Martin Gordon was the bass player and songwriter in the two excellent 70's bands, Jet and Radio Stars, as well as playing in the classic '74/75-era Sparks band and this is his first solo album. That pedigree makes it worth picking up, but you'll find the strands of melodic theatrical quirky, glammy progressive power pop. Of the 16 songs here, a large dose find themselves in familiar territory of his previous bands' output and that is only a very, very good thing, of course. But you'll hear elements of 10cc, City Boy and ELO in here! The only thing we'd mention as slight drag is the drum sound is constrained by budget considerations inside the largely ambitious artistic vision going here.

Very Highly Recommended.

On his solo debut after several decades in the business as a band member, session man, and producer, Gordon offers punchy, upbeat straightahead rock with a glam whimsy that sounds almost as if it could have come out of Britain in the 1970s. The debts to early-to-mid-'70s British rock are evident in the crunchy guitar-oriented arrangements and tunes that derive from both pop and hard rock. Although it's mostly original material, the covers provide an apt guide to Gordon's sensibilities: the Move's "Tonight," the Rolling Stones' "We Love You," and Marc Bolan's "Warlord of the Royal Crocodiles." Strong traces of David Bowie and the Beach Boys, to name a couple of influences, also bob up from time to time. It's a competent journeyman reflection of his background in late-twentieth century non-punk/new wave pop-rock, and well-sung by Pelle Almgren in a high range.

Richie Unterberger

ALL MUSIC GUIDE June 2003

This is a solo album by Martin Gordon who started his career as a bassist of Sparks, then moved to Jet and Radio Stars. He also took a position of producer for the recent album of Jet/Radio Stars/John's Children. Surprisingly, this is his first solo album. The lineup of musicians in this album seems noteworthy as well - Pelle Almgren was a successful singer in Sweden in the early 1990s, guitar player Andy Reimer, has collaborated with an Egyptian orchestra and drummer Chris Townson has been Martin's partner since the period of Radio Stars. Their performance does not sound like a simple style of band. Martin heavily introduced the taste of world music which he dealt with as a producer in the 1990's, therefore the album seems good enough to be in the current hit charts, although it is based on power pop. It is appropriate to say that the album should be considered as a work by a composer/producer, rather than just a player.

Yu Suzuki

STRANGE DAYS Japan March 2003