Retro Spins: Michael Bolton - The Hunger

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.

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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Retro Spins: Michael Bolton - Everybody's Crazy

Yesterday's Retro Spin of Michael Bolton's 1983 debut was a fantastic hidden gem, and one that really psyched me up for his follow-up, 1985's Everybody's Crazy.

Tracking this one down wasn't easy. The CD version has never been released in the USA, and this is partly because when Bolton's popularity took off, he pleaded with Columbia Records to not reissue his debut and sophomore album. He feared doing so may confuse his soft rock / adult contemporary audience he'd built with his latter albums. When I finally tracked on down at a decent price, it was still a roll of the dice with the seller - a mass retailer on ebay, who utilized stock photos, and claimed to have multiple copies. Fortunately, things worked out, the CD arrived, it was the right one, and well, here we are today.

Everybody's Crazy features the returning collaboration of Bolton and Bruce Kulick, among several other musicians. For Kulick, while he would return to work with the singer in the future, he would formally join the makeup clad classic rockers, Kiss in 1984.

The album is a return to form of its predecessor, for me, it didn't pack as big a punch. Though it was decent overall, I'd also say it was mostly generic rock tracks. Not too memorable ones at that. Save Our Love was really the only standout for me.

Frankly, there's not much more to say about it. For the trouble it took to get the album, and for how great his debut was, I honestly expected better.

Again, it's not a bad album. It's just not as good as his prior. I can understand why his label started watching him with concern at this point and even considered dropping him. But for any of you who know his later hits, you already know that bigger and better (depending on tastes in music) were on the horizon, and soon, Michael Bolton would become a household name. Though things would also come to a head, making that name a household joke, but that's a story for later down the road.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.