Let There Be Rock's Best Album of 2022
- Let There Be Rock
- Jan 21, 2023
- 4 min read
🏆 Best Album of 2022
FM - 'Thirteen'
To regular listeners this should come as absolutely no surprise that my favourite album of the year is ‘the mighty’ FM’s ‘Thirteen’. If my Apple Music listening stats for 2022 were anything to go by, I’ve put a few thousand hours worth into this album alone. Of course the British AOR legends are a band that I hold in the highest regard, and excitement for their latest studio album, their thirteenth, just as the album title suggests, was already at fever pitch based on the pre-released singles alone.
The veterans once again unleashed a masterclass of melodic rock, released via Frontiers Records on the 18th March 2022. The album is the follow up to 2020’s highly regarded release ‘Synchronized’, and with only their own high standards to match, like a finely tuned machine they never failed to deliver.
The band released 3 singles from the album, firstly ‘Waiting On Love’, that by title alone tells you all you need to know about its lyrical content. If there’s one thing this band excel in, it's writing a good old melodic ballad, Steve Overland’s voice is made for these kind of songs, and whilst I stand by the fact the man could sing the phone book and I’d still listen, thankfully they know how to write a super catchy love song. This track in particular is one of the most typically FM sounding tracks on the album. Echo’s of that much loved 80s blueprint.
The second single ‘Turn This Car Around’ has to be one of my favourite releases of the year, once again super catchy and feel good, and an instant crowd pleaser when performed live. It’s one of those rare new tracks that fit perfectly into the set list like it had been a classic track for years, with all the audience in full voice, and no awkwardness about about a new song being performed.
For the third single ‘Long Road Home’ the band had unearthed the song writing talents of their keyboard maestro Jem Davis. As Steve Overland points out when performing the song live, lockdown had brought the band a different set of challenges when recording an album, but it also allowed them to take song inspiration from unlikely sources.
What a ballad it is too! If it was still a thing, the lighters would be out in force, instead you’ll have to make do with a sea of phone lights at live performances.
So what about the rest? It most certainly isn’t just filler, in fact track for track this has to be one of their best albums in recent years, on par with ‘Synchronized’ and dare I say it, even close to that top tier of FM’s greatest, ‘Indiscreet’ and ‘Tough It Out’. There isn’t a weak track on this album, its a perfect blend of ballads, rock classics and instant catchy crowd pleasers. Sure FM have not reinvented the wheel here, they have released an album to the highest standards of melodic rock that they are the best at. What makes FM consistently stand out above the rest in their genre? Well aside from being five very talented musicians in their own right, Steve Overland is FM’s vocal trademark, with his unmatched ability and ageless harmonic tones, many wonder how it is even possible for a singer’s voice to be still as pitch perfect today as it was in the 1980s. I’m sure Steve would modestly brush aside the suggestion that he is the greatest in his trade, but that’s certainly where I would place him. Could Steve front any other band and sound as great? Absolutely he could. Would it be the ‘mighty’ FM though? No it wouldn’t. It’s fair to say FM are the sum of their parts, each member bringing their own elements to what makes the band’s sound so instantly recognisable and much admired. The chemistry has been perfected over many years, as the current line-up released their eighth album together, Pete Jupp and Merv Goldsworthy still provide the backbone and baseline, Jem Davis the all important 80s styled synth, Jim Kirkpatrick the rhythm, and Steve, well he’s not called ‘The Voice’ for nothing.
In Summary ‘Thirteen’ is a brilliant album and it would make a great introduction to any new fans. FM were once again on top form in 2022 both in the studio and live. Their extensive UK and European headline tour was met with rave reviews, and their new tracks fit seamlessly into their sets.
Some might say that collectively FM are far too grounded and humble to have made the big time in such a cut throat industry during the height of rock music supremacy in the 1980s. Selling their souls to the money makers is not something you could imagine them doing. Their music, fans and love of the live scene is what appears to drive this band, and the smiles on their faces at every live performance, large or small, headline or support, is enough to suggest there are many more years to come yet!
Album: Thirteen
Released: 18th March 2022
Label: Frontiers Records
Website: http://www.fmofficial.com
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