Gino Vanneli - Nightwalker
#105
By Chris Roberts
Nightwalker
Gino Vannelli
Genre: Adult “Contemporary”
Allen’s Rating: 2.5 out of
Chris’ rating: 1.9 out of 5
Girl, you know it’s true—Gino wants to sweep you off your feet. Gino is all about the ROMANCE. Put that Neil Diamond back on the shelf, sister. Toss out that Barry Manilow. It’s time to walk the night with Gino. But just walking—that’s as far as it goes. Gino cuddles, and listens to you, and goes wine tasting. If you hold his hand, or better yet—mention you like his hair— he’ll love you forever. But no hanky-panky. This moonlight stroll is strictly rated-Gino, and I recommend you NIGHTRUN to get it over with.
The title track threatens to get moody, with a little ambient noise and sad, sparkly piano that suddenly swells into a big orchestral sound! Night walking! At this point, I feel I am listening to vibe offered by the album cover... But after the one minute mark... the whole thing becomes a generic, adult contemporary slog.
Let’s skip to Gino’s monster hit, Living Inside Myself, the second song on side B. Usually I can get a good nostalgia buzz with hits from 1981. But I never liked this song. I don’t even remember it from 1981, it just wormed it’s way into my consciousness through years of being put “on hold” somewhere. It’s a lollygagging lump of a song, that feels twice as long as it actually is. But don’t let me yuck your yum—in fact, take some second helpings of Gino’s slow jams: Put The Weight On My Shoulders and Sally (She Says The Sweetest Things).
The remaining four tracks, Seek & You Will Find, I Believe, Santa Rosa, and Stay With Me, are the “funky” bits, served up Flanders style with lots of noodles! There’s some George Duke-inspired piano, opportunities for the band to show off, and for Gino to try out his Elton John impersonation. It all reaches, but never arrives.
https://open.spotify.com/album/1NTgVOFOyvIqquGPkaS2mT?si=VnKNWdyKTuyIx39mob_zMQ
No comments:
Post a Comment