Recorded in 1989 at all the classic California studios by musicians and technicians san pareil,
'Pull' was one of the last great melodic rock albums of the eighties.
We just didn't know it until now.
Released on Richard Page's Little Dume Recordings label (which also released his recent solo album,
'Peculiar Life'), this is one of those long unreleased recordings that's been suspended in aspic, frustratingly out of reach, for many, many years.
It's a delight to see that it has now been welcomed to the real world.
Remixed and remastered by two of the rock world's acknowledged experts, in technical and auditory terms, Kevin Killen and Bob Ludwig, it's a sonic treat.
Interestingly, listening to an album that existed almost solely in the rarified world of cult and legend for twenty years is not the demystifying process you might imagine.
Too often in these situations there's real sense of disappointment. An anticlimax brought about by high expectation.
Not so with
'Pull'. This album is immense. It carries real weight, a gravitas that few rock albums get anywhere near.
It's a celestial marriage of the band's 1987 album,
'Go On' and 1994's
'Meanwhile' - the album result of Page's collaboration with Pat (Trillion) Leonard, Third Matinee.
And then some.
Amazingly, the philistines at the band's eighties' label who reluctantly gave the nod to
'Go On', refused to release
'Pull' on the basis that the band had gone too "artsy". And while initially this is a laughable concept, on reflection they might have been right. Of course, they meant that the music wasn't commercial enough. They couldn't hear a hit single. But the truth is that it takes time to cultivate a musical palate, and maybe the world just wasn't ready for Mr Mister's highly developed brand of sophisticated, progressive pop and rock.
Until now.
The bulk of
'Pull' is a provocative assault on the senses, a union of prog art ambitions and the band's pop tune strengths. It's almost entirely constructed around piano, keyboards, bass and drums, with guitars (Buzz Feiten and Trevor Rabin) gilding the lilies.
Melodies are never in your face. Understated, serpentine, sinuous, they worm their way in, fuelled by Pat Mastelotto's restless, driving rhythms.
Lyrically, the songs range from the intimate to the global. Personal comments on life and liberty, to wider subjects, reflectiong the turbulent times and political upheaval of the late eighties
Opener,
'Learning To Crawl', etched in sombre shades and floating, minor key harmonies, is way ahead of its time and is undeniably, indelibly Mr.Mister.
Arguably, the writing here is stronger, sharper than
'Go On'.
'Waiting In My Dreams' has that same combination of uplift and melancholy that the band seem to nail effortlessly,
Trevor Rabin joined the band for a short while after Steve Farris left - and you can hear his influence here, loud and clear.
Rabin was recording his magnum opus, 'Can't Look Away' around this time. It might be a stretch to say that
'Wait A Lifetime' could have been lifted from that album, but you can hear the Rabin effect in the powerful, high toned harmonies and the sleek, clean guitarwork.
Elsewhere,
'Crazy Boy' and
'We Belong To No One' have the familiar, unhurried urbanity of tone and content that mask the thought and sheer hard work that goes into making an album as lusciously inventive and accomplished as this.
The richly textured and carefully harmonised
'I Don't Know Why' and
'Burning Bridge' are genuine album highlights, warm, uncluttered and graceful.
The truth is though - cliché or not - there's isn't a duff track here, no hint of filler and totally clunker free.
Forget
'Broken Wings' and
'Kyrie'.
This is the one we should remember them by.
Written by
Brian Thursday, December 2, 2010
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