Baltimora - Living in the Background

You had to be living under a rock in '85 to not have heard "Tarzan Boy" on the radio, or seen the video. There was something goofy and infectious about the song, and it was certified 100% CHEESE. I'll admit is was one of those guilty pleasures I'd listen to in the car but I wouldn't have been caught dead with this in my collection.

Of course when I found the record I had to have it.

I didn't realize it was a borderline EP as the album hardly crests thirty minutes and only contains six songs. However it doesn't feel truncated or rushed. All but one song is over five minutes. "Tarzan Boy" and "Living in the Background" clock in at over six minutes and they aren't extended dance mixes, they're just longer ... but not stretched out and watered down.

The album opens with the big hit, and frankly I was expecting the album to then sink like stone after the first track, and was pleasantly surprised when the follow-up "Pull the Wires" was a pleasant '80s styled ballad. Oh it was as generic as a processed cheese slice, but it was better than I expected.

The title track closes out side one and was another solid track. This was way better than I expected. I really just bought the album to get the one kitschy cut, and the fact the everything was better than expected was a bonus.

Flipping over, "Woody Boogie" opens the festivities and it's so corny it makes me wonder how good Naimy Hackett's English was, or if he just had an old travel dictionary to translate stuff from Italian. Oh, Naimy was the lyricist and Maurizio Bassi was the composer and producer. I suspect he was an Italian version of Frank Farian, the German producer responsible for Boney M. and Milli Vanilli as well as the overlooked Far Corporation.

"Chinese Restaurant" is the musical kissing cousin to "Tarzan Boy" but it's still fun. Probably the biggest surprise was the album's closer, "Running for Your Love" a mid tempo rock song with a techno backbone. It's probably my favourite "new" song from the album. Oh it's a cookie cutter song but I really like it. It does veer a bit into extended dance track drumbeat territory but it centres itself pretty quickly.

The album is short, but the songs aren't and while it's over before you know it you don't necessarily feel cheated. At least I didn't. It was fun and enjoyable. Sort of what you want when you're listening to what is essentially a dance oriented album.

Reading on Baltimora it's a weird story. The wiki literally opens with "Jimmy McShane supposedly performed the lead vocals, although there is some controversy surrounding who the actual singer is." Cool, it was like Boney M. So while Jimmy McShane is the guy featured on the cover and in the video, there are no credits that specify who sang the songs. Which is weird as there are a lot of musician credits on the back cover. The bold print is reserved in the bottom right corner: ARRANGED & PRODUCED BY MAURIZIO BASSI ... and yes it was in capital letters.

Regardless, the album was a pleasant surprise.