TR's best solo album
A. B. HOWARD | Lexington, SC United States | 08/29/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In 1984, Tom Robinson released HOPE & GLORY, and it was finally released on CD in 1997 with 8 bonus tracks. It is Robinson's finest solo work, containing many strong pop-rock songs. The arrangements are solid, and Robinson's voice has never sounded more tough-but-tender. My favorite track is "Cabin Boy," a hot, sexy sailor fantasy. Without a single word that could be construed as "obscene," Robinson managed to craft as raunchy a song as I've ever heard, and then he threw in a seething piano solo for good measure. "War Baby" and "Atmospherics: Listen To The Radio" (the latter co-written by Robinson and Peter Gabriel) are also excellent. Of the bonus tracks, "More Lives Than One" is especially powerful. Also of note is "Ricky Don't Lose That Number," Robinson's rendition of Steely Dan's hit "Rikki Don't Lose That Number." Though his version is inferior to the original, it's easy to overlook any shortcomings because it is so refreshing to hear how perfectly the song works in the context of a gay relationship."
Stil shaken by his grace and innocence...
Terribleman | London, England | 07/24/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"
Tom's solo career never quite took off: there was a major single - the glorious "War Baby" - but the rest of this album reflects his maturity as a songwriter. Lyrically, he has never been better - from the opening of "War Baby',
"Only the very young or the very beautiful can be so aloof, hanging out with the boys all swagger and poise."
through "Atmospherics" and "Cabin Boy" (both powerful and wrenching in their way), but for me, his lyrics on "Old Friend" are his most sublime.
Loving you has never been easy
And I never thought I'd get this far
But at last I can start to see you
And to know you as you really are
I'm a bit of a cynic and too long in the tooth
To try and overstate the case
And I don't want to embarrass us both tonight
By saying this to your face
But if I should dream, it'd be of you...
"