MASTEDON – “3” [Frontiers Records release +1]

While vocalist John Elefante is best known for his work in Kansas, having been part of the group during its Vinyl Confessions (1982) and Drastic Measures (1983) era, he has also had quite the productive solo career. It all started with the demo material he put together following his mid-Eighties departure from Kansas, which formed the basis of the first MASTEDON album, ‘It’s A Jungle Out There’, from 1989, an “all-star project” in the truest sense of the word.
‘Lofcaudio’, the 1990 Mastedon sophomore effort, followed suit in including the contributions of four vocalists, five guitarist, two bassists and three drummers. As the Nineties progressed, the artist put out a series of albums under the John Elefante moniker – Windows Of Heaven (1995), Corridors (1997) and Defying Gravity (1999) – that could best be described as true solo releases as opposed to all-star projects.

After over a decade of silence, John Elefante – still with bro Dino participating – returned with the third MASTEDON album, appropriately entitled “3“.
Musically, the album showcases the same type of catchy AOR and melodic rock of its predecessors. If you like ‘It’s A Jungle Out There’ and ‘Lofcaudio’ then “3” will be certain to appeal to you.

That said, 3 is not quite as rocking as the early Mastedon material – It’s A Jungle Out There could really flex its muscles in places – but nowhere near as mellow as the three solo albums. I guess you could say that it falls somewhere in between.
A friend of mine once said about Mastedon “3”: Kansas + Boston + Foreigner = Mastedon.

Anyway, ‘3’ does rock hard at places, such as on “Water Into Wine”, “Lying” and “That’s What You Do”. Otherwise, the album brings a smooth sounding commercial melodic rock presence on the mega melodic “Revolution Of Mind”, entrancing “Slay Your Demons” and pop influenced “You Can’t Take Anything”.
You will also find an acoustic laced piece (“Questions”) along with a top of the line ballad (“Nowhere Without Your Love”).
The Elefante brothers even hearkens back to the Kansas days of the past with a “Dust In The Wind” cover, and the awesome progressive rock of “One Day Down By The Lake (See Your Real Soon)”.

As a vocalist, John Elefante remains in fine form; he has not lost anything in terms of ability over the years. It’s is good to not only hear the guy again but to be performing at such a high level.
And unlike past Mastedon albums, Elefante handles all lead vocals as opposed to going the “vocalist by committee route” (not that there is anything wrong with that).

And also dissimilar to previous Mastedon releases, Elefante did not bring in a ton of guest musicians to round things out. Yes, Dave Amato (who participated on It’s A Jungle Out There and Lofcaudio) and Kerry Livgren (his work stands out on “One Day Down By The Lake”) make guest appearances on lead guitar, but otherwise the majority of the instrumentation is provided by John (rhythm guitars & keyboards) and his brother Dino (additional guitars and backing vocals).
Production values, as one would expect, are up to the same high standards one would find on any Elefante release.

Where is FM radio when you need it? That is the question I cannot help but ask when I listen to opening track “Revolution Of Mind”, a scintillating work standing out with its huge commercial melody and vocal harmonies in abundance. If given the right opportunity – or recorded in another era – this had the potential to dominate the airwaves.
The more up-tempo heading is taken on “Slay Your Demons”. Positive and uplifting, the song borders on the mesmerizing with its captivating chorus and John Elefante’s bountiful vocal abilities (he really cuts loose and stretches on this one). Several runs of bluesy lead guitar add the final touch.

Laid back but powerful would be the best way to describe “Nowhere Without Your Love”. The song opens to a stretch of ethereally played guitar before moving on to its acoustic based verse sections.
Picking up in pace, “Nowhere Without Your Love” transitions to an extensive chorus in which keyboards play a perfect highlighting role.
The ten minute “One Day Down By The Lake” pays tribute to Kansas style progressive rock (put this on Song For America and it would sound right at home). Musically, while the song brings too many changes in time and tempo to go into adequate detail, you will find slower passages carried by piano and keyboards and others upheld by occasional outbursts of edgy rhythm guitar. Kerry Livgren shines on lead guitar throughout several lengthy instrumental interludes.

“Water Into Wine” represents a return to an upbeat heading. With a hard rocking rhythm guitar making its presence felt, the song delivers a literal ton of groove as it rollicks its distance in inspired fashion. A gritty chorus is accented by a complementary touch of organ.
An acoustic guitar laces “Questions”. This one proves a heartfelt piece with its warm and enriched flavorings and periodic runs of bluesy lead guitar. Once more, Elefante stands out in exhibiting the full range to his voice.

Keyboards play a leading role on “You Can’t Take Anything”, and catchy hooks are delivered to put it over the top. What we wind up with is an interesting Eighties pop-rock influence.
Gritty hard rocker “”Lying” maintains the up-tempo propensities. Heavier and weightier than the one preceding it, “Lying” also brings its share of noteworthy hooks – you will be caught up in the chorus in no time – and ample amount of polished vocal melodies.

“That’s What You Do” brings more keyboards (not unlike “You Can’t Take Anything”). Similarly, the keyboards are done tastefully in that they mesh well with the guitars found throughout the song. A bottom heavy groove along with a near perfect emotionally charged chorus is delivered in the process.
The Kansas cover “Dust In The Wind” is one of the album highlights. Elefante actually takes a different approach here: Instead of an acoustic interpretation he heads in a piano based direction. And it works. The song’s melody, of course, stands out, as does Kerry Livgren’s blues driven guitar play. This also deserves to be heard on FM radio.

“Mastedon 3” neatly covers style-wise, all era’s of John Elefante’s career in one disc, from his Kansas and earlier Mastedon days, through to excellent solo albums. The album also was released under John Elefante name, but this is the Frontiers Music release with a bonus track (“Dust In The Wind”).
It really is quite excellent throughout, so existing Kansas / Elefante solo fans will be salivating over this one. Production wise, this is a really excellent sounding album as well, with a rich sound (as with all Elefante’ produced albums).

‘3’ is a very strong melodic rock album. If you enjoy radio friendly melodies backed by top of the line vocals and quality production then by all means give this a change – you will not be disappointed.
Highly Recommended

01 – Revolution On Mind
02 – Slay Your Demons
03 – Nowhere Without Your Love
04 – One Day Down By The Lake (See Your Real Soon)
05 – Water Into Wine (Fassa Rokka)
06 – Questions (It’s About Time)
07 – You Can’t Take Anything
08 – Lying
09 – Western World
10 – That’s What You Do
BONUS TRACK:
11 – Dust In The Wind (Kansas cover)

John Elefante – all lead vocals; rhythm guitar, keyboards
Dino Elefante – additional guitars, backing vocals
Dave Amato – lead guitars
Kerry Livgren – lead guitars
Anthony Sallee – bass
Dan Needham – drums
Tim Smith – bass on Slay Your Demons
Jr McNeely – additional guitar on Questions

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www.amazon.de/3-Mastedon/dp/B002P9KATA