This was the album that suddenly converted Ambrosia into pop stars. Prior to "Life Beyond L.A.," their stock in trade was Genesis/Yes styled prog-rock that was very heavy on texture, probably due to then producer Alan Parsons. Ambrosia opted to self produce (with Freddie Piro) their third album, choosing to tighten up the arrangements and highlighting David Pack's soulful vocals. They also recorded the very out-of-character (for their previous output) adult contemporary ballad "How Much I Feel." It pushed Ambrosia onto the charts and - for better or worse - stigmatized them as lightweights.