Back Into Blue

Quarterflash | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Original Release Date: 1985
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Geffen
• Run Time: 44.0 minutes
• ASIN: B000CEG77O
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,729 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Original issue released by Geffen Records in 1985 which reached #150 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. TRACK LISTING: [1]. Walking On Ice [2]. Caught In the Rain [3]. Back Into Blue [4]. Talk to Me [5]. I Want To Believe It's You [6]. Love Without A Net (You Keep Falling) [7]. Come To Me [8]. Grace Under Fire [9]. Just For You [10]. Welcome To the City

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here I go, here I go,... back into blue, July 24, 2003

By 

Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Back Into Blue (Audio CD)

I have a hard time determining whether this album was better than Take Another Picture. What really gets me cranked up was that Back Into Blue was the last of their three albums. Period. With the talent involved, particularly Rindy Ross on resonant vocals and sax, plus Marv Ross's heavy guitar, and the heavy sheets of synthesizers that formed a pulsing backbeat that defined classic 80's music, I felt they merited at least another album or two.

That being said, the racing, breakneck speed of electronic drums and in sync keyboard bass make "Walking On Ice" the best track on the album. In terms of tempo, think Blondie's "I'm Gonna Love You Too" or "You Crack Me Up" by Huey Lewis and the News.

After a nice sax solo by Rindy, "Caught In The Rain" starts with a catchy synthesizer melody that reminds me of Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes." with a chorus punctuated by the ringing harmony of the backing vocals. The song yearns of a time of being together, in the eye of the storm after being caught in the rain, i.e. "I will wait for you forever, cause I'm still caught in the rain."

The title track, a sad slow number, describes that emotional return to someone despite instincts to the contrary: "Some people learn, some will lose/Some people never see a single clue/but here I go, here I go, back into blue."

The second single, "Talk To Me" could've been done by Laura Branigan, although when Rindy sings the pre-chorus "I don't want to wait here anymore/I can't face another closing door...", I think Blondie could've had a shot at this up-tempo song of loneliness. Thing is, I can't envision them being sax compatible the way Quarterflash was.

The heartmelting ballad "I Want To Believe It's You" is another favorite here. Someone burned one too many times by love finally meets someone, leading to that age-old asking the agonizing questions, "are you the one?" "is it right tonight"

"Love Without A Net (You Keep Falling)" details the experience and folly one goes through: "Love's no gift, love will end. you learn you fall and you learn to bend/And your diamond wings break like glass, you jump again just to see what happens..."

"Come To Me" is quite an amusing oddball here, as it is an upbeat calypso-type party song. Rindy though does not out of place singing it.

For one to survive, in a world where "everybody hurries to be eaten or eat" the blues-tinged "Grace Under Fire" advises: "You've got to be diamond, you've got to be steel. The lucky have ice in their veins. They laugh at the devil and burn like a torch in the rain."

"Just For You" lists the reasons why people have sex: "Some to heal and some to hurt, some for thrills and some for dirt." You get the idea. It evenly lists good and bad reasons. Love those soulfully-tinged harmony vocals.

The cynical but upbeat "Welcome To The City" is a sour portrait of the big city: "Four hundred dollars buys a room in the city, with a whole lot of people and a hole in the ceiling, freeze in the winter, die in the summer, seventeen kids next door without a mother, hey if you see me coming up the stairs, please don't confuse me with someone who cares." Sugar and spice, right?

The main difference is that Rindy Ross does all lead vocals here, as Quarterflash went from being a sextet to a quartet, losing vocalist Jack Charles and keyboardist Rick Digiallonardo, with Marv Ross and Rich Gooch adding keyboards to their duties. In terms of songs, there's a consistency of sound, the band seems tighter, heavy reliance on keyboards, particularly the Yamaha QX-1, with Rindy's splendid alto and tenor sax solos sprinkled within. In some cases, some songs sound much the next, but that doesn't hurt the album. And even with this, this album didn't sell well???????????? One of the albums I grew up with and still adore.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm delighted with it. I thought I'd never find this on CD., March 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Back Into Blue (Audio CD)

This is the definative Quarterflash album. It was only ever released here in the U.K. on tape way back in the mid eighties. There is not one dud track on it! I can only thoroughly recommend Back into Blue to all, it sounds as good now as it did so far back in the eighties. Anyone who shares my admiration could E Mail me-I'd really like to hear from you.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Quarterflash Fan, April 4, 2005

By 

JohnJOp - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back Into Blue (Audio CD)

I saw Quarterflash open up for Elton John in July 1982, they're opening act was truly unforgettable! While the 1st two discs have a more raw sound, the third one is a little more glitzy and synthesized sound. Catchy in a way but by no means bad, for whatever reason it didn't sell nearly as well. Die hard fans should check out Girl in the Wind, a rare material cd, greatest hits and a 2 disc video set<ebay>, or Trail Band material. A band that I think of when I think of the 80's.