The 1985 Listening Post - Tommy Shaw - What If?

Tommy Shaw - What It?

#512/1146

1985 Housekeeping

Tommy Shaw

What If?

Genre: Pop Rock

3.5 out of 5

Remo’s Theme (What If)

This Is Not a Test

True Confessions

You know what? I was expecting to hate this. And, coming on the heels of Giant Sand there was no way I could find much to love here, given the past one by the Styx axeman. 

On the contrary. With a sound that comes across as a hybrid Don Henley & Rick Springfield, the first side is packed with confectionary rock songs. 

It sagged for me on side two, dragging the rating down, pumped with filler, but for 80s synth laden/electric drums guitar power pop? Pretty good stuff. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/what-if/1443857482

The 1984 Listening Post - Tommy Shaw - Girls with Guns

Tommy Shaw - Girls with Guns

#286
October 1984
Tommy Shaw
Girls with Guns
3.25 out of 5


Highlights:
Girls with Guns


Omg, get this guy in Damn Yankees already. Left to his own devices he just proves the theory of whole vs. sum of parts.
This is turgid, sub Jackson Brown but, weirdly, there are no guitars to speak of. And a song like “Lonely School” sounds like the ballady stuff Freddie Mercury would traffic in around this time. Like they are aiming squarely for the closing credits on some movie soundtrack.
This is a challenging record inasmuch as it’s very competent but also anonymous and dull.
Case in point: “Kiss Me Hello”, a song as captivating as it is boring.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/girls-with-guns/393431418