Thunderclap Newman is one of those names that sound vaguely familiar but you cannot recall where or when you heard it. It could be you heard of this quintessential English band because of their 1969 monster hit Something In The Air that captured the mood of those days quite nicely. At least, that is what the band info says because to me-forty years on-this music sounds just plain outdated. Likened to other very English bands The Kinks or The Small Faces, Hollywood Dream has not weathered the storm of ages very well. It probably didn’t even do well in the old days as Hollywood Dream is the only album from this trio. Maybe because the three men were assembled by The Who’s Pete Townshend to interpret and perform the songs of John Speedy Keene, which might have been a bit too contrived. It is not that all songs are uninteresting-some of them are quite nice. But the songs of Thunderclap Newman were sung by Speedy himself who sounds spot-on like K.C., yes that guy from the Sunshine Band, and that doesn’t really help the enjoyment. Neither does the rather poor musicianship which is worst heard in the shaky piano playing. It is nice of Esoteric Records to try to make us happy by unearthing old gems, but unfortunately Hollywood Dream is not one of them, despite the six bonus tracks on this re-release. *- André de Waal (edited by Robert James Pashman) Where to buy? |
