Tom Scott - Keep This Love Alive (1991)

Just looking at the all-star credits on the album cover, I was primed for some jazzy, soft rock crossover goodness that goes down easy and soothes my soul:

So to say I was disappointed in this release is a bit of an understatement, but I'm blaming it more on bland material than weak performances. Where are the hooks? I didn't care much for this one, but watch out for this massacre from Allmusic:

A shamelessly contrived effort, Keep This Love Alive is, for the most part, yet another tremendous waste of Tom Scott's talents. There are a few enjoyable moments here, including guest Dianne Schuur's sensuous vocal on "Whenever You Dream of Me" and Scott's gritty jazz-funk blowing on "Miz Thang." But on the whole, this CD is a throwaway by both jazz and pop standards. R&B/pop singer Brenda Russell is anything but memorable on the bloodless adult-contemporary song "If You're Not the One for Me," and most of the instrumentals would sound boring and lackluster even in a dentist's office. Throwing creativity to the wind, Scott leaves no doubt that his only concern is commercial radio airplay. The saxman recorded more than his share of stinkers for GRP in the 1980s and '90s, and Keep This Love Alive is at the top of the list.

Good heavens, that's got me clutching my pearls. I'll admit this thing isn't great, but it certainly isn't that bad. Still, it wasn't pop enough to get much commercial radio airplay and wasn't jazzy enough to get any recognition from those critics. So a few of the tracks might get ripped to mp3 files (yes, I still do that because I'm old and path dependent) before I put the CD in a Tarifold sleeve for safe keeping as it probably won't be getting any further spins. (And if Tarifold wants to work out some sort of sponsorship deal to be "The Official Storage Envelope of The CD Project," I'm all ears.)

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #8
• CashBox Contemporary Jazz: #9

Tracks:

My favorites are tracks 1, 2, 6, with tracks 2 & 6 sounding like prime Scott from the late '70s. The lead track, If You're Not The One For Me, a duet between Brenda Russell and Bill Champlin, peaked at #40 on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart in July, 1991. Before picking up this disc, I had never heard bassist Will Lee sing (track 7), and his voice was much better than I expected. As noted by the Allmusic reviewer, the final track is quite good, if not completely out of place among the other 8 tracks.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, this was a recent rescue from the clearance bin in the used CD section.

Previously revisited for the blog:

Smokin' Section (1999)	Desire (1982)
Night Creatures (1995)	Apple Juice (1981)
Reed My Lips (1994)	Blow It Out (1977)
One Night/One Day (1986)	Intimate Strangers (1978)
Target (1983)	Street Beat (1979)