Customer Reviews

Rhyme & Reason

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was brought to tears thinking of the lovely song "Surrender Your Heart" from this classic release. A few years ago, I underwent an intense letter writting campaing, asking people to put this on CD. Imagine my surprise when (after giving up) I found it. This was Missing Persons finest hour, and the best full length in the all too brief history of new wave. This genre is so disrespected now, but for those of us who grew up in it, we recognize that new wave held in it's grasp the infinite beauty of life and youth. It was music to celebrate and feel life. Nothing since has come close. Techno has been good, but nobody has harnessed the pure bliss of young emotion like new wave artists. This release is a synth and guitarist's dream. It's evident that great thought was put into production, programming and developing an overall sound. I'm so happy that I finally got to see Missing Persons, just 2 years ago in my own hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Dale is as cute as ever! Now I'll own a timeless CD! I invite all fans to email me!

Missing Persons' 2nd album, RHYME & REASON, showed the band maturing, demonstrating that their talent was genuine and not all about image. The singles "Give" and "Right Now" have been available on the previously released BEST OF, but RHYME got poor coverage on this compilation. 3 of their greatest songs, the gentle "Surrender Your Heart", the longing "Waiting for a Million Years" and the joyous "If Only For a Moment", are now finally available on CD! Songs like "Clandestine People" and "Racing Against Time" are a bit dispensable, but the rest is solid. 6 bonus tracks are included, featuring earlier unreleased live and studio recordings, including the rare "Action Reaction".

I remember listening to this album everyday on my Walkman while traveling to work on the bus to NYC for months on end when it 1st came out. I loved it from 1st listen. I think everyone can find at least 8 of the original 10 album tracks they will really find appealing. This is a sonic masterpiece of an album. It shouldn't be dismissed as just a great New Wave album...it's a great album period. At times uptempo (The Closer That You Get...fantastic opener), other times, pensive (Waiting for a Million Years). The final track (If Only For The Moment) is OUTSTANDING. Thank goodness for this long overdue re-issue.

...what do you know? In my review re SPRING SESSION M, I made mention of how i find it sad that Capitol Records did not release this album on CD Format. I WANT TO TAKE IT BACK AND THANK CAPITOL RECORDS...this time ;-)...on re-releasing this album on disc format via One-Way Records. This and Color in Your Life...has been out accordingly since 21 November 2000...and i have yet to grab my copies of them. NOW...while a lot of Missing Persons' fans would blabber about Spring Session M...I personally think that Rhyme & Reason is their artistic masterpiece. You have to think that music-wise, this will never be a let-down since we are talking here of Zappa blokes. If ur after vocals, then Dale's unique hiccup-y deliveries would definitely distinguish them from the rest. This is an album which needs intent listening as the tracks here don't kick you the first time but in my case...THEY DID. Standout cuts are THE CLOSER THAT YOU GET, GIVE, RIGHT NOW, SURRENDER YOUR HEART, CLANDESTINE PEOPLE and one big surprise is the last track, IF ONLY FOR THE MOMENT. I can still vividly recall the MTVs that go with the songs in this album, quite ahead of their time during the 80s and i should say were quite "classy" for the genre. But when members of a band decide on different musical directions, that will definitely spell the end of a good band and a new life for the members, which is what happened to Missing Persons. Finally, I can just hold on to my evidence of good music (their albums) from a band i was once so fond of and and will forever be a part of my "personal discography". Forgive me for being a bit mellow dramatic (corny?) on this but they just happen to be a part of my growing 80s life...the musically colourful decade. It won't hurt to step back in time once in a while and enjoy MISSING PERSONS at their best.

Been waiting over 15 years for this to come out on CD. Wore out my vinyl copy, then it broke. Thanks a million to One Way / Capitol Music Special Markets for finally releasing this! Listeners & lovers of great fun music with a terrific musicianship edge: get this one - you won't be disappointed! These guys (and gal) really had something special back then, only wish it could've gone on a little longer!

When this album came out all those years ago, it was so far ahead of its time people didn't know what to say or think. Was it Pop? New Wave? Hard Rock? Jazz? The band members were such exceptional musicians, and so original in their approach. I honestly think it was too much for most to appreciate.

Anyway, this CD is unbelievably good. I can't say enough about it. Just add it to your collection - don't even think twice.

This album is more carefully crafted than the first full-length album by Missing Persons, Spring Session M. The lyrics are, at times, inspirational, while the music varies from a standard pop-rock sound to more of a "soundscape" effect on tracks such as "Clandestine People" and "Waiting for a Million Years."

The only thing that keeps me from giving this album 5 stars is Terry Bozzio's heavy-handed drumming. If he could have toned it down a bit and let the rest of the band take center stage, the album would be nearly perfect.

The other 'R & R' reviews posted here are eloquent in their praise, and I can only concur... However, I would like to emphasize that, indeed, for its time, this album was uncommonly unique, so much so that perhaps only the artistically inclined or avant-garde seemed to 'get it.' Everything about this album was to be different from Spring Session M, MP's debut effort. From the extraordinary Helmut Netwon photography (particulary Dale Bozzio's mesmerizing cover portrait) to the elegant liner notes, through to the video collaborations with Simon Milne, Peter Heathe and legendary pop artist Peter Max -- Rhyme is a masterpiece, ahead of its time and soaring with grand compositions that deserve repeat plays, again and again. A must buy, no doubt about it.

What a shame this album is out of print again. While the technology inherent on any MP album may sound a little out of date now, the musicianship still shines. Lyrically, the introspective tracks like The Closer You Get and If Only For the Moment ring VERY true for anyone who grew up with big dreams only to be disappointed. A very grown up album.

Missing Persons' second album, Rhyme & Reason, is a more complex and futuristic-sounding departure from its best-selling first album, Spring Session M. There is much to capture the new listener's attention. The original 10 tracks (supplemented by bonus tracks on the CD) hold together as a unit, and the lyrics as a whole make an impression of hope triumphing over despair. The maturing of the band is most evident in Dale Bozzio's strong vocals. Fast, fun tracks, such as "Clandestine People" and "Racing Against Time" balance tender moments in "Surrender Your Heart" and the last two tracks, "Waiting for a Million Years" and "If Only for the Moment," which still give me goosebumps! When Rhyme & Reason went out of print, I had only my well-worn cassette to enjoy and to make believers out of my friends (which I did!) Now I have the CD, which has bonus tracks and better sound quality. I recommend getting Rhyme & Reason on CD while it's available!