David Johansen : Melody
[Purchase]
The most memorable thing about David Johansen's second solo album, In Style, is the cover photography by Richard Avedon. The second most memorable thing is Johansen's full body dive into the disco scene with "Swaheto Woman".
New York City homer Robert Christgau still gave the album a B+, writing
Johansen is equal to his more soulish musical concept--no "disco," just slower tempos, subtle be-yoo-ty, and some reggae--but he doesn't have the chops to get on top of it, and while this is solid stuff, the best of it tends to thin out a little.
Although the problem isn't how often you think "that's bad" but how often you don't think "that's great," the record is summed up for me by "Big City," the most banal lyric he's ever written. Until now, you see, he'd never written any banal lyrics at all. Now he's got three or four.
The Village Voice critics poll, still made up of mostly New York based critics, placed In Style #24.
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