Album Reviews – Page 2 – The Light Appears

Van Halen – Fair Warning (1981)

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Michael

Nearly 45 years ago Diamond Dave and the Van Halen gang teamed up once again with producer Ted Templeman to record their fourth album, Fair Warning. You can practically smell the cheap apartments/rooms/cars this record banged out of all those years ago. “Mean Street” is a tough as nails song about the down and out streets on the wrong side of town, Eddie Van Halen puts out staggering riffs over top. More melodic, “Hear About It Later” sees David Lee Roth put in a really good bridge verse and Alex Van Halen powers through the outro.

Not to be outdone, Michael Anthony’s bass is the highlight of fan favourite “Unchained” about a “Blue eyed murder in a size five dress”. The only single released in North America was the upbeat rocker “So This Is Love?” before the short album finishes with the menacing synth tones of “Sunday Afternoon In the Park” that fades into “One Foot Out The Door”. Without any massive singles, the solid Fair Warning still went top 5 in the US and eventually hit double platinum.

7.5/10

Album Reviews

ABC – The Lexicon Of Love (1982)

Posted on March 13, 2026 by Michael

The debut album from Sheffield band, ABC is a landmark 80s recording. Produced by Trevor Horn with several arrangements done by the uber talented Anne Dudley, The Lexicon of Love fuses the disco/R+B sound of Chic, post punk influences, and emotional lyrics. First track, “Show Me”, shows specifically what the band excelled at – the blue eyed crooning of Martin Fry, solid bass grooves, horns, and glittery keyboards. “Poison Arrow” takes the formula straight into the UK top 10, a lounge version later appears on reissues of the album.

First single, “Tears Are Not Enough” can’t wait to get started and comes with horn stabs and a rougher vocal sound. Orchestral strings add to the drama of “Valentine’s Day” along with bright keyboards as Fry sings, “If you gave me a pound for all the moments I missed/And I got dancing lessons for all the lips I shoulda kissed/I’d be a millionaire, I’d be Fred Astaire”. “Date Stamp” adds female vocals to the mix as a contrast to the other tracks.

On an album filled with hooks, two songs really standout. “The Look Of Love (Part 1)” pulls back the reigns on the music early to let the vocals shine through on the album’s highest charting single. The song would appear on countless 80s compilation and introduce the band to North American audiences. ABC further show their classic songwriting abilities with the surging orchestration of “All Of My Heart”. A beautiful and heartbreaking song, a pain in the heart as Fry sings, “I hope and I pray that maybe someday/You’ll walk in the room with my heart”. The music takes over in the outro.

In the years that followed, The Lexicon Of Love grew to be one of the most acclaimed albums of the synth-pop era and regularly places on charts of the best albums of the decade. Listening nearly 45 year later, it’s the songwriting that truly stands out as many of these songs could have been hits in other eras. Through several line-up changes over the years, it’s The Lexicon of Love that has endured through packages/repackages, and rightfully so, a true gem of an album.

10/10

Album Reviews

David Bowie – Let’s Dance (1983)

Posted on March 8, 2026 by Michael

On the Let’s Dance album, released in 1983, David Bowie stepped into pop superstardom with an album to match. Working with Chic’s Nile Rodgers, Bowie specifically wanted hits for the new MTV world. And hits he got on his best-selling album. The singles are all collected at the beginning, starting with “Modern Love” that has a bit of a 50s feel with a horn section and a call and response chorus.

Reigniting a track Bowie originally wrote with Iggy Pop for Pop’s 1977 album, The Idiot, “China Girl” became the second smash hit from the record. The Asian influenced guitar brings a new hook to the song and the “oh-oh-oh-oh” outro is just as catchy. Released as the first single, the title track is a towering dance hit. Another song that brings in a 50s flavour that melts in perfectly with the disco funk. The album version clocks in at nearly eight minutes and feels like a remix, bringing in different sounds. The track is tailor made for clubs with coloured lights, tiled floors and glass tables but still feels vital 40 years later.

Like some other big 80s pop albums, the rest of the album is over shadowed by the massive singles but still turns in a few really good tracks. Bernard Edwards lays down a slinky bass groove on “Without You” while guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan turns in a standout guitar solo on the bouncy “Criminal World”. Many fans would miss the experimental 70s Bowie who pushed boundaries versus this mainstream version who seems to be following trends, rather than creating them. But, the album did what Bowie wanted, brought him all the hits and introduced him to a new generation of music fans.

9/10

Album Reviews

Pink Floyd – More (1969)

Posted on February 22, 2026 by Michael

The More soundtrack is the third studio album from Pink Floyd. The quickly recorded, semi-improvised disc feature several instrumentals with David Gilmour handling all vocal duties on the other tracks. Of the instrumentals, opener “Cirrus Minor” stands out. Starting with birds chirping, the Richard Wright farfisa organ gives it a pastoral feel. “Main Theme” has a sci-fi feel and sounds a bit like the band’s past work. “Up The Khyber” gets some sped up jazzy drumming courtesy of Nick Mason, a few of the other instrumentals are more geared towards incidental movie music.

Two tracks take on a proto-meal guitar crunch with “The Nile Song” being the pick, Gilmour’s vocals stretching to much the riffing. Taking writing credits for most of side one, two of Roger Water’s best tracks on More are found in the middle of the album. “Green Is The Colour” has some acoustic guitar and great piano playing in the outro, a really nice tune. Best is the atmospheric “Cymbaline”. More great keys and the simple chorus hook of “.. and it’s high time…”. A deep, hidden gem in the catalogue.

7/10

Album Reviews

David Bowie – Re:Call 3 (2017)

Posted on February 19, 2026 by Michael

Re:Call 3 appears in the David Bowie box set A New Career In A New Town (1977-1982) released in 2017. Like it’s Re:Call predecessors, it mops up various single versions, EP tracks and rarities. This period covers some of Bowie’s greatest works which means this collection is a treasure trove of some of his greatest hits starting with one of his best singles, “Heroes” and followed by an extended version of “Beauty And The Beast”. Not to be outdone, singles from Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) appear including the single version of “Ashes To Ashes” and the title track.

“Space Oddity” appears in a 1979 version, not as spacey as the original, it is far more raw. A great addition to the set is the “Under Pressure” single recorded with Queen that came about when Bowie stopped by the studio one day. This is then followed by tracks from Baal’s EP released in 1980, based on songs from playwright Bertolt Brecht. The five theatrical songs do not fit with the other tracks found on this compilation and would have been better on its own disc. That quibble aside, Re:Call 3 contains some of Bowie’s most legendary 70s moments.

8/10