"Downtown" Review By Nathalie Baret

Thank you to Nathie for sharing this with JWOL!

When it comes to being able to set a hook to lyrics, John Waite has delivered more than a few of them over the last three decades of his musical career.

Commencing with his work as frontman for the Babys', to his solo efforts in the mid-80's to his stint as lead singer for Bad English, to striking back out on his own, Waite's ability to hook listeners has never faltered. This became evident as both No. 1's "Missing You and Bad English's "When I See You Smile", along with the Babys' Top 20 hit "Isn't It Time", each morphed into radio staples still played across the dial today.

Waite's latest studio offering, "Downtown-Journey of a Heart" (Rounder Records), which features a tasteful assortment of retooled hits extracted from his prolific catalog as well as a couple of new tracks, shows he still has that gift for creating memorable hooks.

There's no a bad song on the album. Some pivotal songs include his new bluesy adaptation of Bob Dylan's "Highway 61", "Missing You", his duet with Bluegrass singer Alison Krauss, who adds a lush, vibrant feel to this previous international smash. And his most recently penned song, "St. Patrick's Day" is a cinematic, sweeping-ballad that demonstrates his sophisticated song-writing.

Some additional standouts are his organic versions of "In Dreams" and the Diane Warren-penned "When I See You Smile", which both flaunt an acoustic, softened-up approach. This enables the songs to breathe more than its original counterparts and highlights Waite's clean, sharp vocals that wrap lingeringly around the lyrics.

--Nathalie Baret 1-22-07