DAVID CASSIDY – Home is where the Heart Is – (RCA) – 1976

 what Frank is listening to #27 – DAVID CASSIDY – Home is where the Heart Is – (RCA) – 1976 

 

At the outset I will say I don't know why David Cassidy gets knocked as much as he does. The kids (of the time) certainly loved him, but, despite being a teen idol, his albums were thematically and lyrically quite adult. Musically he wasn't an innovator, but the songs are catchy enough. Cassidy also seems to understand his celebrity, and he was very, very popular. In terms of adulation Elvis and the Beatles werent that different … they also had millions of 13 year old girls fawning over them, and both, also, recorded a healthy dose of pop. That's not to say he is as good as Elvis or the Beatles but he deserves more investigation, and  respect, than that accorded to him.

When people are willing to concede anything to Cassidy they usually say the Partridge Family had a few good catchy tracks. And, this is true, but Cassidy solo, is still dismissed. This is unfortunate because at his best he is Paul McCartney Jr … he has a good pop sensibility, McCartneyesque phrasing, and his lyrics (whether he wrote them or not) are thoughtful enough to place him higher than his teen idol contemporaries. In many ways he seems to be mining the same ground as another underappreicated 70s pop idol, David Essex. And, that's not a bad thing as Essex had quite a few great tracks.

About half the tracks here were written by Cassidy and they are done in a sort of "world weary" teen pop star style if that isn't a contradictory group of words. Cassidy, I think, was at this stage still scarred (and scared) (and indeed wasn't touring to promote his albums) after a young 14 year old was crushed to death at one of his concerts in England.
 
It's hard to appreciate now how popular he was in the mid 70s in the US and especially Europe – but he was.
  
Side 1
The first side has 3 good pop tracks :

"Damned If This Aint Love" … seems to take the Bobby Darin refrain from the song "Change" …  "Damned if what you're feelin' isn't change" and put it in the context of a medium tempo pop song.

"January" – a very credible version (or reasonable facsimile) of the great "Pilot" song … not quite as good but not bad.

"Tomorrow" – this is the McCartney tune from his "Wild Life" (1971) album …  and you cant find a clearer example of the McCartney influence on Cassidy … he does a great Paul impersonation. (UK#12)

Side 2
is a bit more sluggish but "Goodbye Blues" is a pleasant jaunt and "Bedtime"is a suitable pop lament to end the album.
 
Because pop is basically what it was 50 years ago – it doesn't change much from era to era – Cassidy's music has dated better than others of the same era … qv: "Emerson Lake and Palmer", "Glitter Band" etc …
 
A few more wines and I might keep this LP … if I stop with the wines now I probably will tape a couple of tracks and ditch the album.
 
sound:
McCartney Jr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLlFaJnz33I (though he sounds hoarser here than on my LP)
 
website:
 
Elvis related trivia:
It's a little known fact that there were some David Cassidy LPs in Elvis' personal  collection … though it is generally assumed they belonged to Lisa Marie.
 
(originally posted: 16/08/2009)

 

 

 

 

About Franko

Hi, I'm just a person with a love of music, a lot of records and some spare time. My opinions are comments not reviews and are mine so don't be offended if I have slighted your favourite artist. I have listened to a lot of music and I don't pretend to be impartial. You can contact me on franklycollectible@gmail.com though I would rather you left a comment. I also sell music at http://www.franklycollectible.com Cheers
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