Restless Years

His first album of original material in seven years finds Leo Sayer collaborating with producer Mitch Cairns on a collection of new songs, all composed to some extent by Sayer himself. He brought in Albert Hammond, the author of "When I Need You," to co-write four songs, and those numbers are among the songs on Restless Years that have a familiar, stately, singer/songwriter pop that recall the '70s. At times, Sayer is determined to show that he knows what time it is -- he jokes about "How Did We Get So Old," then smirks that he's "Competing with a DJ" for the affection of a possible paramour (the DJ is winning) -- and there's no denying that time has lowered Sayer's voice so he now sounds a bit like Karl Wallinger of World Party, but the best moments on the album are when he indulges his affection for that lush, melodic post-McCartney pop that finds its own cleverness endearing. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine