Air Supply

Hearts in Motion

Air Supply still has plenty of Supply Left

Review Score:

(6/10)
"Hearts in Motion" has become a lost Air Supply album. This is a shame because while it might not be the strongest Air Supply album, it does not deserve relegation to bargain bins or imports. In fact, the CD I have has a completely different cover than the import version here. (Ths original CD cover has a sharp dressed Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock sitting on a white sofa). There is some really good stuff on this CD and it is worth trying to get.

An interesting twist to this CD has Air Supply bringing in Bernard Edwards to work his magic as a producer. Edwards was a mastermind behind Chic. Following Chic, Edwards was one of the most sought after producers of the 80s - producing many others such as Diana Ross, Robert Palmer, and Missing Persons. Following a commercial disappointment in the United States with "Air Supply" (self titled), Air Supply brought Edwards in as a producer (for all but 2 tracks) Joining Edwards on this effort was his fellow Chic mate - drummer Tony Thompson. Of course Edwards plays his legendary bass on many of the tracks. However, for whatever reason - this album sold even less than the "Air Supply" album. Finally, another legend - Diane Warren songwrites 2 tracks.

My feeling is that when this album was released, things were changing in the music industry. The beginnings of Hip Hop and Alternative Rock were surfacing. Heavy-Metal was becoming more and more mainstream. Air Supply was seen as too "Adult Contemporary" and possibly too "sappy", so a backlash was developing agains them. It was very unfair because Air Supply was far from being done in the music industry. This album continues to showcase Graham Russell's songwriting, Russell Hitchcock's incredible vocals, and in general the great synergy that has existed between the duo. This album also does a nice job at showcasing Graham Russell's vocals - that often get forgotten since Russell Hitchock's vocals are just so powerful.

The strongest tracks are the first three tracks. The best track is the opener - "It's Not Too Late". It's a shame this album wasn't promoted better because this is an incredible track. It is a catchy song that starts out with Graham singing the first verse, then in classic Air Supply fashion Russell Hitchcock joins at the chorus. "It's Not Too Late" is a very well written song by Graham in terms of both lyrics and music. The next song is a Diane Warren one - "Lonely is the Night". This was the first single released and is a nice song - not as good as the opening track. It is worth noting that "Lonely is the Night" was one of the songs not produced by Edwards. Finally, another good catchy song is the third track "Put Love in Your Life". Like the opening track it does give Graham Russell a chance to showcase while Russell Hitchcock 'folds' the chorus in very nicely.

The other thing that is interesting is that early 80s Air Supply really did a good job at building songs up to an "ultimate" crescendo. There still are crescendos on this album that are very much worth hearing - "Lonely is the Night", "Put Love in Your Life", "Time for Love", and "Stars in Your Eyes". It's almost a surprise to me that the best song "It's Not Too Late" doesn't have the crescendo at all. A clear indication that Air Supply has plenty of good music left.

The other thing is that although Tony Thompson is the drummer, Thompson really isn't utlized that great. Tony Thompson might be one of the most underrated drummers in the history of the music business. When he was brought in with Robert Palmer and the Taylors for Power Station, he was the difference maker with some ferocious drumming. While Thompson doesn't do a poor job on this album, he isn't the big difference maker on this album. His best track seems to be is contribution to "Heart and Soul". This isn't a knock on Thompson or Air Supply - perhaps Air Supply's brand of music just isn't going to give Thompson the stage to shine as much. As for Edwards, he does a nice job as producer - but he doesn't raise the bar of Air Supply any further.

Liner Notes are pretty good. Lyrics are included in my version of the CD as well as the appropriate songwriting credits. Overall, this is still a good CD. No it isn't a Hall of Fame CD by any means. It WILL be a CD that once you get it - you will listen to it. If you are an Air Supply fan, you will want this CD. It's probably a 3 1/2 star CD moreso than a 3 Star one.

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