Album Review #18 - Roger Daltrey - "McVicar" (1980)

Album Review #18

Artist:  Roger Daltrey

Album:  McVicar (soundtrack)

Year of Release:  1980

Grade:  4 / 5

 

Band Members

Roger Daltrey – vocals

Pete Townshend – guitar

Ricky Hitchcock – guitar

Billy Nicholls – guitar

Jo Partridge – guitar

John Entwistle – bass

Herbie Flowers – bass

Dave Markee – bass

John Bundrick – keyboards

Ken Freeman – keyboards

Ron Aspery – flue

Kenney Jones – drums

Dave Mattacks – drums

Stuart Elliott – drums

Frank Ricotti – percussion

Tony Carr - percussion

 

Background

Roger is famous as the lead singer and founding member of The Who.  During a break from The Who, Daltrey made a movie starring himself as John McVicar, a British criminal.  Daltrey had previously recorded a song called “The Prisoner” based on the McVicar case (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McVicar).  Daltrey had previously starring in the movie “Tommy” based on The Who’s rock album of the same name. The McVicar film was successful in the UK but not very successful elsewhere.

 

While this album is actually a soundtrack to the movie and not the typical solo album.  This was his third album outside of The Who.  The remaining members of The Who participated in the album (Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Kenney Jones).

 

 

Track Listing

1.      “Bitter And Twisted” (Steve Swindells)

2.      “Just A Dream Away” (Russ Ballard)

3.      “Escape, Part 1” (Jeff Wayne)

4.      “White City Lights” (Billy Nicholls, Jon Lind)

5.      “Free Me” (Ballard)

6.      “My Time Is Gonna Come” (Ballard)

7.      “Waiting For A Friend” (Nicholls)

8.      “Escape, Part 2” (Wayne)

9.      “Without Your Love” (Nicholls)

10.  “McVicar” (Nicholls)

 

 

Review

The opening track “Bitter And Twisted” is a hard driving rocker.  Daltrey’s vocals have a snarling quality. The keyboards and guitars provide a great opening riff.  While this may not be a great song, it is an enjoyable one.  The horn-ish sounds add another layer of complexity.

 

 

“Just A Dream Away” is a wonderful ballad.  It is a song about the strength of a relationship across long distances.  While Daltrey is primarily known for his rock songs with The Who, he does a fantastic job on ballads like this one.  It starts with a simple piano then adds layers as it goes.

 

 

“Escape Part 1” is an instrumental track.  Considering that Daltrey is known as a vocalist, an instrumental falls more into the soundtrack of this album.  That being said, it is a pretty good track.  It does have a dated feel 40+years later.

 

“White City Lights” is probably the weakest song on the album.  It has a country type feeling to it that feels a little out of place for Daltrey and for a crime drama.  It isn’t that it is a terrible song but just that it feels out of place.

 

“Free Me” is probably the biggest hit off the album by rock radio play.  It is reminiscent of his scream in “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who.  It is an angry sounding vocal and it really comes across emotionally.  This is a hard charging rocker as The Who have ever recorded.

 

“My Time Is Gonna Come” opens with a funky beat then adds keyboards.  It is a harder driving song.  The vocals seem rushed like too many words but not enough time to get them in.  I do enjoy the song but it is in the middle set of songs for this album if I were to rank it.  Strangely, I like the instrumentation portions over the vocals.

 

“Waiting For A Friend” is a really good song but not likely to be on anyone’s favorite Daltrey solo songs.  It has quite a bit of a Who feeling to it.  There is some great guitar work.  It is a medium tempo rocker.  Daltrey’s vocals almost always have an angry quality to it except on his ballads.

 

 

“Escape Part 2” is very similar to the Part 1 take of the song.  It has a more synthesized feeling to it.  It is an instrumental as well.

 

“Without Your Love” is probably my favorite Daltrey solo song.  It is also his best charting solo song.  It has simple instrumentation but matches the vocals beautifully.  It is a wonderful sequel to “Just A Dream Away”.  It is about the strength of each other’s love.

 

“McVicar” could have been a straight up Who song.  It has the hooks that The Who are most famous for – great vocals, power chords, and pounding beat.