WALKING WILD

Lack of label support and diminished sales prompted the band to call it quits after "Walking Wild", their third studio effort. That's too bad. New England had just begun to find their own unique voice so to speak. Overt ELO, Queen and Styx mannerisms are subdued this time out, replaced by a forward looking embrace of the trends and technologies of a new decade. The result is an album that integrates a wide range of influences without striving too hard to duplicate any specific one of them.

Never a band to shy away from obvious pop hooks and power pop roots, "Walking Wild" has more than its fair share of lightweight throw-aways. Speaking solely from a "progrock interest" perspective, it offers very little to earn itself a position of distinction on one's "wish- list".

Fans of well produced, intelligent 70's/80's pop-rock with hooks to spare, however, will find some magic moments to enjoy, assuming they are blessed with a measure of tolerance for the dated sounds of the era and a few syrupy moments along the way.

(Prog content note: This album was produced by none other than the great - and also sometimes a bit syrupy - Todd Rungren.)

Highlights from "Walking Wild":

"Get it Up"

A catchy symphonic tune about striving to reach ever-greater altitudes despite the accompanying increased danger of falling (or failing) from such heights. Even massive success has its hidden dangers... Is it possible for one to get so high that they launch into orbit, never to plant their feet on solid ground again?

Listeners patient enough to endure the relatively trite (and dated) opening will be rewarded by a substantive, if slightly pompous, keyboard part throughout the chorus. Fully recognizing this as the song's finest moment, they are more than pleased to repeat it another 4 or 5 times for us before the inevitable wrap-up.

"You're There"

Atmospheric keyboards augment the pensive ambience as a catchy melody hooks the listener with subtlety on the album's closer "You're There". It is a song of earnest yearning, one which points toward a promising future that might have been - had New England been able to hold things together for a few more years.