A Liquid Earth

Description

A Liquid Earth is the sophomore album by the American melodic hard rock band Novella, released on StarSong Records in 1992. The album was recorded by Plinky Giglio at Trax East in South River, New Jersey; with Plinky and band member Jonathan Pagano producing. Mixed by Plinky with Pagano at Sound Stage Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.

Novella features Jonathan Pagano on lead vocals, guitar, and keyboards; Derek Jan on guitar; and a rhythm section consisting of Jon Spinola on bass and Adam Gibson on drums, with Plinky sitting in on keyboards and background vocals on the album.

In 1994, lead vocalist Jonathan Pagano independently released a solo album entitled Shadowdance.

The sophomore effort from Novellas goes a long way toward establishing Jonathan Pagano and his band as an up-and-coming band in that commercial/hard rock niche. Similar to numerous mainstream artists who take the pop metal train to success (Winger and Slaughter comes to mind), Novella has produced another set of memorable melodies, energetic rock arrangements and the kind of vocal delivery that appeals to the pop audience more often than not.

There’s not a whole lot of “new”s, though. Everything here is done competently, and there’s little of that sophomore album arrogance or repetitiveness. However, Pagano and company haven’t stretched the envelope or the format, rather they sound as if they’ve sought to insure radio-airability by playing it safe most of the way through. For instance, «Fire in the House» doesn’t really get to burning before it’d almost over, and even then it never gets too hot. The production here, opens up from time to time for an edgier guitar driven rock sound, but it’s a touch timid, leaning back from rock as hard as I’m sure these songs can come across when the band plays live. ‘A Liquid Earth’ chooses to simmer, unlike the expected heat of molten lava the title suggests.

Thematically, Novella has taken more of a pre-evangelism and encouragement tact, suggesting the Gospel message and its benefits without preaching dogma. This may actually be a more effective path to reaching those in the periphery of contemporary Christian circles who find that knowing what a song is about just after hearing the title isn’t challenging enough. «Heaven’s on My Mind» sings Pagano, and that’s central to his songs about love, and the struggle to maintain against life’s obstacles. This value informs all his attempts to tell the “Story.” [Brian Q. Newcomb, CCM, July 1992]

CD tracklist:

01. Story
02. Bad Place
03. Don’t You Run
04. Fire In The House
05. Heaven’s On My Mind
06. Let’s Talk About Love
07. Right In The Middle
08. Colour Of Love
09. Missionary
10. Stranger

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by StarSong Records.

An advertisement for Novella’s A Liquid Earth Tour was featured in the July 1992 issue of CCM Magazine.