Search - Judie Tzuke :: Welcome to the Cruise & Sports Car

Friends of a friend that you used to know...

Steven Cain | Temporal Quantum Pocket | 04/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Welcome To The Cruise is perhaps the most flawless album I have ever heard. While Stay With Me Till Dawn and the utterly exquisite For You may be the songs that people most remember, every track on this album is a certified gem. The brilliance of the songwriting is well complimented by the superb clean production and the wondrous string arrangements by Paul Buckmaster (who I believe did Elton John's Madman Across The Water). Add to this the simply stunning vocals of the incomparable Judie Tzuke and the oh so classy guitar work of the mighty Mike Paxman (check out his solo on the title track) and you have a once in a lifetime album.While Cruise may eclipse Sports Car as a whole, SC contains many classic Tzuke masterpieces, including the devastatingly beautiful Understanding. The track Sports Car is Jude at her most cutting, lyrically speaking. The song is about a pretentious would be if he could be middle class poser, and the great lady's contempt for his shallowness - "Bet you tell stories of wine-loosened ladies and friends of a friend that you used to know..." and finally, the ultimate derision - "I bet you've got a sports car". Classic stuff.If you love solid guitar playing, powerful, fresh original songs and breathtakingly beautiful and utterly distinctive female vocals, this amazing double set represents ridiculous value. Amazon does it again."