Randy's best output by far.
Paul Watson | Ireland | 02/01/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Restless should have been the album that catapulted Randy into the Major league. Maybe it was the timing though. Smack in the middle of the New Romantics revolution, and the album even features two members of that throwaway band "The Thompson Twins. You can hear that 80s Roland Keyboard in frequent intervals,but it doesn't dominate and actually compliments the songs for its atmospherics. The guitar playing throughout represents Randy at his ultimate best - Period! It is his heaviest output since Captain Kopter and the Twirly Birds. Very powerful and basic (No frills) and that's how it should be. Neil Murray (Whitesnake/Black Sabbath and countless others) provides some meaty bass as well. I have read reviews in Magazines criticising Randy's nasal vocal tones. I can't figure that one out at all. His voice on this record is absolute beauty. Standout tracks are Second Child, Jack Rabbit and my favourite "Camelot". Camelot, in my opinion, is up there with one of Spirit's immortal Classics i.e. Natures Way. The original release of Restless (Without Bonus Tracks) would have 5 Stars in my book, but I have deducted 1 Star due to the very ordinary unreleased cuts featured as Bonus tracks (Chess King and Super Child). They were obviously written and performed around the same time, but they are just so ordinary and not in the same league as the tracks from the original release. I would have left the unreleased stuff to one of the many CDs that the Randy California Estate has left over the past few years that featured various unreleased demos and live songs etc over his long and industrious career. The Alternate mixes and demo's however are very welcome in my book. Finally, one important issue you should be aware of. The CD Sleeve has the track listings all over the place, which can be quite infuriating. At least Amazon has listed the track list order correctly. Randy deserved so much better."
Track Listings (17) - Disc #1