| The misadventures of guitarist/songwriter
Pat Gribben and vocalist Terry Sharpe
would
have been enough to discourage many
less
hardy. They have been dropped by two
major
labels after hits and near misses with
Belfast's
Star Jets (CBS Records) and the first
line
up of Adventures (Chrysalis Records).
Now
with WEA Elektra Records they are making
another play for the big time. And
we're
talking big. Everything about their
second
LP is epic-the resonating guitar chords,
walls of synths, reverberating drums
and
massed choral harmonies. The latter
is an
The Adventures trademark, their five
piece
line-up featuring two backing singers
constantly
on hand to bolster Terry Sharpe's remarkably
Jon Anderson-like voice. On Sea Of
Love they've
set sail for the rockier shores of
America,
replacing subtlety with the more strident
requirements of contemporary anthemic
pop-rock,
entering (albeit from the opposite
direction)
the same territory as Def Leppard or
Heart
(without the guitar solos). Exciting,
if
a little less daring than might have
been
hoped. |
