P.F. Sloan

Originally released in Japan in 1993, P.F. Sloan's first album in about 20 years emerged in the US a few years later. The good news is that he's still in decent voice, and that the songwriting isn't bad and is often recognizably Sloan. The bad news is that the production seems to gaze full-bore at the 1990s adult contemporary market, rather than address his folk-rock and pop-rock strengths. The irony is that such production might be what the mass market is looking for in singer/songwriters, but precisely antithetical to what much of the core constituency of Sloan's cult following wishes to hear. Far be it from a mere reviewer to suggest how Sloan should arrange his music, but is only to fair to warn that those who treasure his previous solo albums will most likely not enjoy the settings in which he chooses to cloak his compositions. It works best when those synthesizers and gunshot drums are largely eliminated, as on "Spiritual Eyes," with its accordions and European sidewalk ambience. The title track is an awkward update of "Eve of Destruction" -- one more iron to toss onto the raging fire of misguided remakes of old standards. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide