Lisa LaRue - 2025 - Forged from Fire

(37:43; Melodic Revolution Records)






















It has been quite some years since keyboard player Lisa LaRue has released a new album, with her last being the 2018 retrospective, ‘Origins’. But now she is back with her latest, joined by her husband John Baker on guitar (plus vocals on three songs), One Heart on bass, drums and additional keyboards/guitars, and other singers in the form of Alexandra Livshitz and Jake Livgren. The result is an album which is fascinating, with the solo keyboard pieces taking us in one direction and the ones with vocals in another, so much so that one can only wonder if this could have been expanded into a double disc set with the vocal tracks on one and the instrumentals on the other, or maybe a third which contained only keyboards? Just asking, as this is something which is incredibly varied while also being fascinating.

When asked about the album, Lisa says, “’Forged from Fire’ is a coming-of-(old)-age odyssey – a deeply personal, autobiographical work that captures one vivid facet of my life’s journey. Both lyrically and musically, it traces the keystone moments, profound discoveries, lingering questions, and hard-won answers that have tempered and shaped the person I am today.” The audio clip of the Kennedy assassination at the beginning of “Frame 313” (for those who are unaware, this refers to the famous Abraham Zapruder film, with frame 313 being the one which captures Kennedy being shot), really sets the scene for the poignancy of the piece.

There are some lovely moments on here, but the highlight belongs to “Traces in Spaces” where Lisa’s delicate keyboards take us on a very progressive journey which feels very Vangelis-like in the introduction, and then Jake Livgren comes in with his wonderful vocals, and somehow the song becomes more Emerson Lake & Powell, with high commercial elements and great performances from all. It has been way too long since Lisa last released an album, so let us hope it is not so long for the next one as this is a very melodic and varied enjoyable American progressive album. 

Kev Rowland, November 2025

Links:
https://lisalaruemusic.com/
http://www.mrrmusic.com/

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