Frankie & The Knockouts - Makin' The Point
Tracks:
Outrageous
You Don't Want Me (like I want you)
Come Rain Or Shine
You're All That Really Matters
Carrie Why?
So Cool (Nobody's Fool)
One Good Reason
Blame It On My Heart
Can't Get Enough Of You
Hungry Eyes (original version, bonus track
Year: 1998
Label: Escape Music Ltd
Producer: Bill Schnee
Total playing time: 40:14 m:s
Escape re-releases another cult classic AOR album from the past. This one dates back to 1984. In fact F&TK released 3 albums altogether, the other two being F&TK (1981) and Below The Belt (1982). Escape are re-releasing them in reverse order. Vocalist Frankie Previte is undoubtedly the star of the show. Other band members for this album are Leigh Foxx on bass, Tico Torres on drums (yeah, that TT), Bobby Messano on guitars and Tommy Ayres on keyboards.
What was I listening to in 1984? And how come I missed out on this first time around? OK, I was probably listening to something a tad heavier. It is easy to see why the 80's are a decade that AOR fans look back on with affection. This is very typical 80's AOR and I guess some people might be tempted to say that, at the end of the 90's, it sounds dated. Not me. If there were more bands releasing albums like this these days I'd be a happy man.
Outrageous has a pulsating synth intro following by suitably chunky guitars. Turn it up loud and this just leaps out of the speakers to grabs your attention. - a wonderful marriage of guitars and synthesisers. You Don't Want Me keeps the infectious groove, albeit at slightly more restrained pace.
OK, it has been good so far, but Come Rain Or Shine is pure AOR heaven. A piano based song that seems to just glide along. When the organ cuts in for the mid-section, well, AOR doesn't get much better than this. The best song I've heard in ages. All That Really Matters slows it all down and is silky smooth.
The band then hits you with a rocker called Carrie Why? Another great chorus. The rocking mood continues with So Cool which is.
After all that good work, the band then blot their copybook with One Good Reason which sounds like a down-market Toto.
They redeem themselves with Blame It On My Heart, which features a sax solo for a bit of variety. Can’t Get Enough Of You is back to style of the first couple of tracks. The discordant synth breaks take a bit of getting used to
On this re-release we get the original version of Hungry Eyes, which was a hit for Eric Carmen and featured in the Dirty Dancing movie. I like this song and after years of being used to the Eric Carmen version, this sounds a bit strange at first. It is a bit more laid back compared to how I remember the EC version.
I thought about giving this a 9, but I've read that Below The Belt is even better, plus One Good Reason really is kinda crap, so I'll stick with giving this an 8 for the moment. An essential purchase for all fans of 80s AOR.
Rating: 8
