CD Review:
Formed in England in 1981, Culture Club began a short and stormy career that would take over the pop scene and dominate it for half a decade. With this album and their next (Colour By Numbers) they became pop rock/new wave gods with only Michael Jackson giving them any competition on the radio. Boy George (vocals), Mickey Craig (bass), Roy Hay (guitar) and John Moss (drums) had their breakthrough with "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" on both sides of the Atlantic. Signing with Virgin after being turned down by EMI, they released this, their debut. It sold and sold and sold and sold. With hits like the aforementioned "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me," "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" and "Time" the album sold millions.
This album is the perfect example of why the decade of the 80s is considered by most as the worse for music since it was recorded onto wax. The decade produced the worse music to scar the planet indefinitely and this band can be considered the poster boys. We can thank the devil Boy George was afflicted with a heroin addiction causing the group to implode or the band might still be around. Buy with caution!
Scott D. Brown
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| Artist |
Paul Dean |
| Album Title |
Hardcore |
| Date Of Release |
1989 |
| Genre |
Rock |
| Official Website |
Canadian Bands Entry |
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CD Review:
Paul Dean is one of Canada's great rock guitarists. Whether with Streetheart (for their debut album Meanwhile Back in Paris (1978), with Loverboy throughout their rise to the top of Canrock stardom, or solo, Dean can kick out the tunes with ease.
This is Dean's first solo album after Loverboy decided to go on hiatus after the disappointing Wildside in 1987.Although this is a Dean album, you could tell that Dean wanted as much help as he could get. With the aide of Brian "Too Loud" MacLeod (of Chilliwack and The Headpins fame) in production (as well as keyboards, drums and bass) and others such as Jon Bon Jovi, Matthew Frenette (drums), Bryan Adams (on "Draw the Line") and a song from Paul Stanley (of Kiss fame) called "Sword and Stone," you would figure that it would be a great success. Unfortunately, it failed miserably.
Dean tried to make this debut unforgettable but it didn't work. People were tired of this type of rock whether from Loverboy or Dean solo. The effort in his playing shows but the lyrics are average (saying nothing of any importance) and Dean's voice is nothing to be enthusiastic about. It was interesting to hear "Action" though. The song was off the Streetheart album mentioned earlier and it was Paul and the band's first big hit.
Dean's solo career (and re-unions with Loverboy) never went anywhere big. Dean goes on to release Machine (1994) and Blackstone (1997) to public apathy. But during his heyday with Loverboy, Dean proved his guitar prowess and we can thank him for that.
FS Staff
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