The Cry - Guilty Fingers

Guilty Fingers was the third and final album by The Cry. Released in '82 on RCA, the band's swansong came and went with about the same amount of fanfare as their two previous releases ... probably less, I imagine. The core band was still Gary Scrutton on guitars, Brian Whitty on bass, and Robo MacPherson on keys and lead vocals. This time Kimball Fox (Kim Berly) was back on the throne playing drums and singing.

After two albums of skinny tie infused, new wave tinged pop, The Cry moved right into the middle of the road and delivered an uninspired collection of generic pop songs that were neither hot nor cold - they weren't just right either.

Which was a shame, as I had deliberately sought this one out because I had really enjoyed the band's first two efforts. It's not like Kimball Fox wasn't giving it his all on the songs he fronted. He was trying to muster a sneer and some attitude and while the songs aren't especially memorable, they are the better tunes on the record.

For whatever reason it seemed like Robo was determined to channel Bill Medley from The Righteous Brothers, and songs like "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" and "Chains" are more in the rhythm and blues vein and hearken to an earlier time. Frankly they're pretty good for all that ... but I was expecting the piss and vinegar and attitude that was such a big part of their first two albums.

The reality is that the tide was already going out on that first wave of new wave acts, and it was adapt or die. It's just too bad the band opted to steer themselves away from rock and roll and try and embrace softer pop with a little hint of R&B.

I'm trying to imagine this without the baggage of their first two records, and I suspect my judgment would still be about the same, although the more rock oriented songs by Kimball Fox would have caught and held my attention a little longer. The band got really close with the last couple songs, "Last Lonely One," which is one of them, followed by "Dance My Life Away," a dark brooding rocker. If the album had been more like these two songs, that album would have been very different.

Taking the album at face value and pretending I'd not heard their earlier albums, I will admit it's an enjoyable but fairly forgettable album that doesn't offend the ears, but it also doesn't really rise to the occasion either. It's a curiosity because of the association to the Stampeders.

Being a completist, I have no regrets, but it's also not an album that will see the light of day very often and I don't feel guilty about it at all.

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