Zappacosta - Zappacosta

I was feeling a bit bummed out, so I went to the basement looking for something to raise my mood from shitty to something just slightly less than grumpy. I riffled through the albums that were in my "pending listen-to pile," and there was Zappacosta's 1984 self-titled release.

This was an album I always meant to buy when it came out, and never did. Don't know why, I just didn't. "Passion" was a song that melded all the great elements of early '80s pop, and even the follow-up single "We Should Be Lovers" was great. When I was looking through a discount bin and saw a decent-looking copy with pristine vinyl, it was finally time to pick up the album.

Like Paul Janz, Zappacosta built pop songs around his ability to carry a song through the power of his voice. The album kicks off with "Passion," and while the song is very much of its time, it's still a great listen and propels the album through a series of familiar and very strong songs, from "We Should Be Lovers" to "It's All Been Done Before," a song I'd completely forgotten about.

The first side closes out with the mid-tempo "Spread Myself Too Thin," which is a decent song, and so far this is a solid effort. Part of this may be due to the fact that three of the five songs were already familiar.

As the album fades out with the synthesiser symphony, I'm reminded that Zappacosta was the voice behind an awesome Wagon Wheels commercial in 1984.

Anyway, time to get up and turn it over.

The second side starts off with "Runaround" and, after a slow build, heads into a pretty standard pop-rock song with a good vocal. The songs here are decent and delivered with conviction, but somehow felt flat. I can't put my finger on it.

Maybe it's me just feeling a bit down and looking at things from a more pessimistic perspective.

Having said that, "Start Again" just finished, and it had a great groove. I'm going to go play it again.

Yeah, that's a great tune.

For some reason it reminds me a little of "Solsbury Hill" but played faster. Don't get me wrong, thematically and musically they're quite different - it's a mood thing. The rest of the album is enjoyable but again, sort of just there. I'm sure with a couple more spins through this will all flow nicely.

The band consisted of Alfie Zappacosta on vocals and guitar; Paul Delaney on drums; Steve Jensen on guitars; Gerald O'Brien on keyboards; and Mitch Starkman on bass.

There were some interesting guests too, at least from my perspective. Peter Boynton, formerly with Red Rider, provided additional keyboards, and Dee Long, who was a member of Klaatu and also co-produced Rational Youth's Heredity album, played additional keyboards and did Fairlight programming.

I may be a few decades late picking this up, but I'm glad I did. The songs I remember from the radio are still packing a punch and have even levelled up a little with the power of nostalgia and familiarity. The new-to-me tracks were decent, and I'll single out "Start Again" as my favourite track to discover.

Now, about that back photo.

I know it was the '80s, but really, did he need to borrow an outfit from Carole Pope for the back cover? Now I'll have to do one of those "who wore it best" things.

Oh, if you're wondering, I'm feeling pretty good.

While I was proofreading (yes, I'm aware you'll likely find something I missed. I never said I was good at it), I played this again, and those flat-sounding songs have a little more air in them.

I loved the '80s.

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