England Dan&John Ford Coleyと言えば爽やかなフォークデュオというイメージがありますが、このアルバムはAORの選りすぐりのバックメンバーを集めた素晴らしいAORアルバムです。もちろん彼ららしい爽やかな曲も聴けますが、メリハリの効いた路線の異なる曲もあって楽しめます。彼らのファンだけでなく、AORファンには是非聴いてもらいたいアルバムです。
トッドラングレンの曲、LOVE IS THE ANSWER 聴きくらべてほしいです。あと心にキューンとする4曲目、BROKEN HEARTED ME 軽やかな3曲目、WENDY 最後の曲WHAT'S FOREVER FOR、ルカサーの鳴きギターがGOO！！最高な一枚になってます！AORとして、聴くと、以前の、アコースティツクなフォークスタイルを望んでた人には、少し期待はずれな一枚になります。
As the '70's faded away, unfortunately, so did England Dan & John Ford Coley. "Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jive" was last album released by this duo in 1979. In many ways, this album tries to take ED&JFC into a more rock-oriented style of music than I was used to hearing from the group. Still, some of their old song style is found in Todd Rundgren's "Love Is The Answer"- a WD&JFC classic tune in my opinion. It was the only big hit that came off this album. They also continued to sing songs also released by contemporaries on this album... "What Can I Do With This Broken Heart" (partly written by the duo), which was also done by Anne Murrey and "What's Forever For," which most people remember performed by Michael Martin Murphy a few years later. To their abilities though, the orchestrations are as equally as satisifying as Ms. Murrey's and Mr. Murphy's. In melody and harmony, the two sound as good as ever, but I find this collection to be a little uneven and not as memorable. On some of the faster paced tunes such as the title track, they sound as if they are trying to orient themselves to the progression music was going at the time and not 100% matched or comfortable in the new mode. The two split up after this release and Dan Seals embarked on his successful career in country music in the '80's. In comparison to their previous albums, it would have been nice to see these two great artists go out on a higher note and stay true to the music they had been so successful in producing. Again, as with "Nights Are Forever," this is a Japanese import. I would hope a successful sale of these two ED&JDC albums on CD format spur a release of their "Dowdy Ferry Road" and "Some Things Don't Come Easy" albums on CD.
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