VERY mellow soft rock that's witty and engaging
Dave | United States | 01/18/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Dean Friedman demonstrates his smooth, distinctive tenor vocals on here (think Christopher Cross); plus, with his mixture of humorous and tender lyrics and almost relentless focus on romantic relationships, Dean brings to mind Rupert Holmes as well. It figures then that, much like Holmes, Friedman has been given the dreaded "one hit wonder" tag (for his lone top 30 hit "Ariel" in 1977). However, Dean's 1982 album "Rumpled Romeo" is damn good, proving conclusively that he had excellent songwriting ability. Throughout the album, the sound is VERY mellow and the production is quite stark (without sounding thin)--both of these elements are key to the album's appeal. Friedman does go ballistic with sound effects on a few of the tracks here, something that doesn't always work, but a majority of the album is supremely tasteful, and if you're a lover of great '70s soft rock, you should get a lot out of this--absolute gems include the yearning pop-rock confection "McDonald's Girl"; the super mellow, contemplative, beautifully melodic and atmospheric "Are You Ready Yet"; the splendidly tuneful "Hey Larry" which has a soaring chorus with an ultra-crafty vocal arrangement & superb harmonies; and the casually optimistic and laidback "Buy My Baby A Car". There's also the ever-so-slightly sappy, but still wonderfully tuneful and tender ballad "I Depend On You". "First Date" does drag considerably and is rather dull with its cut-and-paste lyrics, and "Love Is Real" is brought down by its sappiness, but both are still pleasantly tuneful and have a soothing quality. He also mixes things up with a couple tracks--the jazzy "Marginal Middle Class" is a highly amusing tune about wanting to be as 'middle-of-the-road' as possible; and the jokey "Special Effects" does go overboard with its sound effects, but it's still fun and amusing, and wisely kept at under 3 minutes. The one real loser of a track is the one that closes the main album portion--"I Will Never Leave You" is about a guy who declines an opportunity to go off in a UFO to a place where life is said to be superior, and it's a dull, overlong ballad loaded up with annoying, gimmicky sound effects. It seems that there are at least a few different CD versions of "Rumpled Romeo" around and I'm not quite sure how they perhaps may differ--a safe bet is getting the version on the Chiswick label which has 4 bonus tracks including the catchy "I Didn't Mean To Make You Cry" which has witty wordplay and is highly amusing and fun. If you're a fan of both Rupert Holmes AND Christopher Cross (like I am), you'll be in for a treat with "Rumpled Romeo"."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1
