Some tough city --- Tony Carey --- 1984 (MCA)
What do you do after being in one of the biggest rock bands? Keyboardist with Rainbow for two years, Tony Carey started a solo career in 1982, which has so far spanned a total of 32 albums, between solo, instrumental and with his Planet P Project. This is the third of his solo albums, released in 1984, and it's a damn fine album.
Something of a concept album, it's based around the idea of poverty and hard times, as shown in songs like "A fine fine day" and "The first day of summer" --- with a riff ripped off from Clapton's "Layla", has to be said --- which were both hits, but it's tracks like "Eddie goes underground", "Tinseltown", "Hungry" and the title track that really flesh out the concept. Carey's keyboard skills are almost legendary, and he employs them to good use here, in addition to playing guitar and bass, and of course singing.
Something of a star in Germany, Carey includes just the one ballad, "She can bring me love". But at its heart this is a great rocker's album, and really an overlooked classic.
With an album of this quality, perhaps we should be following Germany's lead!
TRACKLISTING
1. A fine fine day
2. A lonely life
3. Eddie goes underground
4. The first day of summer
5. Reach out
6. Say it's all over
7. Tinseltown
8. Hungry
9. I can stop the world
10. Some tough city
11. She can bring me love