John Waite - No Brakes

"Missing You" was a song so big it's probably the only song most people will think of when you mention John Waite. I knew him from a couple albums I had by The Baby's and thought they had a couple of good songs. I didn't know he'd started releasing solo records until I heard that song on the radio - and heard it again, and again. Honestly it never really got old - although it got old.

I picked up No Brakes based on the strength of the hit. The album was straight ahead rock without leaning too far into the "new" sounds and production tricks that were going to define the '80s - John mostly kept to the tried and true and as a result the album has aged incredibly well.

He also assembled a crack band. Dang if old Curly Smith didn't show up behind the kit. Man, I love seeing familiar names in the credits. However, it was Gary Myrick on guitar who put this album over the top - he also co-wrote 4 of the 9 tracks on the album. At the time I was blown away (and when I played it for the first time in many years I was struck all over again) by how tasteful and restrained his playing was - at times just barely as evidenced by his fretwork on "Dark Side of the Sun" I would add that song to mix tapes just to hear the solo. It's a shame John and Gary didn't team up on more stuff.

John seemed to be having fun as he was bounced along the pop spectrum, and boy howdy if he didn't throw in a country song with "Restless Heart" to follow the blistering "Dark Side of the Sun" and it works. The songs were all pretty solid, and while the album tends to be eclipsed by "Missing You" it is also the one song that doesn't quite seem to belong on the album. Not that I'm complaining, it's just sort of like that old Sesame Street thing where they all sing "One of these things is not like the other."

As big a single as "Missing You" was, it didn't pull the album along with it, which was a shame. This should have been huge. The album did go gold in the US and Canada and while John would continue to release solo work, and put out a couple of albums with Bad English, where he'd reunite with Jonathan Cain and Ricky Phillips who were also in The Baby's, and guitarist Neal Schon.

With No Brakes he should have built up enough momentum to coast along at least for a little while - sadly he's still mostly associated with "Missing You" which is selling him short.

I'm guessing Howard Jones liked this album, but couldn't quite figure out how to put on the shirt. I guess he couldn't catch a break. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

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