Shaun Cassidy

Arrangers: John d'Andrea; Michael J. Lloyd .
There is not much on Shaun Cassidy's debut album that he can claim as his own, other than his style, but that did not stop this album from being one of the biggest-selling solo debuts in history. It is an album comprised almost entirely of remakes, starting with his number one hit single version of the Ronettes' "Da Doo Run Run." He also suffers from comparison to his brother David Cassidy of the Partridge Family, who has an arguably richer vocal range. Shaun was not really in competition with his brother, but a successor to his teen idol throne. With such an aesthetically pleasing set of songs and talent of his own, Shaun Cassidy is a thoroughly enjoyable and old-fashionably hip record. There are two kinds of one-hit wonders, those who made bad novelty music (and are forgotten in fans' embarrassment of ever having listened to them) and those who made good music (meaning that if the singer appears on a daytime talk show, all housewives will stand up and cheer and proclaim their everlasting crushes). Shaun Cassidy is the second kind because he was not ardently cheesy -- he made music for the whole family, music that has passed the test of time. The best of the tracks are his take on Eric Carmen's "That's Rock N Roll" and the vocally impressive "It's Too Late." ~ Peter Fawthrop