Editorial Reviews Music Review:
Music Review
In the Blues With Ec 2 [Import]
SCHUBERT: Trout Quintet - Notturno - Sawallisch
Musiques Pour Les Ballets De Marius Petipa
News Beat [CD-single] [Import]
Over the Edge [Extra tracks] [Import]
Amazon.com
This double-disc retrospective is perfectly suited to an artist of Graham Parker's nature. The prototypical 1970s Angry Young Bloke, Parker bridged the decade's pub-rock and punk-rock phases, which made him pivotal artistically, but commercially marginal. After an initial out-of-the-gate flurry that culminated with the near-faultless Squeezing Out Sparks, Parker flailed; his crack backup band the Rumor was gone by the early '80s and his material began to feel forced. Parker never released an album that was totally without merit, however. The beauty of Passion Is No Ordinary Word is that it thoroughly chronicles Parker's peak and knowingly cherry picks his more problematic later releases. Indeed, in this setting, the latter-day likes of "You Can't Take Love for Granted" and "Strong Winds" sound almost as appealing as such early high points as "Discovering Japan" and "Fool's Gold." --Steven Stolder