on The Line

The pop/rock power pent up in "High on Emotion" established the fact that Chris de Burgh could be just as energetic as he could be romantic. Its explosive chorus followed by some dynamic electric guitar riffs highlighted 1984's Man on the Line, making a rocker out of the usually complacent balladeer…

This Lee Ritenour twin pack consists of two albums that were originally recorded by JVC for the Japanese market and saw release in the U.S., almost as an afterthought. The proof of this is that Rio and On the Line were licensed for American issue first by Elektra before getting their subsequent GRP packages. By the time GRP put them on the market, these packages were separated by a decade in terms of recording time. Rio is an all acoustic recording which has aged quite nicely over the decades, while On the Line, with three different bands and a handful of direct-to-some-kind-of-digital processes, sounds flat, dated, and in places simply tired. Hardcore Rit fans won't care, but novices should be wary.

The pop/rock power pent up in "High on Emotion" established the fact that Chris de Burgh could be just as energetic as he could be romantic. Its explosive chorus followed by some dynamic electric guitar riffs highlighted 1984's Man on the Line, making a rocker out of the usually complacent balladeer. Following suit, only with a little less vigor, is the title track that sparks a little bit of dramatic anger in de Burgh's voice. He hasn't left his mellifluous candor behind completely, though, but his slower pieces do seem to be a tad more hearty. "Sound of a Gun" deals with a civilian's outlook of living in a war-torn country, which has de Burgh singing in whispers at one point.