Two Parker albums!
bdl803@bham.ac.uk | 03/07/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is two of Parker`s albums; Another Grey Area and The Real Macaw. I bought them in the early eighties when critics hated them(at least here in England) and I followed suit. In fact buying them together cheaply now in the 21st Century was the only way I would own them again so bad is my memory of their quality. I wouldn`t have bought them separately. But maybe it`s getting older,but these are good albums and make an excellent `two-in-one`. Another Grey Area is complete but the Real Macaw has replaced two tracks I recall as being particularly bad with an excellent song Habit Worth Forming (a b-side from the early eigthies and nice powerpop) so that is an improvement. Pop sheen,American session musoes have replaced Parker and his backing band The Rumour`s previous pop-rock intensity but nowadays this sounds like Squeeze,Elvis Costello,Crowded House and Joe Jackson from their New Wave days. Not Bad. if you like pop,you`ll like this and the songwriting in some cases is still as good as ever: Dark Side of the Bright Lights,Can`t Waste A Minute,Glass Jaw,Can`t Take Love For Granted are among some dozen songs that make this a good value introduction to Parker. Just do not expect anything else of his music to sound like this. He was trying for hits on American radio with this; and I am surprised he didn`t get any. The title track though Temporary Beauty would make a great Shania Twain cover and if ever Parker`s songs are suddenly covered by mainstream artists this is where they`d find nice,inoffensive,tuneful pop songs that reek of the early eighties new wave reading of Sixties pop."
Track Listings (21) - Disc #1