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CD Cover Gowan
Columbia

Review by Alphonse Leong


When I think of Gowan, a couple of good songs ("A Criminal Mind" and "You're A Strange Animal") and a couple of okay ones ("All the Lovers in the World" and "When There's Time for Love") come to mind. Well, they're all here on this disc! It's perfect for people who don't own Gowan recordings, but who like hearing the singles.

This guy is pretty amazing to have emerged from the indulgent poppy '80s to still put out meaty, organic stuff in the '90s. Not that his extravagant keyboard stuff was bad (that "Cosmetics" tune still has a silly but catchy resonance!), but it's nice to see an artist evolve.

Two tracks on this CD are previously unreleased and they are also the worst ones on the CD. One is a cover of the Guess Who's "These Eyes," with such a weird electronica-flavoured mix and mawkish vocals that Burton Cummings must be seething. The other, "Healing Waters" is a weepy piece originally recorded in 1990, but remade in 1997 and dedicated to Princess Diana to cash in on the tribute craze... Hoo boy, thank God for the other songs on this disc!



First published in Drop-D Magazine on January 25, 1998

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