In the early eighties bands like Journey, REO Speedwagon, Asia, and Survivor not only dominated the airwaves but also filled arenas with their special blend of AOR.
A bit heavier than their contemporaries—Journey and REO Speedwagon, Survivor really burst onto the scene with a little help from Stallone and their hit Eye of the Tiger which was used prominently in Rocky III.
Caught In the Game has gone largely overlooked or forgotten by the band and by radio. None of the tracks from this album have even appeared on any of Survivor’s multiple different “Greatest Hits” or “Best Of” collections.
This oversight is quite unfortunate as Caught In the Game is likely Survivor’s most consistently strong album from start to finish. The songs are catchy and have a bit more bite than the lesser tracks from their previous albums.
The album opens with the title track, an infectiously catchy rocker and other than the ballad I Never Stopped Loving You the album doesn’t really let up from start to finish. And even that lone ballad is the 3rd track—thus getting it out of the way early—before reverting to the more mid and uptempo rockers that allowed guitarist Frankie Sullivan to cut loose a bit more.
Survivor ended up saving the best for last with the album’s closer, Santa Ana Winds, one of the best tracks the band ever recorded. With guitar solos vaguely reminiscent of some of Blue Oyster Cult’s better material of the previous decade, Bickler’s soulful vocals and the keys of Jim Peterik the song is strong from start to finish.
Today, admittedly this album sounds somewhat dated, a relic or snapshot of the early eighties. But in the context of its time, this was easily one of the better albums released in 1983. It was much to the listening public’s detriment that radio didn’t give it more attention.
(Incidentally this was David Bickler's final album with the band. After leaving for medical reasons he was replaced by Jimi Jamison. Bickler did re-join in 1992, only to be replaced in 2000 by... Jimi Jamison. Today Survivor's lead singer is Robyn McAuley. Bickler today can be heard in Bud Light Real Men of Genius commercials)
After the smash success of their Breakfast in America album, Supertramp bought themselves sometime by releasing the live album, Paris in 1980 and re-grouped in 1982 for what would be Roger Hodgson's final album with the band.
While not as commercially or critically successful as Supertramp's seventies material, ...Famous Last Words is still a strong album and is still very faithful to the sound and musical style that the band had made their own in the previous decade.
The biggest hit from this album, It's Raining Again is perhaps one of the weaker songs on the album. It has that fun whimsical style but it also comes across as the band merely going through the motions.
The real meat & potatoes of the album are some of the deeper cuts like Crazy & Put On Your Old Brown Shoes. Both of which take full advantage of the vocals of both Hodgson & Davies not to mention the superlative woodwind skills of John Helliwell and apparently the band thought well enough of both of those songs as they did make it onto the setlist of Hodgson's farewell tour with the band.
While both Hodgson & Supertramp would later find some success separately there was a lightning in a bottle magic that crystallized on Crime of the Century and remained present through Hodgson's final show with the band in Munich in 1983. And admittedly, this album isn't as good as Crime of the Century, Breakfast in America, or even Crisis? What Crisis?! but it is still quite enjoyable and remains a worthy bookend to Roger Hodgson's tenure in the band.
In 1983 songwriters Billy Steinberg (guitar/vocals) and Tom Kelly (guitar/keyboards/vocals) formed the short-lived hard rock/AOR band I-Ten.
Steinberg and Kelly have quite an impressive resume as songwriters, having penned the hits Alone for Heart and Like a Prayer for Madonna among several others they had significant cred in the music industry.
Although MTV was still in its infancy, video had already killed the radio star... If this album had been released in the pre-image concious age of music videos, it very likely would have been a hit.
As it is, 3 of the songs on this album ended up being covered by other bands-- the aforementioned Alone became a hit for Heart, Taking a Cold Look was shortened to Cold Look and covered by Canadian hard rockers, Honeymoon Suite, and I Don't Want to Lose You showed up as a bonus track on REO Speedwagon's The Hits.
The original versions have a certain fire in them that, aside from Heart's Alone, is sorely lacking in the cover versions perpetrated by other artists. Steinberg and Kelly's vocals, while not extraordinary, are certainly of a professional calibre that warrants taking them seriously and giving them further consideration than they ended up receiving.
This album seems to go in and out of print. When in print it's in the steep but reasonable $20 range (or used for only $12) when out of print I've seen it listing over $100!! I recommend taking advantage of the opportunity to get this album while it's in print at a much more reasonable cost. This album is a musical time capsule of all that was GOOD about music in the early eighties. For the quality of music on this album, it remains somewhat of a mystery to me why I-Ten weren't more well received at the time of this release. If the opportunity to listen to this lost gem ever presents itself to you, by all means open your ears, close your eyes, turn up the volume and enjoy!
Much like with tomato soup & grilled cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly, and Queen's We Will Rock You & We Are the Champions, Marillion's Kayleigh & Lavender are inextricably linked.
Listening to Marillion's Misplaced Childhood album it's easy to see that this was by design as Mark Kelly's beautiful keyboard solo acts as a segue from Kayleigh into Lavender.
Both songs are rife with Fish's brilliant image-laden lyrics:
Do you remember chalk hearts melting on a playground wall?
Do you remember dawn escapes from moon-washed college halls
Do you remember the cherry blossom in the market square?
Do you remember I thought it was confetti in her hair? - Kayleigh
I was walking in the park dreaming of a spark
When I heard the sprinklers whisper,
Shimmer in the haze of summer lawns.
Then I heard the children singing,
They were running through the rainbows.
They were singing a song for you.
Well it seemed to be a song for you,
the one I wanted to write for you, for you, you. - Lavender
Both songs also feature a biting and at times even menacing sarcasm in Fish's vocal delivery that twists and darkens the mood of both songs.
By the way didn't I break your heart
So sorry, I didn't mean to break your heart... - Kayleigh
You can hear the venom dripping from his broken heart. He's been hurt and he wants to hurt the one who hurt him. Anyone who has had a broken heart is familiar with that sentiment and Fish captures it absolutely brilliantly not only in his choice of lyrics but in how he delivers them.
While Lavender begins with a lighter tone it doesn't last:
A penny for your thoughts my dear
A penny for your thoughts my dear
I owe you for your love
I owe you for your love- Lavender
If anything Lavender is even more stark in the difference between the lighter tone of the lyrics vs. the harsher delivery of them. Sung by someone else the song could be considered light and even whimsical. Sung by Fish the connotations behind the lyrics are considerably darker.
I "discovered" Marillion in 2002. An online friend of mine who shared some of my other musical interests (Chicago and Dream Theater) recommended Marillion to me. I started with Misplaced Childhood and perhaps it was due largely to impeccable timing-- I was going through a rather rough case of heartbreak myself at the time-- but the album really spoke to me... especially Kayleigh and Lavender. Granted the girl who had broken my heart inherited her name from a Barry Manilow song that had been playing in the car when her mother was on the way to the hospital and not the Marillion song-- but the bitterness of both of these songs spoke to me at that point in my life.
One of the things that I really enjoy about Marillion on the whole is that they twist and turn on its head the negative stereotype that prog-rock is overly technical at the expense of emotion. If Marillion's music is bland and emotionless then I'm a vernicious knid.
With the unofficial start of summer looming on the near horizon the time to break out good summer music is upon us.
Few CDs scream summer to me the way most of the albums Dragon released in the eighties do. I'd argue that no other band captured the overall atmosphere and spirit of summer in musical form the way Dragon did.
In 1979 after firing vocalist Marc Hunter and trying to continue without him Dragon split up and Marc Hunter released a couple of solo albums (Fiji Bitter and Big City Talk). In the early 80s Dragon decided to have another go at it. They updated their sound a bit and capitalized on the success of Hunter's Big City Talk album and single as the springboard to catapult them back onto the Aussie charts after a four year absence with the single Rain. Rain was so successful the band headed back to the studio to record a full album leaving enough space to include their latest hit... The Body and the Beat was born. Before even opening the LP, CD, or cassette sleeve the album cover suggests opening the windows to let the summer breeze flow through.
From the first bars of their hit single Rain through to the closing bars of Fool Dragon gives the listener a full on blast of that summer breeze. The album is further augmented by hits like Cry and Magic. But capturing the overall vibe of summer the best is Cool Down. You can see the heat shimmering off the pavement, the hot sun beating down on you, the sweat forming in droplets on your forehead. This song so perfectly captures the heat of summer that even on the coldest days of winter listening to this song makes me want to crank the AC.
The upbeat vibe of Promises (So Far Away) captures the magic and fun of summer nights and further establishes the whole summer vibe of the album:
The moon is a sunlight
It shines in the night
While it sounds dated today the title track, The Body & the Beat is a fun song with Todd Hunter's solid bass chops taking center stage. The truth is, there's not really a bad track on the album-- there are good ones and great ones. If you can find this classic Aussie gem GET IT save it for a hot summer day, roll down the windows, turn up the volume and enjoy the soundtrack of summer in full force.
Dragon formed as a prog-rock band in 1972. However the original line-up never released any albums. It was only after bass player, Todd Hunter, brought in his brother, Marc, as a vocalist that the band began to find success.
In 1974 they released their debut album, Universal Radio in New Zealand and followed it up in 1975 with another prog-rock album-- Scented Gardens for the Blind. While they were successful on the live circuit, their studio albums were met with very little success.
In 1975 their manager, Graeme Nesbitt, convinced them to go in a more pop-friendly direction and to tackle the Australian market. They brought in keyboardist Paul Hewson who had developed a reputation for being an exceptional songwriter. In 1976 after the release of their first pop single in Australia, This Time, the band was hit with their first setback. Drummer Neil Storey died of a heroin overdose at age 22. Dragon considered disbanding, but again manager Graeme Nesbitt came to the rescue and recommended Kerry Jacobsen as a new drummer.
The 1975-1979 line-up of Dragon consisting of: Todd Hunter: bass guitar; Marc Hunter: vocals; Paul Hewson: keyboards & vocals; Robert Taylor: guitar; and Kerry Jacobsen: drums brought Dragon their first wave of success with Aussie hit singles April Sun in Cuba, Are You Old Enough, and Still In Love With You from their albums Sunshine, Running Free, and O Zambezi.
In 1979 Dragon attempted to break into the US market in a disastrous tour with Johnny Winter in which Marc Hunter nearly incited a riot by referring to a Texas audience as "faggots." Upon their return to Australia the band was forced to fire Marc. His drug abuse was adversely affecting his voice and his brother, Todd, felt that the only way to save Marc from himself was to fire him from the band.
The band enlisted singer Billy Rogers to replace Marc and brought in violinist, Richard Lee in an attempt to change their sound and direction with their new singer. They released one album, Power Play, that was a commercial flop prompting the band to disband in December of 1979. Meanwhile Marc cleaned himself up and recorded his debut solo album, Fiji Bitter, and scored a minor hit with Island Nights. He followed up Fiji Bitter with Big City Talk in 1981. The title track was a minor hit for him.
In 1982 Dragon reformed, initially under the auspices of paying off their old debts. Drummer Kerry Jacobsen left for health reasons and was replaced by Terry Chambers. In 1983 Dragon scored a number 2 hit with Rain. In 1984 Dragon saw a return to their late seventies era fame with their Body and the Beat album. Dragon's success was further helped by the success of Marc's 3rd solo album, Communication in 1985.
Sadly keyboardist and songwriter Paul Hewson left Dragon and died of a drug overdose on January 9, 1985. Drummer Terry Chambers and guitarist Robert Taylor left the band shortly thereafter. Chambers was replaced by Doane Perry (currently in Jethro Tull) and Taylor was replaced by Australian guitar ace, Tommy Emmanuel. The band brought in Todd Rundgren to produce their next album, Dreams of Ordinary Men and toured Europe supporting Tina Turner under the name "Hunter" in 1986 (incidentally Dreams of Ordinary Men was released in the US under the band name, Hunter. The US version of the album also included a remix of their 1982 hit Rain).
The band briefly split up but released Bondi Road in 1988 with guitarist Randall Waller and drummer Barton Price. They continued touring into the 90s with the Hunter brothers, their longtime producer Alan Mansfield, and an ever changing line-up of keyboardists, guitarists, and drummers.
In 1995 Dragon released Incarnations, an album featuring new arrangements of some of their biggest hits with a litany of notable Australian guest musicians augmenting these adventurous new arrangements.
In 1997 Marc Hunter was diagnosed with severe oesophageal cancer. Marc underwent a litany of traditional and experimental treatments and his friends in the Australian music industry even performed a couple of concerts to help defer his medical costs. At the first of the benefits, Marc appeared on stage and thanked his fans for coming. For the second benefit he was to ill to attend but sent a video thanking his fans and friends. That concert was released on CD as "The Concert for Marc" and includes a who's who of Australian musicians including Little River Band vocalist - Glenn Shorrock, Australian Crawl frontman - James Reyne, Midnight Oil vocalist - Peter Garrett, Cold Chisel vocalist and Australian vocal legend - Jimmy Barnes, Barnes Cold Chisel bandmate guitarist and vocalist - Ian Moss, Men At Work vocalist - Colin Hay, Daddy Cool and later Mondo Rock vocalist - Ross Wilson, Southern Sons lead vocalist - Jack Jones, vocalist Wendy Mathews, and even former bandmates guitarists Robert Taylor and Tommy Emmanuel. Sadly Marc Hunter succumbed to his cancer on July 17, 1998.
In 2005 Todd Hunter reformed Dragon with vocalist/guitarist Mark Williams, guitarist Bruce Reid, and drummer Peter Drummond. They released the 2 CD Sunshine to Rain in 2006 featuring acoustic arrangements of Dragon's biggest hits and fan favorites performed by the current line-up of the band. On July 1, 2008 Dragon were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. They were joined on stage by Australian Crawl's James Reyne and Cold Chisel's Ian Moss to perform April Sun In Cuba and Rain. In 2009 Dragon released Happy I Am, their first album of original material since 1988's Bondi Road.
I'll Be Over You
by: Steve Lukather & Randy Goodrum
Some people live their dreams Some people close their eyes Some people's destiny Passes by
There are no guarantees There are no alibis That's how our love must be Don't ask why
It takes some time God knows how long I know that I can forget you As soon as my heart stops breaking Anticipating As soon as forever is through I'll be over you
Remember in times gone by Promises we once made What are the reasons why Nothing stays the same
There were the nights Holding you close Someday I'll try to forget them As soon as my heart stops breaking Anticipating As soon as forever is through I'll be over you
As soon as my heart stops breaking Anticipating Someday I'll be over you As soon as my heart stops breaking Anticipating Someday I'll be over you As soon as my heart...
While not as successful as 1982's mega hits Africa & Rosanna, Toto enjoyed modest success with 1985's I'll Be Over You. The song tugs at the heart strings a bit. Having my heart put through the wringer a few times over the years this song has provided a comfort to me on those ocassions when the wounds of heartbreak were still fresh. Those moments, fresh out of a relationship you didn't want to end when you don't think you'll ever feel that way again. Most of us are familiar with these feelings. The song has been sung millions of times with millions of different lyrics but the sentiment rings true for different people in different variations. Some might argue there's little that sets this song apart from all of those other songs that share the same sentiments. I'd argue there's a lot to be said for the delivery and the performance of the lyrics and that's where Toto comes through in spades.
There's a natural progression to the song where it shifts from "As soon as forever is through" to "Someday I'll be over you." that mimics the progression we go through as we get over loves lost and allow ourselves to open up to the possibility of new love.
This song has aged considerably better than some of Toto's other songs from the eighties. Over the years the band has offered alternative arrangements of the song to keep it fresh (including a beautiful and stirring acoustic version on the 1999 tour). Steve Lukather's soulful vocals are a perfect fit for the song.
If you've "been there" and "done that"-- chances are this song song will speak to you as well.
Jim Steinman first came to fame as Meat Loaf's songwriting collaborator on Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell album in 1977. After a rigorous touring schedule Meat Loaf literally lost his voice. Frustrated and growing impatient, Steinman soldiered on without Meat Loaf recording and releasing Bad For Good in 1981.
While Left In the Dark was later covered by Barbra Streisand and Meat Loaf, I still prefer Steinman's version over either Streisand's or Meat Loaf's. Much of this is due to Steinman's spoken word intro which was missing to the later covers. Steinman's delivery which comes across as menacingly painful. The sound of a man so hurt and wronged he doesn't know whether to lash out at his lover or curl into a ball and block out the world:
Where did you touch him?
And how did it feel?
How did you let it begin?
What did he whisper?
When did you cry?
And where do you think it will end?
How long did you do it?
Why did you stop?
Did you get to try anything new?
How good was he honest?
And where did you go?
And who made the very first move?
Steinman's version also excels in his vocal delivery. There's no arguing that he lacks the range of both Meat Loaf and Streisand, often struggling to hit the same notes they both hit with ease. But his struggles to hit some of the notes come across as emotional pain that add to the song's effectiveness, as if he's struggling to fight back the tears of the cuckolded and jilted lover.
The strings and piano add to the heart-wrenching pain of the lyrics which are some of Steinman's best:
There are no lies on your body
So take off your dress
I just wanna get at the truth
You can hear the struggle between love, pain, and hate expertly conveyed not just by Steinman's brilliant flair for lyrics but in that anthemic over the top delivery that are a trademark of so many of Steinman's songs.
All in all, Left In the Dark, is one of the most emotive and heart-wrenchingly beautifully written and performed songs I have ever heard. But don't take my word for it, let the song speak for itself.
Song Download from Amazon(note, the song is mislabeled as "Medley" on Amazon.com)
With a career spanning over 5 decades, John Barry has made a name for himself as one of the most in demand film score composers-- perhaps only second to John Williams.
Included in this exceptional box set are not only Barry's more well known works for the Bond films (including the signature theme) but also material from his Oscar winning scores for Born Free, Out of Africa, The Lion In Winter, & Dances With Wolves.
The set is rounded out by a handful of some of Barry's lesser known works including TV themes and material from his scores for Raise the Titanic (easily the best part of this Golden Razzie winner of a bomb), Somewhere In Time (the hauntingly beautiful theme that yanks on the heartstrings and some might argue is more memorable than the film) not to mention material from Day of the Locusts, Body Heat, Frances, Peggy Sue Got Married and many more. For fans of film scores this is a must have as Barry's scores were so brilliant they at times were even superior to the films he was scoring (Raise the Titanic and Frances are cases in point).
While it could be argued that much of the material on this box set is well known (the Bond themes in particular) much of it is not. And pulled from the context of the movies and shows the music is taken from, much of the "forgotten" and even some of the more well known gems are what stand out the most as they are strong enough to stand on their own even without the films they are from as a frame of reference.
There's a distinct and haunting beauty to much of Barry's work. Considering the length, scope, and breadth of Barry's career a single CD collection would not do him justice. This box set is an excellent place to start delving into Barry's extensive body of work and could conceivably inspire the listener to delve deeper into some of the full scores that are merely hinted at in this set.
The combination of 14 Australian Top 40 albums for Cold Chisel and 13 charting solo albums, including nine No. 1s, gives Jimmy Barnes the highest number of hit albums of any Australian artist. Yet in the United States, Barnes is virtually unknown.
In 1985 Jimmy Barnes, took another stab at the US market, this time as a solo artist. His band, Cold Chisel had, at best, a lukewarm reception when they'd attempted to crack the American market a few years earlier.
Unfortunately, largely due to poor timing, Barnes was met with a similar lack of enthusiasm on his solo attempt. While he was arguably far more talented than Bryan Adams, his music was far too similar to that of the Canadian rocker who had beat him to the punch for people to take much notice.
Luckily for Barnes the album was a smash hit that went multi-platinum outside the United States and even yielded 1998, 2003, and 25th anniversary (2010) re-releases in Australia. Working Class Man (penned by Journey keyboardist and the album's co-producer, Jonathan Cain) was even used in the American film Gung-Ho (featuring actor Michael Keaton). The title song was so popular in Australia that the film was re-titled Working Class Man for its Australian release.
Incidentally Cain thought so highly of Barnes that he approached him about possibly replacing Steve Perry in Journey. An offer which Barnes thankfully politely declined.
The album features some solid blues tinged rockers that have aged far better than much of the material from the eighties. While the track order was changed substantially for the re-releases the album is equally enjoyable whether the songs are listened to in the American track order:
1. No Second Prize (Barnes) 2. I'd Die To Be With You Tonight (Sandford) 3. Working Class Man (Cain) 4. Promise Me You'll Call (Barnes) 5. Boys Cry Out For War (Barnes) 6. Paradise (Barnes) 7. Without Your Love (Arnott, Barnes) 8. American Heartbeat (Cain) 9. Thick Skinned (Arnott, Barnes) 10. Ride The Night Away (Jordan, Little Steven) 11. Daylight (Barnes)
Or with the Australian track order:
1. I'd Die To Be With You Tonight (Sandford) 2. Ride The Night Away (Jordan, Little Steven) 3. American Heartbeat (Cain) 4. Working Class Man (Cain) 5. Without Your Love (Arnott, Barnes) 6. No Second Prize (Barnes) 7. Vision (Barnes) (Bonus track not on original release) 8. Promise Me You'll Call (Barnes) 9. Boys Cry Out For War (Barnes) 10. Daylight (Barnes) 11. Thick Skinned (Arnott, Barnes) 12. Paradise (Barnes)
Admittedly the first time I heard Jimmy Barnes voice (his duet with fellow Aussie vocalist, John Farnham, When Something Is Wrong With My Baby) I was not a fan. His rasp grated on my nerves. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Barnes voice had snuck under my skin and started to fester. Over time a voice that I once found grating I've grown to absolutely love.
While some might argue that Barnes is best enjoyed within the confines of Cold Chisel, I'd counter that his solo material challenges that argument quite convincingly. While his solo material is not necessarily superior to his material with Cold Chisel it is certainly on the same level of quality. If Barnes voice doesn't grab you at first, give it time. He has a swagger to him that demands to be noticed and inevitably enjoyed.
There's an easy enjoyability to this album from start to finish. The album is augmented by guest contributions including late 70s/early 80s pop chanteuse Kim Carnes, the aforementioned Jonathan Cain, and the highly respected Aussie vocalist Renee Geyer.
In hindsight I can understand why, within the context of the mid-eighties, this album failed to generate a stir in America. However, at the same time, I'd argue this album has aged far better than many of the albums that were far more popular at the time of its release. It lacks the oversynthesized keyboard saturation that was so prevelant on other releases from that era that was so welcome at the time but now makes those releases sound so dated. The tracks written and produced by Jonathan Cain even show him exhibiting far more restraint with Barnes than he exhibited in Journey. (**** out of 5)
Related Links & Media Working Class Man video (Australian)
In the early eighties there was a spike in interest in all things from Down Under. Little River Band who had risen to popularity in the late seventies saw their popularity grow. Groups like Split Enz, Men At Work, INXS, the Hoodoo Gurus, Crowded House, Icehouse, and Moving Pictures also made their indelible stamps beyond their own watery borders. While some of these groups are still remembered fondly, some are still even active, many of them have also faded into obscurity. Moving Pictures fall into the latter category.
Initially their success was limited to their own native shores. They saw moderate success on Australia's Countdown with their song, Bustin' Loose and then it all blew wide open when they released What About Me? It quickly became a worldwide hit, buoyed by its rotation on the then rather new and fledgeling MTV (remember when they still featured music videos?)
Their debut album, Days of Innocence which features both the minor "local" hits, Walls and Bustin' Loose as well as the worldwide smash, What About Me? is a delight with its sax-laden power-pop, catchy hooks, forays into New Wave, and the vocals of Alex Smith. In 2003, with Moving Pictures back catalog out of print. This collection featuring Days of Innocence in its entirety along with a handful of non-album singles and the stronger material from their follow-up album, Matinee, which remains out of print to this day was released to sate the public interest in this band.
Given the extra material on the album, one can easily determine why Matinee remains out of print. While the material is enjoyable it hasn't aged well and is not as strong as the first 10 tracks that make up the original Days of Innocence album. That being said, this import is a thoroughly enjoyable snapshot of the best this band had to offer before they split up, went their seperate ways and the band became but a footnote, the subjects in a grainy music video, and an ocassional earworm that would surface on eighties themed radio shows in the United States and Australia.
With the album's dated sound, listening to it is a time machine of sorts. If you close your eyes when listening to it you can not only hear the eighties but feel them seeping into your pores and taking you back to the era in which the music was recorded.
If reviews could be crystallized into single words "ambivalence" would likely be the most appropriate word to describe Turn Back. The material is considerably more consistent in its quality than on 1978's Hydra. However the production is somewhat muddy and at least one of the performances is a bit of a head scratcher.
Having heard a live bootleg of A Million Miles Away from 1996 sung by Steve Lukather not by Bobby Kimball as was done on this album, Lukather's voice was much better suited to the song leaving this listener wondering why Kimball was given the nod on the vocals on the studio release all those years ago.
There really is a lot to like about the music on this album, however given the muddiness of the mix (at least on the US released versions of the CD) it makes the album largely unlistenable and thus it makes the album largely frustrating. Here are eight songs of quality varying between merely good and thoroughly enjoyable but being mixed so poorly the listener really has to struggle to enjoy the songs.
Given better production and mixing this album really could have been much much more and considerably better than it ended up being. Luckily Toto would work out the kinks in the studio for their multiple grammy winning smash follow-up, IV, just a couple years later.
Kimball's vocals are easily better than they had been on Toto's first 2 albums and arguably even better than on IV, Lukather's guitar work and vocals are also easy on the ears the keyboard tandem of David Paich and Steve Porcaro is in top form and the rhythm section-- Dave Hungate on bass and the late Jeff Porcaro on drums-- fuhgeddaboutit.
Some of the standout tracks include If It's The Last Night, English Eyes, and the rather unusual love song I Think I Could Stand You Forever (note to the lads having trouble with the lasses-- this is NOT a line to use on a girl you may be interested in and thus this is not a song to be used to try to woo the object of your affections).
I've read that the Japanese release is a considerably better/less muddy mix but I've not heard it so I can't vouch for that. If you find or get your hands on a better mix of this album chances are you'll thoroughly enjoy it. And heck if you can get past an album sounding like it was recorded in one of the bathrooms in Grand Central Station you might even enjoy the sub-par US released mix of the album.
The "perfect pop album" is a rather lofty platitude to heap on an album. But if ever an album deserved that label, Bill Champlin's Runaway is one of the more worthy of that consideration.
Produced by the then up-and-coming producer, David Foster, back when Foster was still largely unknown by those not "in the know."
Much like with Chicago 16, Foster's formula for success was intact with Runaway. He brought in the best of the best session cats to augment Champlin's vocals and keyboard chops.
Where Champlin's solo debut, Single, still had many of the blue-eyed soul leanings of Bill's then former band, The Sons of Champlin, Runaway, was a step more in the direction of his future adult contemporary/pop leanings of Chicago. While some of the Jerry Hey horn arrangements (in particular Take It Uptown and Satisfaction, the latter of which Chicago actually included in their live set in the early 80s) would not have sounded out of place on a Chicago album, there's still enough of Bill on here to distinguish this as his album and not a Chicago-wannabe album. The grit is still in his vocals, although that grit is considerably more polished with David Foster at the helm than it was during his days fronting the Sons of Champlin.
What makes the album as a whole so enjoyable is its consistency. There's not a weak track to be found, a testament to both Champlin's songwriting and Foster's production. The closest any material comes to being weak is Stop Knockin' On My Door which musically is as good as anything else on the album, however lyrically it comes across more as a novelty song. But even the novelty of the lyrics can be excused as Bill's way of showing he's not taking himself nor his music TOO seriously. He still knew how to have fun and the lyrics are a testament to that fun-loving nature.
Given the personnel associated with this album its comparisons to Chicago 16 and 17 are completely unavoidable. And perhaps the only way this album could have been improved upon would have been with the participation of Peter Cetera. There was an undeniable vocal chemistry between Champlin & Cetera that was never more evident than on songs like Sonny Think Twice from Chicago 16 or Hard Habit to Break from Chicago 17. Had that vocal chemistry been discovered just a bit sooner, I have little doubt that Cetera would have made an appearance on this album as many of these songs sound tailor-made for Champlin and Cetera collaborations, the two of them trading off on vocals much as they did on the aforementioned Chicago albums.
But even without Cetera's participation, this album is thoroughly enjoyable to listen to and is easily one of Champlin's best solo endeavours.
Some albums are borne out of unbridled creativity, some are borne out of contractual obligations, and then there are some that are borne out of sheer impatience.
In the midst of a rigorous and exhausting tour schedule in the late seventies Meat Loaf literally lost his singing voice... for several years. Meanwhile his collaborator/songwriter, Jim Steinman, was getting anxious and chomping at the bit to record a follow-up to the wildly successful Bat Out of Hell album.
Finally Steinman decided to record the album himself. This ended up being the Meat Loaf album that never was. Over the years bits and pieces of this album have appeared on various other Meat Loaf albums (Rock & Roll Dreams Come Through, Lost Boys & Golden Girls, Out of the Frying Pan (and Into the Fire) all appeared on Bat Out of Hell II;Left in the Dark appeared on Welcome to the Neighbourhood; and Bad For Good appeared on Bat Out of Hell III).
For the most part, Steinman opted to do the vocals himself. On Rock & Roll Dreams Come Through he enlisted the assistance of studio vocalist Rory Dodd (best unknown for being the voice Michael J. Fox lip-synced to on Johnny B. Goode in Back to the Future). Steinman wasn't and isn't a great vocalist he is passable but his voice lacks the range of Meat Loaf so on some notes that Meat Loaf would have hit with ease, Steinman struggles with. On Left in the Dark this actually works to Steinman's advantage. His struggles to hit the notes come across as emotional pain and it fits the part of the cuckolded husband being portrayed in the song perfectly. In contrast, Meat Loaf hits the notes with relative ease but his vocal delivery lacks the depth of pain that Steinman's delivery has.
Considering there are only 3 songs on here that (at least to my knowledge) that are yet to appear on albums by Meat Loaf (Stark Raving Love and Dance In My Pants and the instrumental The Storm) one can get at least a glimpse of how this album may have sounded had it been released as Steinman originally intended-- as a Meat Loaf album. Having heard the Meat Loaf arrangements of many of the songs on here though, I'd have to counter that as much as I might prefer Meat Loaf's vocals on songs like Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through and Out of the Frying Pan (And Into the Fire) I'm not necessarily as keen on his arrangements on Bad For Good (although I do dig the Brian May guest guitar bit on Meat's version) or his vocals on Left in the Dark.
All in all though it is an enjoyable album. It IS trademark Jim Steinman and even if one finds his vocals lacking at times, the strength of the material tends to outweigh his vocal shortcomings (especially, as already mentioned on Left In the Dark, where his vocal limitations actually give the song more emotional credibility). Some may shy away from the over the top anthemic bombast of Steinman's work. But there's something to be said for over the top musical theatrics--"If you don't go over the top, you'll never see what's on the other side." (said by Steinman himself)
On the heels of the success of Toto in the late seventies, another group of LA session cats decided to form a band in a similar tradition. Vocalist, Jay Gruska; keyboardist, Robbie Buchanan ; guitarist, Michael Landau; bassist/vocalist, Mark Leonard; and drummer Doane Perry formed Maxus.
Where Toto's sound was more on the rock end of the spectrum, Maxus decided to lean slightly more to the jazz fusion side. Gruska had released a solo album in the seventies; had married Jennifer Williams (daughter of famous film score composer, John Williams); produced his brother-in-law, Joseph Williams, debut album; and had co-written the lead off single from Chicago 16 (What You're Missing). Buchanan had played the piano player in the Bette Midler film, The Rose, and toured with Midler in support of the soundtrack album. Doane Perry hadn't done much work prior to his time with Maxus, but following the band's split he played with the likes of the Fairport Convention, Stan Getz, Lou Reed, Dweezil Zappa, Todd Rundgren, Pat Benatar, and Dragon before inevitably being invited to be the drummer for Jethro Tull in 1984. Prior to his brief stint with Maxus Michael Landau was competing with high school classmate, Steve Lukather, to become the guitarist for Toto and since his time in Maxus he has literally played on thousands of albums for hundreds of different artists.
All 9 songs on Maxus one and only Michael Omartian produced album are enjoyable and imminently listenable. However, nearly 20 years later they all sound quite dated with that early eighties over-synthesized vibe dripping from every song.
If one can forgive the over-synthesized sound (and given the era in which the album was released, one should at least consider forgiving the band's love affair with synths) the music is an excellent snapshot of that era.
Gruska's voice is pleasant but somewhat unremarkable and given the other vocalists popular in the early eighties having a pleasant voice was not quite good enough to push Maxus to that next level nor to bring them greater success than they inevitably found.
If you're looking for an interesting musical relic and a musical snapshot of a long past era this fits the bill. But listening to the album it's also easy to understand how and why this band only spawned a single album before their dissolution and the later success of some members. The promise of their talents is certainly audible but those talents never quite gelled the way the talents of their contemporaries in Toto did. For the sub $10 download price from Amazon.com it's certainly a worthy investment although I wouldn't recommend paying much more for this release.
Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, the Donnas, Fergie... the list goes on and on. But their careers likely would have been considerably rockier and likely even a bit less successful had women like Pat Benatar not paved the way for them.
Most of us know her hits Heartbreaker, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Love is a Battlefield, Invincible, and We Belong to name but a few. But there's so much more to her story than her hits and the path not only to her success but once she attained it was far more difficult than most realize.
Even if you're not a big fan of Ms. Benatar's music, and admittedly prior to being approached for this review my familiarity with her work was largely limited to her hits, Between a Heart and a Rock Place is a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Pat gives a very candid snapshot of the music industry of the late seventies and throughout the eighties-- its superficiality, its obsession with image, and the many double standards applied to female musicians that weren't necessarily applied to male musicians-- at least not to the same extent.
The stories that are told of record label executives and the peek behind the curtain to see the Wizard that Ms. Benatar provides throughout her book shows the considerably less glamorous and far less savory side of the music industry; How they tried to tell her how to look, how to dress, discouraged her relationship with her guitarist and later husband Neil "Spyder" Giraldo, and even attempted to hide her pregnancy for her first daughter and make her feel ashamed of it; all of it would make for quite an incredible novel but what makes it even more chilling-- it's all true!
Without giving too much away-- this book is a must read for any fan of music, anyone curious about how the recording industry works, and certainly for any aspiring musicians whether or not you happen to be fans of Pat Benatar as a musician. The insights provided give a glimpse of how much popular music has evolved from the late seventies to the present and it's all through the eyes of one of the most successful female rockers in the history of rock and roll!
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If you had a pulse and an FM radio in 1985 chances are you are at least peripherally familiar with Level 42’s Something About You. Peaking at #7 on the US Billboard Charts. It was and remains Level 42’s most successful US single.
But Level 42’s story is one of much greater success in their own country than in the United States. All but the most die-hard of fans in the US would be hard pressed to name any of their other songs. World Machine, the album that really made the US sit up and take notice of Level 42 only peaked at #18 on Billboard’s Top 200 album charts here in the US, whereas in the UK not only did the album peak at #3, it remained on the charts for 72 weeks!
Besides the ever familiar, Something About You, World Machine features several thoroughly listenable and enjoyable songs like Lying Still, World Machine, Coup d’Etat, Leaving Me Now, and Physical Presence The cornerstone of Level 42’s sound is the contrast between bassist/vocalist Mark King and the high falsetto of keyboardist Mike Lindup. Their vocal and instrumental stylings are further augmented by brothers Boon Gould on guitar and Phil Gould on drums. World Machine would be the last of Level 42’s albums to feature their original line-up as the Gould brothers, disenchanted with the more pop-friendly direction of the band opted out.
All of the songs have a relaxed jazz/fusion vibe—largely thanks to the Gould brothers and funk influenced bass grooves compliments of Mark King. What is undeniable throughout the album is the superlative musicianship of the entire band. These guys were and are musician’s musicians.
As this is Level 42's most commercially successful release, it is also an excellent album to start with when delving into their catalog. A 2009 re-release included a 2nd CD with dance remixes and live versions of many of the songs from the album which, while nice, are a bit unnecessary for those who are merely casual listeners of the band.
But in the end, the best thing about Level 42 is their fusion of pop with jazz and funk created a sound that was rather uniquely their own. Few other bands have been able to pull off such an interesting blend of styles with such aplomb. If you enjoyed or were a fan of Steely Dan or possibly of some of Toto's more jazz-oriented songs, chances are you'll thoroughly enjoy Level 42 as well.
Debut solo albums by former members of notable groups tend to come in one of two varieties-- restrained and tentative or explosive brilliant bursts of creative energy.
After his tremendous success in Supertramp, Roger launched his solo career with this creative explosion of a debut. Not only did Roger write, arrange, and produce his debut he also played most of the instruments. This is a solo album in one of the purest senses of the word.
The album opens with ambitious and cynical eight plus minute Had a Dream (Sleeping with the Enemy). There was a single edit, however it barely cracked the Billboard charts. This is likely because any editing of the song would do/did do it a huge disservice. The song is best enjoyed in its entirety, as are all seven of the songs on this rather auspicious album.
The album then shifts to In Jeopardy which at times hints at the Greg Kihn band hit from a year or two before this album's release... That is to say it sounds like how the Greg Kihn hit might have sounded had it been recorded by Supertramp instead of the Greg Kihn Band. Despite the similarities it is a different song that hints and insinuates the other song without ever really plagiarizing it.
Lovers in the Wind is the album's shortest song at four minutes, thirteen seconds. It has a slow building piano intro reminiscent of Fools Overture from Supertramp's Even In the Quietest Moments. The vocals are also reminiscent of Fools Overture. There's a wistful melancholy undercurrent throughout the song that keeps in line with Hodgson's at time biting and cynical and other times laidback and melancholy vibe on this album.
Hooked on a Problem and Give Me Love, Give Me Like sound like they could have come straight off of Supertramp's Crisis? What Crisis?! Hints of Sister Moonshine and A Soapbox Opera are evident on both songs and musically it is from the same vein of most of the material from that album.
I'm Not Afraid sounds like Roger picking up right where he left off with Supertramp on Famous Last Words. There are hints of Crazy that can be heard at different times throughout the song.
The album closes with the haunting melancholy of Only Because of You. The song shows off Roger's multiple talents (vocalist, keyboardist, arranger, percussionist, songwriter, producer, etc.) Perhaps moreso than any other song on the album this is an example of all of those talents coming together just right. Musically it's also an excellent bookend for the album. It complements the opener, Had a Dream (Sleeping With the Enemy) quite beautifully and gives the listener sense of coming full circle and gives the album a sense of completion.
As already stated, the Supertramp influence throughout the album is unmistakable to the point where it could easily be argued that Roger sounds more like Supertramp after leaving the band than they sounded after continuing on without him. All that's missing are the trademark Davies/Hodgson collaborations that made those albums so enjoyable. And given the somewhat divergent direction that Supertramp went following Roger's departure evidence would indicate that he was largely responsible for their trademark sound. Their sound suffered more from his departure than his sound/style did.
Despite having only seven songs, the album clocks in at just over seven minutes. Only one of the songs falls under five minutes with several being over six minutes and a couple are even over eight minutes long. While not progressive rock in the purest sense of the word the album could certainly be described as progressive pop-- the somewhat more accessible "little brother" to prog rock.
Unfortunately, Roger's 1987 follow-up Hai Hai would lack the brilliance and creativity of his debut and an injury would curtail his career until the late 90s. Thankfully he finally did show a return to form in 2000 with Open the Door.
While Roger's career in Supertramp is still well respected his solo career, given its sporadic nature, has gone largely forgotten by all but his most die-hard fans since his departure from the band.
This album is a "must-have" for any fan of Supertramp and it's even a little bittersweet as one wonders what material they could have continued recording had Roger never parted ways with them and its easily better than any of their post-Roger output.
There’s an inexplicable comfortableness and familiarity with Marc Hunter’s Communication. It’s the long lost friend you’ve met for the first time. Even though you’ve never seen each other before there’s an instant ease as if you’d known one another your whole lives.
From start to finish Communication is that friend. It’s that album I listened to incessantly when it came out in 1985… except it was never released in the United States and now it’s 2010 and it just leaves me feeling like this is the album I would have been listening to incessantly in 1985 had I been aware of its existence at the time.
There’s not a bad track on the album, Hunter’s voice is as I’ve discovered continually enjoyable whether it’s within the context of his solo material or singing lead with Dragon.
Speaking of Dragon Communication is also the more laidback mellow younger brother to Dragon’s 1984 album, Body and the Beat.
Admittedly the programmed drums keep this album firmly planted in the decade in which they were recorded but the songs are well crafted and the material is strong in spite of the dated sound that the programmed drums give the material.
Urban Tribal has a haunting quality to it and is one of Hunter’s better vocal performances either as a soloist or with Dragon. The Empty Beach is a snapshot of a day alone at Bondi Beach. Lyrically it’s to Australia what Jimmy Buffet’s songs are to the Caribbean. Simple Words feels like a single although, the title track remained the only single released from this album (and it did enjoy moderate success in Australia).
The laidback relaxed but at times melancholic vibe permeates the album from start to finish. But there’s honesty in the music that gives it the aforementioned familiar feeling. Even if you aren’t personally in touch with what Hunter is singing about, you know the type of people of which he sings. They are the characters in the movie of our lives so sit back relax and get to know these ten new friends.
In the early eighties bands like Journey, REO Speedwagon, Asia, and Survivor not only dominated the airwaves but also filled arenas with their special blend of AOR.
