Burton Cummings - Woman Love
#469
by Tom Mott
1980 Housekeeping
Burton Cummings
Woman Love
Genre: Rock
Allen’s Rating: 2 out of 5
Tom’s Rating: 3.4 out of 5
Highlights:
Woman Love
It's Hard
Wakin' Up Today
I have a minor Burton Cummings obsession. I love The Guess Who. Really love. No Sugar Tonight in my coffee! I love BTO too. I follow Burton Cummings on Facebook. He posts a lot of obscure oldies, collects comic books, and is a bit of a curmudgeon. If you ever want to trigger Burton Cummings, next time he posts a photo with a very long, detailed written description, write "Great photo! What's it from?"
He happens to do a very funny Gordon Lightfoot impression which is on YouTube. I don't think we'd be hang-out buds, but I respect the guy. And I looove The Guess Who.
In the early 90s, one of the L.A. radio stations had a contest to win a living room concert with Burton Cummings. The SCTV absurdity of Burton Cummings in my living room has always stuck with me. If I ever win a million dollars, Burton Cummings will play in my living room, and you're all invited.
So I've got a lot of love for Burton. Which means I'm approaching this album as a fan eager to hear a new release while aware that it's from 1980 so it will likely sound dated.
Song 1: Ruh-roh! Bad synths.
Song 2: OK ... Burton Cummings meets Summer Madness. This is me as an 11 year old, lying in bed, thinking about the Bionic Woman. This is AM Gold. Dated, but that's alright with me.
Song 3: Mile a Second. Weird. Choppy new wave rockabilly with Styx synths.
Song 4: Had to Be You. Cowbell. Gordon Lightfoot collab with Styx.
Song 5: Heavenly Blue. More dated, David Soul AM gold. Love it!
Song 6: Fine State of Affairs: Oooooh. An oldies but goodies early 60s thing.
Song 7: Where Are You. Smoooooooooth. Reminds me of the mellow jazz combo Phase IV that used to play at Monty's Westwood. Bob James eat your heart out.
Song 8: Woman Love. A shit-ton of Sun Studios Elvis echo. THIS SONG IS WEIRD. REALLY WEIRD. I LIKE IT!
Song 9: It's Hard. Sounds like Atlanta Rhythm Section. I dig it.
Song 10: Wakin' Up Today. An anthem. This works for Burton Cummings fans.
Song 11: Daddy's on the Road. Another song that sounds like Atlanta Rhythm Section. Not bad, but it never goes anywhere.
Song 12: I Do My Vocals on the Boat. What?!? This is surprisingly not bad, but doesn't rise above a guilty pleasure.
Post-Mortem
1. He never breaks out his fried LSD-comedown shrieky voice ("New Mother Nature" "No Time"). It's all Burton the crooner ("Undun"). He's still got a great voice, but several of the songs sound a bit like that mumbled acoustic intro to American Woman before the song really kicks in.
2. I honestly love Burton dammit!!! But here, he's in search of a sound and unfortunately ends up sounding dated: weaving between "Undone" mellow groovy vibes, Styx noodlings, Atlanta Rhythm Section, and 1980 choppy new wave eighth notes. Kind of sounds like a cocaine album.
3. I still give him kudos for stretching out. I could see this being a bit of a cult album. (Imagine if "Neil Diamond's New Wave Album" existed.)
4. You really should seek out his big band cover of You Ain't Seen Nothing' Yet from 1976. He out-Ankas Anka 40 years ahead of time. It's sublime.
4. All-Music gives this 4.5 stars. Whoa! Okay!
https://open.spotify.com/album/1fuWNBZ30dfq2sPUbnmj7U?si=POwCkGPlQr-lrhn3XDLeJA
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