Music Reviews

Roy Orbison – Mystery Girl

This album attained a kind of notoriety by virtue of being released shortly after Orbison’s death in 1988. The great tragedy of it is that it represented one of the greatest potential comebacks in rock history. Orbison got back into public view through his membership in the Traveling Wilburys, all the while preparing for his own solo album featuring such guests as fellow Wilburys Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, U2’s Bono and Edge, and songs penned by Orbison’s son Wesley and Elvis Costello. On the whole, this is an exceptional album, and could have paved the way for a meteoric rebirth of Orbison’s career. Naturally I’m partial toward those songs produced and co-written by Jeff Lynne, but they’re not necessarily the best music here. “The Only One”, Costello’s “The Comedians”, and “She’s A Mystery To Me” are outstanding examples of Orbison’s musical craft, easily on a par with or better than any of his earlier classics. If you haven’t already found the reason to mourn Orbison’s passing, listening to this album may well bring tears to your eyes.

1. You Got It (3:27)
2. In The Real World (3:40)
3. (All I Can Do Is) Dream You (3:40)
4. A Love So Beautiful (3:30)
5. California Blue (3:55)
6. She’s A Mystery To Me (4:16)
7. The Comedians (3:22)
8. The Only One (3:57)
9. Windsurfer (4:02)
10. Careless Heart (4:08)

Released by: Virgin
Release date: 1989
Total running time: 37:57

Donald Fagen – The Nightfly

Whether you realize it or not, you almost certainly heard this Steely Dan alum’s solo efforts in the early 80s. The lyrics promise “What a beautiful world this could be, what a glorious time to be free,” and the song is called “I.G.Y.” (which may explain why you’ve never been able to remember the title!). Famous for that single and the amusing “New Frontier” (whose lyrics concern an adolescent’s attempts to woo the girl of his dreams while they’re both stuck in a bomb shelter during a Cold War scare…!), The Nightfly is an uncontested classic. Also included are a cover of “Ruby Baby”, and three seriously underrated would-be classics, “Maxine”, “The Goodbye Look”, and “Walk Between The Raindrops”. I highly recommend this beautiful synthesis of jazz and rock to you…if you’ve got the chops for it.

1. I.G.Y. (6:05)
2. Green Flower Street (3:40)
3. Ruby Baby (5:38)
4. Maxine (3:50)
5. New Frontier (6:23)
6. The Nightfly (5:45)
7. The Goodbye Look (4:47)
8. Walk Between Raindrops (2:38)

Released by: Warner Bros.
Release date: 1982
Total running time: 38:46

Split Enz – True Colours

This is the album which brought Split Enz their greatest hit in America, and as such seems to be the point of origin for many fans’ interest in the band, thus it becomes a default classic. But honestly, even in the 80s the band came up with better material than this. The Neil Finn hit “I Got You” and its very similar cousin “What’s The Matter With You” are memorable, as well as Tim’s classics “I Hope I Never” and “Poor Boy”, both of which were given orchestral treatment on the later ENZSO album. My personal favorite is the extremely silly “Nobody Takes Me Seriously”, an infrequently-remembered Tim tune. But much of the rest of the album, including a couple of bland instrumentals, is rather forgettable.

1. I Got You (3:24)
2. Shark Attack (2:52)
3. What’s The Matter With You (3:02)
4. Double Happy (3:15)
5. I Wouldn’t Dream Of It (3:14)
6. I Hope I Never (4:26)
7. Nobody Takes Me Seriously (3:24)
8. Missing Person (3:32)
9. Poor Boy (3:19)
10. How Can I Resist Her (3:26)
11. The Choral Sea (4:29)

Released by: A&M
Release date: 1980
Total running time: 38:23

Ralf Illenberger – Heart & Beat

Though this album was my introduction to Ralf Illenberger, it pales in comparison to his other works. There seemed to be a conscious attempt with Heart & Beat to veer toward a more rock-influenced sound, and while Ralf can manage that style of playing as deftly as he can jazz, it’s such a disappointment to hear him trying to step into that genre. Still, there are good tunes on here.

1. Heart & Beat (4:52)
2. Love Bird (3:43)
3. Forrest (4:46)
4. Fun Tango (4:50)
5. A Sunday At Home (4:00)
6. A Heart Rocks (3:28)
7. Eastern Boardwalk (5:52)
8. Sign Of Horus (3:36)
9. Marimba (Rain Dance) (2:58)

Released by: Narada
Release date: 1990
Total running time: 38:05

Twin Peaks – music by Angelo Badalamenti

The soft-pedaled, murky, mysterious jazz-like music that accompanied this 1990 TV series perfectly suited the murky, weird and often just plain ridiculous setting of the show. But does it make for a good soundtrack? Well…maybe not. A lot of the material is repetitive, but those who were closely attached to the show may find it to be of more nostalgic value. My recommendation? Go instead and get Julee Cruise’s album Floating Into The Night, which has the theme song as well as more memorable music than the Twin Peaks album itself. For distinctive and interesting music, the movie derived from the TV show was better (though that’s about the only respect in which the movie was better than its TV parent).

1. Twin Peaks Theme (4:45)
2. Laura Palmer’s Theme (5:08)
3. Audrey’s Dance (5:15)
4. The Nightingale – with Julee Cruise (4:54)
5. Freshly Squeezed (3:48)
6. The Bookhouse Boys (3:24)
7. Into the Night – with Julee Cruise (4:42)
8. Night Life in Twin Peaks (3:23)
9. Dance of the Dream Man (3:39)
10. Love Theme from Twin Peaks (4:34)
11. Falling – with Julee Cruise (5:18)

Released by: Warner Bros.
Release date: 1990
Total running time: 48:50

Tim Finn – Escapade

This is Tim Finn’s first foray into the solo arena, and though it’s not bad, it shares signs of age with its successor, 1986’s Big Canoe, in that the year of its release can be guessed on most of the songs by listening to the synths. As a fan of a lot of ’80s pop music, I find “synth aging” as I call it to be somewhat charming myself, but some don’t. Too bad. This album opens up with a nifty mock-reggae number, “Fraction Too Much Friction”, which reminds me a lot of “Parihaka” from his self-titled third album six years later. Much of Escapade could probably go unnoticed by anyone who places no significance on the name of the artist, as its style is generally more mainstream than Split Enz, which was taking a break the year this album was recorded. A couple of good pieces here include the very adult-contemporary “Wait And See” with some good keyboard work, and “Made My Day”, which sounds like it could’ve been a good 1970s Doobie Brothers number.

1. Fraction Too Much Friction (4:15)
2. Made My Day (3:25)
3. Not For Nothing (3:29)
4. In A Minor Key (3:47)
5. Grand Adventure (3:52)
6. Staring at the Embers (3:06)
7. Wait and See (4:01)
8. I Only Want To Know (4:05)
9. Growing Pains (3:03)
10. Through the Years (3:50)

Released by: Mushroom
Release date: 1984
Total running time: 36:55

ELO Part II – Live With The Moscow Symphony Orchestra

“Well,” I thought, “that’s nice, it’s in the bargain bin.” Then I did a slight double-take. “What? This is new, and it’s already in the bargain bin.” This meant trouble. The fading remnants of my favorite band were fading really fast if their new release, even though it is a live album, was entering the music store shelves at rock-bottom. And I found out why (that’s the great thing about bargains, eh?). This is, at best, an excessively mediocre live album. Years later, in 1996, I saw ELO Part II perform live when they made a stop in my home town of Fort Smith, Arkansas, and I discovered that ELO Part II does a kick-ass live show, just not on this album. Perhaps the improvement in their live repertoire is that they’ve expanded their selection of post-ELO originals, which are better suited to their live performance needs because they know what they’re capable of on stage. This album is comprised entirely – with the singular exception of “Thousand Eyes” – of classic ELO songs which people have come to know with a full string section. The Moscow Symphony can deliver the goods most of the time, but even they have their off nights, as can be heard when somebody hits an outrageously, painfully flat note in the Beethoven intro to “Roll Over Beethoven”. I think as ELO Part II expands their repertoire of original tunes, their live show will only get better and better, as the new songs are tailored to the new group’s strengths. In fact, I keep hearing about a new live album called One Night which has yet to make it to the States, and I’d love to hear it, because, even though this album fell seriously flat, ELO Part II really brings the house down live.

1. Overture (2:26)
2. Turn To Stone (3:51)
3. Evil Woman (4:20)
4. Showdown (5:08)
5. Livin’ Thing (4:04)
6. Hold On Tight (2:58)
7. Thousand Eyes (4:28)
8. Can’t Get It Out Of My Head (6:46)
9. Telephone Line (5:04)
10. Roll Over Beethoven (6:05)

Released by: Scotti Bros.
Release date: 1992
Total running time: 45:10

The Carl Stalling Project, Volume 1

How can anyone resist the classic sound of the original Looney Toons and Merrie Melodie cartoons? Carl Stalling’s distinctive style changed the way pictures were put to music forever, and created an instantly recognizable repetoire unto itself. You’ve heard a lot of these tracks already, but they were in the background, part of the atmosphere for Bugs, Daffy, Elmer Fudd or Marvin the Martian. But the cues are unmistakable. Most of them do not contain any dialogue and are excellent original recordings, but a few of them have the sound effects and character voices intact. My favorites on this album are “Powerhouse and other cuts from the 1950s” and the “Anxiety Montage” – the latter of which contains almost every musical backing for any imaginable exciting situation ever seen in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. This is a must-have!

1. Putty Tat Trouble Part 6 (1:20)
2. Hillbilly Hare (4:22)
3. Early WB Scores – The Depression Era (6:02)
4. The Good Egg (4:25)
5. Various Cues from Bugs Bunny Films (5:07)
6. There They Go Go Go (5:27)
7. Stalling Self-Parody: music from Porky’s Preview (5:26)
8. Anxiety Montage (6:11)
9. Stalling – The War Years (3:50)
10. Medley – Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals (5:00)
11. Carl Stalling with Milt Franklyn in session (7:14)
12. Speedy Gonzalez Meets Two Crows from Tacos (5:33)
13. Powerhouse and other cuts from the early 50s (6:15)
14. Porky in Wackyland / Dough for the Dodo (5:44)
15. To Itch His Own (5:54)

Released by: Warner Bros.
Release date: 1990
Total running time: 77:50

Paul Simon – Rhythm Of The Saints

Though the quality of the songs on this album vary, I love this album. In some places – the parts I tend to like best – it sounds like Paul Simon borrowing some of Peter Gabriel’s stylistic maneuvers. Specifically, this entire album is awash with a constant flow of Afro/Latin percussion, a sound I almost can’t get enough of. Even when it seems to be clipping along at a fast pace, there’s something about the sound of massed percussion, the almost-spiritual sense that every sound is being produced by a human being with his or her own intrinsic strengths and flaws of timing, and there’s not a computer anywhere in the room…there’s a very organic ebb, flow and undulation that really affects me. And I could go on from there, comparing it to the similar experience of hearing massed voices or the instruments in an orchestra, but I’ll rein this in and bring it back to Paul Simon. The album starts out with its best-known single, “The Obvious Child”, which is a typical Simon acoustic number given a mind-boggling twist with some raucous drumming. I have to single out “The Cool, Cool River” as the album’s best song, however – the lyrics, the music, the percussion, and just the intangible feel are unforgettable, possibly Simon’s best in a long time. Highly recommended.

1. The Obvious Child (4:10)
2. Can’t Run But (3:37)
3. The Coast (5:03)
4. Proof (4:40)
5. Further To Fly (5:39)
6. She Moves On (5:03)
7. Born At The Right Time (3:48)
8. The Cool, Cool River (4:32)
9. Spirit Voices (3:56)
10. The Rhythm of the Saints (4:11)

Released by: Warner Bros.
Release date: 1990
Total running time: 44:41

Out of Africa – music by John Barry

This is an absolutely sublime score, one of the very few movie soundtracks which radiates enough simple beauty to rank up there with the classical repertoire. Whether you’ve seen the movie or not, you’ve probably heard the first few wistful minutes of the main theme before. The secondary theme, which resurfaces in other cues, is no slouch either. I can’t recommend this highly enough, nor can I even come up with a description that adequately describes the beauty of it all.

1. Main Title – I Had a Farm in Africa (3:07)
2. I’m Better At Hello – Karen’s theme (1:15)
3. Have You Got a Story For Me? (1:12)
4. Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A, K.622 (2:46)
5. Safari (2:40)
6. Karen’s Journey / Siyawe (4:46)
7. Flying Over Africa (3:22)
8. I Had a Compass From Denys – Karen’s theme II (2:27)
9. Alone on the Farm (1:55)
10. Let the Rest of the World Go By (3:12)
11. If I Know a Song of Africa – Karen’s theme III (2:11)
12. End title – You Are Karen (4:03)

Released by: MCA
Release date: 1986
Total running time: 33:34

Moody Blues – Every Good Boy Deserves Favour

What can I say for this album aside from the fact that it has one of the all-time weirdest opening sound-montages any rock act has ever assembled? Even though the piece to which the odd, UFO-like noises are attached is rather interesting, it’s quite a jarring departure from Future Passed. Still, there are many good things about the album, including the familiar Story In Your Eyes and one of my all-time favorite Moodies tunes, “Emily’s Song”. Despite these, however, this album has always managed to hit me in precisely the wrong way; I can’t put a finger on it. The album certainly falls within the parameters that the Moodies settled into after Future Passed, but somehow it doesn’t trip my trigger like most of their other material.

1. Procession (4:44)
2. The Story In Your Eyes (2:56)
3. Our Guessing Game (3:35)
4. Emily’s Game (3:42)
5. After You Came (4:33)
6. One More Time To Live (5:42)
7. Nice To Be Here (4:23)
8. You Can Never Go Home (4:15)
9. My Song (6:20)

Released by: Threshold
Release date: 1971
Total running time: 40:10

Pseudo Echo – Love An Adventure

I’m embarassed to confess what got me to get this album on tape years ago. One word: “Funkytown”. Yes, this is the Australian group that did a cover of “Funkytown” around 1987 that went over fairly well. The rest of the album, though it’s thick with drum machine and synth sounds, is better than that song; truth be told, that song is now practically my least favorite. I was lucky to get a CD of this out-of-print album second-hand, so it may be very hard to get a hold of. The other single that I recall from this album is “Living In A Dream”, though the non-singles “Love An Adventure” and “Destination Unknown” are good ones as well. If you can handle the mid-80s electronic sound – and if you find early Depeche Mode palatable, you know what I’m talking about – you’ll like this.

1. A Beat For You (3:39)
2. Living in a Dream (3:29)
3. Try (4:19)
4. Listening (3:06)
5. I Will Be You (5:20)
6. Love an Adventure (4:17)
7. Destination Unknown (4:59)
8. Funkytown (4:53)
9. Lonely Without You (4:34)
10. Lies Are Nothing (3:57)

Released by: RCA Limited/Transworld
Release date: 1987
Total running time: 42:43

Police – Regatta de Blanc

Let’s talk about the Police. Before they became really popular. Listening to the Police reminds me of long summers in the mid 1980s being driven around by my older brother, who’d just gotten his driver’s license, so in a weird way, it’s comfort music to me, bringing back memories of more carefree times before everything went straight to hell. But enough about the psychological impact the music has one me – the Police were good when they went soft-rock with Synchronicity, but they were better before. And this album is a testament to that. Songs such as “Message In A Bottle”, “Bring On The Night”, “The Bed’s Too Big Without You” and “Does Everyone Stare” could only have been performed by the Police before they lost their edge in the name of record sales and splitting up. There’s also the kooky “On Any Other Day” – the whole album is worth listening to.

1. Message in a Bottle (4:49)
2. Reggatta de Blanc (3:14)
3. It’s Alright For You (3:05)
4. Bring On The Night (4:16)
5. Deathwish (4:13)
6. Walking on the Moon (4:59)
7. On Any Other Day (2:56)
8. The Bed’s Too Big Without You (4:24)
9. Contact (2:39)
10. Does Everyone Stare (3:49)
11. No Time This Time (3:18)

Released by: A&M
Release date: 1978
Total running time: 41:42

Electric Light Orchestra Part Two

It really surprised me when I read that ELO drummer Bev Bevan was trying to pull the band back together again, and trying to do so without Jeff Lynne, who had made the original ELO a success. I remember thinking that this was a daft idea, and how bad it was going to be. Then the album came out.

I hated to admit it when I heard it, but there are parts of ELO Part II’s debut album that aren’t bad at all. And on two songs in particular, ELO Part II actually managed to sound not entirely unlike the original ELO. “Thousand Eyes”, composed by the versatile Eric Troyer (who is ELO Part II’s saving grace), and “Honest Men” really do come across as authentically ELO-esque, complete with Louis Clark string arrangements, wonderful harmonies and ever-shifting rhythms. If the rest of the album falls prey to any particular problem, it is a tendency to strive less for an ELO sound than for a sort of string-embellished glam-rock style. That aside, to my amazement, I can honestly say I do recommend this album to you. ELO Part II has yet to surpass this feat on record, which is a bit of a shame, since their self-titled debut proves that the potential is there! If you don’t believe me, listen to “Thousand Eyes” toward the end of the song, right after the bridge, as the strings begin their rapid-fire arpeggios during a reprise of the chorus, and it’s almost like it’s 1979 all over again. If only for the length of that one song, they did it.

1. Hello (1:17)
2. Honest Men (6:13)
3. Every Night (3:15)
4. Once Upon A Time (4:18)
5. Heartbreaker (4:55)
6. Thousand Eyes (4:49)
7. For the Love of a Woman (4:01)
8. Kiss Me Red (4:01)
9. Heart of Hearts (4:18)
10. Easy Street (4:56)

Released by: Scotti Bros.
Release date: 1990
Total running time: 42:03

Dave Edmunds – Information

If this album is famous for anything, it’s probably famous for being oft-mistaken for ELO. Jeff Lynne of ELO fame produced the first two singles from an album that sounds like Dave Edmunds’ attempt to refashion himself as a synth-pop-rocker after years of a perfectly satisfactory career as an old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roller. The Lynne-produced “Information” and “Slipping Away” (the latter of which Lynne also wrote) sounded almost exactly like ELO’s 1983 Secret Messages album, with the trademark harmonies, keyboard and guitar work in just the right amounts. Edmunds produced the rest of the album, and it’s still good stuff, even with the unusually synth-heavy tone of the whole thing. Among the best on this album are “What Have I Got To Do To Win?” (my favorite, an experiment in synth-heavy blues rock) and “Don’t Call Me Tonight”, and Edmunds even makes a concession to pure rock – and heavy blues rock at that – with “Wait”. It’s not for nothing that Edmunds earned himself a reputation as one of Britain’s best rockers.

1. Slipping Away (4:19)
2. Don’t You Double (3:13)
3. I Want You So Bad (2:36)
4. Wait (4:10)
5. The Watch On My Wrist (2:07)
6. The Shape I’m In (2:26)
7. Information (3:52)
8. Feel So Right (3:29)
9. What Have I Got To Do To Win? (3:16)
10. Don’t Call Me Tonight (2:26)
11. Have A Heart (2:55)

Released by: Columbia
Release date: 1983
Total running time: 34:49

Fine Young Cannibals

Talk about a brief reign as the king – these guys had it made in the chart-topping department in 1989, but now they’ve gone almost completely silent. Their self-titled first album has some of their best material on it, particularly the acoustic-guitar and sax driven Funny How Love Is and a wonderfully unpredictable song called “Couldn’t Care More” which also ranks as my favorite song by FYC. The early single “Johnny Come Home” is also here, along with a surprisingly well-executed cover of Elvis’ “Suspicious Minds”. I have to give this album higher marks than the later The Raw & The Cooked by a long shot. And whatever happened to these guys anyway, aside from lead singer Roland Gift’s occasional villainous guest appearances on the Highlander TV series?

1. Johnny Come Home (3:35)
2. Couldn’t Care More (3:30)
3. Don’t Ask Me To Choose (3:05)
4. Funny How Love Is (3:28)
5. Suspicious Minds (3:56)
6. Blue (3:35)
7. Move To Work (3:26)
8. On A Promise (3:06)
9. Time Isn’t Kind (3:12)
10. Like a Stranger (3:28)
11. Johnny Come Home – extended mix (5:45)
12. Suspicious Minds – suspicious mix (7:54)

Released by: I.R.S.
Release date: 1986
Total running time: 48:00

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

If you’re going to vomit from hearing about the Fleetwood Mac album with “Don’t Stop” on it, maybe you’d better move along to the review of Mirage. Actually, I’ve always thought “Don’t Stop” and “Go Your Own Way” are both overplayed and overrated. Of much more interest to me is the classic early Lindsey Buckingham material (specifically “Second Hand News” and “Never Going Back Again”) and the fact that I actually liked Stevie Nicks’ songs on this album. I can’t tell you how much I do not like her later stuff, especially once she got into the whole “Gypsy” image a little too deep. In fact, aside from those overexposed singles I mentioned above, there are few things about this album that I don’t like. The best song is easily Christine McVie’s beautiful “Songbird”.

1. Second Hand News (2:43)
2. Dreams (4:14)
3. Never Going Back Again (2:02)
4. Don’t Stop (3:11)
5. Go Your Own Way (3:38)
6. Songbird (3:20)
7. The Chain (4:28)
8. You Make Loving Fun (3:31)
9. I Don’t Want To Know (3:11)
10. Oh Daddy (3:54)
11. Gold Dust Woman (4:51)

Released by: Warner Bros.
Release date: 1977
Total running time: 39:03

Ralf Illenberger – Circle

If you haven’t heard of this guy, you’re in a sadly deprived majority. Illenberger’s probably the best white jazz guitarist working today, and his style is truly unique. Whatever it is he does, it achieves wonderfully listenable results. His agility with a good riff salvages most of this album from ever being background music. And it’s still probably his best overall album to date. The album’s title track is a wonder of multi-tracked guitars which wander in a sort of musical circle, a theme which pops up throughout the album and is best exemplified in “Gemina”. “Blue Darkness” and “Ballad” are two other amazing pieces of music. Definitely one for my Damn Near Perfect Album List, and I strongly urge you to seek it out and get hooked on Ralf.

1. Horizons I (5:15)
2. Blue Darkness (4:56)
3. Big Change (6:19)
4. Jump (5:31)
5. Gemina (4:28)
6. Moonfood (3:21)
7. Nightflight (6:25)
8. Ballad (3:49)
9. Horizons II (4:24)

Released by: Narada
Release date: 1988
Total running time: 44:45