BOOK EARLY

This was the album that brought City Boy their short-lived time in the spotlight. This might make you automatically assume that this is just a completely disposable album by any Art Rock standards and you'll probably be right about it. Still, I have somewhat of a soft spot for this release. The material featured here is easily among the band's most accessible stuff but I find it surprisingly enjoyable to simply breeze though these tracks just to get some of the magnificent energy that is embedded into tracks like the highly eclectic Cigarettes or the E.L.O.-sounding What A Night.

What really surprises me is the fact that Book Early is a very consistent album, or at least consistent by City Boy standards. The album definitely takes a lot of inspiration from artists like Eagles and E.L.O. in the song arrangements while still managing to maintain some of the classic City Boy magic. The overall feel of the material can be summed up by the words "album-oriented rock". If you like that stuff then this release will definitely be a delight for you, but I somehow doubt that this is something that we should admit enjoying on a Progressive Rock website, so let's keep it our own dirty secret.

Love it or hate it, this is a very commercially oriented album that dumbs down the familiar City Boy formula into a bunch of bright and energetic tracks. I, for one, don't find this a bad thing especially since the band is very up front about it. Just compare this album's cover to the three previous releases and tell me that you don't see a certain change in direction. Simply a good album that isn't trying to be more than what it actually is!

**** star songs: 5.7.0.5. (3:13) Goodbye Laurelie (3:10) Raise Your Glass (To Foolish Me) (2:57) Cigarettes (5:30) What A Night (2:57) World Loves A Dancer (3:24) Beth (2:45) Dangerous Ground (4:59)

*** star songs: Summer In The Schoolyard (3:52) Do What You Do, Do Well (3:29) Moving In Circles (4:08)