BAD DREAMS

Somewhere between the aptly named "Inspiration" and this 1976 album, a line was crossed. It was a fine line yes, but once it was breached, Amazing Blondel would lose its first name for a couple of decades.

The sound is not all that different from the previous post Gladwin efforts, yet miles apart. Although "Until I see you again" is very reminiscent of the ballads on Inspiration, most of the others are beyond wimpy, especially in "It's Got to be a Girl", which doesn't show enough irony to be a send up of the metrosexual. Moreover, we now have to deal with boogie woogie inflections everywhere instead of the more symphonic upbeat tunes. This tendency even permeates the best and most proggy title cut ("One Bad Dream"). I may suggest the nearest references to be rather far from anything folk prog, perhaps to what the Bee Gees or James Taylor were doing at the time, or a cross between other soft bellied artists. It doesn't sound good on paper and it was worse on record.

This attempt to repackage Amazing Blondel as uber sensitive guys with a pulse on the times was ill advised to say the least. Not surprisingly, it became their last studio album until a short lived revival in the late 90s. This is a very weak 2 star effort, having just enough quality to be spared the bottom rung. For completists and fans of interesting cover art only.