Customer Reviews

Rockappella

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

 

 

Having discovered The Nylons in 1986 while in high school (I was in Jazz Choir so we all just fell head over heels with this music) this was the long anticipated 2-year wait for the follow-up to 1987's Happy Together. I was working at a record store (we actually STILL had records then) when this album came out. I remember buying the first CD that came into the store and subjecting my fellow employees to what I was expecting to be a typically fantastic journey into vocal acrobatics. Instead I was greeted with a highly slick, heavily synth-enhanced sound that sounded NOTHING like I was used to from the premiere A Capella foursome. This was to be the final album in which all four original "studio" Nylons performed on - the group had two other bass singers prior to Arnold Robinson joining, and Paul Cooper (their most prolific songwriter) left the group shortly after the release and subsequent tour supporting the album. Although this album has certainly grown on me - and I consider it a decent Nylons album - their later albums (with the exclusion of Run For Cover which marked a triumphant return to the sound that made them world famous) have tended to drift into pseudo-boyband style R&B.

Being a fan of a capella music, and the Nylons in particular, I have to admit I was disappointed with "Rockapella". Although there are no flaws in their performance, I found for once that the Nylons did little to enhance the songs from their original versions. The songs covered are mostly from the sixties, and there is a good balance between upbeat and mellow music. The real fan will consider this a good album, as "Rockapella" makes for a pleasant listening experience.

Love the album, especially the song "Wildfire". If you like a capella and don't mind a bit of a pop sound to it, definitely give this album a try, it is a good listen.