Bruton Music Library – BRD 24 Cover Girl (1985)

Tracklisting:
1. Cover Girl
2. On The Beach
3. Night Bird
4. Fairy Tale Princess
5. Stroller
6. Swanky
7. Circles
8. Man In White
9. After Midnight
10. Malibu Queen
11. Miami Breeze
12. Life Style 1
13. Life Style 2
14. Step Into Sunshine
15. Westcoasters
Composers: Ron Aspery [1-3, 8], Steve Gray [4, 5], Duncan Lamont [6, 7], Alan Hawkshaw [9-15]

Source: Vinyl LP
Format: VBR V0 MP3, FLAC
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A mellow, jazzy mid-’80s offering from Bruton, with some great compositions from Ron Aspery, Duncan Lamont, and the venerable Steve Gray and Alan Hawkshaw. Aspery’s compositions, featuring a rather crisp saxophone in front suggest the classic image of lavish living on the beachfront (much like the cover does). The lead guitar on both “On The Beach” and “Man In White” are treats. Steve Gray’s offerings are a little more subdued (if that were possible in a collection of mellow jazz fusion pieces). Duncan Lamont only offers two tracks, like Gray, and “Circles” is exquisite; the lead guitar, similar to those on Aspery’s song, gives the song a little bit of bite.

Alan Hawkshaw handles the entire B-Side; while all of the songs on side A show signs of having moved out of the more “orchestral” sounds of the decade prior, it is Hawkshaw’s portion of the collection that fully embraces the technology that the ’80s have to offer, with a more synthesized sound, for better or worse. Drum machines take the place of a live drum session, the Rhodes piano is put on the shelf in favor of the DX7, and instruments like horns, strings, and harmonica are replaced with synthesizers emulating those sounds. This is not to say that the songs are bad at all — “After Midnight” and “Miami Breeze” are two of the best in the entire set, and the others retain a level of quality associated with Hawkshaw’s playing. Overall, one of the more enjoyable Bruton Music collections, on par with other offerings in the BRD line.