Though McLean and Lee especially made significant contributions, it’s the closing track ‘Do You Compute’, written by Iris and Avsec, that stands out head and shoulders above the rest. ‘Human Evolution’ and ‘Stagedoor Johnny’ are rich in content, each exploring lyrical themes not usually found in “pop” songs. Iris, Avsec, Marty Lee, Albritton McLean and Kevin (Kiss/Shadowking) Valentine were a self evidently tight, collusive combination. ***1/2īy 1983′s Fortune 410, the band was still intact. Some of these harmonies … 10cc eat your heart out. Once again, the remastering brings out subtleties lost in the vinyl grooves of the original pressings. Discerning critics got it, recognising the irresistible familiarity of the hooky ‘I Wanna Tell Her’ and the ambition of post modern permutations, ‘Parallel Time’ and ‘Tough World’. But it was a relative commercial failure, and this despite favourable contemporary reviews.
The band’s rock steady, carefully crafted powerpop maintained a massive presence with 1982′s High And Mighty. King Cool, the album, is peak Donnie Iris. The gleaming, pure pop immediacy of ‘The Promise’ and the supercool, leaning back, ‘My Girl’… a Billboard Top Forty hit, are obvious picks, but the standard doesn’t drop. Avsec and Iris were truly now totally in sync, confidently displaying their powerpop skills on ‘Sweet Merrillee” and ‘Last To Know’, both sounding like the Wondermints meeting the Police in Brian Wilson’s backyard. This title was immediately adopted by fans as their nickname for Iris. They spend the rest of the album criss crossing the points at which New Wave, Pop and AOR meet up to compare notes. The bittersweet title track is framed, very compellingly, as a mini operetta, with The remastering adds clarity and detail, giving the layered vocals depth and polish, bringing up exotic touches, like the calliope styled keyboards to the front of the mix. And though Iris may have lacked Lou Gramm’s soulful delivery, his cool, mannered vocals added a pop flavoured coating to this and other songs on the album. These were originally on the LP’s second side, but Rock Candy have repositioned them, quite rightly, as the CD’s first two tracks.Īvsec’s riffs had the elemental punch and simplicity of Elliott Easton circa Shake It Up. Squeezing out a sound somewhere between The Cars and Foreigner, the outstanding tracks on the debut album, Back On The Streets (1980) are unquestionably ‘Ah Leah’ and ‘I Can’t Hear You’. The duo formed Donnie Iris And The Cruisers. He met up with kindred spirit, producer/ keyboard player/ songwriter, Mark Avsec, in the late seventies. Iris had served a lengthy apprenticeship with Jaggerz and Wild Cherry through the sixties and seventies, notching up the occasional one hit wonder. The pursuit has been relentless, but here they now are, fully remastered, each kitted out with at least one bonus track.Īnd these reissues show us just why 60% of CD sales are back catalogue. Rock Candy Records ĭonnie Iris’s first 4 albums have at last been nailed down by Rock Candy Records. Share the post "Album review: DONNIE IRIS AND THE CRUISERS – Remasters"
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