Search - Paul Hyde :: Big Book of Sad Songs

Proof That Major Labels Hate Music

Blind | Canada | 01/10/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In some ways it must be a drag being Paul Hyde. He is a songwriter who spent about a decade being perpetually on the cusp of the promise of big Yankee dollars as his band the Payola$ put out well-written, executed and produced post-punk pop in the 80s. Those records, while still enjoyable, now sound a little too slick to my ears, but that is the fault of the era as much as Paul Hyde or Bob Rock (Hyde's partner who went on to megabucks producing metal bands). No one can accuse this record of overproduction. The emphasis is on songs and Paul Hyde's lyrics shine through the amplified acoustic guitar sound. I must say that I prefer this to Hyde's 2000 CD _Living Off the Radar_, though the latter (Bob Rock produced) album filled me up with sadness remembering the potential that the Payola$ never saw to its end. _The Big Book of Sad Songs_, in contrast, fills me up with the hope that Hyde will find his niche outside of major label music and be able to make his living in music because he's too talented to be tossed aside."