Customer Reviews

Wildest Wish to Fly

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Rupert Hine's albums from the early 1980s contain some of my favorite music of all time. Hine managed to be unconventional enough to be truly original, while retaining enough musicality to avoid the trap of being too experimental. If I had to compare Rupert Hine's work to any other artist, I would have to say it is most similar to Peter Gabriel's 1980 album (Peter Gabriel [3], "Melting"), though the lyrics tend more toward pure social commentary than anything remotely narrative.

Sadly, Hines' music never gained the degree of popularity I would have liked, but nonetheless, I was very happy to find this album, along with "Waving Not Drowning" and "Immunity", finally available on CD. I view this CD and the others largely as a single body of work, so it is hard to review any of them individually.

Of the three albums in the group, "Wildest Wish to Fly" is definitely the weakest, but still well worth a listen. The title track, "golden age", and "No Yellow Heart" certainly stand up with the best of Hines' other work, but some of the other tracks are a bit weaker, and "Victim of Wanderlust" always makes me reach for the "next track" button. Still, though, as with Hines' other albums, I like listening to this album as a whole, rather than just seeking out a few favorite tracks. That's worth a lot in my book.

How many record producers actually put out listenable albums? (Remember that mess Mitchell Froom released? Ugh.) Well, this is one. And it's more than just listenable; it's great. "Living In Sin" (with background vocals by Robert Palmer) is worth the import price alone, and that's saying something.

Note that if you owned the domestic Island cassette back in the day, this release rights some wrongs from back then and includes a couple songs you won't know and deletes one or two that you might miss. But to take the sting out, the excellent liner notes explain it all.

If you're a fan of the Fixx, Chris de Burgh's THE GETAWAY and MAN ON THE LINE, Saga, or Howard Jones (he produced them all), then I'd lay money that you'd find something to like here.

Side 1: 1. No Yellow Heart 2. Blue Flame (Melt the Ice) 3. I Hang on to My Vertigo 4. Firefly in the Night 5. A Golden Age Side 2: 1. Misplaced Love 2. Picture Phone 3. Living in Sin 4. The Most Dangerous of Men 5. The Wildest Wish to Fly.