Search - David Foster :: David Foster

Instrumentals (and some Vocals) filled with Passion

L.A. Scene | Indian Trail, NC USA | 10/21/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Back in 1986, when I had heard that David Foster had a solo album coming out - I was very excited. I had long been familiar with David Foster's work as a producer and songwriter (i.e. producer for Chicago, songwriter for Lionel Richie, his involvement with the St. Elmo's Fire soundtrack and more). Therefore, I was thrilled to discover that David Foster had a solo album coming out. His self-titled debut album "David Foster" doesn't disappoint - in fact it is outstanding. There are 10 tracks to the collection. Eight of the ten tracks are instrumental tracks. The remaining two tracks feature vocals by Foster. In a lot of ways, Foster's music reminds you of John Tesh's early days - I like to think of it as "pop/New Age". Another way to look at things is that "David Foster" is "pop instrumentation". The "pop" isn't meant to be a negative here - in fact, this album brings a nice change of pace by bringing instumental tunes into the pop landscape.



One thing that is most noticeable about Foster's music is that it has a certain style. His keyboard arrangements have a distinct style that makes it easily recognizable to be "David Foster" music. I can't say this is style is something very tangible, but it does become obvious when you listen to his music. This is especially true when you compare this style to the work that Foster did with artists such as Chicago and Lionel Richie (Foster wrote "The Only One" from Richie's "Can't Slow Down" album). When you listen to his contributions he made to those artists, you will see this style will come to the forefront. Although Foster plays Keyboards on these tracks, you will hear a diverse array of instrumentation on many of the tracks. In addition to the vocals, there is a terrific infusion of horns and guitar. This helps put "icing on the cake" for the selections and really helps to make them stand out.



The collection begins with the most popular of the songs, Foster's "Love Theme from St. Elmo's Fire". This song was a part of the "St. Elmo's Fire" soundtrack. There were actually two versions of this song on that soundtrack by David Foster - one with vocals (Foster) and one as an instumental. The instrumental version became the released single and more popular version. The instrumentals seem to bring some real passion to this theme. This song has a great effect by combining a modern-day musicbox sound with some horns at the end. I think it would have been also nice if the vocals version was included, but at same time - this isn't a rehash of the "St.Elmo's Fire" soundtrack and the better version of the song was included.



The second track is also a soundtrack cut - this time it is the "Theme From the Color Purple (Mailbox/Proud Theme)". This is actually not a Foster penned song, but it was co-written by Quincy Jones and Jeremy Lubbock (Foster's collaborator on 4 songs). This song mirrors the "Love Theme from St. Elmo's Fire" in that Foster introduces the horns to overlay a musicbox-like instrumental. Not quite as passionate as "Love Theme", but still a good cut.



The third track is the best cut of the collection - "Flight of the Snowbirds". This song starts out with a "new-age" like beginning. This song then builds up with both intensity and passion and it goes on. It almost has a theatrical-like quality to it and it does seem to tell a story without words. This song will grow on you as you hear it. It proves that when it comes to passionate instrumentals, Foster is the top of the game.



Foster's talents are not just limited to instumentals. There are two tracks where Foster contributes vocals. The fifth track "The Best of Me" is a duet that Foster does with Olivia Newton-John. This track not only features Foster and Haddock as the songwriters, but it also features Richard Marx as a songwriter (before Marx became a star in his own right - perhaps they met when both collaborated on Lionel Richie's "Can't Slow Down"). Although this isn't the strongest Olivia Newton-John vocals you will hear, it still is a very good duet - and surprisingly it's Foster's vocals that will carry the song. The other song featuring Foster vocals is "Who's Gonna Love You Tonight". On this song, Foster brings a high level of intensity like he has brought to many of the other songs on this collection. This song has an almost Richard Marx quality to it even though Marx didn't collaborate with Foster on it. This song also has some great horns.



Two other songs worth noting are "tapDance" and "Playing with Fire". The title "tapDance" is exactly what the song title says - an uptempo Tap Dance-like simulation through music. Again no absence of horns as Foster integrates the horns beautifully into the song. You will hear actual moments of tap dancing in the song. "Playing with Fire" is a song that was co-written by Foster and Mike Landau. This is another superb song that features Chicago's Horn Players - James Pankow, Walter Parazider, and Lee Loughnane. This song has a definite "Chicago"-like quality thanks to horns playing. What is amazing is that many accused Foster (as a producer) of taking the classic horn sound out of Chicago (which I think is unfair), yet this song has qualities of classic (pre-Foster) Chicago. Foster's keyboards shine well on this song. Like many of the other tracks on this collection, this will feature a high level of intensity.



Although Foster has built his reputation as a songwriter and producer, this album also proves he is a terrific musical artist in his own right. This collection proves it. It is one of the better instrumental collections out there. This is a highly recommended album."

ETERNITY

Helen H Chui | 12/28/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not many music can stand the challenge of time --This one will. Attention should not be placed just on the more popular Love Theme from St Elmo's Fire, don't over look The Best Of Me and Who's Gonna Love You Tonight. It is an item you would cherish in years to come."