Mr. RUBIK – Wasted Paradise (2017)
“Wasted Paradise” debut album from Mr. RUBIK, a brand new session-players project led by producer & songwriter Marco Taggiasco. In fact, Mr. RUBIK was a side-project Taggiasco planned to launch in the early ’90s in between works with major artists.
For some reasons the project never saw the light… until now.
If the name Marco Taggiasco does not ring a bell on you, the arranger, composer and producer worked with renowned cats from the AOR / West Coast field such as ), Robbie Dupree, or cult singer Eric Tagg (vocalist and songwriter, former Lee Ritenour band member).
As music maker, Taggiasco’ productions have become a kind of cult items in Japan and Northern Europe, and of course, he has released a couple of solo albums as well featuring stars from the genre.
But let’s talk about Mr. Rubik; these songs were recorded by talented session musicians in between works, but never materialized into tape.
After 25 years, Taggiasco and his partner since many years, singer / songwriter Andrea Sanchini (who was part of the original Mr. Rubik sessions) had the chance to listen to the demos produced back then.
Both liked the tracks and thought the time was right for them to see the light. So they gathered round friends and collaborators and went back in the studio to finish the songs.
Putting it in short, if you love TOTO you’ll love Mr. Rubik’s “Wasted Paradise”.
This is clear in the deep bass lines, ethereal keyboards and vocal melodies on tracks like ‘Distant Heart’, the elegant ‘Heart Of Stone’, the dynamic ‘The Last Gene Pool’, and of course, the winning card on the album, the AOR little gem ‘Horizon’, featured on the album in 2 versions, one remixed for an ‘FM radio’ feel.
‘Seek & Find’ has some Street Talk on it, while ‘What A Heart Can Hold’ and specially title track ‘Wasted Paradise’ have Richard Marx influences both in songwriting and style.
Mr. Rubik’s “Wasted Paradise” is a palatable slice of ’80s sounding AOR / West Coast with the typical ’80s FM radio sound plus a slight rock edge, all filtered thru good music taste and clever songwriting. As in every Marco Taggiasco’s work, production is fine, polished.
Never is too late, and finally Mr. Rubik’s see the light of day for all fans of the genre delight. Easily Recommended.
1 – Distant Heart
2 – Seek & Find
3 – What A Heart Can Hold
4 – Horizon (Burning Night Mix)
5 – Heart Of Stone
6 – Perfect Man
7 – The Last Gene Pool
8 – Horizon (Single Mix)
9 – Wasted Paradise
Andrea Sanchini / Vocals
Marco Taggiasco / Keyboards
Nicola Demontis / Guitars
Riziero Bixio / Drums
BUY IT
www.amazon.de/gp/product/B06XDBV3DD
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