Search - Stephen Bishop :: An Introduction To

Pretty definitive collection, but sometimes less is more

stu | San Francisco | 06/12/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Basically this is his first two albums, Careless and Bish, combined on a single CD, with the omission of a couple of less-inspired tracks here or there. If you like this kind of stuff, then I guess you can't ask for more. Careless on its own is a definite 5-star album, and frankly I would have preferred to have been able to buy it separately. That album works well as an organic whole and is a perfect length. This CD is simply too long, and there is a definite break in style between the two "sides" - the inventive song structures, heart-tugging melodies and more acoustic feel of Careless overshadow the rather blander Bish. I guess one can either program tracks 1-9 or 10-16 as the feeling takes you. Moreover, I have become so familiar with the (perfect) order of tracks on my ancient cassette of Careless that to encounter them here in a different order (why on earth did they do that?) was vaguely irritating. At least they resisted the temptation to mix the tracks of the two albums together. Ah well. One can't complain too much. There are some classic songs here, perfectly suited to his plaintive voice and the lush arrangements. Ideal music to be heartbroken to. :)"