THE BIG LAD IN THE WINDMILL

It Bites

Crossover Prog

2.88 | 83 ratings

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Rune2000
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

Even though I had some other plans for these last few reviews, counting down to 700, I've been in some weird melodic coma for the last week. I started with Muse, moved to A.C.T and now I'm listening to It Bites - a band that I haven't listened to for nearly a decade! Well, there's only one thing to do; a change of plan! Let's get these reviews out of the way then...

I regard It Bites to be the late '80s band that had a small following up until they disbanded in the early '90s. My opinion is pretty clear about the new lineup that released The Tall Ships- they are just not the same band. John Mitchell's vocal approach and the band's radically different implementation of synthesizers just can't be compared to the Francis Dunnery-lead lineup. It's not that one is more superior than the other, but rather that it's two different bands that just happen to share the same band moniker.

Now that I've got that discussion out of the way, let's talk about the actual album at hand! The Big Lad In The Windmill is actually a pretty enjoyable debut release that quickly establishes the band's style with the three opening tracks; I Got You Eating Out Of My Hand, All In Red and Whole New World (4:26). These compositions are fun, quirky and highly enjoyable, even if they might not be on par with some of It Bites' greatest moments. What follows can only be described as a definite drop in quality where both Screaming On The Beaches and Wanna Shout come off sounding like pretty average pop tunes that just didn't get enough enough studio polish to make it on their own.

The album carries on for a few more decent tracks, where the 7 minute You'll Never Go To Heaven might feel a bit draggy for the last 2 minutes, until we finally get to the well known highlight Calling All The Heroes! I don't know the reason behind the word 'Heroes' huge popularity in the '80s but it was certainly on everyones tongues at the time. This tune is just a perfect piece of pop music with an arty twist to it that brings out everything that was good about the '80s and knowing me this says a lot!

The Big Lad In The Windmill might not have enough excellence on it to make it a very important album but if you're ever in that 80s kind of mood then give it a go!

***** star songs: Calling All The Heroes (5:34)

**** star songs: I Got You Eating Out Of My Hand (5:38) All In Red (3:31) Whole New World (4:26) Turn Me Loose (4:12) Cold, Tired And Hungry (4:17) You'll Never Go To Heaven (7:13) The Big Lad In The Windmill (0:48)

*** star songs: Screaming On The Beaches (3:46) Wanna Shout (3:30)

Rune2000 | 3/5 | 2010-12-4

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