Tom Verlaine - Flash Light (CD)

All Music Guide

With this release, Tom Verlaine comes full circle to the style of his initial solo album. This great platter has an energized, mostly no-nonsense feel to it that is extremely appealing. Production is meticulous, if not normally showy as on his previous album, Cover. This release is chock full of rocking numbers of all kinds, ranging from straight-ahead, meat-and-potatoes types ("Cry Mercy, Judge" and "Say a Prayer"), to the quirkier "Bomb" and "Annie's Telling Me," to the walloping big beat of "A Town Called Walker," "The Funniest Thing" and "One Time at Sundown" are earnest midtempo selections that in places suggest Dire Straits. The "good old days" of Television and that group's lengthy guitar break sections are strongly evoked in the slow, grand number "At 4 A.M." The most unusual and striking song here is "The Scientist Writes a Letter." Here, the text is actually in the format of a letter, set to synthesizer-oriented music that is both intricate and changeable (suggesting the more... involved arrangements from Cover). This song is touching and true, the confessions of a man who must be himself at the cost of losing contact with a loved one. Released after a three-year silence, Flash Light was well worth waiting for; this splendid album makes an excellent purchase. - David Cleary, All Music Guide Read more Less