I received a package from Nick Katona recently, and it included this CD which is on BW Records but distributed by MRR. It is actually an album which was originally released back in 1992, featuring Don Mularz (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, backing vocals), Amund “Olie’ Olsen (keyboards, vocals), Paul Blanchard (drums, vocals) and Floyd Humphreys (bass, vocals). These days, Mularz is more well-known for Dark Horse Flyer, and he also has a solo album coming out soon on Peacock Sunrise, ‘Florida Street’. Murlaz says this album is for fans of Tom Petty, Eddy Money, Dire Straits, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Dave Mason, Pablo Cruise, The Michael Stanley Band, Gram Parsons, Lowell George, Little Feat, and Stephen Stills, but given I know very few of these in any depth (probably only Dire Straits if I am being honest), I find I can’t say if that is accurate.
What I can say is that this album probably sounded somewhat dated when it was released in 1992 and some of it hasn’t aged particularly well. There is a mix of folk and country in what the band are playing, with some nice piano underneath much of it, but while there are some nice pop melodies and hooks it is also somehow quite lightweight at times, although it definitely repays repeated listenings as the more I played this the more I liked it. Back in 1992 they would have been suffering due to the way the music scene was changing rapidly, and many melodic bands suffered greatly with the advent of grunge and the impact from that. I can imagine them gaining far more attention if this album had been released some 15 or 20 years earlier, and I am amazed at just how much certain songs such as “Bad Love” remind me so much of English singer/songwriter Jay Turner. Get past the awful cover (which was probably already out of style in 1992) and there are some nice songs here to investigate. I am certainly intrigued to know what Mularz has been up to recently and look forward to his solo album with some interest.
Rating: 7/10
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