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Sooner or Later [Murray Head]

Murray Head
1 disc

1. You Are
2. Lana Turner
3. With a Passion
4. Love Is Believing
5. In the Heart of You
6. Paper Thin
7. Fear & Ambition
8. Wanderer
9. Picking up the Pieces (Bonus Track)
10. Some People (Bonus Track)
Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): GAH113CD
Credits

Producer
Engineer
Personnel includes: Murray Head (vocals); Geoffrey Richardson (guitar, flute,
kalimba); Paul Weston (guitar); Gary Barnacle (saxophone); Ingmar Kiang, Miquette Giraudy, Peter Veitch (keyboards).
SOONER OR LATER features the work of pop guitarist Murray Head. The album includes a number of guest appearances, from Barbara Gaskin among others.
For Sooner or Later, Murray Head changed his ways and went for a more synthetic sound. Steve Hillage produced the album, a keyboard and drum programming affair for the most part. The singer's usual collaborators during the '80s, guitarist Geoffrey Richardson and keyboardist Peter Veitch, contributed a few takes, each buried among the layers of synthesizers. Singers Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin also provided some backing vocals. Head's writing has rarely been this mainstream, his pop songs relying now exclusively on catchy melodies. The coldness of the arrangements does not help the lack of excitement that plagues this album. The opener, "You Are," seems to contradict this assessment, since it stands as the best single the singer released during the second half of the decade. But what comes after is bland and forgettable. The main subject is love, with little variations. One exception: Richardson's "Paper Thin," a solid track, touching despite Hillage's production and worthy to appear on a best-of collection. The CD reissue on Headcase (2001) includes two bonus tracks, "Picking up the Pieces" and "Some People"; they bring little more to the album and short circuit the attempt "Wanderer" makes at an atmospheric ending. ~ Franois Couture