3.5 stars - a good start
Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 03/24/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Originally released in 1982, Ignition was the debut solo album from singer John Waite after the breakup of the Babys. Waite essentially picked up right where the Babys left off, issuing an album of upbeat, made for radio pop/rock/AOR with a slight new wave vibe.
Ignition is one of those albums that you enjoy while you're listening to it, but can't remember very clearly once it's over. There's nothing that really sticks in your head like some of Waite's Babys/Bad English hits. It's a perfectly good album, and a good representative of the early 80's pop/rock scene, but compared to what Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, and Aldo Nova were releasing at the time, it just didn't make a big enough impression.
Of course, Waite would achieve greater success with his follow-up album No Brakes, which included the top ten hit Missing You. His tenure with Bad English at the decade's end would also result in platinum success.
Bad English fans checking out Waite's solo material might find this album a bit too pop-oriented for their tastes, but Babys fans and early 80's AOR enthusiasts should be quite happy with it.
NOTE: Ignition was reissued in 2001 by One Way Records as a 2-on-1 with No Brakes. It was also reissued with remastered sound and expanded liner notes in 2006 by Rock Candy.
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