Frontiers Records is pleased to present all details surrounding the release of the long awaited AMBITION project.
The basis of AMBITION were put during the year 2002, when Frontiers Records President - Serafino Perugino - approached singer Joe Vana, of MECCA fame, in order to bring back on the spotlight one of the “long lost” AOR golden throats - Thom Griffin. He reappeared again – after a silence lasted some 20 years! - on the music scene singing backgrounds on the MECCA album, where Vana ironically, shared lead vocals with Fergie Fredriksen (ex TOTO, LEROUX): the first singer in Griffin’s original band TRILLION.
Griffin gained in fact his cult-status singing with TRILLION on “Clear Approach”, a magnificent example of Pomp Rock which still today stands the test of time and that got reissued in the year 2000 on Sony Music in Japan.
Vana and Griffin soon went into the studio and cut the song “Waiting In My Dreams” (a remake of a hidden treasure from the MR. MISTER repertoire), who took melodic rock fans by storm on the ROCK THE BONES vol. 1 compilation, released on Frontiers in 2003 (now included as a bonus track on the finished release). Shortly after however Joe Vana was forced to resign from his obligations, because of circumstances outside his control. Griffin then remained without a producer and a songwriting partner and the project was about to be put on hold indefinitely.
But it was only thanks to Perugino’s persistence that AMBITION could see the light of the day in the end! He hired producer Fabrizio Grossi (GLENN HUGHES, STARBREAKER, VERTIGO etc.) to care about the recording sessions and asked around to supply the proper material that could suit best Griffin’s soaring vocal abilities. Joey Carbone, longtime Joseph Williams’ (ex TOTO singer) sonwgriting partner, answered the call and supplied “No Wasted Moments” and “Together”. But thanks to this idea he was also able to discover a couple of new talents in the persons of Christian Wolff, a very gifted songwriter from Sweden (who in the meanwhile has become the new songwriting partner of ON THE RISE’s Terje Eide – who also has a song on this album “Shaping Fate and Destiny”) and Brian LaBlanc (who later on got a recording contract with his own band BLANC FACES).
The recording of the project could finally restart at the end of 2004 and since the music had an obvious resemblance to TOTO’s sound on “Isolation” and “The Seventh One”, the producers thought to enlist the services of Swedish guitar ace Tommy Denander, who could give the perfect AOR touch for this release!
Still keen on the idea of having two singers sharing lead vocals duties – and since Vana could not yet resolve his own problems - at the very last minute, Perugino and Grossi thought it was cool to have a guest spot from short-lived TOTO singer Jean-Michel Byron. He duets with Griffin on “Too Much” and “Hypocrites” and sings leads on “Hunger” giving a special taste to the release.
AMBITION final tracklisting includes the following tracks:
Hold On (click to hear an mp3 sample); Hypocrites (*)(click to hear an mp3 sample); Alone I Cry (click to hear an mp3 sample); Shaping Fate And Destiny; All I Need; Make It Alright; No Wasted Moments; Together; Too Much (*); Hunger (§); The Promise; Waiting In My Dreams (Bonus Track Europe) (+).
All songs Lead Vocals: Thom Griffin except
Lead Vocals on (*): Thom Griffin & Jean Michel Byron
Lead Vocals on (+): Thom Griffin & Joe Vana
Lead Vocals on (§): Jean Michel Byron
Release date is scheduled on Frontiers Records in Europe on January the 27th 2006 with a Japanese release scheduled on KING Records shortly after.