"Whispering Jack 20th Anniversary Edition"
Dec 29, 2006 21:38:46 GMT 10
Post by dededom on Dec 29, 2006 21:38:46 GMT 10
Whispering Jack 20th Anniversary Edition
Bruce Elder, reviewer
December 29, 2006
www.smh.com.au/news/cd-reviews/whispering-jack-20th-anniversary-edition/2006/12/29/1166895469940.html
John Farnham's Whispering Jack resuscitated a solo career that had not produced a hit in 13 years.
The mid-1980s weren't a good time for mainstream pop and rock. There was a tendency towards pomposity fuelled by histrionic vocal deliveries, lots of flash electronics, plenty of post-disco beats, over-the-top videos and a tendency to overproduce. Was it a trial run for Australian Idol, perchance?
In Australia, the most successful exponent of mid-1980s music was John Farnham, whose Whispering Jack sold millions and resuscitated a solo career that had not produced a hit in 13 years (with the exception of an overwrought version of Help in 1980). It also guaranteed that every time an old, unsuccessful rocker walked into a record company reception area the execs went into meltdown because "has-beens" were now potential platinum-selling hitmakers.
Listening to Whispering Jack with 20 years of hindsight, there are three genuine pop classics: Pressure Down, You're The Voice and Reasons. Beyond that it is mostly bouncy-bouncy forgettable dance toons. The art today lies in the marketing, with this edition coming with a 14-track DVD of Farnham in 1987 (when the mullet was still a fashion accessory) and a booklet that recalls precisely the original cover.
