Japanese Import
There were two Top 40 hits on this album: 1) Biggest Part Of Me (#3 pop, #3 AC, #35 R&B) with a brief sax contribution from Ernie Watts, and 2) You're the Only Woman (#13 pop, #5 AC). Both have appeared several times on this blog and I usually write something like "Catchy melody, smooth background vocals, tasty electric piano and string arrangements - it's like a soft rock blueprint. I always enjoyed hearing this band on the radio; I'm surprised I've never picked up a greatest hits package." So when I saw this CD in the used bin, I figured I'd pick it up on the cheap.
The other tracks sound like a rough attempt to be a mutant offspring between Pages, Doobies, Toto, and Yes. And if they'd had better songwriting, they might have pulled it off. But soft rockers looking for more songs like the two hits need not apply. But man-o-man those two soft rock songs are the stuff.
Album chart peaks:
- US Billboard Top 200: #25
- CashBox: #25
- Rolling Stone: #36
Tracks: Of the other 7 tracks, I enjoy Ready, No Big Deal, and Livin' On My Own. Ironically, the track to skip is titled Kamikaze.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Hearing the two hits on my bedside clock/radio.
Sorry, no obi strip for this one.
Hey man, nice new logo up top there.
ReplyDeleteBack during Soft Rock Week 2013, I covered Time-LIfe's Classic Soft Rock series from 2006-2007, which they had just re-released in 2013.
I think I caught the tail end of the infomercial again just the other night. No wait, that was The Heart Of Classic Rock series which is back for another round.