ESQUIRE

if 80s hi tech rock is your bag, here's a long forgotten gem ? well, it would be such if people had heard the bloody thing in the first place, which, alas, was not really the case despite the hype that apparently surrounded this release at the time (1987). what a surprisingly good album with some delightful and refreshingly un-dumb songwriting ? not a given at that point in time! ESQUiRE were centered around vocalist nikki squire, who at the time was married to YES bass player chris squire and, indeed, the entire affair sports quite a few YES (1980s version) traits ? hubby chris contributes some deft bass lines and backing vocals in his customary fashion, trevor horn acts as executive producer, there is some drumming by YES stalwart alan white and even nikki comes across as a bearable version of jon anderson minus the space cadet mannerisms... some things may seem a bit overwrought to these ears (nikki's phrasing in "knock twice for heaven" is hilarious) but the songwriting is stellar and the production is as smooth as glass (as expected with trevor horn twiddling the knobs). essential listening if you feel like wearing your shoulder padded blazer of yore and growing a nice mullet again... however, best played before some rough and ready grunge/garage/indie rock to avoid constipation ...