Review Summary: Surviving the 80s, Part Three
‘To run through the 80s sounding distinctive and inspired.’ This kind of formula allowed artists to create works that, while firmly of their time, managed to incorporate elements of cult status and rock classics. Such bands as
Queen,
Roxy Music,
The The,
Bon Jovi,
Def Leppard,
Cinderella,
Dire Straits,
Genesis,
Marillion, and others left their footprints in the sands of music despite their faithful and frankly intentional aspirations to follow the trends. And while they might not have aimed directly at the height of fashion, their shot was definitely on target. Nevertheless, because of or in spite of the sonic architecture of the era, a distinct individual palette was always preserved.
On his seventh album, Rick Springfield attempts two approaches: one yields successful results, while fragments of another can be found scattered at the scene of the accident. It should be stated right away that, for the most part, the musician follows a well-trodden path, trying to cater to the tendencies of the moment. However, unlike his two previous releases – which were brimming with the saccharine templates of 80s pop music –
Living in Oz possesses a degree of originality and attempts to step off the beaten track. So, what do we have here?
First of all, the long-player merits a complete listen from beginning to end, as it is a far more consistent effort compared to its two predecessors. While any of the songs from his previous opuses could easily be dropped into a playlist without losing (or gaining, for that matter) much, this time there is a vague narrative uniting the material presented. The songs are all placed within a certain context, though some succeed in this better than others. Secondly, commercial appeal is still present, but in this case, artistic ambition and a search for new expressive forms are far more noticeable. Thirdly, while the best cuts scattered across the LP, the strongest impression is made right at the very beginning.
The opening track,
Human Touch, is an inventive, robotic piece that craftly deals with technocracy and the dominance of machines, while simultaneously standing out as the liveliest and most arresting song on the album (the successful symbiosis of synths and saxophone is especially appealing). Unfortunately, no other song reaches this level; moreover, the LP mostly shifts in a direction that can be described as “pop-metal lite”, bordering on power pop. Thus, we find Rick Springfield once again dabbling in a trendy genre, though this time he manages to remain distinctive, borrowing the know-how of his peers while maintaining his own persona.
By mixing his signature pop melodies with a heavier sound driven by mid-tempo rhythms and sharper guitars, Springfield produces a curious hybrid: standard pop-rock wrapped in a thin metal jacket (
Affair of the Heart,
Living in Oz,
Motel Eyes,
Souls). The cuts where the singer sticks to his usual format vary from decent (
Alyson,
Me & Johnny) to outright filler, which may point either to a lack of strong available material or to uncertainty on the songwriter’s part regarding the potential success of such a cohesive yet single-minded album.
As a result, it can be stated that the LP turned out to be both commercially viable and artistically competent. It is a pity that, for reasons known only to Rick (see the presumptions above), he could not maintain the level of the opening track or commit fully to pop-metal, which would have allowed us to rank
Living in Oz among the very best albums in his discography. Nevertheless, it represents a definite step forward for 1980s Springfield, as the musician struck the right balance between relevance, originality, and inspiration.
