Phil Collins returns to the collaboration table to produce, and once again provide multiple instrumentation and backing vocals. These helped in making yesterday's album, Behind The Sun better than I expected, but does this moment transfer to 1986's August?
By 1986, most 80's artists were still at the top of their game, though admittedly, many of them were shifting musical styles. Take Duran Duran for example, who by their 1986 Notorious release had shifted from bubblegum pop to a more mature sound. Michael Jackson was in the studio working on his 1987 Bad album, with Prince deeply working on what would become his opus, Sign O' The Times. Basically, what I'm saying is that 1986 / 1987 were periods where great artists dialed in, and released some of their best. Does this occur with Clapton?
If the opening track is any inclination, then right off the bat, I'd say yes. It's In The Way That You Use It is yet another massive song from Clapton that I'd completely forgotten about. In general, I'm discovering that I've forgotten more of his songs than I actually remember.
Turning to the Wiki page, I got pretty excited for what August should be offering. A duet with Tina Turner, a track which Michael Jackson allegedly worked on for potential use on Thriller, songs written by Motown legend Lamont Dozier, and of course, to mention it again, heavy collaboration with Phil Collins.
Run, and Hung Up On Your Love, were very apparent as the ones which Dozier wrote. The Motown sound is very much so present throughout them. Play them both. You'll know what I mean immediately when you hear it. Good stuff.
I had high hopes for the Tina Turner duet, Tearing Us Apart. Something along the lines of her and Bryan Adam's It's Only Love. Something were Clapton can cook on guitars, while Turner belts her traditional sound. While it's somewhat present, sadly, the song itself just isn't good. Mediocre at best. It's kind of a waste of Turner's talent. I did end up adding it to my shuffle list, but only for novelty purposes.
August offered some good stuff. By track four, I had added every single one to my shuffle. Of course, this included the aforementioned Tina Turner duet, so I won't say it was a solid consecutive run. There were also a few more in there that I nabbed, such as Hung Up On Your Love, Miss You, Holy Mother, Behind The Mask, and Grand Illusion, the latter exclusive to the CD release. Overall, it was enjoyable.
Let's upgrade Eric Clapton in my book from okay to good. He's growing on me. I can see now, based on my playthrough to date of August, how and why he became as renowned as he was. There is good material on his albums...well, the 80's ones I've heard so far. From this point on, my perspective of him won't be so harsh, but we also have one more album to go, 1989's Journeyman. I'm not going to give him a pass. I'll reserve judgements and opinions of that one upon hearing it...you know, tomorrow.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS June 30, 1984 |
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