SKINTIGHT

1.5 star at max!!!

If Skin Alley's TQD album was a definite step downwards, what can be said of Skintight? That the band had moved to the States to record this album in Memphis Tennessee, home of soul label Stax and the album was produced by the house hero Don Nix. That the album was definitely aimed at US markets? The previous was already looking at charts, but Skintight is a shameful shot at what will be called later in the decade AOR. Coming with different artwork depending on which side of the Atlantic you were: e psych cover is the European version and the "can version is the US one.

This album is filled with fillers, most of them either on the country rock side (Nashville is also in Tennessee) or on the soul side and there is an added brass section (as if SA needed that) and a string section, I smell Gruyeres and Provolone here. Tracks like How Long, If I Only Had The Time or Mr Heavy are bland barely credible country rock, which most progheads have a dislike for. While The Heap and Maverick Woman Blues both escape country music colours, it's not much more interesting, just a hard uninspired blues-rock. Others tracks like Quarter To One (brass laden, but not brass-rock), the reedy Surprise Awakening are tilting towards soul music

The Don Nix-written Broken Eggs and What Good Does It Do, both with those soppy string arrangements are completely uneventful, even if well played and arranged, this is cheese fondue enough for the Indian sub-continent. The only track worthy of interest is the closing Instrumental (that's its name) where glimpse of the first two albums appear and this track is the only good one on this album, enough to fit in the previous TQD album

No wonder after such a bad album that SA broke up. Completely direction-less, even schizophrenic between Memphis and Nashville, Skintight is easily their worst album and best avoided like the plague as all trace of their early fun jazz rock have disappeared? Dobn't run for, but run away from it.

Yes, this is really depressing album, so better avoid it, since it's difficult to listen to it even once. As Sean Trane have mentioned, most of the songs are nashville country-rock with soupy string and brass arrangements, with few elements of very schematic bluesrock. Melodies are awfully banal, as well as the lyrics. If I had to point the best (bearable) tracks, these would be Broken Eggs (1,5 star for this boring primitive version...) and - definitely the best final Instrumental (3 stars..). Listening to this album is a waste of time and energy, so even if You loved their 1st and second album, don't try this.