Review Summary: An uneven album that could've been greater than it is.
In the world of music there most definitely exist a special formula book, titled something like ‘
How to record an outstanding album’ – even if unofficially and in the minds of those who try and make such albums. Indeed, often we see apparent ways and approaches that show up through the mask of affectation and ease various musicians put on (sometimes quite successfully) in their records. For example, for a pop album: simple and immediately catchy melodies, distinct and predictable rhythms, saccharine choruses, unsophisticated lyrics. Or rock album: dominant guitars, systematically switching between solos and riffs, (preferable but not necessary) rugged vocals, palpable rhythm section, rocking cuts to ballads in 70-30 ratio, three or four hits in heavy rotation on airwaves, narrative mainly devoted to either the wild life of a true rocker with obligatory sexual undertones or complications in relationships or an altogether hard life, and so forth. In the end, despite a strict adherence to such instructions by some musicians their output is good but forgettable. It would seem that the secret is not in the silly and quite conventional canon, but in the degree of inspiration, sincerity and insight, which sometimes accompanies the creation of new music.
Rick Springfield’s 2008 studio album
Venus in Overdrive cannot be grouped into recordings deliberately aimed at commercial success or songs designed on the worn-out clichés of pop rock. This LP has soul, for the most part (more detail will follow). Mr. Springfield himself admitted the title track is dedicated to his wife, which is somewhat curious if we perceive such dedications in a conventional way, as a serenade or a love song – a glance at the lyrics shows a complex (if somewhat unflattering) attitude by the author to marriage (just look at the line: ‘
Sex just got me buried alive’). Although, it is possible this should convey a sense of certain coolness or problems in a relationships which only fair Venus can overcome, despite her overdrive from that burden (in the same interview Rick recognized himself as the weak link in his family ties). Nevertheless the song, regardless of its subject matter, is quite upbeat (if not to say indiscreet) and manages to distinguish itself on the album due to an unusual rhythm-n-blues tinge. As for the other cuts, there is still something to savor for a pop rock lover.
I’ll Miss That Someday and its crystal intro which is abruptly replaced with incendiary vibes followed by overall lyrical and tender feeling that revert back to the beginning, leaving a very pleasant impression.
One Passenger is a song with a philosophical message of loneliness in light of a path chosen and courage required to ward off oneself to be reborn (
How you'd change this worm into a butterfly?). The song spurs forward like a train, thumping along with its lucky combination of bass lines and swelling drums.
Oblivious is the central and arguably the best piece on the album. Following the requisite ballad, or rather ballad and dramatic standards (opening-climax-conclusion) this haunting track feels like rocking on the waves of retrospection and, to say the least, does not leave one indifferent.
Time Stand Still is magnificent in its simplicity and like a feeble and amusing attempt to stop time that keep on ticking away in the song itself, against all expectations and in tune with the melody. But what lifts one’s spirits is the never-decreasing degree of irony and lightweightness of the cut in itself.
However (and here I again refer to the beginning of this review), one can’t attempt to record a fully-fledged album of magnitude, equal in every aspect, without maintaining the necessary steam. Starting with track 8, the LP conclusively and irrevocably breaks away from everything clearly present (to various levels of strength) on the first seven songs and provides a batch of second-rate cuts of dubious artistic merit.
God Blinked (Swing It Sister) and
Mr. PC do not catch on, leaving no place for participation or passion they obviously counted on, this judging by their disposition.
She barely holds its own, and compared to the first 2/3 of the album it bears no originality or revelation, obviously and uningeniously trying to parody the Beatles. This is repeated with
Nothing Is Ever Lost which serves more as a transition to the last song on the album than a self-contained piece of work, perhaps in an attempt to highlight the importance and influence for the author of the
Saint Sahara backstory. But here, despite the known underpinning, again we see the ‘non-indigenous organism’ effect: the rest of the album is not in tune with the previous seven songs and, to this end, we get two records instead of one. It’s just like when you were presented with one useful thing and the second one in tow is really dispensable. This peculiar and, unfortunately, not that rare of a situation, when an album loses the momentum over its duration (with a clear line dividing the two parts) is present on
Venus in Overdrive. The cause of this – be it a shortage of the good songs (and the album has those), a desire to release the recording by the scheduled date or label requirements – will remain a mystery. It could be that Springfield himself allowed this, missing (or not wanting to accept) an evident disequilibrium between the high quality of good tracks and the insufficient development of lacking ones prior to including them on the album.
In summary, it must be said that the LP, while capturing the ambitions and creative vitality demonstrated on the tentative first side, could have been one of the strongest albums in his discography, if not the most outstanding. And, vice versa, with the same level of songwriting as on the second side, it could have been average and mediocre. At the end of the day, we have a peanut butter sandwich, where the author did not distribute the butter evenly, so the enjoyment is split between pleasant eating and simple consumption. Nevertheless, the album deserves your attention and should provide a measured helping of fun listen.
