Ever since their excellent debut back in 2005, I have been waiting for another BLANC FACES album. I wasn’t sure if it would ever happen but I’m happy now to be holding “Falling From The Moon” in my hands and have a chance to review it. For an AOR/melodic rock lover (like myself) this type of release is a wet dream! Brothers Robbie and Brian LeBlanc go way back as a recording unit as they released an album, which has become something of a cult classic, under the name FURY back in 1985.
When the debut BLANC FACES came along in 2005, many called it the AOR album of the year and you’d have a hard time convincing me it wasn’t. I’m happy to say “Falling From The Moon” follows in the same vein as the debut even if after initial listens, it seems to be not quite as immediate as the debut. Thing was, that debut was so brilliant it would just about take nothing short of a genre classic to top it.
“Falling From The Moon” is still a strong album but maybe if some of the songs aren’t as immediate; the quality of the musicianship is fully intact. And don’t get me wrong, there are still some absolutely barnstorming AOR anthems on the record like the title track and SURVIVOR-esque “Falling From The Moon”, which is just as good (or maybe better) as anything off the debut. The album opening “I Come Alive” is another top-notch AOR anthem as are “I Swear To You”, “It’s All About The Love” and “I Will”. But its other songs like “Goodbye Summer Goodbye”, the ballad “Everything”, “Deep In The Heart” and “Don’t Take It Away”, which seem to be just average tunes. They’re nice and all but a little uninspiring at the same time. The rocking “Like A Believer”, with its slightly daft chorus (“You gotta believe like a believer/you gotta fight til the end of the fight”) still ends up being done with conviction and that get marks in my book. The album closes out with the song “Fly” and its semi-epic feel and makes for a decent ending.
Overall, “Falling From The Moon” isn’t as classic as the debut BLANC FACES album but it is still better than many in the genre and if you’re a fan of bands like SURVIVOR, FOREIGNER and even JOURNEY you will most likely appreciate this work.
I had hopes this might be my album of the year but for now it will fall somewhere comfortably in the middle of my top 10 and that still isn’t bad.
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Band Lineup:
- Brian LaBlanc - Vocals, Bass
- Robbie LaBlanc - Vocals, Guitar
- Kyle Woodring - Drums
- Jeff Batter - Keyboards
- Butch Taylor – Lead Guitars
- Michael Patzig - Lead Guitars
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Track Listing:
- I Come Alive
- Falling From The Moon
- I Swear To You
- Everything
- It’s All About The Love
- Goodbye Summer Goodbye
- Deep In The Heart
- Don’t Take It Away
- Like A Believer
- Light Of The World
- I Will
- Fly
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