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All 41 - The World's Best Hope
All 41 - The World's Best Hope CD Album Review

All 41: The World's Best Hope

AOR Melodic Rock
5.0/5.0

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Frontiers Music
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 29.06.2017

Here's something new and different from Frontiers Music: gathering four world class musicians from different bands to form a brand new band. Yeah, that was pretty much tongue-in-cheek sarcasm. We all know it's something that President Serafino Perugino and crew are very good at doing and do quite often. All 41 includes Terry Brock on lead vocals (Giant, Strangeways), Robert Berry (Three, Alliance) on bass and vocals, Gary Pihl (Boston, Sammy Hagar, Alliance) on guitar, and Matt Starr (Ace Frehley, Mr Big) on drums. The World's Best Hope is their first album, produced by Perugino's right hand man, Alessandro Del Veccio.

All 41 Band Photo

All 41

Simply, All 41 play AOR melodic rock. That's also essentially self-evident from the various and many bands represented by the individual members. Which also means that the musical sound of those bands rises within The World's Best Hope. But the All 41 sound is likely more similar to Strangeways, Alliance, and Mr Big, rather than Boston or Ace Frehley, and definitely no where near Sammy Hagar.

All 41 loads up on all the essential AOR melodic rock elements: infectious melody in song composition, harmony in guitar lines and vocal arrangements, toe-tapping rhythm and groove from bass and drums, sweet and soaring guitar solos, hooks in melodies and refrains, and strong clean vocals. For the last thing, All 41 has bass player Robert Berry adding a second voice to Terry Brock's lead vocals. After this, all these things are wrapped up in AOR accessibility suitable for everything from radio singles to arena anthems to Summer top-down road trip music. It's the perfect AOR storm.

As for the songs, you've got straight up rockers with After The Rain, Cyanide, and stronger Never Back Down. For something more on the AOR side look to Down Life's Pages, Walk Alone (sounds like a Journey song, maybe, in the vocal arrangement), and the uber groovy Show Me The Way. And what's an AOR rock band without a ballad or two? (Don't answer that.) They come with Don't Surrender (To Love) and the soulful and passionate Mother Don't Cry, driven by a sweet piano line and an absolutely spine-tingling vocal arrangement. AOR anthem or ballad of the year? Perhaps. I might even suggest buying the CD for that song alone, but it's all good.

Bottom line: with The World's Best Hope, All 41 delivers the AOR melodic rock goods in a creative and entertaining fashion. Easily recommended.



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The Bottom Line

With The World's Best Hope, All 41 delivers the AOR melodic rock goods in a creative and entertaining fashion. Easily recommended.

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