Julian Lennon - Valotte
Kicking off with a lovely ballad which shares the album’s title, the first effort by John Lennon’s eldest son is almost eerie to listen to today, and it affected Julian’s career forever. Was he deliberately trying to sound like his father? Could he have avoided it even if he had tried? In the end, the questions are moot. “Valotte” - the song, not the entire album - sounds more like a lost John Lennon opus than either of the “new” Beatles songs created when the elder Lennon’s former bandmates “finished” incomplete songs in 1995. Julian’s vocals are spot-on perfect for the song and its subject matter, and it’s written and arranged in a way that echoes John’s songwriting and performance eerily. “Lonely”, a bluesy ballad which didn’t make it to single status, is another example of the haunting similarities. But there is another side to the album - several relentlessly ’80s pop songs (”Jesse” is especially guilty of dating itself). But overall, the good 
outweighs the bad - and one wishes that perhaps the critics had kept their mouths shut when Valotte was released. After all, Julian Lennon has spent years trying to get away from the trying-to-sound-like-Dad criticisms that were leveled at his solo debut. Now, how do we convince him that sounding eerily like his father was never necessarily a bad thing?
- Valotte (4:15)
- OK For You (3:38)
- On The Phone (4:42)
- Space (4:22)
- Well I Don’t Know (4:35)
- Too Late For Goodbyes (3:30)
- Lonely (3:50)
- Say You’re Wrong (3:25)
- Jesse (3:48)
- Let Me Be (2:12)
Released by: Atlantic
Release date: 1984
Total running time: 38:39
Formed by former Zombies frontman Rod Argent (and named after himself), Argent is one of those bands who carved its niche in rock history with a tiny handful of hits. Two of those songs, “Time Of The Season” and “Hold Your Head Up”, are common reference points for fans and musicians on the modern-day power pop scene. The latter of those two is a true pop anthem, and that song alone is worth the price of the entire CD (which I suppose is easy enough for me to say, since it’s really a bit of a budget release). Argent’s music is heavy on the electric organ fetish that a lot of early 1970s power pop seemed to have, as well as many a funky bass line. Sometimes that works, and other times it doesn’t. I love “Hold Your Head Up”, and even though I’ve heard “Time Of The Season” so many times that I’m positively sick of it, I’ll give it points for being an excellent arrangement and decent song. I don’t remember “Tragedy” getting a great deal of airplay, 
Ralf Illenberger returns for his third post-Narada effort on indie label In Joy Records, and this time he’s got another winner…and an unusual concept.
accustomed to more variety on Illenberger’s albums, this might throw them for a loop. But others may appreciate the audacious attempt at a modern-day crack at a classical structure.