David Kent - David Kent

geovian

ARTIST: David Kent
ALBUM: David Kent
LABEL: Epic
SERIAL: ARE-38134
YEAR: 1982

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
LINEUP: David Kent - vocals, keyboards * Jeff Steele - guitars, vocals * Howie Kates III - bass, vocals * Michael Peter Starmer - drums, vocals

TRACK LISTING: 01 What They Say * 02 Nothing But Trouble * 03 Playing It Cool * 04 Split Personality * 05 Jealousy * 06 Willing To Fight * 07 I'm Hers She's Mine * 08 The Way I Do * 09 Again And Again * 10 This Town

Background

Admittedly, this album is the sort of fare that this website zeroes in on. From the so-called golden age of AOR, an artist signed to a big label, obscure release, with music pretty much played in the safety zone of AOR.

Unfortunately there is a very good reason why David Kent's album is obscure for a big-ticket label like Epic, and that is.. well you guessed it.. Kent's music is a quirky form of AOR indeed, but it does have pop pretensions too.

It combines artists like Donnie Iris, Bernie Labarge, Gerard McMahon, Tommy Tutone and the Jack Street Band - that sort of combination.

Kent's voice is very similar to the lead singer out of the 70's band Couchois. Kent's only claim to fame prior to this was his association with Daryl Hall (Hall And Oates), having appeared on numerous recordings. Epic obviously saw something and signed him up for this one-off album.

The Songs

One of the things which irks me slightly about this album is the overly clever use of lyrics which in many instances doesn't flow that well with the music. Just my observation.

However, things start out great with 'What They Say', good use of keys and played in a style similar to the Jack Street Band, minus the saxophone. I quite liked 'Nothing But Trouble', the stacked chorus and mainly melodic theme gets a pass-mark.

The lame arrangement that persists with 'Playing It Cool' is a pity because the song has potential, but that chorus, what a waste. 'Split Personality' is definitely a track that should stay in the 80's. Its dated sound borders on cringeworthy many years later.

'Jealousy' hovers between a slow-tempo/mid-tempo rocker with a keyboard focus - not bad, another passmark. 'Willing To Fight' emphasises the quirky attitude mentioned earlier. The big chants and chorus shouts remind me of that one-off classic from Russia.

'I'm Hers She's Mine' takes a stab at radio rock in the vein of Tommy Tutone, a catchy and simple little ditty with a 50's rock and roll vibe inclusive of handclaps.

Toward the end, 'Again And Again' latches onto that quirky vibe (once again. lol!), the closer 'This Town' is more mid-tempo quirky stuff with some nice layered vocal choruses a la Donnie Iris.

In Summary

This is only a recent discovery for me, having seen or read very little about the man in question. Yes it's AOR but it isn't a totally convincing representation of the genre, even though it is from the correct timeframe.

The album does get better after a few listens, especially the tracks toward the end, but still, it won't be an album that I will be coming back to that often, and I suggest that would be the same for many of you readers as well.

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dangerzone

I think this is a decent effort, the descriptions of the tracks accurate. The good outweighs the bad for me, especially the opening two tracks, both classic AOR. Still seems like a really obscure album.