Search - David Essex :: Everlasting Love

Pretty representative of David Essex's later career

04/28/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"For better or worse, "Everlasting Love" is a pretty accurate representation of David Essex's career post 1978. That means it's wildly unfocused: Sometimes brilliant, sometimes awful. Essex can be a maddening performer, because he achieves greatness as often as he makes records that are almost unlistenable. On this disc, the split is almost 50/50 between the tripe and the good stuff. The latter includes the Phil Spector-styled "Sweethearts;" "Never Meant to Hurt You," a moving rock ballad written by Essex's wife, Carlotta Christy; a dynamic reworking of "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" that features one of Essex's most powerful vocals; and "High Flying Adored," taken from the Andrew Lloyd Webber show "Evita." Essex played Che Guevara in the original London version of the musical and many consider him to be the definitive actor in the role. Then comes the bad. There are too many pointless cover versions here, pulled from such albums as "Cover Shot" and "Love Songs." The technopop "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" is horrible, badly produced and sung. Essex's voice isn't as strong as it once was, most noticeably on the overwrought "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" and "The Wind Beneath my Wings." It's a good thing CDs can be programmed, because only half of this disc is worth listening to."