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Jimmy Darren is back, baby! Inspired by his two-season stint as swingin’ holographic lounge singer Vic Fontaine on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Darren has graced our CD shelves with this collection of oldies. Many of these songs were performed by Darren’s character in the Trek spinoff, while others are songs from the same period of American popular songwriting. Whichever category they fall into, all of the songs are safe in Darren’s capable hands. He’s never sounded better, and the big band backing him up gives that sound a classy boost.

Among this album’s highlights are excellent renditions of “It’s Only A Paper Moon” (used in an outstanding DS9 episode of the same name), “I’ve Got The World On A String” (heard in the same episode), “The Way You Look Tonight” (heard just before things went to hell - literally - in the series finale), “Here’s To The Losers”, “The Best Is Yet To Come” (sorry, no Avery Brooks duet), and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”. Though these songs have been made immortal by Ol’ Blue Eyes and others, Darren makes them his own here. His delivery has never been smoother. It’s enough to make you wonder why he’s wasting his time on Hollywood when he can sing like this - but then again, as the liner notes repeatedly acknowledge, he might not have gotten around to re-igniting his singing career had he not been cast in the role of Vic Fontaine.

Whether you’re a Trek fan who really dug Darren’s recurring guest shots on Deep Space Nine, or a longtime Darren devotee who’s been wondering whatever happened to Jimmy since “Goodbye Cruel World” and The Time Tunnel, this one is definitely worth a listen. Smooth!

1. The Best Is Yet To Come (2:26)
2. Come Fly With Me (3:06)
3. That Old Black Magic (3:08)
4. All The Way (4:18)
5. It’s Only A Paper Moon (2:32)
6. I’ve Got The World On A String (2:06)
7. You Better Love Me (2:04)
8. Sophisticated Lady (4:57)
9. Just In Time (2:22)
10. I’ve Got You Under My Skin (3:14)
11. The Way You Look Tonight (4:37)
12. Here’s To The Losers (3:21)
13. You’re Nobody ‘Till Somebody Loves You (2:18)
14. Dancing In The Dark (3:02)
15. Night And Day (2:21)
16. I’ll Be Seeing You (3:08)
17. Satin Doll (3:29)

Released by: Concord Jazz
Release date: 1999
Total running time: 52:39

Lindsey Buckingham’s second solo effort has evidently never hit me in the right place or at the right time. There are songs on here that I dearly love - “Go Insane” and “I Want You” - but there are also songs that I cannot stand (the far-too-long “Play In The Rain” being a prime example). One would think that the greater abundance of electronic instruments and tools available to Buckingham in 1984 would’ve given him a broad new palette to use well…but it quickly becomes painfully obvious that this man would do well to stick with guitar rock. Samplers and drum machines do not a good song make without some inkling of how to distribute them throughout the arrangement.

There are some moments of brilliance here, to be sure. “Go Insane” and “Bang The Drum” demonstrate some of Buckingham’s best production licks, including rapid-fire vocals which alternate stereo channels so every other word is in your left ear, but every other word is in your right ear - Buckingham’s music is always best as headphone listening. “I Must Go” is another must-listen…and one wonders, from the lyrics, if it might not be a song about a certain Ms. Nicks’ habits. (Not that every member of the Mac didn’t have their vices by this point…)

I can’t tell you how much I don’t like “Play In The Rain”. With its minimal lyrics, annoying barrage of samples and sounds, and the fact that it’s spread out over two parts (for no readily apparent reason), I have plenty of reasons to skip both tracks anytime I listen to Go Insane. I understand that he was probably experimenting with new and exciting sounds…but this is one experiment that really doesn’t hold up.

I give Go Insane a cautious recommendation. You’d better be an ardent fan of Mr. Buckingham’s to sit through this entire album.

1. I Want You (3:19)
2. Go Insane (3:05)
3. Slow Dancing (4:06)
4. I Must Go (4:51)
5. Play In The Rain (3:21)
6. Play In The Rain - continued (4:15)
7. Loving Cup (5:02)
8. Bang The Drum (3:31)
9. D.W. Suite (6:50)

Released by: Warner Bros.
Release date: 1984
Total running time: 38:22

Roughly a year ago, I waxed rhapsodic about how much I loved the CD re-release of the original Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk album by Meco. Well, here we are with a brand-new release by Meco, remixing and compiling his discofied slices of John Williams from all the original trilogy movies, and adding new material inspired by Episode I.

I know some fans have been clamoring for Meco’s tunes from The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but if this CD proved anything to me, it was that maybe I would’ve been better off stopping at that original 1977 release.

A major caveat for fans of original material here: these are not the original recordings. These are digital re-recordings which vastly change the structure of the original songs. In some places - and I’m particularly singling out the new version of the original Star Wars music here - this isn’t a bad thing. It’s interesting to hear Meco’s take on this stuff some 23 years later. In other places…God help us all. I never heard Meco’s original Empire and Jedi recordings, so I have no idea if they were ever better than this. It sounds like the discomeister should’ve called it quits with the first movie.

And if Meco’s Empire and Jedi-inspired tunes aren’t enough to make me draw that conclusion, the godawful trio of Episode I songs are enough to make me wonder if the man’s lost his touch completely. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Meco’s original Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk album. I listened to it incessantly when I was a kid. But his take on “Duel Of The Fates” and “Augie’s Municipal Band” is a bore - he was beaten to the “Duel Of The Fates” punch by the far superior house dance mixes by the Wasabees a year ago.

And it gets worse. Far, far worse. “Cousin Jar Jar” is a bizarre rap in which Jar Jar wanders into a bar and burbles on endlessly about his adventures (and his inability to dance, because yousa might say meesa…clumsy?) over a disco beat, with occasional background vocal contributions. Again, I even liked Jar Jar Binks in Episode I…but this song almost seems to be specifically engineered to make even the most adoring Jar Jar fans rethink their loyalties to the goofy Gungan.

Proceed with caution. Keep in mind, I loved Meco’s original Star Wars album. But this thing is one long digitally-recorded trip to the Dark Side.

1. Star Wars (A New Hope)
   Main Title Theme / The Land of the Sand People /
   Princess Leia’s Theme / Cantina Band / The Last Battle / End Title (8:22)
   The Empire Stikes Back
2. Darth Vader’s Theme / Yoda’s Theme (3:36)
3. The Battle In The Snow (3:24)
4. The Force Theme (3:13)
5. Finale (2:30)
   Return Of The Jedi
6. Lapti Nek (4:54)
7. Ewok Celebration (3:09)
   The Phantom Menace
8. Duel Of The Fates / Augie’s Municipal Band (3:23)
9. Cousin Jar Jar (3:33)
10. A Jedi Knight (vocals by Yamira) (5:25)

Released by: Mecoman Records
Release date: 2000
Total running time: 41:33

Oh, go ahead, laugh! You can’t go wrong with A Flock Of Seagulls. Oft incorrectly labeled as a one-hit wonder (excuse me, but they did both “I Ran” and “Wishing”, the latter of which is only slightly more obscure than the former), A Flock Of Seagulls has one of those distinctly 80s sounds that lands the band on many a new-wave compilation. With a combination of sounds - from the Gary Numan-esque wall o’ synths padding out the background, to the thick guitar work vaguely reminiscent of Big Country - it’s almost enough to wipe the memory of the mondo bizarro, aluminum-foil-drenched music videos and those haircuts out of one’s mind.

Sadly, as with many other bands of that era (for that matter, any era), A Flock Of Seagulls’ best-of compilation proves that, like quite a few one or two hit wonders, the reason they achieved that rarified status was because very few of their songs stood out. Among the better album tracks gracing this compilation are “(It’s Not Me) Talking” and “Transfer Affection” - and they earned my unending love and devotion by including a longer remix of my favorite Seagulls song, “Wishing”.

If, like me, you like a little 80s flashback every so often, I can give this one a good recommendation.

1. I Ran (4:55)
2. Space Age Love Song (3:45)
3. Telecommunication (2:29)
4. The More You Live, The More You Love (4:09)
5. Nightmares (4:36)
6. Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) (5:30)
7. (It’s Not Me) Talking (5:00)
8. Transfer Affection (5:20)
9. Who’s That Girl (She’s Got It) (4:17)
10. D.N.A. (2:30)
11. Wishing - extended version (9:08)
12. The Story Of A Young Heart (6:07)

Released by: Jive / RCA
Release date: 1991
Total running time: 58:41