Customer Reviews

Color in Your Life

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am the ultimate Missing Persons fan. I saw them live once in the eighties and twice in the nineties. I even got to shake Dale's hand at a concert in '96 and she joked with me from the stage. I must strongly disagree with the reviewer who said this album was weak. It is my favorite Missing Persons album. The songwriting and melodic structure are exceptionally strong and Dale's vocals are as unique and interesting as ever. Why do I love this album so? Well, I think it is less gimmicky sounding than the others and Dale stopped doing the hiccup effect with her voice. Don't get me wrong, I love everything Missing Persons has done, yet I think Color In Your Life is the least dated sounding material in their catalog. This album just seems to vibrate with postivity and energy. I really enjoy the way Dale's lyrics became more upbeat and life-affirming with each album. "We can go against the flow...do just what we wanna do....A flash of love...you changed my everything..." Terry's strong use of percussion and Dale's effervescent personality always put a smile on my face. I've had this CD playing when friends who are over a decade younger than me are in the room and everyone always says, "Who is this? This music is great." Highly recommended.

In 1986 when alot of other great eighties bands were beginning to seriously artistically stumble, Missing Persons put out this simply stunning album, "Color in Your Life". "Color in Your Life" is pure Missing Persons. There is a logical and pleasing progression from their first album, "Spring Session M", to their second, "Rhyme & Reason", to this, their third album. There's no wild departure in styles, none of the trendy at the time but awful latin percussion, snippets of rap, or scratching that silly producers were begining to force onto some New Wave bands in the misplaced attempt to make them more radio friendly to US audiences. Missing Persons just continued to mature and explore. This album is brilliant! Missing Persons' second and third albums maddeningly never made it to cd. But One Way Records has saved the day by **finally** releasing them BOTH on cd. I can't tell you how long I've waited to get these two perfect albums on cd. Both the "Color in Your Life" and the "Rhyme & Reason" cds have generous helpings of demo recordings, rare tracks, and live versions (the live stuff is top notch). A very nice touch and very welcome! I cannot recommend these two cds more.

This 15-track reissue (released in 2000) of Missing Persons' third full-length album, 1986's Color in Your Life, not only includes the original nine songs, but it also contains six additional bonus cuts. The bonus material consists of two previously unreleased studio pieces ("Hot to Cold," "It's a Must") and four selections recorded live in 1981--"Words," "Destination Unknown," "Mental Hopscotch," and the Doors' "Hello I Love You." All of the material on this reissue is in a dance-oriented pop rock musical direction. The musicianship is skillful, the songwriting is good, and the sound quality is taut. There's a nice, well-balanced mixture of guitar and keyboard playing. Concerning the original nine songs, I find them all to be enjoyable and upbeat. Dale Bozzio does an attractive and energetic job with her vocal delivery. Terry Bozzio's drumming is talented, tight, and crisp. Examples of songs that I like are "Face to Face," "We Don't Know Love at All," "Go Against the Flow," and "Boy I Say to You." The vigorous, danceable "Face to Face" displays tuneful, flowing keyboard work. The melodious, pleasing ballad "We Don't Know Love at All" doesn't have Dale Bozzio handling the lead vocal duties; the singing, which is smooth and ambitious, is performed by a man (the CD booklet doesn't say who). The sprightly "Go Against the Flow" showcases a guitar solo from Warren Cuccurullo that sports an interesting, strange tonal quality. The drum-driven, spirited, and spacious "Boy I Say to You" exhibits breezy, atmospheric guitar flourishes from Cuccurullo. As for the six bonus cuts, I find every one of them to be worthy. The gratifying and steady "Hot to Cold" contains snappy drumming from Terry Bozzio and nice lead vocals from Cuccurullo. "It's a Must"--an unfinished instrumental--is also pleasing. The live tunes are satisfying and vivacious. The CD booklet includes an informative five-page essay on the band. The song lyrics aren't included. Three color photos are contained--one of Dale Bozzio singing, another of Terry Bozzio playing the drums, and one of Cuccurullo playing the guitar. I like the CD cover illustration; the black-and-white photos of the members of the group look cool. The backcover of the CD booklet shows an identical illustration of the CD cover. The disc is just over 63 minutes. This album is solid and lively.

This is hardly the best album Missing Persons ever did - that distinction certainly belongs to "Rhyme and Reason" - and the project was probably a difficult one to complete, as Terry and Dale Bozzio's marriage was dissolving around this time. (Check some of the lyrics of the songs for some clues - "No Secrets" in particular always seemed to have some meaning, and echoes "It Ain't None Of Your Business" from "Spring Session M" in terms of its subject matter.) In fact, I saw one of the few shows they did to support this record; a few days later, Dale apparently walked out and effectively ended the existence of Missing Persons (save Dale's club tours with some other musicians calling themselves MP and the band's brief "reunion" in 2001). The one true highlight is a great, great song called "Don't Know Love At All" (which features a doubled vocal; you can hear Dale in there if you're paying attention, but Terry Bozzio sings lead), but there are other strong songs as well - "Come Back for Love" and the aforementioned "No Secrets". For me, the instrumental part of the equation was always what made Missing Persons so compelling - these guys played with Frank Zappa, so you know they can really, really play - and, though that isn't as prevalent here as it is on their earlier LPs, there is still an abundance of impeccable, imaginative musicianship at work here. In any case, it is a good record - but, if you've not heard much Missing Persons, start with one of the "Best of..." compilations, then move to "Rhyme and Reason" and "Spring Session M" before you pick this one up.

I fully agree with many of the reviewers on this tight piece of work! Negative...regarding the unfavorables. Sure the Bozzios', Cuccurullo & O'Hearn matured and evolved into a less "spastic" club sound, to a more refined & textured one. AND with GREAT & PHENOMENAL direction and leadership skills from Bernard Edwards (once CHIC...then Power Station and many more 80's "Cut-Above-The-Rest" type productions) the craft & articulation of Missing Persons...was fully realized on their last work as a whole...however minusing the bass work of Chuck Wild. (I swear that was producer Bernard playing bass on "I Can't Think About Dancing". Sorry, I just don't see Patrick O'Hearn "funking-out" on those juicy bass progressions, climbs and tricky "CHIC" rhythms...as only the late Edwards can muster up!) All to say...I too wished that Capitol could've spent just a few extra coins back in '86 to cut a CD plate for the master...but did not...just vinyl & cassette. UNTIL NOW!!! So your CD mechanism truly deserves it's spin! HOWEVER!!! I truly can't believe that the goofs in Capitol's colour-ready department could actually LOOSE or MIS-PLACE the original artwork to fit to CD!!! Or something like that...because folks...if you put on your 200+ magnification eye-glasses, you can actually see "Property of Capitol Records - To Be Used For Promotional Uses Only" stamped on the upper-right corner of the 5x5 CD jacket!!! Unbelievable!!! Is Capitol trying to compete in the "Underground-CD-Piracy-Business", or what??? So in the end...Music: GREAT! Outer CD Booklet: (Photo-Copy Scan of Record Cover!) LAME! Gee Capitol...you should've called me...at least I bought the record in the stores back in '86! I would've let you borrow mine...without "PROMO-COPY" stamped all over it...for you budget photo-copy sessions!!!

"Color in Your Life"? The color is almost uniformly gray on this recording--the most uninspired release in the group's brief history. Although the title track glimmers like fool's gold, the remaining numbers are lusterless (i.e. they're lackluster). The band members who brought musicianship and flair to "Spring Session M" followed by an ambitious spirit on "Rhyme and Reason" might as well have been actual missing persons when it came to creating and recording the lifeless "Color in Your Life." Intolerable waste of talent, then fade to black--this is the practical end of Missing Persons.

The bonus and live tracks on the One-Way Records CD are non-essential band curiosities and alone do not warrant purchase of a CD already priced too dear considering the worthless material with which it is composed.

Their BEST CD ever. I still have the cassette. I own a Missing Persons LaserDisc with four videos on it - my favourites on this one are Destination Unknown and Surrender Your Heart which is still a cool video. I might sell this if anybody out there is interested. If only a number of people I know in St. John's, Newfoundland, were open-minded when it came to music. They critized my taste in music. I won't buy any TOP-40 pop music. They only thing they know in my former hometown is TOP-40 pop material, which SUCKS!!! The Missing Persons were a band that were never on Billboard but they sure were popular in Australia!

1. Color in your life 2. I cant think about dancin' 3. No secrets 4. Flash of love 5. Go against the flow 6. Boy I say to you 7. Come back for more 8. Face to face 9. We don't know love at all.

"Rhyme and Reason" is also my favorite but I put "Color In Your Life" ahead by a hair. Loved every song on this one! Way ahead of it's time, IMO. But highly underrated, too. Also enjoyed the first two albums as well. Personally, I put this one just slightly ahead of "Rhyme and Reason". It's nice to know that their music appealed to both fans of hard rock and new wave. Fans of Platinum Blonde, Duran Duran, and The Fixx will enjoy the music of Missing Persons.

I remember when this album first came out. I'd enjoyed Spring Session M and (particularly) Rhyme & Reason, so I immediately bought Color in Your Life when it arrived at my local record store. Unfortunately, the band took a turn toward standard dance music with this album. While Dale's voice was as nice as ever, that didn't keep them from sounding like every other pop/dance band out at the time.

The album does have a few redeeming qualities. The title track is actually pretty good, as is "No Secrets." The rest of the tracks vary from mediocre to embarassing.

Pass this one up.