ZINC (GREEN ALBUM)

Ooooh, brother. Bad, bad move. In spite of his magnificent chops, I'd never been convinced by Jobson as a melodist, and here's the proof. In 1982-3 progsters everywhere were jumping on the pop bandwagon, if only to keep body and soul (and record deal) together. Some did it well - Banco's 1983 self-titled album is quite pleasant, Anyone's Daughter's Neue Sterne (1983) is perhaps the best-ever combination of classic symphonic prog and 80s pop and... er, that's it. Jobson struggles manfully, but the utter cheesiness of what even then sounded like cheap and nasty electronics lets him down. For a guy who has so often sounded in control, it really doesn't feel like EJ knows entirely what he's doing here, save for the immaculate delivery (and, I concede, some decent singing). At least he gave Gary Green a gig.