The last of the Quarterflash studio albums released on a major label sees ‘Girl In The Wind’ released a decade after their debut.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Quarterflash
ALBUM: Girl In The Wind
LABEL: Epic
SERIAL: 467100-2
YEAR: 1991
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Rindy Ross – lead vocals, saxophone * Marv Ross – guitars, keyboards, harmonica * Doug Fraser – guitars * Mel Kubik – keyboards, backing vocals * Sandin Wilson – bass * Greg Williams – drums, percussion
TRACK LISTING: 01 Something More * 02 Where I Stand * 03 Girl In The Wind * 04 Is It Any Wonder * 05 Diamond In The Rough * 06 One Less Lie * 07 Love As A Last Resort * 08 Without You * 09 Paint It Blue * 10 Let Somebody Love You
WEBLINK: Site Link
Background
The last of the Quarterflash studio albums released on a major label sees ‘Girl In The Wind’ released a decade after their debut, and six years after their last album: 1985’s ‘Back Into Blue’. By this stage, Quarterflash had moved into a typical mid 80’s hi-tech female fronted band similar to other contemporaries of the day.
So what do they sound like in 1991? Pretty damned good actually. The album was produced by Charlie Midnight, and there’s a bit of an edge to their songs, coupled with a rockier vide which works well for me.
The Songs
The first two songs on the album are immediately immersible into the memory bank. ‘Something More’ and ‘Where I Stand’ as a pairing gets the album off to a resounding and melodic start. The title track ‘Girl In The Wind’ is a bouncy enjoyable number, played with the kind of energy from the era of The Bangles etc. You’ll get it once you hear it.
‘Is It Any Wonder’ puts the brakes on, though the song is a ballad it’s very lush and super melodic. Unlike ‘Diamond In The Rough’ which is about as AOR as it gets in 1991. It kinda reminds me of Belinda Carlisle‘s best moments. The track is also a co-write with producer Charlie Midnight. Also keeping it in the’ rock zone’ is ‘One Less Lie’, while ‘Love As A Last Resort’ is a very likeable tune, not unlike Patty Smyth during her solo era.
‘Without You’ with its insistent melody lines and strong chorus should find some favour too. ‘Paint It Blue’ written by Dianne Warren is the same song also recorded by Joe Pasquale on his ‘Prey’ album the same year as this. The Finale ‘Let Somebody Love You’ is a sultry late night listen which drifts gracefully on the wind. Nice.
In Summary
This album was initially released in Europe only. A shame really, as it is blessed with some super material, with a strong underlay of synths and keyboards which makes it all the more interesting for GDM readers.
This version of the band apparently recorded an unreleased album’s worth of material in 1995, while the Ross/Ross combo released further material in the years since. Certainly as a last post, ‘Girl In The Wind’ is well worth your time. Give it a listen.
Quarterflash on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
