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Graham Parker Live at The Park West Chicago
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Graham Parker
Graham Parker returned to the U.S. in 1982, on his with his first post-Rumour tour, to promote Another Grey Area, his seventh album in six years. Having moved from Mercury Records to Arista (the label paired him with producers Mutt Lange, Jimmy Iovine, Jack Nitche and Jack Douglas), and despite having moved toward a distinctly slicker, more pop-oriented feel, Parker still maintained enough of his trademark sound to keep the old fans happy.
The new band is made up of former members of Billy Joel’s band, studio players who worked on the LP and Brinsley Schwartz (the lone holdover from the Rumour). While together they comprise a very capable backup group, they fade into the background during this relatively indifferent Chicago area performance.
But, Parker, eager to make a name for himself as a world-class singer/songwriter, more than makes up for it with his impassioned vocals. His conviction is most apparent on the older, more familiar material such as “Howlin’ Wind,” “White Honey,” “Heat Treatment,” and “Stick To Me,” which is clearly one of the highlights of the show. Schwartz’s lead guitar solo on the song, moreover, is particularly noteworthy. Another gem from this recording is Parker’s version of “Passion Is No Ordinary Word,” taken from his 1979 masterpiece, Squeezing Out Sparks (which, in 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named one of the top albums of all time.)
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