Ambrosia - Somewhere I've Never Travelled

Release Year: 1976

Track List:
1 - .And... (:27)
2 -  Somewhere I've Never Travelled (4:12)
3 - Cowboy Star (6:24)
4 - Runnin' Away (3:31)
5 - Harvey (1:29)
6 - I Wanna Know (6:02)
7 - The Brunt (5:29)
8 - Danse With Me George (Chopin's Plea) (7:51)
9 - Can't Let A Woman (4:24)
10 - We Need You Too (5:33)

Most music fans know about the ‘sophomore curse,’ where a band’s successful first album is followed by a flop. I am grateful that Ambrosia is an exception to that stereotype. In fact, I consider their second album, “Somewhere I’ve Never Travelled”, to be their absolute best! Like their debut effort, this album also got a well-deserved Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album! Two in a row is nothing to sneer at.

It starts off with a simple, short piece called “And...”, written and sung by drummer Burleigh Drummond, which leads directly into the title track. The two songs are a perfect combination, taking the listener down a breathtaking path. You will find yourself wishing it would never end, and will probably play it twice in a row as I often do. It is one of their best tunes overall, and a good example of “symphonic prog”.

The path eventually leads to time travel in the next song, “Cowboy Star”. This fantasy piece includes a dazzling, orchestrated interlude inspired by classical composer Aaron Copeland and written and arranged by guitarist David Pack. Ambrosia deserves much credit for the unbelievable talent it took to pull off a complicated composition like this!

After all that drama, you are treated to a light, breezy song. “Running Away” is more pop than prog, but it fits in well with the diversity Ambrosia expresses in their music. This is followed by the equally sweet yet pensive “Harvey”. It is an interesting fact that Pack and bass player Joe Puerta have similar voices, although Puerta’s is slightly lower. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between the two men, but it makes for interesting harmony vocals.

Those two ballads are followed by a powerful rocker, definitely one of the best of their “hard” songs. “I Wanna Know” is deeply emotional, both in lyrics and in music, and once again, Pack has written and arranged the sweeping orchestral background. He doesn’t let up on guitar for a minute! Pack and Puerta were a solid song-writing team back in these early days. Their combined genius speaks for itself! This song is so popular among fans that one of their online mailing lists carries its name.

The sequencing of Ambrosia’s albums is one of the band’s many charming characteristics. Just when you are being enlightened by a serious, soaring composition, they throw in a twisted, quirky tune just to see if you are paying attention. The fun of progressive rock is to always keep the listener guessing. “The Brunt” is a perfect example of this. A Zappa-style, metaphorical song about the “urban jungle”, it will delight you with its odd sound effects, complete with African chanting and a charging elephant!

You won’t have time to recover from “The Brunt” because the next song will shock you, delight you, offend you, and make you giddy. “Danse With Me, George (Chopin’s Plea)” has to be one of the oddest songs ever recorded on a rock album! This is a fun, romantic, silly tune about the relationship between composer Frederick Chopin and notorious novelist George Sand. It doesn’t amaze me that Ambrosia came up with a song that combines pop, classical, jazz, history, and literature all within 8 minutes! It’s all indicative of the band’s extraordinary talent. (If you are confused by the story, I recommend the movie “Impromptu”, starring Hugh Grant and Judy Davis.)

The next song might be more 70s rock than you want, but “Can’t Let a Woman” contains excellent guitar riffs. I feel the lyrics are a bit shallow, but the hard driving music more than makes up for it. This is followed by a dreamy, contemplative tune with serious lyrics and a bittersweet melody. “We Need You Too” is a nice ending to a phenomenal album.

While I consider Ambrosia to be a grossly under-rated band, they did have some success with this album, especially on the college radio circuit. Sadly, Somewhere I’ve Never Travelled was the last of their prog productions. They started drifting more toward pop and mainstream ballads on their subsequent albums. They still included a few quirky surprises, but they never again achieved the magic and charm of their first two albums. I miss the glockenspiels!