Opus - Solo

Opus' Solo was one of those albums I found while looking through Redrum Records' online store. It's a little brick and mortar I liked to pop into every now and again. They used to have a few locations, and over the last couple of years the other stores have shuttered, and the last survivor is a little farther away and is a special trip.

Anyway, they have a really solid online store, and the navigation is awesome and honestly, they have a decent selection. One of the things I like to do is check for still-sealed items, and if they're cheap enough, I'll load a cart and then go pick it up. This last time there were a couple of items that looked intriguing enough to take a chance on. Solo was a German import that was still sealed, although over the years something spilled on the cover and seeped into the packaging. It's a small stain only visible on the back top right. When I went to clean the record, there was a fair bit of PVC mist, which was irritating, but it is what it is. The thing's been in that cover for almost forty years. I'm sure it would play perfectly ... and it does.

Now I probably should have just done what any normal person would do before spending ten bucks, and that's do a little googling and see if this was worth the money. I mean, is the anticipation of hearing those first few notes worth it?

Short answer, absolutely.

Does it always work out?

No, but it's always fun waiting after you drop the needle.

Now admittedly, Opus somehow seemed familiar, but dang me if I could put my finger on it. It was like a little itch on my brain, but it was such a faint tickle it was like it wasn't there. It's like walking into the kitchen and opening the fridge and then standing there wondering where your glasses are.

Solo was released in '85, and on the record label were the words, "Digital Master Mix," which meant this was going to sound good. Digital was betterer than analog ... and here I am listening to records again. Go figure, it's the experience, baby ... not the sound quality. I'll crank a CD if that's what I'm after.

I drop the needle, and there's no snap or crackle, just a couple of moments of pristine silence (take that, PVC mist, you bastard) before the opening notes of "Idolater" fill the room. I smile - this is good! It's very '80s but isn't as heavily accented as I'd feared. There was something familiar about Herwig Rudisser's voice, but I couldn't tell if that was because I was trying to figure out who he sounded like. There were little hints of Jon Anderson from Yes, but mostly he had a pleasant voice and he could belt it out when he had a mind to. The songs were all solid, although a tad generic as well, but it was the good generic. There were pop songs, rock songs, ballads, and they were all enjoyable, and I found myself letting myself get into the album. The songs were in English, and the lyric sheet was in English, and the cover was in English. Which was good for me.

After playing it a couple of times, I figured it was now safe to look up the band.

Opus had a massive hit here in Canada and the rest of the world in the summer of '85 with "Live is Life," a song taken from their live album released in 1984. The song seemed to be on the radio all the time, and the infectious opening still gets me in the feels. It's funny, I cannot recall ever hearing the band's name. It must have been a double-edged sword to have a track from the live album released the year before catching fire while you're in the process of recording a new album. I suppose Cheap Trick felt the same when Budokan took off when they were trying to promote Dream Police.

I was a little surprised to find that the band had been around since 1973, and it took them a while to release their debut album in 1980. This would explain the comment above the band credits: Opus - still the same old staff:

• Herwig Rudisser - lead vocals, piano, guitar
• Ewald Pfleger - guitar, vocals
• Niki Gruber - bass, vocals
• Gunter Grasmuck - drums, percussion, beat-programming
• Kurt Rene Plisnier - keyboards, computers, vocals

I've found myself enjoying Solo more than I expected to, and once I had associated the band with "Live is Life," it actually seemed to add another dimension to the band. Funny how a little recognition added to the experience.

I bought this as a lark and ended up getting a lot more than I expected.

Did it work out this time?

Absolutely.