Great staying power.

Review Score: (8/10)
There's a lot of reasons why I avoided Leo Sayer during the latter years of the Seventies. Chief among them were "When I Need You" and "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing," which managed to epitomize the worst of Seventies balladry and Seventies disco. Then there was his decision to play Sun City in South Africa during the apartheid era, which I still believe was inexcusable. So it took a long road for me to travel to get to this fine album. This is chock-full of great songs by Sayer and his then-writing and playing partner David Courtney, all (sort-of) centered around life as a working entertainer. Probably the most affecting are the first and last numbers; "Telepath" captures the disorienting feeling of trying to adjust to travel and still maintain contact with those closest to you (this was written before cellphones, you know!), while "Giving It All Away" has the FEEL of determination about it, even though the lyrics are somewhat oblique. "Long Tall Glasses" is the catchiest song here, about singing or, in this case, dancing for your supper. When Leo starts vamping the line, "Of course I can dance," the band kicks in behind him and it all makes for rousing fun. He owes a big debt to Elton John and Van Morrison in a few places, but in the end the songs and the singer win you over.

With this album, I can forgive Leo Sayer for his later lapses---and for my constantly getting him mixed up with Richard Simmons!

More Reviews:

• Leo Lasts
• THE UNKNOWN MASTERPIECE
• If only today's music was this good.