The 1985 Listening Post - John Waite - Mask of Smiles

John Waite - Mask of Smiles

#273/907

July 26 1985

John Waite

Mask of Smiles

Genre: Rock

2.75 out of 5

Highlights:

No Brakes

It’s not that this is bad, it’s that it’s boring. On the last outing Waite sounded like he was trying to get into that John Parr, MOR rocker lane, and he pretty much achieved it. 

Here he’s doing the same thing but there’s no life in it. He ends up sounding like a less interesting Don Henley. 

I have one Henley. I don’t need a lesser one. 

And, besides, Phil Collins is already dominating this lane and he and his pals are about to roll over everyone else. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/mask-of-smiles/716428268

The 1984 Listening Post - John Waite - No Brakes

John Waite - No Brakes

#148

June 15 1984

John Waite

No Brakes

3.75 out of 5

Highlights:

Saturday Night

Missing You

Euroshima

I know…this is the record with that single “Missing You”, a track that should have been on the St. Elmo’s Fire soundtrack. It was ubiquitous in 1984. But the album opens with a lot more promise than that with the Gary Myrick co-penned “Saturday Night” which is a scorcher of a track. And the arena rock, AOR rock doesn’t stop there. Listening to “Missing” I’m 100% sure that Waite would’ve fit right in on a bill with David Cassidy and Bobby Sherman. (I say this with love. His songs could’ve been written then but also don’t sound totally out of time.) 

Point of info: We just had an album by the guy who wrote Ace Frehley’s hit, “New York Groove”, Russ Ballard. Ace’s replacement was the co-writer on the second single here, “Tears”, as MOR a rock single one can write without a recognizably hooky chorus. 

The record gets a lot more prog-rock with the Side Two opener “Euroshima” and the straightforward rocker “For Your Love”. 

The big hit off this record belies the truth that Waite wanted to be a rocker along the John Parr vein. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/no-brakes/716357529