ZINC (GREEN ALBUM)

Eddie Jobson - Zinc. This album, to me, is difficult to assess. The musicianship is quite high (as you would expect from E.J. - no, not Elton John...) - but fails to actually jump out and 'grab' these ears. I would have to put it down to the overall production - it's quite 'plastic' and very 80's. This album reminds me strongly of Genesis' self-titled album from the same year. Surprising is the guest appearance of former GENTLE GIANT guitarist Gary Green, but his contribution is minimal and doesn't add much to the music unfortunately. The compositions themselves are fine (especially the instrumental pieces and the longer cuts) but there are some very 'pop' moments on the LP which bring down the score somewhat. From Eddie's work with Curved Air (the absolutely fantastic 'Air Cut'), 3 high quality U.K. albums, his collaboration with Tull (the fantastic album 'A', which cops a lot of negative raps) and he also added a lot more good than bad to Roxy Music's mid-70's albums. He did some sessions for the legendary Frank Zappa as well ; you would expect this album to be oozing with splendour, but it seems to be a 'product of the times' kind of album. 2 & 1/2 stars rounded up (out of respect).