Fandango’s ‘Cadillac’ is great hard edged radio rock, though it’s not AOR in the purest sense.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Fandango
ALBUM: Cadillac
LABEL: RCA
SERIAL: AFL1-3591
YEAR: 1980
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Joe Lynn Turner – vocals, guitar * Rick Blakemore – guitars * Larry Dawson – keyboards * Bob Danyls – bass * Abe Speller – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Blame It On The Night * 02 Rock ‘n’ Roll You * 03 Hypnotized * 04 Stranger (In A Strange Land) * 05 Don’t Waste My Time * 06 Cadillac * 07 Fortune Teller * 08 Getaway * 09 Headliner
WEBLINKS: NA
Background
Wanna know what Joe Lynn Turner was up to before he joined Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow? Well he was with the New York based band Fandango. They’d been on the circuit a few years, and had released a few albums along the way with the RCA label. Not earth shattering by any means, and there was mention that their radio styled approach was rather bland to start with.
However, by the time they got around to their fourth effort ‘Cadillac’ things had definitely gotten more interesting. This album is great hard edged radio rock, though not AOR in the purest sense. Their sound has more to do with bands from the mid 70’s like fellow New Yorkers Blue Oyster Cult, combining funky elements in that quaint style associated with bands from that era.
The Songs
The opener ‘Blame It On The Night’ is a mediocre start before we venture into ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll You’ which is a straight out rocker with an organ sound Jon Lord would be envious of. Meanwhile ‘Hypnotised’ sounds like ‘Agents Of Fortune’ era Blue Oyster Cult, with Blakemore’s guitar rubbing shoulders with Buck Dharma Roeser. ‘Don’t Waste My Time’ is another great rocker, with guitar and organ sharing center stage.
‘Stranger In A Strange Land’ is a definite retard from the 70’s, but is a neat tune nonetheless. The title track ‘Cadillac’ is a tacky attempt at rock ‘n’ roll humor, and it precedes a couple of the albums’ quieter moments in ‘Fortune Teller’ and ‘Getaway’. However we are spared from any wimp out album closures with the upbeat ‘Headliner’, coming off like debut Shooting Star. Not bad I say.
In Summary
This was the last of the Fandango studio albums, though there is a Best Of Fandango CD which was released in Japan back in 1999 which GDM has reviewed. ‘Cadillac’ probably sounds dated for todays modern audience, but for those with a liking for this style or this era, then Fandango must be on the shortlist then.
As of 2006, all of the Fandango albums acquired a CD re-release thanks to the people at Wounded Bird Records. The CD’s are also available through the major online retailers now, and as at 2009 also garnered a new reissue from Rock Candy. Great stuff!
Video
Blame It On The Night
Cadillac
