Ambrosia

Throughout the ’70s and early ’80s, Ambrosia stirred up a crafty cocktail of complex, Brit-inspired art-rock and sweet, sunny Southern California pop sheen, turning out both smooth love songs and progressive epics. They charted a course to yacht-rock perfection with the soft bounce of the ultimate Margarita-sipper, “Biggest Part of Me,” and added a dash of blue-eyed soul to the sleek pop recipe for “How Much I Feel,” both of which became Top 5 smashes. Meanwhile, at the other end of Ambrosia Avenue, “Nice, Nice, Very Nice,” based on the writing of Kurt Vonnegut, charts a happy collision course between a frothy, Yes-like prog-rock merry-go-round and Joe Puerta’s cool-breeze vocals.

In Next Steps, we’ll journey beyond the Pop charts to the more unpredictable part of Ambrosia’s odyssey.

Sure, the band named after the “nectar of the gods” provided the soundtrack for a million backseat smooches with their radio-ready pop nuggets. But just below the smooth surface of those airtight hits lays more intensity than you might expect. Rubbing shoulders with those AM staples are rockers like the stormy stomp “Cryin’ In the Rain,” dripping with thick, distorted guitars and whiskey-throated vocals, and “World Leave Me Alone,” which shows the marvelously misanthropic side of a band whose sunny smile was but one of many faces. But Ambrosia embraced the new wave ’80s with a bang, too — plug into the frenetic, synth-juiced jolt of “Kid No More” for the jet-propelled proof.

Pop, prog, get-down rock ’n’ roll — Ambrosia did it all, making music for every mood. Feeling adventurous? Dive into the intricate twists and turns of their sprawling art-rock excursions. Looking for that sand-in-your-shoes summertime feeling? Kick back with some of Ambrosia’s easy, breezy pop confections. Got an itch for aggressive antics? The band’s got its share of revved-up rockers custom-made for getting your ya-yas out. How many other acts can you name that have been championed by legendary classical conductor Zubin Mehta, gotten covered by ’90s a cappella sensations Take 6, and written one of Quincy Jones’ all-time favorite tunes (“Biggest Part of Me”)? Hint: just like this one, that list begins and ends with Ambrosia.