Ric Ocasek – Quick Change World – 1993
The familiar bass line peeks through the first real cut, “Don’t Let Go”, a song at once so familiar and yet, sort of fresh that, after the spoken word Laurie Anderson-esque opener fills me with hope, that this album might actually build on the promise of Fireball Zone.
Good news. It does. The sound is bigger and less cluttered. The songs are tighter and not without the requisite Ocasek paranoia.
Just like the first side starts with a spoken word against a post-apocalyptic soundscape, so does side two, only this time exploding into the galloping “Come Alive”, one of the most energetic in the man’s repertoire. Later on the same energy can be found on “Hopped Up” and it’s not a moment too soon.
The first time I find myself not like the album comes late, with the title track, a lame attempt at a funky dance rhythm. And the spoken word experiment continues on “What’s On Tv”, but that one doesn’t fare as well. It’s well intentioned. And a bit hypnotic, if pretentious. Ric wants to be a relevant poet and I give him props for that, but it’s not exactly the kind of stuff I want peppered throughout the album.
However, it really works as a bookend and the last track, “Help Me Find America” is one of the most human he’s concocted, even though it features more electronics than any other he’s put out.
I do wish the album hadn’t been cut apart. Originally it was intended to be two separate pieces, a song cycle and a poetry cycle. But, the label left him in the dirt and had other ideas. But, it’s sort of always been Ocasek’s way to put the more difficult material on the second side/half of his albums. The first half really pops, however. So, it’s worth a quick spin on the old SpotiWheel.
(Oh, yeah, since it’s the 90s, there’s a hidden track. Another mood piece. Not awful, but I’m really glad that trend is over.)
Grade: B
ASide: Don’t Let Go, Hard Times
BlindSide: Come Alive, Hopped Up, Help me Find America
DownSide: Quick Change World
