...after all it's KURT'S KRAP...

Who would have thought that in 2001 anyone would still be talking about this trio as still musically viable or fresh? But that’s the sheer genius of the Brothers Gibb as this is a fantastic slice of modern pop, with enough traces of the BGs of old to please both old fans while making plenty of new ones. The opening two tracks, the title track and “She Keeps On Coming”, already show that the album has a bit of a rock edge the one might not expect and reminds me a lot of something off the Shaw/Blades project. Though there is songs of the expected nature (mature ballads like the admittedly great yet schmaltzy “Wedding Day” or dance pop like “Embrace”), there are surprises too (like the gorgeous strolling “Sacred Trust” and the Queen-like oddity “Technicolor Dreams”). And “Walking On Air” is just breathtaking, a Jeff Lynne sounding tune that is hard to let go of, and if any song is more deserving of a hit I cannot think of one. Album closer “Voice In The Wilderness” is out and out arena rock and believe it or not, could have easily come from any melodic rock artist (Night Ranger springs to mind), with it’s shout along chorus. It’s hard to call this a comeback, as they have still been making albums outside the US, but I’m pretty sure this one might put them back on top of the world. Magically poplicious!

HWL is vocalist Steve Hogarth’s band before he joined Marillion and with this disc, you can hear a lot of the influence he’s exerted over the band since replacing Fish. It’s unabashedly 80s pop and I love it all the more for it. This is ten tracks of keyboard driven modern pop that most of us probably frowned upon back then, if for nothing more than the image didn’t fit our ideas of “cool” at the time. But musically, there’s no reason that those who enjoy Hi-tech AOR, 80s MTV pop or even light prog shouldn’t enjoy this thoroughly. Flat out, these are great songs that are complex yet memorable, with tunes like “Working Girl” (how was this NOT a hit?!?), “All The Time In The World” and the sweeping “Games In Germany” leading the pack. Also of note is “Dry Land”, a song that was later a single for Marillion. The overall sound of the disc seemed like it would have lent itself handily to videos, leaving one scratching their head why it just got buried without a trace. This is superior 80s pop with many an AOR trace and it deserves your attention.

Sure, the 80s are back in a retro way in today’s pop culture. And looking back, it’s not hard to see why. Movies, music and even arguably television were simply better and more entertaining. People in general just seemed happier and it came across in all forms of media, especially the music. Even punks like Billy Idol were pretty tame in retrospect. That’s not to say though that Billy, along with guitarist Steve Stevens, didn’t create one hell of a storming arena rock album that some 25 odd years on still sounds really good. Besides containing the hits “Eyes Without A Face”, “Flesh For Fantasy”, “Catch My Fall” and the ever popular title track, the album was filled with great album cuts like the storming “Blue Highway” or the attitude fueled “(Do Not) Stand In The Shadows”. For fans, Billy added five bonus tracks in the form of session takes of “Rebel Yell”, “Motorbikin’” and “Flesh For Fantasy” as well as demos of “Catch My Fall” and “Blue Highway”. Though Billy released many great songs throughout his career, this is probably the released. only great album he

OK…like I have admitted in the past, I am a big time sucker for 70s AM pop. Razor & Tie, with the help of the 70s Preservation Society, has compiled a rather nifty collection of disposable pop that shows that these songs held up nicely over time. Sure, things like Blue Suede’s “Hooked On A Feeling”, Bo Donaldson’s “Billy Don’t Be A Hero” and Stealer’s Wheel’s “Stuck In The Middle With You” may be laughed at now (if not a touch played out), but admit it…you still love this stuff too and frankly, it shits over what passes for pop these days. The collection is rounded up by other “gold” tunes like the Hues Corporation’s “Rock The Boat”, Wild Cherry’s funk rock blast “Play That Funky Music” and The Raspberries power pop essential “Go All The Way” (though please, someone make sure that the masters for the Starland Vocal Band’s “Afternoon Delight”, my personal pick for worst song ever, gets trashed forever!). There are a lot of various 70s collections out there, this is easily one of the better ones, spotlighting some songs often overlooked.