Label: Black Lodge Records
Release date: 9/27/2024
Production: Peter Friestedt
Album length: 45.48 min
Genre: West-Coast AOR
Rating: 8.0/10
CWF is a supergroup made up of Joseph Williams of Toto, former Chicago vocalist Bill Champlin and Swedish guitarist and producer Peter Friestedt. The band came together after the success of their debut studio album »I« (2015) and a live DVD that hit number one on the charts in Sweden. Five years later, the second album »II« followed.
Williams, best known for his work with Toto, is also the man who lent his voice to the singing Simba in »The Lion King«. Friestedt, Williams’ partner from past recording sessions, is a highly respected and constantly in-demand session musician and producer who has also put out two successful solo albums. Champlin is a true veteran of the legendary Chicago and a Grammy winner! So this is a trio serving up music straight from the west-coast AOR recipe book, a trio that packs a wealth of talent and experience into one place, both in songwriting and in studio know-how when it comes to sound production.
All those qualities the fine threesome brings to the new album add up to nothing but good news. The record is a prime example of a musical language that draws the best from the rich legacy of the west-coast AOR genre and, given the backgrounds these musicians come from, keeps leaning now toward Toto (the eighties), now toward Chicago. That’s exactly what you’d expect. The two lead vocalists make sure of it, and the opening stretch of the album makes it crystal clear: Brighter Day, Wings and Wings Of Tomorrow are packed with Toto vibes. Track four, the ballad Find The Love, where Champlin takes over lead vocals, comes across like a craftily disguised remake of the Chicago hit Hard To Say I’m Sorry. Williams and Champlin both have instantly recognizable voices and vocal approaches. Two dominant figures whose vocals are tailor-made for the CWF sound! Then there’s the mellow Carrie, with Williams on vocals, which immediately brings to mind all those Toto tunes named after women, from Rosanna and Lee to Holyanne, and so on…
In fact, it’s precisely this resemblance to both bands that takes a bit away from the record’s artistic value, because you get the feeling it’s an album of songs that Toto and Chicago just never recorded in the eighties. On the flip side, fans of west-coast AOR and of both bands will surely be more than thrilled with what’s on offer. Considering these are three legendary musicians who, back in the eighties, contributed the lion’s share to shaping and popularizing the genre, the ‘imitation’ is honestly pretty forgivable. If you’re still reading this far, you may have figured out already that the lyrics are basically bleeding-heart digests, and it’s downright funny that old uncles like Champlin, Williams and Friestedt are still so devotedly writing poetry for 17-year-olds.
There are fewer guest musicians on this one than on the previous two albums, and not as many big names either, but still. Their presence will surely stir up extra interest in »III« among fans of both earlier records. And Moments Of Joy is an instrumental that reminds us the musicians on this album are, among other things, seriously jazz-schooled!
So? No revolution here. But there are songs that lodge in your ear right away. They come with great production and excellent songwriting, building moods up into crescendo choruses, and in the ultra-musical pomp the compositions reach, it all hits you from the very first spin. The album feels of one piece. You listen to it in one go. Highlights are hard to single out, because there are no dips in quality. On top of all that, the masterful seasoning of the instrumental playing inside the intricately polished middle-eights deserves a mention! In short, with »III« Champlin, Williams and Friestedt have once again proven their refined sharpness, watchful polish and perfectionism, chasing the highest value of AOR ‘pomp cosmetics’, or let’s just call it ‘art aesthetics’. A gorgeous album that was worth the four-year wait and that will entertain and delight especially those who know that their eighties heroes, whether Toto or Chicago, will never again record anything that rings out quite like this new CWF album does! »III« is therefore a kind of ‘nostalgic wound healer’!
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Brighter Day
2. Sure
3. Wings Of Tomorrow
4. Find The Love
5. Carrie
6. I Will Find You There
7. Stay With Me
8. Almost Had Me There
9. Fly Away Now
10. Moments Of Joy
11. The Last Unbroken Heart
Lineup:
Bill Champlin
Joseph Williams
Peter Friestedt
Guest musicians:
Jason Scheff
John JR Robinson
Randy Goodrum
Tamara Champlin
Michael Ruff
