Jimi Jamison - Empires. 1999.

Originally released in 1999, “Empires“ was the second solo album by Survivor frontman Jimi Jamison (Target, Cobra). The music you hear on “Empires“ is of course quite similar to Survivor’s particular brand of AOR. In fact, the album was originally released under the name “Jimi Jamison’s Survivor.“ The 2003 reissue of “Empires“ (released minus the Survivor name) features a pair of bonus tracks. The first is a Christmas-themed ballad called “Keep It Evergreen“. The second is a live version of Survivor’s “Too Hot to Sleep“. Solo work: In 1989, Jamison was asked to be the lead vocal replacement for Deep Purple, who had just fired Ian Gillan. Said Purple organist Jon Lord of Jamison in a 1993 interview, “He was an enormous Deep Purple fan and he would happily have taken over the job. But at the time he was afraid of his managers. They didn’t want him to leave [Survivor] and he didn’t dare to get into a fight with them.“ In fact, Lord’s record label had just released Jamison’s new album, “When Love Comes Down“, in 1991, and they wanted him to stay and promote the record instead of joining Deep Purple. Jamison went on to co-write and sing “I’m Always Here,“ the opening theme from the hit TV show Baywatch. Personnel: Jimi Jamison — Vocals Chris Adamson — Guitar Hal Butler — Keyboards Klay Shroedel — Drums Additional Musicians: Jorgen Carlsson — Bass Lisa Frazier — Vocals Rudy Richardson — Keyboards, strings, horns Pete Mendillo — Drums Michael Sembello — Keyboards Peter Roberts — Guitar Bobby Kimball — Backing vocals Lance Binder — Bass, backing vocals Paul Brown — Keyboards, backing vocals Track Listing: 01. Cry Tough 02. Run from the Thunder 03. I’m Always Here 04. Empires (Duet With Lisa Frazier) 05. First Day of Love 06. Have Mercy 07. Just Beyond the Clouds 08. A Dream Too Far 09. Love Is Alive 10. November Rain 11. Calling America 12. Burning Heart (Live) 13. Rebel Son (Live) 14. Keep It Evergreen [2003 Bonus Track] 15. Too Hot To Sleep (Live) [2003 Bonus Track]