Blue Peter

Blue Peter had already scored a minor hit with "Chinese Graffiti"from the Up to You EP the year before, and the push was there to cash in on the momentum. The first step was to pay a few extra dollars to secure producer Steve Nye, who had already done big things for other bands mining the same territory as Blue Peter (such as Japan), not to mention being one of the major contributors to the sound of Roxy Music, often cited as one of Blue Peter's main heroes. That shrewd move paid off in a much more marketable sound, favoring keyboards over guitars in most places and resulting in a much cleaner overall sound. It also yielded the band its first major hit single in Don't Walk Past, which featured a slightly herky-jerky guitar riff set against keyboard washes and polyrhythmic percussion, tied down by one of Humphrey's best vocal performances to date. Though most of the album's best material is front-loaded onto the A-side of the album ("Don't Walk Past," the title cut, and "All Your Time"), the B-side also featured a number of great moments, such as "Pendulum." The bottom line: Falling was an accomplished effort that was just as deserving of attention as its contemporaries from other countries, but it was ultimately hampered by relatively poor distribution, preventing it from getting its due outside of Canada. ~ Sean Carruthers, Rovi