A taste of what could have been the big time for Murray Head
Roger Williams | Providence, RI | 07/10/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This album was Murray Head's biggest, and best shot at stardom. Sadly, it didn't make as much of a splash as he'd likely hoped, and subsequent albums were more popular in the Francophonic world than in Britain or the U.S.A."Say It Ain't So" is still a very strong record, with strong ballads and a uniquely 1975 rock sensibility, notably the David Gilmour-esque guitar playing on "Boy on the Bridge".The centerpiece of the album is the title track, "Say It Ain't So Joe", as haunting a ballad as ever appeared in the 1970's, featuring Murray's alternatingly smooth, raspy, and finally agonized voice in a quietly escalating song about Josef Stalin.Other strong tracks are the steel drum tinged "Boats Away", "Boy on the Bridge", "When I'm Yours", and "Never Even Thought". One track keeps this from being a five star record, the bizarre dixieland trombone filled "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat". It breaks the continuity of the (otherwise almost early Peter Gabriel like) record, and just isn't a very good song. Luckily for Murray's reputation, it's a cover song.The liner notes state that most of the songs were written for a musical called "Atlantis". The musical appears to have sunk into the ocean, but "Say It Ain't So" remains. Murray Head had one of the best voices in rock. It's sad that inept management kept him from having the standout career he deserves."
Like you've never heard him before
Roger Williams | 02/12/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"murray head is my all-time favorite singer. i loved his vocals in jesus christ superstar and chess. of course i was thrilled to find he released a solo album. i was somewhat surprised by the smoothness and quietness of the vocals on this outing. he rarely wails as he does on superstar, and the rough edges that make his voice so appealing have been smoothed out by overdubbing and the like. in fact, he sings in falsetto for much of the album. however, it is still murray head, and i was certainly pleased with the quality of the songs themselves. i didn't know the guy could write like that! the title track is worth the price of the cd alone. haunting and powerful, it stirs me like only a few songs can, and the vocals on this track are perfect. needless to say, this album may surprise some listeners who are familiar with murray's theatrical work, but it will no doubt be a pleasant surprise!"
It happened to him and to Nick Drake
Jeremy Henderson | Sherman Oaks, CA, USA | 05/22/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Nick Drake is a good comparison, here. A slightly later period but the same simple accoustic and the same touching sensitive voice. They should have both been so much bigger. Check out the 4 cd set of Nick Drake if you like this. You will never ever regret it! Say it aint so is one of the best songs of its time. I'm so glad I found it again after all these years. Peter Chelsom."
Dynamic, powerful, triumphant, wonderfully important album.
Roger Williams | 10/07/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This cd will either astound and permeate you or perhaps ethereally float above your mind, ears and heart. Murray Head delivers the most electrifying and penetrating vocals of his career. This solo project, with a dynamism and urgency not seen in the past decade or two, relies heavily upon the vocal power and range of emotions that Head delivers with authority. Each track could stand alone and be considered a complete work, but together they combine to make a masterpiece. Head, whom you may recall hearing as a tormented chess genius in Bjorn Ulvaeus' "Chess," (One Night in Bangkok) is a talented and passionate performer. His band has equal talent, and upon hearing the cd for the first time you will perhaps wonder why this music isn't on the radio in the United States, and hasn't been, with minor exceptions "Say it Ain't So," an "Never Even Thought," which are still fairly popular in Europe, espeicially France, England, and Ireland. This album is easily my favorite, but I would be hard-pressed to stratify it into any one category. It isn't hard rock, but some tunes have backbeat and intensity. It isn't opera, although, arguably, Head has the star power to make it so at a whim. It is empassioned and silky and penetrating, vibrant, life-affirming, and important. If you order this cd, and have the ability to think and feel, you will consider yourself to have made a wise investment and feel lucky to be one of the few who knows the latent treasure that is Say It Ain't So by Murray Head."