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LIONVILLE
A World Of Fools
Frontiers Music Srl, 2017

This CD has been sitting on the shelves somewhere in a hidden chamber in the dungeons of the KNAC.COM headquarters for some months now and has, for whatever reason, been sadly neglected. In fact, it was released on 24 February, so a review is definitely overdue.

What comes to light after the CD has been freed from cobwebs and accumulated dust, is the cover you see on this page. The band is called LIONVILLE and A World Of Fools is their third studio effort. And if you think that the name of the band, the cover artwork and the album title meet a few clichés, just wait until you see the track list, which includes titles such as “Show Me Your Love”, “Bring Me Back Our Love” (can you see a pattern emerging there?), “Heaven Is Right Here”, “One More Night”, “All I Want” – need I go on? To understate the matter, the five-piece based in Genova, Italy did not even try to avoid cliché-ridden song titles, which, however, are just right for the kind of music they play: put the CD on and you're greeted with 1980's melodic rock/AOR sounds in the style of Richard Marx, TOTO and the like. And what's more, LIONVILLE, that is Stefano Lionetti (lead and vocals, guitars, keyboards), Lars Säfsund (lead and backing vocals), Michele Cusato (guitars), Giulio Dagnito (bass) and Martino Malacrida (drums and percussion) absolutely nail it. This is straight, ultra-melodic rock abounding in catchy – and admittedly sometimes cheesy – hooks, harmony vocals and eighties guitar sounds to match. Everything seems to be smooth – maybe a bit too smooth – on this album: the easy-to-listen-to songs, the arrangements, the excellent musical performance of the entire band, the almost perfect production (full and the lead vocals could shine through a bit more, though).

A World Of Fools is a thoroughly enjoyable album, definitely something for sunny, easy days. I seriously doubt, however, that the enjoyment won't wear off a bit by the time you've played the album ten times because the songs tend to be a bit samey in the long run, even though they're good and I find myself using the repeat button more often than I am tempted to touch the skip button. The tracks that definitely stand out are the opener “I Will Wait”, with its unexpected rhythm change in the solo part (nicely shared by guitar and keyboard, by the way), the laid-back “Heaven Is Right Here” (great lead guitar intro), the groovy title track and the concluding “Image Of Your Soul” with its piano intro, which reminds me of VAN HALEN's “Right Now”.

If you like perfectly polished AOR/melodic rock and if you're looking for some good and easy music for the summer days (and hot nights, of course), try LIONVILLE's A World Of Fools. It's the perfect album to be played in your cabrio, at parties or in your bedroom and it would be a shame if it just caught dust in the KNAC.COM dungeons.

Editor's Note: This CD had been available since a few weeks prior to its release, but sadly, no writer opted to review it until now. There really is no 'KNAC.COM Dungeon' :)

3.5 Out Of 5.0

Pick up a copy of A World Of Fools in the KNAC.COM Dungeon, I mean More Store, right HERE.