Air Supply

And now for the musical-equivalent of a daytime soap opera.

This music is incredibly boring and marred by over-singing, but at least it's a real band making original music. The two guys' different voices work well together; I hadn't realize that was their thing in this band, but OK. There are many lineup changes, but the founding duo remain consistent: Graham Russell is the Brit that sing, writes, and plays guitar while Russell Hitchcock is the Aussie lead vocalist. Later, they sometimes serve as substitute hosts on Solid Gold. They met while performing together in a 1975 Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar, so excuse me if I proceed with caution. (One of the sisters that would go on to form the band Cheetah was also in that production and briefly played with these guys; her replacement in this band would eventually leave to play with Divinyls, and then later recruit away another Air Supply player to join him.) It turns out that I did know some of these songs, and overall it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that great of an experience either. I appreciate moving on my with listening.

I'm not really complaining, but it is a little awkward that their first four albums are not available streaming (in America?), so I went hunting through the dreaded Greatest Hits collections for the singles from some of those albums. Some were there, but others were not. Some showed up on the later albums. Still, I didn't even get to hear the entirety of Love & Other Bruises, third overall and their 1978 debut in America, which got to #2 in their native Australia, but the title track, their first single, did make it onto a collection. The album failed to chart in America, even though they had gone and re-recorded some of their earlier tracks for the occasion. So some of these songs were on the old albums, and some of them show up on later albums; there's some international repackaging going on here. It recalls the debate over what constitutes AC/DC's "first" album. There might be a self-titled floating around first in some markets. In the early days they toured with the likes of Rod Stewart, Boz Scaggs, Chicago. I know those are beloved bands to some, but we are undeniably dealing with "Soft Rock" here. The Simpsons called it wuss rock. If you enjoy Adult Contemporary then you might view these guys as masters of it.

Apparently there is a prior 1979 concept album(!) that morbid curiosity makes me interested in, but not that much. Lost in Love is actually their 5th album, but it's sorta the first in the US and the first I was able to listen to. Again, they are re-mixing and re-recording songs from previous albums. The first song "Lost In Love" comes from the concept album. It's a stunningly bland song to debut with. Nonetheless, this is where they make their mark. There are three Top 5 singles here. We all know "All Out Of Love," right? It is only the third song I l heard out of over a 100, but it has got to be one of their best. Oddly, I didn't recognize the song at first, but when the chorus hit the memories came flooding back. Where do I know this song from? From elevators? Commercials? The radio in my mom's car? Rollerskating? I suffered through often-cringe worthy lyrics and singing, but no more so than on "American Hearts," a shit song that made me want to confront these sappy Australians. They go a bit country, for some reason, on "Old Habits Die Hard." The funky disco  of "Just Another Woman, however, is a near-gem that sounds like late-period ABBA and showed this band can pep up when they want to. They don't want to often. Their ratio is all off: the rock album should have a few ballads on it, not the other way around.

I'm not entirely sure if my parents actually owned the next album or I've just seen it in so many thrift store record bins that I've become familiar with it in that way. Again, I hear some of these songs and wonder where I know them from, so vaguely on the edge of my childhood memories. It does contain a couple good songs that some might remember: "Here I Am (Just When I Thought I was Over You)" and "The One That You Love." It is super-easy to get the two hits confused, not least of which because when the latter's title is sung in the song it is also preceded by the line "Here I am...." Nonetheless, this is peak Air Supply and their most successful album. Pop maestro Clive Davis produces here, and he gets his hits. There's no denying the sweetness of their harmonies. "Sweet Dreams" is less memorable than the first two but a third Top Five single from the album. A song of theirs also gets used in a Japanese TV show, and so they become the proverbial "big in Japan." If soft rock is a genre then this album is a masterpiece of the genre, but it's not exactly what I'm looking for. After "Sweet Dreams" the album ends with four catatonic songs in a row, which is really damning because this was supposed to be their best ever work. It almost made me fall asleep while driving, so there's a legitimate danger lurking there.

They follow up with Now and Forever (1982), which effectively capitalizes on their momentum and success through the release of "Even the Nights are Better".  OK, sure that's a good song. So now we've got three or four pretty good songs worth acknowledging. I mean it's not great, but as long as I don't have to next listen to endlessly watered-down iterations of the same stuff for several more albums....

Although still in the early stages of their seventeen-album discography, things deteriorate rapidly after those two decent albums. For some reason the album they release in 1985, smack-dab in the middle of their career and not representing a change of sound in any way, is self-titled; it might have something to do with revamping the band personnel. When I read that Hearts in Motion (1986) was "a serious step down in the band's popularity" I got scared. I had every reason to be afraid. It is consistently weak and forgettable, but remember - they are trying to rock softly, so maybe somebody wanted this music.  Only "Lonely Is the Night" can rise above the pack; it was a mildly successful single, but you've got to really want it to like it. It's post-peak Air Supply and awkward, but it's the best they've got at this point. They follow it up with the uncalled-for Christmas Album, that adds nothing to any of the classics. They don't even make them sounds like Air Supply songs. It is a shamefully pointless collection of songs reminiscent of those 99 cent CDs you can get at Cracker Barrel or the grocery store: music by nobodies for anybody.

After a long break, during which the one guy releases a solo album that has a single featured in the 1990 movie Arachnophobia, they return with The Earth Is..., which fails to chart but launches them on a successful tour of Asia. I got nothing from this album except a brief nod for lead track, "Stronger Than the Night," the second in their series of songs about the night. It could be a great 80s power ballad, but it didn't chart. The problem might be that it was released in 1991. So this tolerable 80s band forges on into the 90s with limited success. Despite the alarming title of 1993's The Vanishing Race it actually alludes to the plight of the indigenous Australian people in sympathetic terms, not that there's a coherent concept album about it or anything. Again, I wasn't really too interested in most of this stuff and it generally sort of just washed over me inoffensively. There are some fine melodies on occasion I suppose ("Faith" comes to mind), but I gave most of these songs multiple listens trying to care and they never sunk in. Still, there is a mild rock band hidden in there somewhere. It sounds most like Styx when the electric guitar and driving drum beats occasionally kick in predominantly because the vocal similarities can be stunning at times.

News from Nowhere is a an apt title for their 1995 album that is seemingly devoid of purpose or meaningful content. It contains an unforgivable cover of "Unchained Melody" that cops too much from the Righteous Brothers' version. The album's title track is so airy that it's almost not even there. This was the album I lost patience with Air Supply. They seem to be mailing it in but enjoyed continued success in other places. There's another album that charts only in Asia.

The vanishing act continues on Yours Truly, which is also barely there. The beats are largely replaced by palatial strings and light acoustic guitar. I kept waiting for each song to kick in, and I got through more than half the album before anything happened. The lyrics become truly horrific, as in: "you are the future from the past/ You are the spell that has been cast." It recalls "Body Glove" from a previous album with the ghastly line: "the world is just potato chips/ joined together at the female hips." The last thing I want to hear is anybody's explanation of what that line is supposed to mean.

After a 16th unsuccessful album, it finally kicks up a slight notch for Mumbo Jumbo, a notable release from 2010 and their most recent album to date. As the title suggests, there is a bit more sonic variety here. Most of the songs chug-along with a decent beat. There's more electric guitars and drums, even hints of weirdness. It's more of a pop rock album, although they may very well have considered themselves that prior to this album. The ballads are power ballads. It's not all great, but at least they are trying-- and no doubt succeeding at their self-appointed task. It sits well with their other albums, so I hope their actual fans were pleased. Still, there are real problems. "Me Like You" is as dumb as it sounds. "Can I Be Your Lover" (no question mark) is irrirtating.  "Lovesex" is not just annoying-- it's actually kinda repulsive. It gets to a core issue: this is supposed to be a romantic band but there's little eroticism to this music (anymore, if there ever was) and some genuine potential for irritation. I didn't want to hear about "Learning to Make Love To You" either.

They are still touring and recently released a new single: "I Adore You" is OK. The track reels it in a bit and concentrates on what they do well: keeping it classy and smooth. And yet, even as I can picture this as someone's wedding song, I still don't want to hear it. "Do you mind if I adore you?" Gross, leave me alone. This stuff doesn't appeal to me much, but either does Thunder from Down Under - and both can still fill a room, so to each their own. I will leave this to the target audience. I have no doubt that this type of safe music and over-singing appeals to folks that watch American Idol and such.

Even bands that I might find musically dull can perhaps tell interesting stories. Taking a closer look can reveal nuances worthy of attention, even as it sharpens the focus on flaws. This band may have been done a disservice by the parameters of my project: perhaps Air Supply is not meant to be listened to in album chunks (much less all of them in a row). For most people, there's a time and a place where some of these songs will do nicely, and I'm comfortable including myself among them. Good for these two guys for still doing their thing today with little-to-no compromise of their original vision, whatever that might have been.