Old Enough to Forget

The Riddle dropped in the fall of 1984 several months after his debut Human Racing was released. 1984 was a good year for Mister Kershaw, although the The Riddle not as successful as his debut, it was the album I preferred. I likely picked this up a couple of years after it came out as I still think of this as being an album that I was listening to in 1986 or 1987. Which means I found it on sale and took a chance on it. Sounds about right. Listening to this now, with the benefit of hindsight and perspective that I didn't have at the time. I'm struck by the change in tact between his debut and the what he was writing and recording for his follow up. Right out of the gate "Don Quixote" was an odd blend of techno with elements of funk. A little bit like what Level 42 was doing as well - oddly enough Mark King would guest on the closing track on side one, "Easy." At the time I wasn't a big fan of Level 42, although Mark's talent as a player cannot be ...

World Machine for most casual fans and Luddites is as deep into the Level 42 catalogue you need to go. The band's sixth album (yeah they were around a while honing their craft) was released in 1985 and most of us would have had a hard time trying to get rid of the ear worm "Something About You" when it started to gain traction on the radio and television - back when videos were a thing. There's was never any denying the musicianship of the band, and Mark King's bass playing was often sited as being extraordinary. The band would balance their pop, jazz and funk elements and create something pretty cool. Even a rock guy had to tip his hate and admit it was good stuff. Now, of course this was 1985 and while I did begrudgingly like the song, sort of in the same way I liked "The Captain of Her Heart" by Double, I wasn't about to go out and buy the album. I was after all a ROCK GUY. Of course over the years my appreciation for "Something About You...