The influence of Ali Thomson’s older brother, Doug, is immediately evident on the keys and vibe of this young Scot’s debut. Presumably, Thomson looked up to his sib because Doug had gone Hollywood in a big way, playing with Supertramp. Actually, Ali’s excellent second single, “Live Every Minute,” may be as good as anything Supertramp recorded (in the ’80s at least). The sweet, sweet music of the titular Top 20 charter conjures Wings over Venus and Mars, meaning it’s fluffy but fine radio pop. “Jaime” might be some kind of “Hey Joe” rewrite, but probably not, as Thomson keeps things light. “Saturday Heartbreaker” shows there’s a little Graham Parker in everyone. Can’t fault a guy for striving to make a good commercial record. And Thomson mixes his melodic rock with many different styles, including acoustic calypso, before he fades away like an afternoon dream. – Doug Stone
• Side One:
A1. Fools’ Society – 4:25
A2. Take A Little Rhythm – 3:26
A3. Saturday Heartbreaker – 4:19
A4. We Were All In Love – 4:12
A5. African Queen – 4:55
• Side Two:
B1. Live Every Minute – 3:45
B2. Jamie – 4:33
B3. Page By Page – 1:36
B4. The Hollywood Role – 4:18
B5. A Goodnight Song – 2:20
Guitars – Alan Murphy, Ali Thomson, Philip Adrian Wright
Bass – Durban Laverde, Gerry McAvoy, Ali Thomson
Keyboards – Pete Filleul, William C. Lyall, Ali Thomson
Drums – Richard Bailey, James Lacelles, Ted McKenna, Jeff Phillips
Percussion – Julian Diggle, Charles Spiteri, Ali Thomson
Saxophone – David Roach
Strings – Steve Gray
Back vocals – Debi Doss, Sonja Jones, Carol Kenyon & Ali Thomson
Producers by Jonathan Kelly & Ali Thomson
turbo/vinyl rip