Music for many moods
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		PCs   films   music   health   fiction   games   science   relating   websites   postcards   wargames			Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin’s music is billed as being for grown-ups already, but that doesn’t mean it’s all serious. They do some playful, always interesting, covers of a variety of songs spanning the decades. My personal favourite is the first I heard on the West Coast’s progressive radio station, The Wave, now sadly defunct: “Levi Stubbs’ Tears,” a Billy Bragg song on their album The Big Idea. Other covers range from Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” Thomas Dolby’s “Leipzig,” and Joni Mitchell’s “Amelia” to “8 Miles High,” “The Crying Game,” “It’s My Party,” and even the “Siamese Cat Song” from Lady and the Tramp.   I don’t want to give you the impression that all Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin do are covers, however; Dave is also an accomplished composer and musician. I especially like his “Grey Skies” and “Heatwave” from The Big Idea. And Barbara’s lovely voice floats effortlessly over the music, certainly adding a new twist to Aerosmith’s “Walking the Dog”!   Spin is available from Amazon.com; otherwise, their CDs, including The Big Idea and Up from the Dark, can be ordered directly from the Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin website, www.davebarb.demon.co.uk.   Tears for Fears has at least one terrific album with music for grown-ups: Songs from the Big Chair, which I’ve been told was targeted at American audiences after the surprising lack of interest in The Hurting. One of my favourite songs, which also was associated with a delightful MTV video, is “Head Over Heels.” Their over-played hit, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” is probably the least impressive song on the album. You can get Songs from the Big Chair from Amazon.co.uk or from Amazon.com.   The same sort of thing happened with The Fixx, whose weakest song, “Red Skies at Night,” became a hit by virtue of lots of MTV airplay. Fortunately, “One Thing Leads to Another” and the incomprehensible but catchy “Saved by Zero” made up for it, snagging more fans who might otherwise have been turned off. Reach the Beach is another classic 80s album—worth buying just for the title track and “Running.” You can get The Fixx’s Reach the Beach from Amazon.co.uk or from Amazon.com.   Continuing the theme of under-appreciated albums from successful groups, I turn to YES and their unknown, mostly instrumental, Relayer. The first time I played this album, a summer thunderstorm was growling in the distance. It fit perfectly with the music. The first of the three tracks runs the gamut from approaching war to the quiet aftermath: you can almost hear the swords clashing and the wolves howling among the smoking ruins.   With its complex rhythms, tempo and mood changes, and jazz-influenced melodies for once not completely overshadowed by Jon Anderson’s high-pitched singing, Relayer bears repeated listening, no matter what the weather. It’s available from Amazon.co.uk or from Amazon.com.   The last review for this page is slightly different, celebrating the first huge album of a band that went on to make arguably more popular, but never better, ones. Yes, of course, I’m referring to Van Halen. David Lee Roth is just shy (which may not the best word) of being over the top, and the enthusiasm and raw sex appeal of the songs like “Jamie’s Crying” weren’t often duplicated on later efforts, either by the band or by Diamond Dave in his solo work after he was replaced by Sammy Hagar. The only thing that got better in my opinion was Eddie Van Halen’s guitar, and later keyboard, playing.    Get Van Halen from Amazon.co.uk or from Amazon.com for your next party or road trip.   And you can click here to get the latest music news.   We receive a commission—at no extra cost to you—from the businesses we refer you to. If you decide to purchase something that we have recommended, please do so by following the links from our website. Thank you!   Amazon.co.uk    BlackStar     Chips & Bits    Amazon.com	.
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