MECCA – Everlasting

The enormously talented Joe Vana and his inspired project named Mecca are back with their fifth album, and this is a gorgeously melodic offering that displays class, sophistication, and depth. The vocals and harmonies are pure ear candy and there is an understated sense of beauty to these superbly arranged compositions as evidenced by ‘And Now the Magic is Gone’, ‘Falling’, ‘These Times Are for Heroes’, the slightly darker ‘Your Walls Are Crumbling Down’, the funky ‘Living in Fear’, and the yearning title track. They have saved the best one for last and the infectiously catchy ‘Your Way’ brings everything to a close in style. As indicated before, there is substance and purpose to Everlasting and its melodically rich content, and although a couple of tunes, more specifically ‘Endless Days’ and ‘I Won’t Walk Away’, pale a little in comparison to the others, this is a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding listen capable of stirring the emotions.  

The sound is pristine, yet the guitars have just the right amount of crunch to them, and the musicianship is simply phenomenal with everyone delivering a stellar performance. There are countless melodic rock and AOR acts out there, but Mecca are a cut above the majority of them and have a certain style and expression of their own. As stated earlier on, classy is the word here.