Johnny Mathis - The Island (1989)

Note: the CD I listened to was 2020 CD release

This album was recorded in August 1989, but not released at that time. The compact disc I purchased is the first standalone-CD release of this album, but not its first time on CD. The album made its debut on CD in 2017 as Disc #55 in the mammoth 68(!) CD box set titled The Voice Of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection (MSRP $499.98, currently reselling for at least twice that price).

I was gifted a Mathis promo CD sampler and it contained the title track from this album. I wrote the following: "I wouldn't mind hearing more tracks from that album." Produced by Sergio Mendes, this album is full of a soft rock blend that lies somewhere between música popular brasileira and WestCoast/Adult Oriented Rock. More on the release from these 2 posts:

• Johnny Mathis’ Brazil-Themed “The Island” Arrives From Second Disc Records, Real Gone Music
• The Island

Anyway, I bought this copy back in November 2021 and I really want to like the thing, but I just don't think the right material was chosen to suit Mathis's immediately recognizable voice. While listening, I can't help but wonder what Al Jarreau or Joe Pizzulo would have done with a few of these songs. Another problem with the album is a lack of variety; I'd like an upbeat tune every now and then to offset all the slow-to-midtempo romantic material. To be brutally honest, some of this stuff is downright boring. So maybe the album wasn't released back in '89 for good reason?

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: I'm already familiar with other versions of three songs on the disc, so of course I compare these to the first I heard. The tracks that work better than others are Who's In Love Here (co-written by Brenda Russell) and Wanting More. And I'll ignore the unintended irony of that title for now.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Music of Johnny Mathis: Your Personal Sampler (1993)

State Cows - High And Dry (2022)

European import

I like State Cows. That said, all their stuff is in exactly the same vein. However, I happen to like that vein, so here we are. Speaking of the same vein, I’ll now engage in some tasteful plagiarism from a previous CDP post about the band.

Here's a little bit about the Swedish duo, taken from their website:

STATE COWS is one of very few modern yacht rock / westcoast / AOR bands that creates new original music. This project started out as a Steely Dan tribute called THE SECOND ARRANGEMENT. They soon transformed the Steely Dan tribute into the band STATE COWS and started writing an album of brand new yacht rock songs. Smooth guitar lines, half-time shuffles, funky bass lines, slick harmonies, real Fender Rhodes, tight horn sections and some California sunshine ... it's all in there!

So, yeah, it's derivative, but so very good and very smooth. Goes down easy. If you tire of the limited and questionable playlist on the yacht rock channel on SiriusXM, but still want a little Doobie Bounce in your life, this is just what the doctor ordered. The duo leans into the "yacht rock" nomenclature and musical vocabulary while creating neo-yacht music for the dad rock (or granddad rock) crowd. My only complaint is the sound is often over-produced, particularly in the odd treatment of the backing vocals.

I encourage you to sample some their stuff over at bandcamp: statecows.bandcamp.com.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: The best cuts on this one are Caught In A Landslide, Emily, Tears Of Isolation, Hold On, and When You Smile.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but the sound sure takes me back to the '80s real quick.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Closed Doors And Open Shores (2025)

Erik Tagg - Rendez-Vous (1977)

Note: the CD I listened to was the Music On CD reissue (The Netherlands, 2024) with 4 bonus tracks.

I first discovered Eric Tagg in the early 1980s through his stellar vocals on Lee Ritenour's 'Rit' album, but was completely oblivious to his earlier solo albums for many years. This cluelessness was mainly because Tagg, a US native, was living and working in the Netherlands at the time and his albums weren't released in the US. (It also explains why he changed the spelling of his first name.) I've since found a couple of them, but I'm always on the lookout for other early Tagg CDs.

Here's the only US press I was able to find regarding this album. Up, up, and away...

In any case, this album is typical late-70s blue-eyed soul/jazz-pop/sophisticated Adult Oriented Rock. Production is lush but restrained with lots of warm Fender Rhodes, silky backing vocals, tasteful horn charts, and mellow grooves. All this good stuff supporting Tagg's airy tenor that can sound soulful and is always in complete control, almost as if this guy is incapable of over singing. The album was produced by Hans Vermeulen of the Dutch band Rainbow Train and you can hear a bit of a slightly European feel when compared to US soft rock of the time. (See also Lava). There's also several points where you can tell Tagg spent a lot of time taking in the ballads on Songs In The Key Of Life. Then again, who wasn't listening to that album back in 1977? 

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Not originally released in the US

Tracks: All songs written by Tagg. My top picks on today's listen are Got To Be Lovin' You, Fancy Meeting You, Marja's Tune, and Mutual Feeling; but it all goes down easy. As do the...

Bonus tracks: Living Off The Love is the best of the four bonus tracks, but I also dig The Love I Gave and Who Are You. These four lean more to the Westcoast/AOR sound but also more to CCM (or were they still calling it "God Rock" back in '77?)

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Tagg/McNulty Band - At The Legendary Popsicle Toes Club In Dallas TX 1986 (2018)

Mamas Gun - DIG! (2026)

UK import

I'm a fan of singer/composer/producer/retro-guru Andy Platts and here he's gifted us another collection of neo-soul originals that somehow immediately takes me back to my primary school days. Platts even persuaded Brian Jackson to perform on the title track. Both lyrically and musically, there's a bit more gospel influence on this album than the group's previous releases and that doesn't bother me a bit (just the opposite, actually). Just sit back and let the smooth '70s sounds wash over you. Cool music for warm weather.

Online reviews:

• willwork4funk.com: "In turbulent times, Mamas Gun’s music certainly connects and is a welcome balm for the soul. Uplifting, questing, nourishing and golden, DIG! is a pure delight to experience and without a doubt their most accomplished album to date."
• soulandjazzandfunk.com (4/5): "Dip in anywhere across this 11 tracker and you’ll enjoy quality blue-eyed soul – with the emphasis on that last word.
• shatterthestandards.com: ★★★★☆

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: No skips.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but I've got a strong suspicion this album will soundtrack a good chunk of my Summer 2026.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Cure The Jones (2022)
Golden Days (2018)

Pages (1978)

Japanese import

After discovering the self-titled 1981 Pages album, I dove into their back catalog, starting with this self-titled 1978 Pages album. It's not the greatest debut album, but there are a couple of smooth West Coast/Adult Oriented Rock cuts to be found. The guys in Pages - specifically Richard Page and Steve George - had been session vocalists and back-up musicians for a number of artists, including Andy Gibb. So they had no problems finding some familiar names to help out with this album, to wit: Randy & Michael Brecker, Philip Bailey, Victor Feldman, Lani Groves, and Dave Grusin. More filler than killer with choruses better than verses, but the band improved with each successive album.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "smooth, efficient and musically well-oiled"
• Record World: "a very potent debut album"

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: The song that initially grabbed me and hasn't let go yet is It's Alright. After a 30 second string introduction, the piano and vocal enter. The verse has a beautiful melody over a simple, stepwise bass pattern, but the song really kicks in with the gorgeous chorus sung by a female voice. Then, as if it wasn't good enough already, we're treated to a sweet saxophone solo from Michael Brecker, who keeps playing for the remainder of the track. The only single released from the album was track 6, If I Saw You Again; it failed to chart, even on the Adult Contemporary chart and I struggle to understand why. The album ends with a decent ballad, I Get It From You, which Herb Alpert later covered on his Magic Man album. As you could probably guess, Richard Page has a much nicer singing voice than Herb Alpert. Other good parts are the choruses of Let It Go, Listen For The Love, and Room At The Top.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Pages (1981)

Herbie Hancock - Takin' Off (1962)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2007 Rudy Van Gelder Edition with 3 bonus tracks.

Hancock's debut as a leader at the age of 22. The album wasn't always well-received at the time by the critics (see below), but is now considered with more respect and appreciation. In my book, it's a fantastic, swinging hard bop album that features some legends in the group playing some outstanding compositions. Plus it's freakin' Herbie Hancock, Jazzer Laureate of the United States. (I just made up that title, but it should actually exist and Hancock should be so named.) He's still touring at age 86!

Hancock - piano
Freddie Hubbard - trumpet
Dexter Gordon - tenor saxophone
Butch Warren - bass
Billy Higgins - drums

Original liner notes by Leonard Feather.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "[Hancock's] work at the keyboard is impressive as are his talents as a writer."
• Stereo Review: "He is a forceful, well-organized pianist, but here he shows little stylistic originality."
• CashBox: "A nice showing."
• Downbeat (★★★½): "slightly disappointing...Still, there is much to recommend in this release."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★½
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★½
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: It's a brave move to include all original compositions on a debut album; I'd have guessed the label might have insisted on a couple of standards. But if you can write stuff like Watermelon Man and Driftin' plus the beautiful ballad Alone And I, why would you need anything else?

Bonus tracks: Alternate takes of Watermelon Man, Three Bags Full, and Empty Pockets.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:

Best of The Blue Note Years (1988)	Head Hunters (1973)
Round Midnight Soundtrack (1986)	Speak Like A Child (1968)
Lite Me Up (1982)	Maiden Voyage (1965)
Sunlight/Feets Don't Fail Me Now (1978/1979)	Empyrean Isles (1964)

Various Artists - Best Of Buddha (2002)

UK import

"Bar de Lune - The most sexy label in the world presents a new album for the mind, body and soul."

I'm guessing this 2 CD set is another world beat chill-out compilation from our friends at Buddha Bar, but the bar isn't mentioned anywhere on the packaging so it may just be a coattail rider. In any event, it's the same kind of stuff - repetative background music for your next cocktail party. I bought a CD lot of Buddha recordings after a visit to the French Caribbean in 2025. This set is the last of that lot.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:

CD1
	Artist	Title
1	Moby	Another Woman
2	Gotan Project	Last Tango In Paris
3	Fila Brazillia	Soft Music Under Stars
4	Kevin Yost	7th Heaven
5	Da Lata	Binti
6	Radar	Running Away
7	Fragile State	Song Of Departure
8	Bonobo	Terrapin
9	Christophe Goze	Barcelona (Faze Action Mix)
10	Al-Pha-X	Mi Corazon (Smokers Mix)
11	Dust	Dead Cowboys
12	Nitin Sawhney	Homelands (Joe Claussell Mix)

CD2
	Artist	Title
1	Nitin Sawhney	Bengali Song (Extended Mix)
2	Alex Gopher	The Child
3	Delerium	Silence (Album Mix)
4	Al-Pha-X	Blue Jay (Zape Vala Sojk Pitcha)
5	Christophe Goze	Manana
6	Al-Pha-X	Hojar
7	Christophe Goze	Sirocco
8	Kinobe	Slip Into Something More Comfortable
9	Badmarsh & Shri	Sajanaa
10	Dust	I'll Take You There (Chris Bowden Remix)
11	Fragile State	The Barney Fade
12	Moby	Porcelain

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: See my first Buddha Bar blog post.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Buddha Lounge (2002)
Buddha-Bar IV (2002)
Buddha-Bar III (2001)