Ambrosia - Anthology (16 tracks) +Album Reviews

A Wonderful Collection of Hits and Non-Hits!

Michael Butts | Martinsburg, WV USA | 08/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ambrosia was one of the freshest sounds to come out of the seventies, and had much more to offer than their big hits "Biggest Part of Me," "How Much I Feel," and "You're the Only Woman." These are great songs, of course, but what a collection we have here. It features their early hit, "Holdin On to Yesterday," and a reworking of David Pack's solo hit, "I Just Can't Let Go," featuring James Ingram and Michael McDonald. Pack and these gentlemen should do a CD together. What a blend they have. "Life Beyond LA" is a searing look at life in that metropolitan nightmare; an unexcusably edited "Cowboy Star" (one of their finest moments from the "Somewhere I've Never Traveled" CD); and a couple of new tunes ("Mama Don't Understand" and "Sky is Falling".) Pack's vocals are as always powerful and stirring. David has spent a great deal of his time in the last few years producing and recording with other artists. I think it's time he got back in the spotlight, either with the group, the aforementioned McDonald and Ingram; or the great Patti Austin. This is a must in a true audiophile's collection!Michael Butts"

Underrated Gem and Very Pleasant Surprise!

Frederick Baptist | Singapore | 07/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Once in a while, not often enough unfortunately, I buy a cd just because I like one or maybe two of the tracks, not expecting the rest to be anything but filler and get a joyous surprise instead. Getting this album is one example of that.

Not only is every single track a great example of good song composition and great playing, the mix and sound engineered quality of this cd is just fantastic! Let's just say the way this one was produced, there would be no need for any remastered version to be released anytime soon.

I remember how sceptical I was before I got this album as I always remembered Ambrosia best from their hit "The Biggest Part of Me" which I liked but always felt that it was a rip-off or just too close-sounding to Earth, Wind and Fire's "That's the Way of the World" and being a big fan of EW&F, I took it as a personal insult for a long time.

Once I discovered that Ambrosia also wrote "How Much I Feel", I decided to grab the first compilation album of their greatest hits I could find. I'm so grateful that this was the one I found in the store and at a really low price as well. The rest is history as this cd never left my Discman for months afterwards.

The songwriting is exceptional, the musicianship is first-rate (being a musician myself, this is extremely important to me)and the sound production is excellent (being an audiophile, good production is also very important to me).

How can you tell if a greatest hits compilation is good? If when you play the whole album, there is a continuity and it sounds as if it is not a compilation. Very few albums fit this category (The Little River Band's original best of compilation, Naked Eyes'original compilation are a couple that come to mind)but this Ambrosia album is definitely one of them. Go get a copy and be pleasantly surprised yourself."

Ambrosia is an apt name for this band!

Frederick Baptist | 06/30/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ambrosia is one of the most overlooked bands from the seventies, an era which has become desperately overrepresented on "classic rock" radio. With top-40 hits like "Biggest Part of Me," "How Much I Feel" and "Holdin' On To Yesterday," they were a staple of the music scene from 1975 to 1982, and with adventurous fare such as "Somewhere I've Never Travelled," "Nice, Nice, Very Nice" (written with Kurt Vonnegut Jr.) and "Cowboy Star," they were stimulating to the mind as well. The band split amid legal troubles after five LP's, and is yet to release its entire catalogue on CD, but "Anthology" provides a generous helping of the sound which made it a welcome presence on the airwaves, including all the songs mentioned here, along with two new tunes and a reworking of "I Just Can't Let GO," featuring James Ingram and Michael McDonald. This collection's only limitation is that it whets longtime fans' appetites for the still-promised future CD releases of the other five collections. Pack, Puerta, Drummond and North produce distinctive melodies and harmonies, inventive instrumentation, and exciting songs. I HIGHLY recommend this disk, at LEAST until someone puts out the other disks (as has been promised for this year)!"

If you love meaningful lyrics and great music, Ambosia is it

Frederick Baptist | 12/28/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ambrosia is a tremendous rock and roll group. The anthology CD does give a fairly good indication of this. The old tracks as well as the new ones are vintage Ambrosia. David Pack and Joe Puerta are the best two lead singers since Lennon and McCartney. Two of my favorite tracks, "Nice, Nice, Very Nice", and "Holding on to Yesterday" are featured on Anthology, but the hard driving "Can't Let a Woman", and "I Wanna Know" needed to be here to show that Ambrosia didn't just do ballads. They can rock with the best of them. It's a shame the boys at Warner Brothers and A&M only chose to release "How Much I Feel" and the like as singles. These were all very good songs and appear on Anthology, but unless you purchased their albums as I did, this was all you knew. I have recommended Anthology to friends, and those who have purchased it do enjoy it. I hope Anthology is the start of a new generation falling for Ambrosia as I did in 1976. Hopefully, the original albums will be released on CD in the near future (One-Eighty and Life Beyond LA are available as Japanese imports if anyone is interested). Also, check out David Pack on Alan Parson's "Try Anything Once" CD. Close your eyes and it's Ambrosia. If you like lyrics that actually invoke emotion and music makes you feel alive, do Ambrosia."

Ambrosia's Greatest Hits

andy8047 | Nokomis,Florida | 11/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ambrosia released their first album since 1982's ROAD ISLAND entitled ANTHOLOGY. Their best-loved tunes are on this album. I bought it because I knew and loved HOW MUCH I FEEL,YOU'RE THE ONLY WOMAN and BIGGEST PART OF ME. The other 13 songs I never heard of prior to purchasing this album. Take note on the cover what the 4 Ambrosia members David Pack,Joe Puerta,Chris North and Burleigh Drummond look like(those photos were taken in or about 1997). Well, since Ambrosia's disbanding in 1982,Puerta joined Bruce Hornsby and the Range. Hornsby briefly worked with Ambrosia before the disbanding. Ambrosia reformed in 1989 but only played live in clubs and on stage. Puerta quit the Range when Ambrosia reformed. Great move,Joe! I think that was the smartest thing he ever did! This album features two new tracks MAMA DON'T UNDERSTAND and SKY IS FALLING. The latter song was recorded in the style of BH&TR. Since the disbanding,Pack recorded a solo album ANYWHERE YOU GO. From that album comes I JUST CAN'T LET GO,a trio number between Pack,ex-Doobie Brother Michael McDonald and James Ingram. It's on ANTHOLOGY since Puerta and Drummond participated in the recording. From their 1975 self-titled debut come NICE NICE VERY NICE and HOLDIN' ON TO YESTERDAY. From 1976's SOMEWHERE I NEVER TRAVELLED come the title track preceded by the word 'and',an edited version of COWBOY STAR and TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE. From LIFE BEYOND L.A. come the title track,HOW MUCH I FEEL,HEART TO HEART and ANGOLA. From ONE EIGHTY come BIGGEST PART OF ME,YOU'RE THE ONLY WOMAN and LIVIN' ON MY OWN. The lone track from ROAD ISLAND is STILL NOT SATISFIED."

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