The 1981 Listening Post - Blue Steel - Nothing But TIme

 Reviewed by Rod Brogan

Released: 1981 Blue Steel Nothing But Time Genre: Southern Boogie Rating: 3 out of 5 Highlights: Good Friends Or Lovers Nothing But Time Years before Derek Zoolander's signature stare, members of Linda Ronstadt's backup band broke away to begin their own bands, one of which was called Blue Steel. The other one was called The Eagles. Blue Steel was a country rock band led by Texan guitarist Richard Bowden. They opened for The Eagles, and recorded two albums before folding, 1981's Nothing But Time being the last. Bowden and his former bandmates stayed tight: Don Henley did backing vocals on this album, and Blue Steel drummer Michael Huey went on to drum for Glenn Frey. Each track on Nothing But Time boasts a nice fat bass tone over laid back beats and fills. There are richly layered guitar and vocal harmonies, especially on Good Friends Or Lovers, like a country boogie Steely Dan. There's a bit of a pop gloss in the bite sized under 3 minute running times, double tracked lead vocals and high harmonies, possibly rubbed off from Ronstadt, but mostly likely due to producer Ron Capone, who cut his teeth as an engineer at famous Southern Soul label Stax Records. Guitarist Howard Burke was tour manager for Jackson Browne and co-wrote "Nothing But Time" with Browne, then toured extensively with Little Feat. The Blue Steel title track version is not as spare and intimate as Browne's, but somehow clocks in around the same time with a bar band's jump and verve. Their cover of Roy Orbison classic Oh, Pretty Woman is energetic and faithful, while not exactly making you miss the original. The Price Is High has a jangly guitar riff throughout, with a soulful lead vocal by Bowden. The playing on this track especially is the opposite of the hard rock and metal that would take over guitar-driven music in the later part of the 80s, in that there's lots of space between the notes, and room in the sound between each instrument. After Blue Steel folded, Bowden was in a country comedy duo Pinkard & Bowden for 16 years, guitar teched for the Eagles, and is now a city council member back in his hometown of Linden, Texas. Nothing But Time may not be an album you'll ever reach for, but you'll never be sorry it's playing. Oddly, while there may not be an obvious hit single, there's no filler. The writing and playing are uniformly good, never more or less. And I guess that's where they went wrong. Blue Steel never embarrassed themselves, but they never acquitted themselves either. They were a better band's really good opener.