The Stars We Are in Bloomington, MN

Another year and another label for
Marc Almond
, along with a newly stripped-down band,
La Magia
, with
Willing Sinner
vets
Annie Hogan
,
Billy McGee
, and
Steve Humphreys
on drums. Even more so than
Stories of Johnny
, this is
Almond
with an eye and ear on making a commercial record while still being himself, and the result is much better than expected.
Bob Kraushaar
's production feels much lighter and brighter in general than
Mike Hedges
' past efforts, and the songwriting often matches it -- the sprightly opening title track, followed by the tenderly passionate
"These My Dreams Are Yours,"
makes for what has to be the most upbeat start to a
album yet. Similar moments crop up throughout the record, including
"Bitter Sweet,"
with a killer sweeping chorus, the sparkling, slightly jazzy
"The Very Last Pearl,"
which gives pulsing nightlife one of its best makeovers ever, and a triumphant, everything-and-the-kitchen-sink version of
Gene Pitney
's
"Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart,"
replaced on later versions of the album with the U.K.-chart-topping duet with
Pitney
himself. That said, it's still an
album through and through -- the lighter songs still have his sweet purr in the vocals (and
Hogan
's keyboards and instrumental arrangements remain uniformly excellent), while moodier and expectedly dramatic numbers still turn up in abundance. The forceful duet with
Nico
"Your Kisses Burn,"
calls to mind prime
Lee
and
Nancy
, with masses of strings to boot; elsewhere,
"The Sensualist"
acts as his clearest statement yet on the many erotic joys life has to offer. Perhaps most surprisingly of all,
"Tears Run Rings,"
his most overtly political number to date, became a minor U.S. hit. ~ Ned Raggett