By 1986, Michael Bolton was on the cusp of a breakthrough. Returning to the studio, he would shape his third album differently. Though it would incorporate hard rock elements from his prior releases, some tracks would shift in tone, taking on softer notes, hints of the adult contemporary tracks which would skyrocket him to chart success.
The Hunger would produce Bolton's first two top forty singles, That's What Love Is All About (peaking on the Billboard Hot 100 at 19), and the Ottis Reading cover, Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay (peaking at number 11). With their aid, the album would reach gold status over the course of two years, but eventually reach double platinum when his career took off in the 90's.
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While the first track of the album starts out on a hard rock note, it's with track two, Wait On Love, that you can start to hear the Michael Bolton that became a household name. It's admittedly enjoyable.
The full transformation definitely comes with his rendering of Dock Of The Bay. The track is neither for me, and if I were being honest, which I will, it kind of derails things. It doesn't fit with the previous two songs.
Things continue to flip flop, first with the rocker, Gina, but then back to the crooner styled That's What Love Is All About. It kind of makes you wish he'd pick a lane and stick with it. The songs aren't bad by any means, they just fight with each other for artistic style, and mess with the flow of it all.
The song which probably amalgamates both styles together best is actually the title track, The Hunger. It gives you a bit of that rock, but also the sultry smoother side. It works well.
Despite this initial success, Michael Bolton still wasn't necessarily a superstar. In fact, when he finally began work on what would become 1989's Soul Provider, the artist was not only facing considerable financial difficulties, but exhausted. Though there were talks in the background of dropping him from Columbia Records, the label would ultimately support him and see the album through to completion and release. Smart move considering the numbers it would go on to sell. We'll pick up there tomorrow.
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