My Crossroads Moment Review

[weatherman90]

One of the finest voices in melodic rock is back in action: Jimi Jamison. His first album in nearly 9 years is aptly titled Crossroads Moment, and it marks the magnificent return of the singer-songwriter duo of Jimi Jamison and Jim Peterik for the first time since the 1980s. From the first track to the last, the album is packed with hard-rocking classics, amazing riffs, a few soulful ballads, and of course the amazing voice of Jimi Jamison which sounds as if a day hasn't passed since Too Hot to Sleep. Crossroads Moment is one of the best albums of 2008 without a doubt.

The album starts off with an amazing rocker called "Battersea". Blazing guitars and keyboards create a deep and full sound, and Jimi lets you know that he is back in full force. "Can't Look Away" sets a moodier tone and is a mid-tempo rock song with a great raw guitar sound. "Make Me a Believer" jumped out at me right away, it has an amazing chorus that will have just about anyone singing, and the pulsing keyboards are reminiscent of Toto's "Hold the Line".

The title track is a catchy song with a great guitar sound, and "Bittersweet" turns it down a notch with powerful vocals from Jimi and a slower tempo. "Behind the Music" starts out as a slower song, but don't let it fool you - it's one of the best rockers on the album and it showcases Jimi's amazing vocal ability. "Lost" is a mid-tempo song with a driving guitar tone and heartfelt vocals. Sqealing guitars sound the intro to "Love the World Away", a hook-filled song with a great bridge and fantastic vocals throughout. "She's Nothing to Me" is another rocker with a more modern feel, but it fits Jimi's voice in a great way. Jimi himself said that "As Is" brought him to tears, and his souful vocals and the pounding beat of the song make it a standout track.

"Till the Morning Comes" is an impressive song that sounds like it could have come right off of Survivor's 1986 album When Seconds Count. It has a fantastic guitar solo and ends with a catchy sing-along chorus. "That's Why I Sing" is another track with a modern approach and a chorus that simply sounds like classic Survivor. "Friends We Never Met" is a song that goes out to the millions of concert-goers around the world, and "When Rock Was King" also reflects on the concert experience by bringing in Mickey Thomas, Mike Reno, Dave Bickler, Don Barnes, Joe Lynn Turner, and Jim Peterik as guest vocalists. It's a great tribute to the 1980s - big dreams, big hair, big visions.

The album's two bonus tracks are "Alive" (European) and "Streets of Heaven" (Japanese). Both are mid-tempo gems written about the topics of life and death, respectively.

Jimi Jamison, Jim Peterik, and everyone else involved have accomplished something special with Crossroads Moment. I'm still amazed at the raw power of Jimi's voice on this record, and I'm very eager to see him out on the road in 2009. This album is a must have for anyone who appreciates great music!

[MarcelJordan]

Very informative and straightforward review! Looking forward to get my hands on this gem. Thanks.

[Joe Vana]

[quote="weatherman90"]

It's a great tribute to the 1980s - big dreams, big hair, big visions.

quote]

Did you really write that line, or pull it off of another press release??

[Red13JoePa]

Not a fan of the song, eh Joe Vana?

[Tito]

Weatherman (Bill Ayers?),

Can you try to rank the songs from best to worst? Thanks

[weatherman90]

It's a great tribute to the 1980s - big dreams, big hair, big visions.

Did you really write that line, or pull it off of another press release??

Hi Joe - Mickey Thomas sings that line during the song.

[weatherman90]

Weatherman (Bill Ayers?),

Can you try to rank the songs from best to worst? Thanks

Very funny - that's not the first time someone has made that particular association.

I would rank these as the best songs:

Make Me a Believer
Battersea
Behind the Music
She's Nothing to Me
Till the Morning Comes
Crossroads Moment
Lost
When Rock was King (not the best song on the album, but I love hearing Mickey and Dave Bickler, etc.)

[Journey/Survivor]

I just got my copy today, I'm listening to it right now. I'll get back to you guys later with my opinions.

[bulldog]

I love this cd.. The music is fresh combined with crystal clear awesome production .
Jim Peterik is the man .. He never runs out of great songs . I am impressed all the way around . These guys were meant to work together .

Ok back to Jimi .. It is exciting to blast your car stereo and get re-united with that voice that rocked radio and tv not so long ago . I am very impressed with his vocals on this.
He is 57 now and on most of the cuts he sounds as great as he ever did in his prime . His pitch & delivery are spot on and the best part of the whole recording is the passion is back in his vocals . Forget about Survivor's "Reach" performance ,this is the real Jimi Jamison right here and he is back !!

Jimi should have been doing this all the while instead of wasting his time on the other side . I think there is lots more to come from these guys .

I am proud to be a Jimi Jamison fan . Jim Peterik is the heart & soul behind the music
and Jimi delievers the messages . This is Survivor to me . I mean it with every sense of my passion and intensity .

Dave Bickler , Mickey Thomas , Don Barnes , Mike Reno & Joe Lynn Turner that is impressive ...

You can't deny what you hear .. Bickler sounded cool on Rock Was King ..
STYX WOULD ROCK THE PARADISE
SURVIVOR SAW WITH TIGER'S EYE
WHEN ROCK WAS KING

( PRICELESS )

[Journey/Survivor]

Here are some of my thoughts on Crossroads Moment...

Definitely a great album beginning to end.

Jimi still sounds great. I won't go so far as to say that he sounds as great as he did on Survivor's "Vital Signs" "When Seconds Count" and "Too Hot To Sleep" albums, but he is in his late 50's now, so it would be completely unrealistic to expect him to sound that as great as he did when he was in his 30's. Not to mention the fact that in my opinion he sounded as great as any singer can sound on those 3 classic Survivor albums. But he still sounds fantastic without question, not too far off from how he sounded in the 1980's. I was very impressed by some of the notes that he still hits dead-on. And he still shows that great heart, soul and emotion that so few other singers can even come close to.

Jim Peterik has once again reminded me of why I consider him to be the best lyric writer I've ever seen/heard. Great lyrics on the entire album. It's so fantastic to have him working with Jimi again! Although, I do kind of wish that Jimi would have co-written some of the songs with Jim, simply because Jimi is a great songwriter too, even if he's not as prolific as Peterik and some other songwriters.

Great musicians playing on the album. I do like their playing a great deal.

My only criticisms are these...

"Reach" and "Crossroads Moment" are great albums without question. But at the same time they both help to prove that Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan do their best work when they write songs together. In my opinion it's clear that Survivor greatly missed Jim Peterik's songwriting on their "Reach" album. Yes, Peterik co-wrote a few songs that wound-up appearing on the "Reach" CD, but I believe the album would have been much better beginning to end if Peterik had been a co-writer on the entire album. Don't get me wrong, the "Reach" album still has excellent songwriting, but some of that Survivor magic was still missing without Peterik's total involvement on the album.

And at the same time I also greatly miss Frankie Sullivan and Marc Droubay's contributions to Jimi Jamison's "Crossroads Moment" CD. As much as I do like the musicianship on "Crossroads Moment," I still can't help but think how much better I would love the album with Sullivan's killer guitar riffs and soulful solos, and Marc Droubay's hard-driving and authoritative drumming. A SURVIVOR album could never be as great without Sullivan and Droubay playing on it, and their contributions are of course missing from JAMISON'S "Crossroads Moment" CD. "Crossroads Moment" is sadly missing some big riffs that Sullivan would no doubt provide if he were involved with the album.

But at the same time I do not hesitate to highly recommend Jimi Jamison's "Crossroads Moment" CD. It's a great overall album, and it will be the closest thing we will get to a new Survivor album unless and until Survivor release a new album. Any true AOR/Melodic Rock fan needs to get "Crossroads Moment!"

[Journey/Survivor]

Weatherman (Bill Ayers?),

Can you try to rank the songs from best to worst? Thanks

Very funny - that's not the first time someone has made that particular association.

I would rank these as the best songs:

Make Me a Believer
Battersea
Behind the Music
She's Nothing to Me
Till the Morning Comes
Crossroads Moment
Lost
When Rock was King (not the best song on the album, but I love hearing Mickey and Dave Bickler, etc.)

My favorites in no particular order are...

Make Me a Believer
Behind The Music
Love The World Away
She's Nothing To Me

[Journey/Survivor]

Make Me a Believer" jumped out at me right away, it has an amazing chorus that will have just about anyone singing, and the pulsing keyboards are reminiscent of Toto's "Hold the Line".

Besides it being one of my favorites from the album, you are also right about the keys having a strong "Hold The Line" feel, no question about it.

"Love The World Away" has a Frankie Sullivan "Didn't Know It Was Love" styled riff in it.

And the keyboards in one part of one of the songs reminded me of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

[Journey/Survivor]

One of my favorite lines from the album...

"Does it hurt, no not much, only when I breath."

[Journey/Survivor]

ANDREW

I see that Jimi and Jim thank you inside the CD's liner-notes. Did you have any involvement on the album outside of promoting it here on MR?

[Journey/Survivor]

Red, Eyeof, MarcelJordan and Slander, I look forward to your honest and unbiased reviews of "Crossroads Moment."

[Joe Vana]

Not a fan of the song, eh Joe Vana?

Let's just say I would have picked another tune to do the main video from the album....but as it has JP on it singing it is probably why he picked that one to do a video.....

To each his own though.....just my 2 cents.....JV

[MarcelJordan]

i had the pleasure of hearing all the tunes from a friend of mine who got the cd. To be frank i was not expecting much in the sense without any sullivan involvement i always considered i would not be sold to actually get this cd for my self. Wrong! Im not a reviewer by any stretch of the imagination so i wont let anyone suffer through one. I have one word for the album and that is POIGNANT! My basic standpoint would be that i would recommend this to anyone who appreciates good music and if you're looking for heart and soul its got in spades. Jimi has it really got it going and jim clearly has brought out the best in the soundcraft. I cant really pick my fav. Its THAT good. Each tune has its own flavour And to top it off even When rock was King is catchy in its own way. Expertly produced album and a Must for jj fans his Best ever Clearly vastly superior then anything solo he has done or jj survivor for that matter. JJ is showing his true story imo in this and that is one of the important strengths. Having Dave in there was an added bonus although just one tune the tiger vocalist singing the most crucial words in rwk got me teary eyed. Well done Jimi you deserve all the good things that will come out of this release.

[Journey/Survivor]

i had the pleasure of hearing all the tunes from a friend of mine who got the cd. To be frank i was not expecting much in the sense without any sullivan involvement i always considered i would not be sold to actually get this cd for my self. Wrong! Im not a reviewer by any stretch of the imagination so i wont let anyone suffer through one. I have one word for the album and that is POIGNANT! My basic standpoint would be that i would recommend this to anyone who appreciates good music and if you're looking for heart and soul its got in spades. Jimi has it really got it going and jim clearly has brought out the best in the soundcraft. I cant really pick my fav. Its THAT good. Each tune has its own flavour And to top it off even When rock was King is catchy in its own way. Expertly produced album and a Must for jj fans his Best ever Clearly vastly superior then anything solo he has done or jj survivor for that matter. JJ is showing his true story imo in this and that is one of the important strengths. Having Dave in there was an added bonus although just one tune the tiger vocalist singing the most crucial words in rwk got me teary eyed. Well done Jimi you deserve all the good things that will come out of this release.

Great post!


And I agree, if someone likes great singing with heart and soul then this is an album they should absolutely get, and they'll love it. Great songwriting from Jim Peterik too. Excellent production. And I also understand having some reservations for a "Survivor-like" album that does not have Frankie Sullivan's writing and guitar playing on it. I'm such a huge fan of Jimi's singing and Jim's songwriting that I knew I'd love it for sure, and it was a no-brainer for me personally to get the album, seeing as Jimi's my favorite singer of all time and Jim's my favorite songwriter of all time. But yes, I'd have loved to have seen/heard Frankie and Marc on on it with it being a Survivor album.

And it was great to get to hear Dave Bickler once again, although I wish he had had a few more lines in the song.

As of this point I can't say for sure which album I like better between Jimi's Empires CD and now Crossroads Moment? There are several things I like better about Crossroads Moment, but I also love the heavier feel to some of the Empires songs like "First Day Of Love" "Run From The Thunder" "A Dream Too Far" etc.

If were never going to get another Survivor album that Jim is on, then it would be great to see him do an album like this with Dave Bickler. Come on, Jim, make it happen!

[MarcelJordan]

i had the pleasure of hearing all the tunes from a friend of mine who got the cd. To be frank i was not expecting much in the sense without any sullivan involvement i always considered i would not be sold to actually get this cd for my self. Wrong! Im not a reviewer by any stretch of the imagination so i wont let anyone suffer through one. I have one word for the album and that is POIGNANT! My basic standpoint would be that i would recommend this to anyone who appreciates good music and if you're looking for heart and soul its got in spades. Jimi has it really got it going and jim clearly has brought out the best in the soundcraft. I cant really pick my fav. Its THAT good. Each tune has its own flavour And to top it off even When rock was King is catchy in its own way. Expertly produced album and a Must for jj fans his Best ever Clearly vastly superior then anything solo he has done or jj survivor for that matter. JJ is showing his true story imo in this and that is one of the important strengths. Having Dave in there was an added bonus although just one tune the tiger vocalist singing the most crucial words in rwk got me teary eyed. Well done Jimi you deserve all the good things that will come out of this release.

Great post!


And I agree, if someone likes great singing with heart and soul then this is an album they should absolutely get, and they'll love it. Great songwriting from Jim Peterik too. Excellent production. And I also understand having some reservations for a "Survivor-like" album that does not have Frankie Sullivan's writing and guitar playing on it. I'm such a huge fan of Jimi's singing and Jim's songwriting that I knew I'd love it for sure, and it was a no-brainer for me personally to get the album, seeing as Jimi's my favorite singer of all time and Jim's my favorite songwriter of all time. But yes, I'd have loved to have seen/heard Frankie and Marc on on it with it being a Survivor album.

And it was great to get to hear Dave Bickler once again, although I wish he had had a few more lines in the song.

As of this point I can't say for sure which album I like better between Jimi's Empires CD and now Crossroads Moment? There are several things I like better about Crossroads Moment, but I also love the heavier feel to some of the Empires songs like "First Day Of Love" "Run From The Thunder" "A Dream Too Far" etc.

If were never going to get another Survivor album that Jim is on, then it would be great to see him do an album like this with Dave Bickler. Come on, Jim, make it happen!

Thanks for the uplifting approval of my so called review.

I did not listen to Empires that much (blame myself for that) but Im really moved by CM.

As you said, it would be great to have had FS and MD involved and if there is anything I would want say Im less favourable to is that use of the tambourine and still a bit more of solos/and riffs. Not to say its not enough for a solo album. And example of more riff would be for Battersea, the riff is extremely catchy but too short, a more of an extension would be have blown my socks off. But for what it is, its still magnificent.

I'll like to also mentioned in WRWK, the guitar work at the 2nd half of the song is just breathtaking for me, reminding me a bit of Premonition.

BTM is also a gem. Its seems like a cross between "Can't Hold Back" and "Runway Lights" with the mix of lyrics from "Light of a Thousands Smiles".

So, let me repeat though, this album is a MUST.

[Red13JoePa]

Not a fan of the song, eh Joe Vana?

as it has JP on it singing it is probably why he picked that one to do a video.....

Not a fan of that, either huh?

[Tito]

Not a fan of the song, eh Joe Vana?

as it has JP on it singing it is probably why he picked that one to do a video.....

Not a fan of that, either huh?

[Joe Vana]

Not a fan of the song, eh Joe Vana?

as it has JP on it singing it is probably why he picked that one to do a video.....

Not a fan of that, either huh?

When you have a legend like Jamo behind the mic you would only add another voice if it adds to the song or performance, those are enormous shoes to fill.....JP's feet aren't that big.

JV

[TageRyche]

Am I reading JV's last post wrong or does he seem not to like Jim Peterik?

[venomnation]

I don't think there's any ill will between JV and JP - I've always found him to be very respectful of JP....it just seems like he's offering an opinion....no more than any other person here has done, or will continue to do...but - I'm not JV or JP...so I won't try to speak for either - just an outsider's opimion...

[MarcelJordan]

Am I reading JV's last post wrong or does he seem not to like Jim Peterik?

Im the last to be a police here, but these kind of things should be put in private,imo. The private msgs tool works quite well.

With respect to this "review" thread, I think the lyrics in CR album are the strongest since Burning Heart.

[TageRyche]

It was a question not a criticism.

[Red13JoePa]

With respect to this "review" thread

What's with the quotes Marcel Jordan?

1) Is your implication that the review was too positive?

and if so,

2) Will the anti-Peterik/Jamison crowd ever come right out and voice a complaint or is it easier to continue the passive/agressive campaign of innuendos, mock references to "legendary" status and damning with faint praise?

[Ehwmatt]

When is this album gonna come out on iTunes damnit

[weatherman90]

When is this album gonna come out on iTunes damnit

That's a good question. I can't think of a good reason as to why it's not on there already but then again I don't know a whole lot about "the biz".

[Eyeof]

i have been waiting for the same thing...i can remember reash was on itunes for about a day...

but i'm antsy about it, as the last pride of lions album was never put on itunes...who knows....