FERGIE FREDERIKSEN — Happiness Is The Road (review)

FERGIE FREDERIKSEN — Happiness Is The Road album cover Album · 2011 · Hard Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Stephen
ex-Toto singer and a cancer survivor, Fergie Frederiksen, came back strong to the scene with the help of prominent rhythm section, Dennis Ward on multi-instrumentals and Eric Ragno on keyboards. People used to hear him singing slowtempo tunes back in Toto days and in his previous solo album, 'Equilibrium', but in 'Happiness Is The Road', Fergie explored the hard rock side of himself, cracking up many energetic uplifting songs written by the likes of Jim Peterik and Robert Sall, but also still showing his tender side on ballads.

This is better than I expected but apart from the unquestionably great rhythm supporters, the songs are just magnificent. Take 'Angel' or 'Elaine' which was written by Sall, both are awesome starters in uptempo fashion. 'First To Cry' sounds very familiar and apparently it's the same song that House of Lords used in their latest album. I may prefer Christian's take of the song but the great production on this album makes the song better over HoL's version.

'Follow Your Heart' is a stunning ballad written by Jim Peterik, one of the best tunes here. The title track sounds very Pride of Lions, also another Peterik-penned tune. If you're familiar with David Roberts, he also wrote some westcoast/AOR stuffs here which are pretty good as well. 'Lyin Eyes' was performed by Auras, the Brazilian AOR band, one of my fave. Basically the rest are also great, in fact, I rated this slightly higher than my first impression, racking up a total score of 85% and perhaps the best Frederiksen solo album for me. Fans of himself, Toto, or AOR/MHR in general just can't miss this!
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

The First Breath Is The Beginning Of Death Sludge Metal
IDIOT CHILD
Buy this album from MMA partners
Morbid Curiosities Sludge Metal
LUURCH
Buy this album from MMA partners
Asbestos Tiles Hardcore Punk
SUNDOWNER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Lysergic Ritual Sludge Metal
SUNDOWNER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Terra Preta Sludge Metal
TITANOBOA
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Agremorta - Adrocitas (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Agremorta - Ploratus Umbra (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Agremorta - Vertex Membrana (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 1 day ago
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR - The Temple Of Curved Space (Official Track Stream)
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR
adg211288· 1 day ago
In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 2 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed