Curt Smith: Soul on Board

I remembered that memoriesfade.com actually has all the tracks, so I could listen to not only the album but also the b-sides from the CD singles.

Soul on Board - sounds like Curt trying do so something somewhere between Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins, but it meanders a bit too much.

Calling Out - stronger track with some good hooks but Curt's voice isn't strong enough to hold up on an entire album. The female backing alleviaes that to a degree.

Beautiful to Me: Thankfully he uses a lower range here. Some nice chord changes too. The music doesn't leave the AOR stylings. It's like Simple Minds with less balls, although it gets a bit heavier towards the end.

Wonder Child: Cowbell! Once the chorus gets moving, this is actually quite good - as a commenter on YouTube correctly said, reminiscent of Howard Jones. I also hear the Alan Parsons Project in the arrangement of the backing vocals.

Words: The first song I ever heard from this album and clearly a highlight - not surprising with Nicky co-writing. The lyrics seem to be at least inspired by the split with Roland, and Curt sounds appropriately aggressive on this one. Also interesting how it recycles a line from "Rhythm of Life" ("Love is going back in time"), doesn't seem like an accident to me. Standout so far.

I Will Be There: Back to the slightly insipid AOR sounds. This ballad is OK. The middle part is good.

No One Know Your Name: Actually we do, it's Curt Smith! Starts sounding like an Alan Parsons Project track. Curt co-wrote this one with Colin Woore, who was in the bands Europeans and How We Live with Steve Hogarth before the latter joined Marillion. It's another decent AOR piece that doesn't really sweep me off my feet until it gets to the guitar solo.

Rain: Finally, something with an insistent funky beat. Get a load of that guitar, and Jimmy "Funkmaster" Copley's drumming. The tracks co-written with Billy Livsey and co-produced by Chris Kimsey are the best songs so far, along with "Words". Oh, and we get a real ending! Hooray!

Come the Revolution: Again with the funky sounds - somewhere between "Words" and "Rain". Jimmy Copley drums his a** off. The song has a good hook. The rapping is... not so good, but not overly intrusive either.

Still In Love With You: Funny to hear this old Phil Lynott/Gary Moore classic in this context. Curt mimicks Phil's vocal phrasing very closely. Neil Taylor obviously loses the comparison to Gary Moore. However, this song does feel like it's more sincere than most of the rest of the album, since it's Curt paying tribute to one of his early influences.



Deal (B-Side): Ominous intro leading into another AOR piece. Another song co-written by Livsey (plus Neil Taylor and Jimmy Copley!) and co-produced by Kimsey, so it's one of the more energetic tracks and would've worked well on the album.

How Does It Feel (B-Side): Talk Talk intro... co-written by Neil Taylor and Pete Crowther, this song is "unproduced"! It sounds appropriately closer to Curt's later solo work. A little gem.

Calling Out (Unplugged Mix): OK... sounds like it's recorded in someone's living room. Which gives it a more likable face but somehow doesn't work well with the nature of the song. All in all, it's just duller.

Beautiful To Me (Take One): Guess this is another "unproduced" version. Living room sounds again, but it works better here, as this is a heartfelt song and that got lost on the LP version.

Still In Love With You (Acoustic Version): This actually fits the "unplugged" description much more than the alternate version of "Calling Out" did. Very nice.


If Curt ever changes his mind and allows a CD reissue, I'd add "Deal", "How Does It Feel" and the unplugged versions of "Calling Out", "Beautiful To Me" and "Still In Love With You" - that would fit well on one CD. (The single edits wouldn't, but they're less essential).