Introducing: Mr. John Parr, 2006

John Parr, the werewolf of Worksop, Nottinghamshire. I don't know what I expected Parr to do in this clip, after his passionate introduction and all, but that wasn't it. His performance is just beyond the surreal. If he had any trace of pride left... no wait, that's not an option.

You know, I believe that Limahl has a lot more credibility than John Parr at this point in time. Some years ago I played in a 80s cover band, and we opened for Limahl. To be exact, we played 90 minutes with a full 8-piece band, then Limahl went on stage, performed The Neverending Story and Too Shy backed by a DAT cassette and left the building.

Now, (1) Limahl had two songs up his sleeve, (2) he didn't lip-sync his performance, and (3) he wore a fun 80's "Limahl-wig" for the occasion. He (4) sure as hell didn't sport a keytar with the American flag all over it - being British and all, and finally, (5) he performed in front of just over 800 twenty-somethings in a real concert venue. Whereas John Parr... well, you'd better just have a look at it... enjoy!

A request...

The Adventures of Air Supply

To Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell, she was always the woman. I seldom heard them mention her under any other name. In their eyes she eclipsed and predominated the whole of her sex. It was not that they felt any emotion akin to love for her. All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to their cold, precise but admirably balanced minds. They were, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machines that the world had seen, but as lovers they surely would have put themselves in a false position.



"Every Woman In The World" reached # 5 (12/31/80) on the US charts. It was written by Dominic Bugatti and Frank Musker, and you can find it on pretty much every compilation they've ever released, or in it's original context on the album "Lost in Love", 1980.

Theme from a Dream

Has everybody seen this yet?

If you have any idea who Michael McDonald is you have to take a look at this. Listen to his soulful voice, learn how he went about re-Michaeling the Doobie Brothers.

The Places You Find... David Foster

Ever wondered what would happen if David Foster got to produce Alice Cooper? As 2 or 3 or you may know, it did actually happen, in 1978. Foster produced the entire From the Inside album. And Alice Cooper was instantly turned into a mellow crooner - this sounds just like Mandy by Barry Manilow...

Soft imperative

In popular music 1976-1984 was a period of contrast. On one side you had punk and new wave - aggressive music influenced by youth, strong emotions and rebellion. On the other side there was soft rock - a genre that more or less became the definition of everything music shouldn't be - and the complete opposite of cool. This kind of music was also certainly emotional, but on an entirely different level. These artists were typically contemplating lost love - soft men with acoustic guitars, often sporting a beard and beige velour. When the lady walks out on them, the guys rarely blame her. They understand her reasons - even though she breaks their hearts, even though they don't know how to go on. And when they're happy - when they sing about the real thing - they really do pour their hearts out.

The sound is... well, it's really just very soft. The drummer cuddles with the sharp drum and tickles the hi-hat, the bass player gently weaves a backdrop for a fuzz-free or acoustic rhythm guitar and mellow Fender Rhodes. It could be vaguely funky, jazzy - or it could be folk-inspired. It doesn't really rock, ever... The male vocals are usually high-pitched. Most songs feature some kind of solo - most often a guitar or sax solo, but every now and then there's a flute or a vibraphone.

In my humble opinion it's time for this music to be rediscovered. For all it's faults, there's a lot to admire in soft rock. There's an undeniable charming and disarming honesty to this music. The musicianship is often impeccable. And when you take a look at the guys who were performing the music, you realise that it was all about the music, certainly not about the visual...

As my previous post implies, the renaissance of classic soft rock is already in the making. On this site, I'll guide you through some of the highlights and low points of the genre. It will be subjective, it will be in poorly written English - other than that you'll just have to stay with me and see if anything of value ever pops up...