It's Personal is the 'lost' album from 1982 by long forgotten UK art rockers City Boy. The band, along with other similar acts such as 10cc, Roxy Music, Supertramp, Roxy Music, and Be-Bop Deluxe, added a healthy dose of prog to their AOR sound, much like contemporaries in the US, those being New England and Aviary. After the band's contract with Atlantic expired in the early 80's, interest in the band fizzled, and It's Personal remained unreleased in most of the world, until now. Thanks to Renaissance Records & ItsAboutMusic.com, It's Personal, as well as the rest of the City Boy discography, can now be enjoyed by all.
It's a real shame that It's Personal was never really allowed to be given the light of day back when it was originally recorded, as there is some excellent pop flavored prog throughouth the album that had hit potential. Opening cut "No Ordinary Life" is as addicting a pop flavored hard rocker as there is, and "Rat Race", with its crunchy guitars, layers of keyboards, and catchy hooks, will please any 10cc fan. The reggae & jazz flavors of "The Blind Leading the Blind", and the latin sounds of "La guerra de mondo" show the versatilty of City Boy, while "Lovers" is a bombastic heavy rocker that never loses sight of its melodic sense. The title track features some sumptuous keyboards and tasty guitar work, and the piano work might remind you of Supertramp, but it's the magical "Names and Addresses" that probably stands out with "No Ordinary Life" as the cream of the crop here, a mix of prog, AOR, and hard rock, complete with strong vocals, gritty guitars, and layers of synths. "Exit the Heavyweight" can also be put in that category, a majestic & grand number that recalls 10cc and Queen at their best. The only real misfire here is the new wave-ish "Who Killed Dolores", a song that shows the band was willing to dive into some of the popular styles of the day, but sadly sounds out of place in this set.
Guitarist Mike Slamer of course went on to marginal fame with Steve Walsh in Streets, as well as Seventh Key with another Kansas member, Billy Greer. It's too bad that City Boy never made it as big as some of their contemporaries, but at least all their solid music is now available for music fans to enjoy once again.
Track Listing
1. No ordinary life
2. Rat race
3. The blind leading the blind
4.La guerra de mondo
5. Lovers
6. It's personal
7.Who killed Dolores
8. Names and addresses
9. Exit the heavyweight
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
