Customer Reviews

The Dream

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

 

 

"The Dream" brings together two of the most accomplished AOR musicians: guitarist Josh Ramos ("Two Fires", "Hardline", "The Storm") and HugoValenti ("Valentine").

From the opening notes of the album which naturally derive from Josh's amazingly innovative style, you know that this stands far from the typical AOR release. Two arguments: For one you have Ramos who has the ability to deliver guitar riffs that reach classic status upon first audition; further more although in the light rock genre, Josh does not hold back his full scale solo attack which occasionally lasts over a minute. The second standout element is the unexpected line up inclusion of pedal master John Macaluso ("Starbreaker") on drums. Again taking into account that this is AOR, John hits hard and kicks twice as fast.
This fantastic trio delivers highlight such as "You're not alone", "All that I wanted",
"Bring back this love" and "I don't want to say goodbye".

Bizarrely, a number of rock/metal magazines stand unconvinced regarding the album and mark this release with 5-6/10.
From a personal perspective, the only minor fault with "The Dream" would be the fact that Hugo sings with his trademark "Valentine" vocals, while most of the songs here would require a more aggressive approach.
The truth is that the album overall is very, very strong. The more you listen the harder it seems to believe that "Ramos- Hugo" is simply an AOR project.
If you enjoyed the "Marcello- Vestry" album you just have to get a hold of this.

I seriously didn't know what to expect but I was blown away, I am a child of the 80's and I miss the good fun music of that era, the music out today is quite frankly depressing, this album is phenomenal, the vocals are a cut above anything I've heard in a long while (Steve Perry excluded) the guitars and drums were produced almost perfectly. If you are a fan of The Storm, Signal, Journey or Unruly Child, this album cannot be passed up! WOW!

To all those of you who leave messages on blogs or commentaries on YOUTUBE saying how much you miss this kind of music, look no further! The search is over!This is exactly what we've been craving for! Music with a capital M. AOR at its absolute best. The songwriting and the playing are awesome and there are absolutely no fillers!Can you name many such records nowadays?

I love this album!!! I think that it should be in the top 3 AOR albums of the year. All of the songs are well written and I feel that Josh Ramos and Hugo make an incredible team. I hope that they make more incredible music in the future because I will definitely be buying it!!!