David Essex has achieved so much in so little time that he doesn't seem to have decided what record audience he is trying to please: a little rock, some reggae, a bit of nostalgia, and a few teen ballads. The star of stage (Godspell), screen (That'll Be the Day) and singles ("Rock On") doesn't dare commit himself to any particular form. Rather than displaying a wide range of talents, Essex is still fishing for a consistent style.

Original album advertising art. Click image for larger view.

His waifish voice sounds odd attacking rock tunes like Fabian's "Turn Me Loose." Essex is always on the verge of being smothered by his accompaniment. The secret to his survival against overwhelming decibels lies in the clean and tight production job by his man Friday, Jeff Wayne.

A number of British performers have been milking the nostalgia boom by imitating the styles and phrases of the rock and roll era. "Rock On," a big British hit, might do as well here, but in the States the original artists are actually performing at local rock and roll revival shows. Gary Glitter sounds redundant in America, and so does Essex' mention of "summertime blues," "blue suede shoes" and the solemnly intoned "James Dean."

Further reading on Super Seventies RockSite!: David Essex Lyrics

Far more successful is "Lamplight," the only lasting cut on the album. Showing extraordinary American influence, Essex comes across like Dr. John navigating Leon Russell's "Tightrope." My first reaction was rage that such a rip-off could be perpetrated across the Atlantic, but after a few plays "Lamplight" seems a jolly good show after all.

It's unusual for a teen idol to risk tackling rock numbers his first time out, but then it may be that Essex doesn't know whether he wants to be a rocker, a face or an actor. He does the latter very well, but not, at least for now, the former.

- Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 2/28/74.

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