The 1981 Listening Post - Roger Voudouris - On the Heels of Love

 Reviewed by Jim Coursey

Released: 1981 Roger Voudouris On The Heels Of Love Genre: Soft Rock Rating: 2 out of 5 Roger Voudouris apparently gained attention for his 1979 single “Get Used To It”, which charted in the US and hit a whopping #4 in Australia. Though his future work never hit the same soaring heights, Voudouris’ fame grew in Japan and he remained a sex symbol in Australia. (Look at the cover! He could be Rick Springfield!) But how does he sound? Voudouris’ music will appeal to people who want something a little more edgy than Barry Manilow, but found “Chicago XIV” a bridge too far. Michael McDonald might be a little more on point. Some songs are more soulful, others more funky, but all within a very narrow parameter such that the album would go down easy as it’s wafting through the dentist’s office. (The one exception is “First Love”, a power ballad which is always just a harp glissando away from Roger rocking out.) While there are no highlights here (aside from the steamy cover), opener “Heels of Love” did win me over as Voudouris crooned “she said she’d been scared all her life until she ran out of beer.” To be fair I almost certainly misheard the line, but I’m not getting paid enough to go back and fact check.

The 1980 Listening Post - Roger Voudouris - A Guy Like Me

 Reviewed by Tom Mott

Released: 1980 Roger Voudouris A Guy Like Me Genre: L.A. Cocaine Mafia Rating: 2.9 out of 5 Highlights: Guys Like Me I'm not a fan of this kind of 70s/early-80s tightly-polished L.A. studio musician stuff. (Waddy Watchell, Brecker Brothers, Danny Kortchmar, etc) But Roger's got some vocal chops, and watching Leland Sklar's YouTube videos reminiscing about these old sessions reminds me they're all just humans making art and making their way in the world. I've made worse things than this. Doesn't mean it's good, but hey, he tried. The first song has some unexpected happy-organ energy to it.The rest of it is typical late-70s soft-rock and MOR. Doesn't do it for me, but I think Michael Bolton listened closely and jotted down some notes.