The 1980 Listening Post - McGuinn / Hillman - McGuinn / Hillman

 Reviewed by Paul J Zickler

Released: September 1980 McGuinn / Hillman McGuinn-Hillman Genre: Radio-Friendly Rock Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Highlights: Between You and Me Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman were in the Byrds of course. They teamed up with erstwhile Byrd Gene Clark for a couple of late ’70’s albums, which were rejected by short-sighted critics and sold underwhelmingly in the New Wave Disco atmosphere of the time. They had one hit single, Don’t You Write Her Off, which is pretty great, in my humble opinion. Gene split in 1980, but Chris and Roger made one more record, this one. Produced by Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett, best known (to me) for their work with Dylan during his gospel years, this is very much a 1980 album. Mean Streets sounds like a Glen Frey track, and not a bad one at that. Entertainment could sit comfortably between Nick Lowe and Joe Jackson on a playlist. Soul Shoes reaches for the gritty, bluesy sound the producers were known for, and almost gets there. Between You and Me hews closer to their Byrds roots (ironically, it was written by Graham Parker). Although it could have benefited from a looser arrangement and more jangly guitars, it’s all right. The last track on side one, Angel, has some sweet harmonies and a cool little bridge in the middle, but otherwise drowns in clichés, both lyrical and musical. All 5 tracks on the first side are upbeat (I hesitate to call them “rockers,” but no ballads). Side two opens with a loping, hand-clapping, country twanger called Love Me Tonight. Like most of the album, it’s a bit over-arranged, with too much Nashville guitar soloing and the inevitable acapella section followed by a repeated chorus fadeout. Eagles-by-number, unfortunately. Next up is one of the singles, King for a Night. I’m reminded of Marshall Crenshaw, but then I remember there would be no Marshall Crenshaw without Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman. Is it sad when folk rock heroes are reduced to trying to sound like the people they inspired? All I know is if Crenshaw had written King for a Night, he probably would have left it off his first album in favor of the 12 better tracks he put on there. The next two tunes, one written by Will McFarlane and one by Rodney Crowell, are both forgettable, if competent, fluff. Side two closes with the other single, Turn Your Radio On, a straightforward love ballad with a plaintive, Big Star feel. Again, the irony of the guy from the Byrds sounding like Alex Chilton does not escape me. I don’t dislike this song. I don’t dislike any of these songs. I almost wish I didn’t know who Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman were so I could evaluate this as a little lost gem instead of a perfunctory attempt at hit making. McGuinn and Hillman were legendary songwriters and performers, clearly capable of churning out decent songs, and Capitol Records felt it was worth it to give them a shot at making one more album of those songs, hoping that adding the Wexler/Beckett special sauce would make them relevant a decade after their era ended. It didn’t work, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a nice collection of songs.