Leo Sayer isn't often an artist brought up in conversation, which is a shame. He has an amazing voice, and though he doesn't hit the mark all the time, okay, most of the time, he does have a solid catalog of hits.
I actually own all of Sayer's albums from his 1973 debut, Silverbird, all the way through 1990's Cool Touch. He's an artist I learned about from my sister while compiling a series of songs she personally wanted. However, with exception of the latter, and 1980's Living In Fantasy, I really haven't dived in too deep beyond the series of tunes I know and love.
Well, starting today, it's time to cross off (at least) those two remaining albums from the 80's. It all starts with 1982's World Radio and ends tomorrow with 1983's Have You Ever Been In Love.
Things for Sayer weren't going to good in the 80's. He never really broke through in the USA, and his album sales in the UK were on a steady decline. His 70's style, and dated sound, was quickly losing traction in the up-and-coming new wave era.
Fun fact! In 1981, Sayer voiced Dan the forest ranger for the Canadian cartoon, The Racoons.
Leo loves his ballads, and slower paced tracks. These give him an opportunity to really flex his vocal range of high tenor and falsetto. However, when the mood strikes him, he can also dig deep in his gut to layer tracks with raspiness. This range is present on songs such as Heart (Stop Beating In Time), and Paris Dies In The Morning.
However, overall, this album is very hindered by soft rock tracks which simply don't resonate with me. Truthfully, it's what happened last time when listening to Living In Fantasy, and why it's been so long since I've circled back to Sayer. This type of music simply isn't my thing, and this was another dud.
It's unfortunate, because this type of stuff really derails me from wanting to continue on with listening to an artist, and that's kind of where I am again. I want to like Leo Sayer, and I want to like him a lot, but the misses far outweigh the hits. I'll begrudgingly be divining into his next album basically because I just want to get it off my "to do" list. This already sets a low expectation.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS November 27, 1982 |
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