Andy Platts is a one-man retro revival and as I get older, his types of tracks scratch me right where I itch. With his band Mamas Gun, he explores the funky R&B side of the late '70s/early '80s and when he teams up with Shawn Lee in Young Gun Silver Fox, he turns his focus to more poppish Top 40 sounds. And there's plenty of that stuff to go around here during this 40 minutes of music that takes me back to summers of my youth in a big hurry. As I've written before about another of the duo's albums: "if you were in junior high school and/or high school in the late '70s/early '80s and enjoyed the pop music of McDonald, Loggins, and H&O around that time, then just spin this thing and float away." I'm also picking up some Stevie Wonder and Todd Rundgren influences on this album, along with, of course, Steely Dan.
The album's press release states that Ticket To Shangri-La
showcases a band at the very top of their game, fine-tuning their potent brew of sun-kissed pop-soul, west coast AOR and natural groove with a skill for composition and production that sees them forging ahead down a musical highway blessed with blue skies and positive vibrations.And that properly sums it up. Recommended.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Tracks: All ten tracks are fantastic, but my top picks are Still Got It Goin' On, Rolling Back, Simple Imagination, Winners, and Starting Wars.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I ordered this CD via Bandcamp upon its release last fall and when it came, I was pleasantly surprised to find the duo had autographed the cover. Love that sorta stuff around here.
Previously revisited for the blog:
Canyons (2020)
AM Waves (2018)
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