Pride of Lions - 'Lion Heart'

This is his 6th album under the Pride of Lions moniker; his ‘Young Gun / Purple Fox’ band with the talented Toby Hitchcock on vocals and Mike Aquino on guitar. It’s a talented ensemble and they bring his creations to life in monstrously fine style on this release.

The first single “Carry Me Back” will indeed carry you back to 1983 in just the time it takes to fire up the DeLorean to 88mph. It starts with that classic ‘Eye of the Tiger’ chug but bursts into glorious life with soaring vocals from Toby. “We Play For Free” is built on one of these brilliant one finger keyboard refrains and is a classic of the genre, while the interplay between Jim and Toby’s vocals is a joy and the younger man’s range handles all the key changes JP can chuck at him. “Heart of a Warrior” is one of several classic AOR tunes that showcases Jim’s clever wordsmithery and there’s a chilled “Waiting For a Girl Like You” vibe to the excellent “Sleeping With a Memory”.

You know you’re going to get a sugar-rush with a Peterik album but it’s a smooth sweetness like a fine late-harvested Auslese. “Unfinished Heart” is the big ballad here and Toby makes it his own with a virtuoso performance. He really is one of the finest singers around and his recent solo work “The Reckoning” is worth checking out too. Jim is in philosophical mood on the title track and also philanthropic on “Give it Away” in which he extols the virtues of a man that’s rich in faith rather than being the richest man in the graveyard.

“You’re Not a Prisoner” has apparently been in Jim’s ideas book since Survivor and he also takes you right back to early 70’s LA on “Rock & Roll Boomtown”. The final track “Now” is a beauty. Mike Aquino’s guitar absolutely owns the last two minutes of this song and his outro solo is a killer. Great work and I would love to hear an extended version.

It’s not just Jim’s hair that’s having a Purple patch. Since last year’s ‘World Stage’ album, he’s been busy working on two albums with his buddy Dennis DeYoung and he’s just sneaked out a feel-good Yacht Rock single called “Everything’s Gonna Work Out Fine” with Robert Lamm. Let’s hope the magic keeps flowing for a few more years yet.

I mentioned at the start that “EOTT” is not on my list of Jim’s very best songs so here are my nominations for the Top-5 non-Survivor songs by the great man;

Kelly Keagy; “The Journey”

Scherer & Batten; “The Harder I Try”

Pride of Lions; “All I See is You” (April Rose video version)

Jimi Jamison; “Behind the Music”

.38 Special; “Caught Up in You”

Check them out and you can thank me later. Am I right? If not, tell me in the comments.

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