David A. Saylor
Strength of One

A Sailor, that is a bit gay, isn’t it? Unlike americans however, I do not oppose gay rights and all those things, so it is okay in my book. Bad play on words there to begin with, but why not take any chance to have a go at the americans? But to the album then, this is the second one of David A Saylor which according to the label is his best and most accomplished yet. That cannot be too difficult considering that it only have to be better than one album.

”Following on from last year's Kiss Of Judas EP (now sold out) Saylor returns with Strength Of One, a collection of eleven AOR/Melodic Rock gems which again showcases his awesome voice, production skills and song writing talent.” Question: Did I and the label hear the same album when listening to Strength of One? Gems indicates fantastic songs that stands apart from what have been released before, that is not true. Awesome voice? I don’t think so, good voice I can agree to but amazing indicates that he would be at the forefront amongst singers in the genre and that is not true. Production skills, oh yes but then again almost all modern AOR sports fantastic production so that is no longer something that sets anything apart. Song writing talent to me showcases the ability to write something that stands apart from most else in the genre and this album has nothing like that.

I am nagging on about ”AOR for Dummies” and similar educative books on the genre and this follows the rules to the letter. It is AOR as you imagine it, not in a way that blows you away. Creativity and fresh ideas is the most important thing in music today, Saylor seems to be lacking in that regard. This is a good AOR production, an album that is good to listen to but from a novelty aspect it is as great as looking at a football game featuring Argentina. That means completely without appeal, although Argentina sucks as they are unsportsmanlike and useless while David A Saylor at least has some appeal from an entertaining point of view. This album is a good listen it has good songs, catchy choruses and all of that, along with the variation you expect and a 47 minute playing time, for a less demanding AOR fan I believe it has a lot of appeal.

I think the opening track Welcome to the Show sets a good tone and maybe sets the bar slightly higher than the album manages to deliver. So, I am not saying that it is as bad as a semifinal game between Holland and Argentina but it is nowhere near as good as one between Brazil and Germany. A decent album which fails to deliver any lasting impression but is too good to dismiss straight away before giving it a chance.

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