Customer Reviews

Go on

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2 star:		(1)
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Go on..was the Misters third and final commercial release and one with a more stripped down and mature sound than the intense Welcome To The Real World. Maybe the world wasn't quite ready for them to change so quickly having just reached their commercial height, or the more thoughtful style was too out of step with the hair metal pap that so dominated 1987, but whatever caused its lack of success it wasn't due to the album. The song writing is exemplary, the vocals better than ever, the variety much improved over the previous albums and the production left enough room for Steve Farris to really show people how he can play the guitar!

I would urge anyone that has an ounce of musicality and an interest in what GOOD AOR can sound like to purchase this album. The sad fact is that this shouldn't have been the last album. Although Steve Farris left before the tour, and was replaced by Buzz Feiten, the Misters actually recorded a fourth album "Pull" which can be found floating in the grey areas of cyberspace. It really is worth a download if you can find it. Many have claimed it was too experimental but only one track, "Buddy" really falls into that category. The remainder was stunning. "Waiting In My Dreams" can be found on "The Best Of..." but "Close Your Eyes" and "Wait A Lifetime" could easily have replicated the success of "Kyrie". It also features Trevor Rabin of Yes on some tracks, giving it a sound not disimilar to "Talk" by that band.

I don't know why, but I love Mr. Mister's music. I love "Go On..." because it is a work of musical perfection. Which is what one might expect of session musicians. Unfortunately RCA have deemed this record as unworthy of remaining in print, which now only prints a "Best of" and "Welcome to the Real World." I would proclaim that "Go On..." is the better of the three albums they released. It may not have been as sucessful as Welcome to the Real World, but in musical composition, this album was far more advanced and deserves more recognition.

Mr. Mister, for reasons unknown to the world, decided to abandon the uplifting 80s pop sound that the World had come to expect from them, and even though they had the lineup of an 80s pop band, they somehow managed to elevate synth to an instrument that could produce a serious sound. The album travels down a much funkier road than that of it's predecessors. It also sees Richard Page using his chords to their best advantage. This seems strange because they always seemed so amazing on the other records. How could they be better? If you find a way of acquiring this CD if purchased you'll understand what I mean.

Tracklist:
1. Stand and Deliver
2. Healing Waters
3. Dust
4. Something Real (Inside Me/Inside You)
5. The Tube
6. Bare My Soul
7. Control
8. Watching the World
9. Power Over Me
10. Man of a Thousand Dances
11. The Border

The superior tracks in my opinion are Healing Waters, Dust, Something Real (Inside Me/Inside You), The Tube, Bare My Soul, Power Over Me, Man of a Thousand Dances, and of course The Border.

Healing Waters is a spiritual masterpiece which employs the use of a Gospel Choir. If you're interested in sampling the album before you buy, try the iTunes music store to hear the tracks available on the best of. On the Irish store, the best of has different tracks if you wish to hear others. You can do the same with Something Real which shows Richard Page using his Voice to it's best ability. Dust is a beautiful ballad featuring excellent percussion parts by Pat Mastelotto (who I believe really stands out on this album alot more than on previous.) On Dust Steve Farris really shines also.

Here, I have to say that as a guitarist, I respect Steve Farris a lot as one of my favorites, I think he is underated and should be known to more guitarists around the globe who listen to Yngwie Malmsteen to open up their eyes on how laid back guitar playing can be much more powerful than some hour long shredding solo. Steve is the best on this album for me. He writes interesting rythym parts, shows he can really play guitar even though he is masking his virtuosity in soloing underneath Floyd Rose abuse. He makes excellent use of volume swells and general rythym playing on this album, and with my intentions of becoming a session musician, I hope I can develop the wide range of styles and talents that he uses. Steve if you ever read this you are an inspiration in my books!

The tube is an interesting funky number, it disses television in a very strange way, it has a cool solo. Bare my soul is a fast number by Farris, John Lang (Lyricist for the entire album) and Page. It is a harder song, though distortion free, it has a heavier feel to it. Power over Me has a very spiritual feel to it, though I find the choice of Synth sound as an odd one, but it works, and has a beautiful Sax (I assume) solo which suits the music. Interestingly about this song, though the chord progression seems to be minor, which sounds dark, the vocals contrast this darkness and take a more major influenced line which creates a beautiful blend of tone and melody. Man of a Thousand dances is an unusual upbeat funky and spiritual ballad with an interesting lyric choice. The vocals take an interesting direction which makes for a genius song. The Border is possibly the most beautiful ending an album can have. Here we have Steve George revert to a good ol' acoustic piano. This is a perfect choice. It sets the mood for the ballad. The lyrics seem a little too cliched for this particular song, but they are sentimental and suitable none the less. Farris adds little flourishes in with use of a delay pedal in the opening sections. This is the ultimate closer for my tastes. The song begins slowly and maintains the same tempo, but becomes more upbeat when the percussion enters. Unfortunately, the song fades out.

Which leads me to my single complaint about the album. Too many god damn fade outs. They are fine some of the time, but they get tiresome. I like to hear the end of every composition. With 8 of 11 songs fading out, I find this annoying. Ideally, no fade outs, but I'd meet them half way with one or two, not eight!!!!

This CD is a 10 out of 10 though. Just if you ever can, re-release the album without fadeouts! Then, I would give it 11/10 for the 11 tracks that should have made more of an impact on the music buying public.

"We must go on now"

"Go On" has LONG been a favorite album of mine, and to this day, I continually play it like an 8-track in my car whenever I drive! Their compositions are musically rich, and lyrically pensive and sensitive. I'm a HUGE fan of Mr. Mister & have been since their conception (even when previously Pages, consisting of R. Page and S. George.) I was lucky enough to have the privilege to not only see them in concert 3 times in the 80s, but UP CLOSE-FRONT ROW at "The Palace" in Hollywood, CA, not once, but twice, where I was able to shake Richard's hand, and get his autograph, along with that of Mastelotto & George (Farris,... where were you?! - lol). As if that weren't exciting enough, I was also able to get their photographs! These 4 men are INCREDIBLY talented, & they just blow me away every time I listen to their music. I could listen forever!

(Now for my "review" ) lol :D

You can tell a LOT of work, skill, & detailed thought went into producing these tracks - they're multi-layered, rich & refined, subtly (at times overtly) visceral, and brought to a high polish that flows together more smoothly than running honey. The backdrop of every composition is like a mural of interactive "water colors" created by S. George's amazing "liquid-legato" sophisticated chords & progressions (a Stevie Wonder's early 70s jazz feel, only with more reserved nuance), combined with S. Farris' exceptional guitar work. Farris' style is unlike any other I've heard coming from the "screaming guitar school of thought", i.e. pleasingly a-typical, in that he reaches far deeper emotionally in his choice of chords, dynamics, & delivery. Every note & background chord he plays is executed with such subtle sensitivity & expressiveness, you'd think he was a classically trained musician playing an electrical version of any stringed instrument in an orchestra.

Page's undeniably beautiful vocals hit the mark every time leaving nothing to be desired (save wanting MORE OF THE SAME!). His heart is behind every word he sings, and he sounds JUST as good in person as he does on record. No words can describe his voice with justice! (You TOO, S. George!) He's simply glorious to listen to. Great melodic movement in his bass-playing, as well!

Mastelotto - what (SLAP)Chops!!! (lol) He mastered the art of combining an aesthetic balance between acoustic & digital drum sounds at a time when "80's cold techno-pop mechanical rigidity" was in style. He kept it human & interesting by interjecting beats & rhythms where you least expected them, while still maintaining solid, clean precision. (Listen to his work on Al Jarreau's album, "High Crime" too!) What's most amazing of all, is he's SELF-TAUGHT! ... (and it's because of him, I became interested in learning to play the drums myself.) What an inspiration!

I really love every song on this album & appreciate that you can enjoy them as a work on the whole from start to finish. Still, certain tracks deserve specific mention such as "Healing Waters" (my #1 favorite), "Dust", and "Power Over Me". "Healing Waters" is rhythmically jazzy, and lyrically spiritual- resonates well with me, "Dust" is just outstanding musically - (see above comments re: both Steves), "Power Over Me" - WOW...deeply moving mood and lyric (written by Richard about his wife in labor), & never a more beautiful sax solo on earth than the one delivered by S. George on this song! Who knew he mastered the "J-Pipe" too! "Control" & "Man of a Thousand Dances" - listen carefully to Farris' signature on the end - last 3 notes as final word, and sound of the string being released at the end, respectively. One final trivia on "Watching the World" - did you know that Chaka Khan sung her own version of this song? (Still can't touch the Misters' version NO how!!)

I can honestly say, that if I were stuck on an island by myself and could only take ONE artist's CD's with me to listen to, it would be those of Mr. Mister! :D Thank you, guys, for putting your hearts out in your music for our endless enjoyment! If only you could regroup and produce even more! I'm ever grateful though, for the "Beauty you left in the ashes"!

...because I thought this album was one of the best of the entire decade, and nobody bought it. At least on Amazon, I can see that at least 6 other people revere it the way I do. The progression from its highly successful - and highly trendy - predecessor, 1985's Welcome To The Real World, was absolutely stunning. The cover art set the tone for a huge change, and the music, both lyrically and sonically, confirmed it. To my knowledge, "Dust" is the only song written as a plea to American soldiers to reach out to children they may have fathered during wartime. I still get chills when I hear "Out of the dust reach tiny hands/to touch their fathers in other lands." While the sound does have a heavy dose of 80's synth sound, Mr. Mister uses that sound as well as anyone did, and songs like the aforementioned "Dust", the stark "Bare My Soul", the thoroughly underrated single "Something Real" and "Watching The World", all deliver a sound that still sounds fresh. "The Border" is definitely one of popular music's lost songs - I think that it's the band's best song, a gorgeous midtempo ballad that subtly recalls the crossroads - indicating we must persevere and "go on", but the chorus says to us "I am standing here/my arms open wide/I am waiting here/heart in my hand on the border." Considering that the band largely disappeared after this album, the distant horizon depicted on the cover along with the final song's desire to wait and persevere seems a fitting epitaph for a band that disappeared from the public's eye far, far, far too soon.

This album is fabulous. There isn't one song that isn't exceptional and such a leap from Welcome to the Real World. Why this didn't make it commercially is anyone's guess. Out of the three album's that Mr Mister released as a group this is the pinnacle of their success. Unfortunately, they never recovered and then went their seperate ways. The best song on the album would have to be 'Dust'. Hands down for the band delivering on that one. Too bad this one didn't go because then they could have released the follow-up entitled 'Pull' which I guess is somewhere in the abyss now and probably will never see the light of day. But also, check out Richard Page's solo album 'Shelter Me'. Very good and least will keep you going for the moment.

I agree with the other reviews that this album should have been more successful. Mr. Mister is an extremely talented band and this album is a pleasure to hear from beginning to end. It contains one of my absolute favorite songs of all time - "The Border" - which I love to sing along with.

Go On, for me, will oddly forever remind me of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, because I bought the cassette tape and the book for Star Trek V at the same time when I was finished with Army Basic Training and I listened to it while I read.

I still have the tape, which has been listened to so much over the years that the writing on the tape is no longer legible. I searched for a long time to find this on CD to no avail. Last year they released a Greatest Hits CD, which, in my opinion, should have included every song on this album. It just has so many great songs like "Healing Waters" and "Dust", neither of which were on the Greatest Hits CD.

I picked up this CD when it first came out on vinyl...that is right...vinyl. It has been a while since I have actually heard the cd completely through. Now finally, my search has ended and
I am able to get the "Go On..." cd, after a few years searching.
I had heard some of Mr. Misters earlier music and found this cd to be a step in a different direction, with something to say. It
is one of my fav's!!! "Healing Waters", "Something Real Inside
Me/Inside You", "Watching the World"...these are amazing pieces
of music. Being a musician...I don't listen for just one instrument...but what each instrument/musician is bringing to the recording. All I can say is...Amazing!!!

One of my favorite albums ever and one of the best albums from the 80s and also one that barely anyone has heard. Go figure... I don't care. Perfect in the way it flows, with the exception of "Something Real", which really belongs on "Welcome To The Real World" and was already performed live in 1985. There should be a secret society for those who 'get' and enjoy this album - not that it takes much to do that.

Their next one, "Pull", which will finally come out next month is also excellent but there I love some songs with a burning passion (more than even on "Go On") but others leave me less impressed. "Go On" is a smooth even flow of uplifting pop perfection.

Some people hear a hit album and hear only hits. Others hear something more. And those people are the ones satisfied by Go On after the "progressive pop" promises only hinted on Welcome to the Real World, fully realized here. Mastelotto's scary drumming, Ferris's blistering oddly-tuned guitar, Page's soaring expert vocals, Steve George's textured keys and songcraft... all contributing to a set of beautiful & meaningful pop songs. Great stuff.

No shock that Pat later joined King Crimson, or that Rabin filled in for Ferris on the 4th album. Wouldn't modern Yes loved to have pulled off an album like this?

Rather than record "Real World 2" the band made the album they wanted to. 20 years later I still listen and love it. I have a bootleg of Pull -- and these guys were going to take it even further. Too bad RCA pulled the plug.

Listen to "Dust". I still get chills... long after most of my other albums of the era have long placed into storage. A legacy work. One of the best, if not the best, of the 80's.

Though commercially unsuccessful, GO ON is really an excellent album. Lead vocalist Richard Page is in fine form and the songs expertly crafted. Mr Mister was often lambasted by musical crtics for being artificial and possessing little talent. I have to disagree. They're really one of the better bands of the 80s and this collection affirms this status.
The best tracks IMO are DUST, a haunting song supported by its flowing musical accompaniment; the infectious HEALING WATERS; the driving CONTROL, STAND AND DELIVER and WATCHING THE WORLD; and the powerful closing track, THE BORDER.
It's unfortunate the band didn't have a long career but they did make an impact.