Take Another Picture [Import]

"Make It Shine", which was also on the now out-of-print Gremlins soundtrack, was what introduced me to them, and I hoped they had an album of their own out. They sure did, with that song included to boot. Like "Shakin' The Jinx", this mid-paced but rhythmic song is for dreamers and idealists, where "an ounce of conviction is the only admission". Excerpts: "Too many dreamers are fading, shine on, shine on..." and "Live--there's a life to live, give--there's a gift to give. Yes--there's a reason to make it/Shine on and make it true". Given that idealists make up less than 10% of our population, they are indeed a dying breed, and I'm dying to meet one.

The upbeat title track, an epitome of fresh 1980's pop, opens with followed by Rindy Ross's wailing sax before she starts singing. Along with the synthesizer, the bass is really noticeable in the chorus. The bridge consists a piano solo punctuated by guitar chords before breaking into a guitar and guitar synth solo.

Joe Walsh makes a welcome contribution as additional vocalist and slide guitarist on "It Don't Move Me", along with fellow Eagles man Timothy B. Schmit.

"Eye To Eye" is an introspective Styx-like piano ballad of the same vein as "Critical Times" from their first album. This is one of three songs sung by Jack Charles. He also does the album's closer, the equally melodic "It All Becomes Clear" as well as the album rocker "One More Round To Go".

Both ballads are about searching, for identity, soul, and the bigger picture, and trying to make sense of it all. From "Eye To Eye", there's "Yes it has to make me wonder/I'm so alone and yet so free/Ah, it's funny how things seem to slip away" And in the more softer "It All Becomes Clear", which uses a painting as an analogy at the close, there's "Standing close to the work you've been painting/Shades and lines diffuse when so near/Standing back does it all fall together/From far away, will it all become clear/From far away, it all becomes clear". In other words, it's all about perspective.

Some of the songs have a jaded sense of despair to them, such as the single "Take Me To Heart", "Shane" and "Nowhere Left To Hide".

"Shakin' The Jinx" is a song for all those dreamers and individualists out there who disdainfully break away from the soul-less uni-dimensional herd, or who dream of doing so. Oh, so this must also be for me, then.

The song "It Don't Move Me" smacks of apathy and being jaded at the newest fad or sensation. That chorus is classic: "You say that it feels right/You say that it fits tight/You say that it moves light/But it don't move me/You say that it's in time/You say that it feels fine/You say that it moves/But it don't move me". And yes, Rindy does the sax yet again. Oh yeah! I like to compare this to Shania Twain's "Okay, so you're Brad Pitt/Well that don't impress me much"

I've never been to a Quarterflash concert but "One More Round To Go" sounds like something they would play to close the show with a bang, or maybe the penultimate number. This song is raucous, dirty, rowdy, and has the atmosphere of a bar on Friday or Saturday night. This would be Quarterflash's closest foray into hard rock.

Beginning guitar players take note: At the end of each lyric, is the guitar tuning sequence. Now isn't that generous? I have over 1,300 CDs and I have never seen any other album that contains that information.

Quarterflash had a unique sound and that soprano sax by lead singer Rindy Ross really contributed to that. Whenever I hear a saxophone on a song, I always remember one of two artists: Clarence Clemons and Rindy Ross. And it's hard for me to compare Ross's voice to any other artist.

And what about that album cover? Methinks I detect a tribute, reference, or parody of Sgt Peppers.

Like the Bangles and 'til tuesday, Quarterflash only made three albums, but unlike Susanna Hoffs and Aimee Mann, Rindy Ross faded completely from the music scene. To date, there has been no "Where are they now?" or Behind the Music special on them, which puts her group in a special spotlight. Make no mistake--Quarterflash shines on forever!

This album is 40 minutes long and has 10 tracks. 7 of those are very good. And of the three bad tracks, only one is horrible. The problem with Quarterflash's first album is that the bad tracks are so bad, it takes away from the enjoyment of the good stuff. On this CD, it possible to sit through bad tracks without suffering.

Quarterflash is one of the many female-fronted bands from 80's that played New Wave music with some pop and disco thrown in. The female vocalists in these bands sounded a lot alike, with a stinted, baby-like style. Quarterflash's music had a little more depth than the other bands, especially with the addition of Rindy Ross's saxophone. However, Quarterflash's songs weren't always as good as the best stuff of these other bands (like Berlin's Sex).

Like most New Wave bands, Quarterflash did not last very long. They only released 3 CD's before disbanding in 1985. The group did carry on with a different line-up and released a 4th album in 1990. This is Quarterflash's second CD.