The 1981 Listening Post - Ian Cussick - Hypertension

 Reviewed by Sheffield Chastain

Released: 1981 Ian Cussick Hypertension Genre: The Scottish Lou Gramm Rating: 3 out of 5 Highlights: Meet Me By The Water King Of The World Requisite 80s Cover: A veeery slow, but sweet, version of Lennon/McCartney’s You Won’t See Me. A showcase for Cussick’s vocals. And boy, those are some amazing vocals. Ian Cussick, the Lou Gramm of Scotland, has a great voice. You can totally imagine him as the lead singer of Foreigner. The scuttlebutt is that Cussick was actually asked to join Foreigner in 1979 when Gramm threatened to leave in a huff, but Gramm decided to return, putting the kibosh on a Cussick/Foreigner marriage. To be honest, I doubt fans would have noticed, considering how much Cussick sounds like Gramm. Cussick stuck with a solo career and has put out twelve albums on his own, two EP's and four Live albums. That kind of volume takes a following, which I’m sure Ian Cussick has/had, considering the dude has the kind of voice that makes wanna-be rockers jealous. As for Hypertension, like I said, Cussick can SANG. Mmmm mmmmm mmmmm . I just wish the songs were up to the quality of his timbre and clarity and excitement. There’s a sameness that pervades the album and without any memorable hooks you pretty much forget everything you listened to shortly after it ends. There are a few decent tracks, like King Of The World, with its ethereal guitars and pounding drums reminiscent of The Police’s Synchronicity, and the most well known track on the album, Meet Me By The Water, which is pretty fabulous. But for the most part Hypertension sounds like a collection of Foreigner cast offs - perfect vehicles to showcase a stellar voice, but not fully fleshed out and no memorable hooks. Fun Fact: Cussick was the bassist and singer (until 1976) of Lake, a band whose album, Hot Day, was recently reviewed by Paul J Zickler. Cussick didn’t sing on Hot Day, but boy (not that the singer of Lake in 1981 wasn’t any good) I’d love to hear THAT album with Cussick behind the microphone. ‘Cause, like I said, Cussick can SANG.

The 1980 Listening Post - Ian Cussick - Right Through the Heart

 Reviewed by Sheffield Chastain

Released: 1980 Ian Cussick Right Through The Heart Genre: Funky Pop Disco Rock Melange Rating: 2.75 out of 5 Highlights: Sun A Rise What if you took the sound of Foreigner, funked it up a bit, jammed in some disco seasoning and then reduced the whole thing to pop cliches. That’s this. A funky pop disco rock melange with a singer who sounds pretty much like Graham Parker. I’ve said it before, Ian Cussick can SANG. Mmm mmm mmm. He’s the Scottish Graham Parker after all. This is the second Ian Cussick record I’ve reviewed and what I’ve come to learn about an Ian Cussick record is that an Ian Cussick record is pretty much a vehicle for Ian Cussick vocals. And not much else. Cussick wrote 6 of the 9 songs here and none are particularly memorable. The one highlight is Sun A Rise, a traditional Celtic tune with arrangements by Cussick. Man, if this had been the direction of the whole album you might really have something. I’m unfamiliar with Cussick’s oeuvre, except this and Hypertension, so perhaps one of his other 10 albums focuses on refashioning traditional Celtic music. Now THAT I’d like to hear.