In The Pocket - JAMES TAYLOR***

Shower The People/A Junkie's Lament/Money Machine/Slow Burning Love/Everybody Has The Blues/ Daddy's All Gone Woman's Gotta Have It/Captain Jim's Drunken Dream/Don't Be Sad 'Cause Your Sun Is Down/Nothing Like A Hundred Miles/Family Man/Golden Moments

Singer songwriter James Taylor’s first two albums on the Warner label were classics. Since then future releases were increasingly bland and forgettable and In The Pocket maintained that trend. (US:16)

“One great song; the rest is pleasantly forgettable, as well as luxuriously overproduced to boot.”

“A further move musically into bland pop-soul. It's definitely a minor work, and the last three songs are straight-up filler, but there's something oddly likeable about it.”

“Taylor moves further away from his troubadour roots and further into pop territory with mixed results. Shower The People was the hit, albeit not a very big one. It's a pretty good example of the direction the rest of the album takes.”

“Very likely, many of you have never heard of this album. Take my word for it, it's terrific. Shower The People is the one well-known classic song, but don't be fooled, there are many other gems within. Soft and melodic, touching and sweet.”

“The art of the singer-songwriter at its apex. Start with the succinct and surprisingly unsentimental Shower The People and go from there, because this record is deep and wide in its cogent explorations.”

“James Taylor has always been an amazing singer songwriter, however, In The Pocket is nowhere near being a masterpiece. It is just a standard good album with many legitimate album cuts. There are no other hits but every song is consistent. Just don't buy this expecting another Sweet Baby James.”

“A very good LP. Taylor's voice is still melodic, and his talent for songwriting seems as natural and effortless as breathing. His voice is as smooth as glass.”

Spitfire - JEFFERSON STARSHIP***

Crusin'/Dance With The Dragon/Hot Water/St Charles/Song To The Sun/With Your Love/Switchblade/Big City/Love Lovely Love

Spitfire continued the commercial revival of the progressive rock band trading under the Jefferson banner. Although rather uneven if features the US No. 12 hit With Your Love. (US:3 UK:30)

“Spectacular early Jefferson Starship. Though they haven't quite solidified their identity as a hard rock meets AOR band they were well on their way with songs like the powerful epics St. Charles and Song To The Sun. Then there's the laid back Cruisin’, and the hard driving Dance With The Dragon. Spitfire isn't quite a masterpiece, but its close.”

“It smelled of formula. Suddenly Marty was the voice behind the hit singles, and those singles were AOR all the way. But to tell the truth, it didn't bother this listener all that much. Balin was and remains one of the most underrated and overlooked singers in rock. He could put the ballads over with aplomb and then turn around and have a ball with an uptempo fun track like Cruisin'. His vocal on the album's closer Love Lovely Love is among his best ever.”

“Spitfire was unfairly overlooked in its time, coming on the heels the mega-selling Red Octopus. In retrospect, it is a stronger, more unified effort and as close to a group sound as Jefferson Starship ever came. There are a few clunkers, and some unfocussed moments, but the strongest cuts are better than anything recorded by the latter-day Airplane.”

“Take some catchy guitar riffs, add some upbeat tempos, throw in a couple of pleasing ballads, a mystical song or two, put it all together and you have Jefferson Starship's Spitfire.”

“Having seen the Airplane live on several occasions, this studio friendly assemblage is stunning. St. Charles alone is worth the price of the album; everything else is a bonus. Song To The Sun is a classic; there is not a single song on that qualifies as filler, they are all good.”

Olias Of Sunhillow - JON ANDERSON***

Ocean Song/Meeting (Garden Of Geda-Sound Out The Galleon/Dance Of Ranyart-Olias (To Build The Moorglade)/QoQuaQ En Transic-Naon-Transic To/Flight Of The Moorglade/Solid Space/Moon Ra/Chords/Song Of Search/To The Runner

Olias Of Sunhillow was the debut album of Yes vocalist Jon Anderson. By this time the best work of the group was behind them. This rambling solo release did nothing to rehabilitate their reputation. (US:47 UK:8)

“This album features Anderson's multi-instrumental skills, handling all keys, guitars, bass and strings, helped by a very strong technical team, that assisted with the endless overdubs. A concept work around a character named Olias, an alien, who leads his people to a new world due to a volcanic catastrophe. It has a strong pre-new age atmosphere, backed up by lots of spacey sounds and light Yes overtones.”

“Anderson layers both conventional instruments and his own voice to produce a lush, symphonic underpinning for a saga inspired by Roger Dean album covers. The sort of voice-as-instrument multi-tracked experiment heard on here had a prequel in the form of We Have Heaven on Fragile, but whereas that was a brief, quirky experiment, here Anderson expands this form into sustained, sedate and blissful space journeys, proving himself an adept multi-instrumentalist.”

“Musically, this is flamboyant sparkly fairy prog, as befits a solo project. Lush keyboards, world music new-ageisms and pretty sounds abound, immersing you fully in the sci-fi fantasy world of Jon Anderson, king of the pixies. A really pleasant album to listen to, it's happy, fluffy and enjoyably eccentric in the way only feel-good prog nonsense can be. It's essentially a Yes album stripped of instrumental fireworks, and the moderating influence of the other Yes members.”

“It showcases Jon's musical ability, which is quite accomplished. There are also a lot of instrumental tracks which keep the album flowing nicely. One word that sums this up is tranquil, but don't confuse that with boring as this definitely isn't.”

“I enjoyed the parts where it was just Jon Anderson and the guitar. But the instrumental pieces were quite boring, having the simplest and most uninspiring and beats, melodies and riffs. Overall, this is just a mess with a bad mix of instruments and musical genres, along with curiously high pitched vocals.”

Chicago X - CHICAGO***

Once Or Twice/You Are On My Mind/Skin Tight/If You Leave Me Now/Together Again/Another Rainy Day In New York City/Mama Mama/Scrapbook/Gently I'll Wake You/You Get It Up/Hope For Love

Chicago continued to move away from their jazz-rock roots with Chicago X, transforming into a soft rock band. This certainly paid off with the single If You Leave Me Now, No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic, gaining a Grammy in the process. (US:3 UK:21)

“They had now become a pop rock band, a soft rock band and an easy listening band. But even the pop rock itself was waning. If You Leave Me Now is a great soft rock tune. If the rest of the album were as consistent you'd have a great soft rock album. But it isn't.”

“Just by listening to this album it's quite apparent that Chicago's best days were behind them and their decline was beginning. It seems that bands with horn sections (an innovative concept around the late sixties) just didn't have strong staying power.”

“I just adore If You Leave Me Now, but the remainder of the LP isn't as good as this which is too bad. Anyway, some nice songs, and better than the previous one.”

“If You Leave Me Now was a hit, therefore it is on a compilation. Everything else on this album is pitiful, so this one should be melted. Unfortunately, this would be an indication of things to come.”

“I think this was one to many Chicago albums for me. Everything up to this point is class, but I'll leave the cheesy ballads from here on in for the housewives.”

“I agree with popular sentiment that this is indeed the worst of the Terry Kath era, but that doesn't mean this record is a complete waste. There are a number of very solid songs, and most people should find at least some redeeming qualities to it.”

“This was where the band completely went down the sewer, between Cetera's sappy, overwrought ballads, and extremely mediocre songwriting, it was obvious the spark of the early albums had long gone out.”

“If You Leave Me Now would end up being the band's most popular tune. This really started the whole ballad thing with Chicago. The rest of the songs vary from good to very good showcasing the bands diverse talent for music. If you like Chicago, you will like this album.”

Beautiful Noise - NEIL DIAMOND***

Beautiful Noise/Stargazer/Lady-Oh/Don't Think Feel/Surviving The Life/If You Know What I Mean/Street Life/ Home Is A Wounded Heart/Jungletime/Signs/Dry Your Eyes

Beautiful Noise from singer songwriter Neil Diamond was the last album in which he appeared to fully engage his creative talents. If You Know What I Mean and the title track were both top twenty hits. (US:4 UK:10)

“Beautiful Noise is one of Diamond's best albums; the songwriting, arrangements and his vocal power are at a peak here. His music that time was called urban rock and that label pretty much describes it.”

“A varied album and not bad by any means, however it does hop around with some classic pop songs, reggae, ballads and soft pop. Beautiful Noise, is probably his strongest song to open an album with. Great tune, beat, mood and lyrics. Stargazer is another powerful song.”

“For most of the time, producer Robbie Robertson prevents him from lapsing into his usual overwrought style and this album benefits from a couple of fine songs in If You Know What I Mean and Dry Your Eyes, although some of the rest falls well short of this standard.”

“Vocally, Diamond has never sounded better than this. Beautiful Noise and If You Know What I Mean are both very uplifting in their own way. Only a New Yorker could do a tribute album about their city and make it sound so appealing.”

“Beautiful Noise is about the sounds and music Neil heard while growing up in Brooklyn. It is about first loves, but mostly the noises Neil heard drifting out of the many small juke joints and music stores and even coming from homes. The whole album is a concept and Diamond and Robertson hit a home run.”

“Diamond was never an album artist, and Beautiful Noise, with its unnecessarily broad mix of hard rock, easy listening, ragtime jazz, reggae and power balladry, won't prove any doubters wrong.”

“Neil's last concept album features musical arrangements that range from quasi hard-rock, to power ballads, to popish New Orleans jazz and more. That's too much for one album, yet I enjoy most of it and appreciate his last gasp at doing something truly artistic. Sadly, everything that came after has been soulless dreck.”

A Kind Of Hush - THE CARPENTERS***

There's A Kind Of Hush/You/Sandy/Goofus/Can't Smile Without You/I Need To Be In Love/One More Time/Boat To Sail/I Have You/Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Unfortunately, A Kind Of Hush is an uneven album as several of the tracks are inferior to those featured in earlier releases. However, the better songs are enhanced by the purity of Karen Carpenter’s voice. (US:33 UK:3)

“Very pleasant easy listening. Today no one can come close to this. A bit twee though.”

“This is not The Carpenters best album, but certainly, one worth listening to. Karen's voice is a appealing as ever, Richard's arrangements are nice, but the material doesn't seem up to par with the Carpenter's standards. There are some strong songs, but nothing new and exciting, just a pleasant collection of love songs sung by one of the most distinctive voices in music.”

“This album breaks no ground musically and seems to mellow out at times. However, Karen's voice redeems it. You is lovely, and so is Can't Smile Without You, but clearly the best song is I Need To Be In Love. But the songs on the second half all seem to sound the same, and one can now see The Carpenter's slide down the charts beginning.”

“This album doesn't have the spark that most other Carpenters albums do. But Karen's voice rises above that.”

“Perhaps their personal problems, relentless touring and other outside influences had something to do with the rather lacklustre theme of the album. Amongst such oddball cuts as Goofus and the cloying Sandy the listener will find a few gems and one masterpiece, I Need To Be In Love, Karen's personal favourite.”

“Its overall presentation fails to fully satisfy due to a lack of top-notch material. The arrangements are more restrained than usual, often featuring Karen's gorgeous alto all alone with no overdubbing or harmonies. The standout tracks are the stunning One More Time, I Have You and of course, the album's masterpiece, I Need To Be In Love. The remaining tracks are mostly very nice, but nothing exceptional. Why the moronic track Goofus was ever released as a single is beyond me. Almost any other song would've been a far better choice.”

A Night On The Town - ROD STEWART***

Tonight's The Night/The First Cut Is The Deepest/Fool For You/The Killing Of Georgie/The Balltrap/Pretty Flamingo/Big Bayou/The Wild Side Of Life/Trade Winds

Vocalist Rod Stewart continued to enjoy immense popular success despite the transition from good time rocker towards MOR territory. A Night On The Town tries to ride both horses, without fully satisfying either camp. (US:2 UK:1)

“Rod Stewart once had the ability to treat cover songs as if they was his own, and his version of The First Cut Is The Deepest is a classic. Pretty Flamingo is great too, and on The Killing Of Georgie he shows that he can write some good songs too.”

“Separated into two sides, one for the ballads the other for the rockers. It starts off well enough with the first side containing the three hit singles, two of them self-penned and each of them seeing him more than living up to his self-proclaimed soubriquet of story-teller, firstly the disarming seduction of Tonight's The Night, the superb The Killing Of Georgie and the well-chosen cover of The First Cut Is The Deepest. There's not much more after that I'm afraid.”

“Rod Stewart has made possibly every type of song in his illustrious career, and this album is a fine example of just how diverse Rod is. This is one of those albums where you don't skip to the next track; every track is that good. The slow half features the obviously slower, lovelier tracks, while the fast half features throw-it-in-your-face boogie down songs.”

“This is quite possibly the last musically credible album Rod Stewart put out before he turned into a leopard skin clad king of disco dirge, but having said that it still isn't a patch on his earlier solo output. Most of the album is pretty ordinary, and biggest problem with the faster tracks is that they sound like a very poor man's watered down Rolling Stones.”

“Rod's done us the service of breaking the songs up stylistically on this record. If you want to listen to slow cheesy songs listen to side one. It starts off with the groan-inducing Tonight's The Night and goes downhill from there. If you want to listen to fast songs listen to side two. Rod must have found himself in a bit of a quandary with Trade Winds. It's a slow song that ends up on the fast side.”