Idle Cure - Idle Cure

This was new to me. I had heard about them from my buddy Dave back in the day, but never actually heard them. Dave was pretty dialed into what was happening in Christian music and generally had decent taste. By '86 my interest in a lot (not all) of CCM (for the unwashed in the secular world that stands for Contemporary Christian Music) because most of what I was hearing was inferior. I know Larry Norman asked, "Why should the devil have all the good music." He wasn't entirely right, but he was close enough to bury a good chunk of what passed for music being sold in Christian Bookstores.

One of the hallmarks of being a Christian artist was trying to copy what was popular in "secular" music. The problem was there was a lag of about five or more years. Of course I'm generalizing, there were a handful of bands that were just plain good, but for me most of what I heard was borderline awful. 

Around this time some smaller rock oriented labels started to pop up. Frontline was one of them and the acts they were signing were actually contemporary. The problem was for them to be marketed to the bookstores and youth pastors the music had to fit on one of those "sounds like" grids so the kids could listen to Christian bands who sounded sort of like what regular kids were listening to and not feel left out.

So where did Idle Cure get slotted? I have no idea, I'd never heard them until now. I have to admit were a really solid contemporary rock band. They were sort in the hair metal lane, but were more Journey than Def Leppard. Well, actually more Mr. Mister than Journey but they can be easily slotted in with the "arena" rock bands of the day. Actually they weren't hair metal or glam at all ... they were a rock and roll band ... which I already said so I'm just repeating myself now.

Despite me making fun of the soundalike grid mentality, I have to admit the first time listened to this I was playing the "match the song to a band" and quickly realized I was doing Idle Cure a disservice. There were countless bands out there who were mining the same musical vein and frankly music falls into one of two categories.

• Good
• Bad

Pretty simple, and who doesn't like simple?

Idle Cure was good. In fact I'd go so far as to say they were right in the mix with their contemporaries in the real world. I'm guessing the album was recorded on a modest budget, Lord knows they didn't put any money into the cover art, but man producer and engineer Bill Baumgart made the guys sound like a million bucks without having to spend a million bucks.

It's hardly fair to think of Idle Cure as a poor facsimile of those "real" bands who were trudging away in the secular world. Bands who sounded like a a lot of other who were mining the same genre. Some of those bands were awesome, and some weren't. Again it's pretty simple: good / bad. To that end I'll take Idle Cure at face value - these guys were good.