In the seventies I was in love with Maddy Prior's powerful voice and her cheeky ways. To me she was the heart of Steeleye Span and her first two solo albums - "Woman In The Wings" and "Changing Winds" - were pure joy. On the third - "Hooked On Winning" - she'd started a close collaboration with then husband, bassist Rick Kemp, wich showed a more pop oriented style (see earlier post http://monolover.blogspot.se/search?q=maddy+prior ). IMO it didn't suit her at all and the production and choice of instruments hampered her talent rather than support it. Unfortunately this fourth solo effort is more of the same. All numbers written by Prior/Kemp. Nothing wrong with the songs - the lyrics are poetic and some of the melodies has the ability to touch, but the arrangements don't fit. Most cuts are performed as up-tempo pop or fake raggae, often drowned in synths doing strings or mimicking other instruments. The audio is very sharp with too much reverb and the mixing accentuates everything but Priors vocals. Only two tracks works for me - "Each Heart" and "Deep In The Darkest Night" - calm songs with sparse backing. Produced by Nick Griffiths who mostly worked as studio engineer. Don't know much about the supporting musicians other than guitarist Mick Dyche earlier had been with Sniffin' The Tears. Vinyl issue in UK only had label as shown here and thin glossy cover. Later coupled with "Hooked On Winning" for CD release on Park Records as "Hooked On Glory" (PRKCD 110). (BRYF*)(FÄV*)(SÖPX*)
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