After disbanding in 1981, the original Voyager lineup reformed for this 2006 set ‘Eye Contact’. This album is quintessentially English, and keeps true to its classic era pop/rock origins from the late 70’s.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Voyager
ALBUM: Eye Contact
LABEL: Leadhead Records
SERIAL: LEAD002
YEAR: 2006
CD REISSUE: None
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: England
LINEUP: Paul French – vocals, keyboards *
Paul Hirsh – vocals, guitar, keyboards * Chris Hook – bass, vocals * John Marter – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Another Fool * 02 B.A.B.E. Babe * 03 Housework * 04 Something Special * 05 Another Week On Wall Street * 06 Go Bang * 07 Salome * 08 Every Shade Of You * 09 River Valley * 10 The Avenue Of Eternal Peace * 11 Slow Train
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
Some old timers will remember the British band Voyager from their 1979 hit ‘Halfway Hotel’ from the album of the same name. Let’s just clarify things first because there are several bands with the name Voyager so we want to exclude the ones that aren’t relevant to this review article.
Firstly, we do have several reviews of the Australian band called Voyager AU who have been around for a while. They are a prog metal band from Perth. Then there is another British band called Voyager UK and they play in a melodic metal style as per their 2014 album ‘Run Away Heart’ (Steelheart Memories).
But you should not be confusing those two with the band that we’re writing about today who go well back into the mid 70’s. After disbanding in 1981, the original Voyager lineup reformed for this 2006 set ‘Eye Contact’. This album is quintessentially English, and keeps true to its classic era pop/rock origins from the late 70’s.
The Songs
From where I’m sitting, ‘Eye Contact’ has a lot in common with an album that was also English and released in the same year, being The Hollies excellent ‘Staying Power’, though perhaps this one is a touch more subdued and not so much in the AOR vein which is unfortunate.
The opener ‘Another Fool’ is my pick as the best track here. An understated entrance which builds nicely to a pumping chorus. Quite a surprising mid-section change. From there, Voyager dabble in a style that’s classic rock fused with a mix of jazz and classical pop. It’s a bit hit and miss from my perspective, and it’s only on the odd occasion that the band rock out. Orchestration, saxophone and other brass instruments front load many of the songs which makes it less interesting to me.
In Summary
Released by Leadhead Records (which I believe is Paul French’s own label and named after a song of the same name from their 1980 album ‘Act Of Love’), you should be able to find a CD copy somewhere, or else connect with Paul on his website listed above. Good luck, as your mileage may vary.
Video
Another Fool
Go Bang
