Jeff Vidov - Running in Place (Vidov Records)

Listening to the way that Jeff Vidov combines rock energies with orchestral artistry, it comes as no surprise to find that he has, among his many other musical achievements in TV and theatre, been involved in numerous sizeable orchestral film scores and worked with everyone from Mariah Carey and Harry Connick Jr to The Cure and Stevie Wonder. And if he has already made a name for himself as a session player, tribute band player and an accomplished classical musician in his own right, “Running in Place” is the sound of several of his sonic worlds colliding.

It is a song that draws its drive and energy from the rock world but has been shaped and polished by a more accessible, mainstream attitude: filmic, cinematic, and shimmering with a liquid sheen, I guess this is an example of what we might call “Yacht Rock” and mean that in the very best of ways.

But if the forward impetus is garnered from the world of rock and roll, and its infectiousness and accessibility are very much pop-aware, its scope and scale owe something to the grandeur and anthemic ways of the orchestra.

And this song about being opportunistic, grabbing fate by the collar, and not being afraid is more than just a cross-genre affair. With the inclusion of an Argentinian rhythm section in the form of drummer Lucas Seaone, and bassist Marco Toba and numerous Shakespearian quotes sung in French as part of the lyrics, this song crosses genre and geography, sound and style and does so effortlessly.

A meeting of worlds indeed.

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