Reviews by Deseret News staff writers of recent instrumental and rock recordings:
VAL MAGYAR; "Acts of Love" (Miralta Records). * *
As the title suggests, the instrumental fantasies on the album "Acts of Love" lean toward the romantic. The overall effect, however, is muted by deliberately paced, sometimes graceless arrangements.
Val Magyar is a trio led by multi-instrumentalist Robbie Nagy. ("Val" is short for "valodi," "real" in Hungarian; "Magyar" means "Hungarian.") Pianos and synthesizers are in the spotlight throughout. And while keyboards often star in the most lyrical and progressive of modern instrumental music, most of the melodies on "Acts of Love" have a not-quite-polished sound rather more reminiscent of the early '70s than the early '90s.
A few do perk interest. "Always" keys on a tick-tock rhythm. "Rainbow Tales" is gentle, even childlike. "Love Letter" is the highlight, hinting at romance but with an edge lacking elsewhere on the album.
- Ray Boren
DEF LEPPARD; "Retroactive" (Mercury Records). * * 1/2
Rock 'n' roll's British knights are on the scene again. This time it's a clean "outtakes" compilation titled "Retroactive." The album consists of B-sides recorded during the "Hysteria" and "Adrenalize" sessions mixed with songs the band hid away for years - until now.
Even though "Hysteria" and "Adrenalize" sounded more like guitar-dubbed techno-pop, many of the songs recorded during these album sessions have a definite bite - a return to the band's original style.
Unfortunately, this occasional edge leads to an inconsistency in the album's content. Some songs reflect the newer pop-rock style and some sound like martyred ballads.
The heaviest, and possibly the best, piece is the thunderous opening cut, "Desert Song." Guitarist Steve Clark, before his death in 1991, fingered out an encore performance lead for this song that could be considered the strongest in his career.
Other songs like "Fractured Love," two versions of "Two Steps Behind" and "Miss You in a Heartbeat" all reek of hopeless teenage love, while remakes of Sweet's "Action" and Mick Ronson's "Only After Dark" bring out the Lep's "party on" attitude.
"I Wanna Be Your Hero" - the band's original version of "Love Bites," and yet a totally different song than the "Hysteria" hit single - siphons the neo-Western flavor Bon Jovi has staked a claim to.
In most compilation albums, some type of flavor and thematic inconsistency is inevitable. "Retroactive" is no exeption.
- Scott Iwasaki