Cold for this "Orient"
Brent Evans | Rockhampton, Australia | 06/16/2000
(2 out of 5 stars)
"1980 was a banner year for classic albums,with Cold Chisel's EAST,Split Enz's TRUE COLOURS and Australian Crawl's BOYS LIGHT UP.Unfortunately,it was a terrible year for Skyhooks.Having lost their charismatic frontman Graeme "Shirley" Strachan the year previously,the rest of the band decided to appoint a new singer,Tony Williams.Armed with a bunch of sparkly new songs and the producer of their previous album,GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INSANE (American producer Eddie Leonetti),they trooped into the studio with high hopes.These hopes were soon dashed when Leonetti,hoping to capture a slice of the American market,rejected a majority of songwriter Greg Macainsh's gems(on the grounds that the songs were too Australian flavoured) and demanded he write more.The results were rushed,and half-hearted at best.HOT FOR THE ORIENT is an album by a band struggling with a new lineup that the public simply did not take to.Only NO INSPIRATION,THIS TOWN IS BORING and KEEP THE JUNK IN AMERICA(if Leonetti wanted U.S. success,why release this track?) show any of the old Skyhooks' wit and power.Mercifully,Skyhooks broke up later in the year.If you are a novice Skyhooks listener ,ignore HOT FOR THE ORIENT . . .you'll thank me later!"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1