Customer Reviews

Tycoon

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

 

 

Let's face it, the main reason to buy this CD set is the song, "Such A Woman." I have looked for this title on CD since CD's came out, and only recently was finally able to find it. "Such A Woman" is clean, tight, power pop/rock at its finest. The recording is high quality and the mastering is flawless. The clip available on amazon.com is not indicative of the power of the song, however. It is a romantic, desperate, cry for a good woman. If you like Toto's "Hold The Line," this song is in a similar vein in terms of guitars and harmonies. The rest of the music on the 2 (!) CD's, while very good, do not match the emotional impact of "Such A Woman." Highly recommended.

First things first - this album has gotten a bad rap from certain people, one that it doesn't deserve in my opinion. It may not be the best Classic Rock album in the world but it certainly has its moments. As does "Turn Out The Lights" - the second album even though Tycoon was forced by the label to make this record under duress to comply with what the label thought would fly with what the market was buying at the time. They were wrong and subsequently the band was bumped from the label. What they had wanted to do instead is reflected in the album "Opportunity Knocks" which is a rockin' masterpiece that no label at the time would sign off on because everyone wanted the new Talking Heads kind of bands. Bad idea!

As for the double disc version of this album which is listed here, it's no longer available. So what you'll get if you buy this CD is just the first album with no bonus cuts or an additional disc. And for the record, the second disc on this Renaissance release was comprised of rough mixes from "Turn Out The Lights" that were recorded before the album was finished - missing guitar solos and vocals. Not what you would have wanted anyway. Not sure how this got passed anyone who had ears.

On a personal note, lead singer and main songwriter, Norman Mershon passed away in November of 2007. He was one of my best friends and a more wonderful person you will never meet. His death was tragic and avoidable due to doctors' error. I managed Tycoon after they left Arista and was a part of the recording of "Opportunity Knocks" which to this day blows away all other Tycoon recordings. This could have been a big band had Arista not gotten in their way. I saw the future back then and it certainly included Tycoon still being around today had it not been for unfortunate bad luck.

One interesting thing about this album is that Tycoon member Mark Rivera later went on to play a prominent role in Billy Joel's band as the sax player. "Such a Woman" is the star of this album, but I also liked "Out in the Cold" and "Drunken Sailor".

I bought this CD because I know one of the guys in the band. People in an internet discussion group I belong to described it as a kind of poor man's Foreigner or Palbo Cruise (as if the poor man didn't already have Foreigner and Pablo Cruise!). The playing and singing is perfectly fine, but most of the songs just zipped past me without leaving any impression at all.

The reason I'm posting this review, however, is to point out the fact that the single disc I received from the Marketplace listing did not include all the songs from the original two disc set. I can't say I was crushed emotionally by this, but let the buyer beware.