hear just how good David Pack was as a vocalist. That aspect does give the album a softer feel in places but also gives you a known hit as the last song on the record. This is one of those albums that you can truly listen to from start to finish without needing to skip over songs. I always think of that as a great indicator of a good album.

I love Ambrosia. I agree that "One Eighty" is not "Ambrosia". But as far as I concerned it doesn't have to be. I tend to love all music that is Ambrosia (David Pack's Ambrosia) and this album is no exception. It is, for me, all good and some of it is great (Kamikaze, Shape I'm In, Ready). I find it distressing that this album is no longer in print. I had to download it from a website called CD Universe.

Even with the two hit songs on this CD...It is still pretty good. It's obvious that this isn't progressive rock. The band Ambrosia slowly abandoned that genre music and chose to write and play pop music. Perhaps, it was contractual obligations or maybe, they just needed to eat??? The opening track Ready, makes references in the lyrics...to Somewhere I Never Travelled and Getting On Out Of L.A. Clearly, these words are chosen to refer back to their earlier albums. This song is one of the better one's on this CD. Shape I'm In is an okay pop-style song. Kamikaze rates as one of the worst songs that Ambrosia has ever made. I enjoy the music, but the lyrics stink! It's just stupid and dated. Like they would know anything about being a Kamikaze pilot. You're The Only Woman is a lesser known hit, but still recieves quite a lot of airplay. It's heard more often than not here lately in it's new jazzed-up remix by David Pack on his CD called The Secret Of Movin' On. I think that I like the original version better. Rock N' A Hard Place....is another good song. Definitely some shades of prog-rock here! Livin' On My Own is also one of the standout songs on this CD. It features the singing of Royce Jones. Great voice!!! Cryin' In The Rain is a pretty good tune, but definitely a "girlie rock" song. No Big Deal is a fast-paced, up-tempo song...The lyrics are kind of silly, but the song is catchy and has some hints of progressive rock. The final track is Ambrosia's well-known hit, Biggest Part Of Me. It's a nice song, but definitely overplayed. This is and adequate CD, but certainly not Ambrosia's best. It features some different musicians and a different sound.

What a great CD. A little bit of everything--from the Top 40 hits "You're the Only Woman" and "Biggest Part of Me" to my favorites that most people have never heard like "Shape I'm In" and "Livin' On My Own". David Pack has a great voice and after 20+ years I still love this music! If you're feeling nostalgic for the late '70's and early '80's, and you like groups like Pablo Cruise or maybe early Toto, I think you'll like this cd.