Customer Reviews

Wild Places//Streets of Fire

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

 

 

I probably would have rated this five stars because I have always been such a fan of the late Duncan Browne. I was thrilled to be able to find an affordable CD that included both of the classic albums. It is also nice to have the liner notes because even though I have been a longtime fan, I never knew much about him. "The Wild Places" and "Streets of Fire" are Browne's better known works, even though most of his material has been largely ignored or unnoticed. He was a true talent with a gift for generating mood-enhancing music. I am extremely disappointed that "Cancion de Cuna: Street Echoes" was left off this collection. That was the final peaceful track on "Streets of Fire." Perhaps the label ran out of room as the two albums combined run about 76 minutes. However it is still pleasant to get clean copies of "The Wild Places," "American Heartbeat," "(Restless) Child of Change" and all of the others.

I bought this in the Netherlands in 1988 for about half the price. The title track was a big hit in the Netherlands in 1979 and I bought the lp back then.

Obviously, you should go for the twofer one as it is a much better deal. I am not that familiar with Streets of Fire, but based on the Wild Places alone, it is a good buy.

The husky voice and nice acoustic twelve string guitar have been mentioned elsewhere. Apart from that, praise should be given to John Giblin, an amazing bass player who played with (Phil Colins' hobby jazz rock project) Brand X, and later enjoyed fame with Simple Minds. The bass is used as an instrument rather than part of the rhythm section.

Epic melodies, beautifully executed, somewhere between symphonic music and prog music.

The silly cover belies its content.

I bought Streets of Fire back in the late seventies, when you couldn't pre-listen much; I just liked that cool dagger earring. I must have played it at least 200 times since, probably more, and i bet if i put it on right now it would still reveal nuances I'd never noticed. so spacious, so beautifully woven, natural, uncontrived, no wonder he never really made it that big. last night I dreamt about him. he was the real thing. sigh...

Having purchased these two albums back in the late seventies I was surprised to see them on disc. I was a huge Metro fan from 1977. Duncan Browne was an overlooked pioneer of cool stories of love and loss much like Bryan Ferry. The musicianship on these tracks is excellent , with standout performances by bassist John Glblin, who went on to successful gigs with Simple Minds and Brand X. If you like your music dressed to the nines and your songs soundtracks of the elusive girl that got away, Duncan Browne is your man.

It's a shame that Duncan Browne died prematurely of cancer in 1993, never having received the due respect and praise that he and his music greatly deserved. Because I had worked with my brother in a record store in the late 70's, we were two of the few that discovered this fantastic artist. I quickly dubbed his music "beauty rock" for its melodic and etherial mood. He not only could write beautiful ballads and poppy songs, he could also write some great fusion songs too, as well as being a pretty darn good guitarist. Moody songs like "The Wild Places", "Roman Vecu", "She's Just A Fallen Angel" and "Nina Morena", as well as fusion songs like "Camino Real" and "Streets Of Fire" were only the tip of the fantastic iceberg that was Duncan Browne's repetoire. I feel very honored to have been able to enjoy the music of this magnificently talented man. My kudos go to him and his great back-up band of Tony Hymas, John Giblin and Simon Phillips, as well as his writing partner from Metro, Peter Godwin. If you've never heard of Duncan Browne before I urge you to try out the music of this amazing band led by a truly unique artist and musician.

Finally. I,ve been looking for this album since it came out. At first I thought it was Leonard Cohen, or Lou Reed, two other artists that I admire. I remember listening to the title track on KLOL in Houston.

Definitely get your hands on this, but find another source. I get light years better results from an old turntable and a USB converter package, and people laugh at such backward things. This is an exceptional recording, very much worth getting your hands on, but the AMZN download is full of skips and distortion. As an AMZN fan I am very disappointed to say this, but it is what it is. Music rating: five stars. OK, ten stars. Just get it elsewhere.