Typical Melodic Hard Rock. If you love bands as Toto, Boston, Unruly Child, Heavens Hedge, Shadow King, Bonfire, Reo Speedwagon, Styx, Talisman, Journey and other melodic Hard Rock/ AOR bands, Michele Luppi is another artist who, I am sure you will love. Michele Luppi is a musician who loves music in every aspect and it is a pleasure for me to say that I met him after a concert Vision Divine, where I also met Andrea "Tower" Torricini.
When I heard for the first time "Strive" I was disappointed, I was expecting something similar to Vision Divine. But I knew to be in front of a really nice album and its genre, really well thought out. Michele plays keyboards and performed all vocal parts. Guests are: Olaf Thorsen, Alex De Rosso, Oleg Smirnoff, Michele "Dr. Viossy" Vioni, Roberto Galli, Helder Stefanini, Maurizio Solieri, Mimmo Camporeale, Paolo Gialdi, Roberto Priori, Vic Johnson, Miguel Lobos and Alberto Bergonzoni, all good Michele's friends. With a list of musicians like this album could not let me down for so long. And in fact after a few plays "Strive" came to please me. The first thing I tried was to metabolize the sense of "Listen to how good I am!" An album of the genre forward. But I was always overwhelmed by the choirs typically 80's of "Stars". I was never convinced the way the ballad "The Castle Inside My Head" because I feel this power ballad too AOR. Yet "Strive" is an album that deserved better luck. Meanwhile, because it is an album very direct and firm in his desire to be carefree and powerful. Then why Michele Luppi involved musicians who have a vision equal to his in music. Michele Luppi wanted to resurrect many of the ideas of melodic Hard Rock American, not to mention who is Italian. So I would like that after so many years, "Strive" could have happened that did not in 2005!
You say: "Michele Luppi is a good singer and composer. But 'Strive' seems like a normal album... Why should we add it to our discography?" Because, sometimes, people involved in a project worth more than any song. And then because "Strive" is a great album, magical and immortal.