This Week's Forgotten Gem of the '80s - Little River Band's "Man on Your Mind"
I can't help it. I'm a sucker for sports teams that haven't won much for a long time, and I lose interest in and frequently begin to loathe the ones that routinely battle for championships each season. I think this intrinsic perspective may explain my affinity for Little River Band, the Australian soft rock hitmakers of the '70s and '80s. After all, despite the third word in its name, the group has garnered very little respect over the years for actually being a band, and a damn good one. Aside from classic songwriting and collaboration contributed by various members, LRB boasted some fine musicianship, especially some nifty guitar leads that often manage to take the "soft" right out of the band's brand of mainstream pop/rock.Enough of my generalized yammering; let's have some specific pontification about the group's great song "Man on Your Mind". Speaking of impressive guitar work, the riff and lead parts in this tune serve as but two of many highly successful elements that drive the whole. And lyrically, how many bands can work in a reference to a specialized vessel such as a Chinese junk in a song about a sinking love affair that's not even set in China? Of course, as usual, the song's ultimate worth lies in its hooks, supported by the sturdy foundation of a gradually building verse-bridge-chorus structure. Not that it's an entirely bad thing to be shunned by classic rock radio, but I've never understood why there's no place for Little River Band there when the Eagles enjoy a dominant position without rocking much harder.
Album Cover Image Courtesy of Disky
Comments
I couldn’t agree with you more. I grew up listening to the LRB and Lonesome Loser use to be one of my favorite songs to hear played on the radio. I still get nostolgic when I here it to this day. I have their greatest hits and there isn’t a bad song on it. I think the reason the Eagles don’t get the same rap, is because they are American & LRB is from Australia. Not that it should matter, but I think alot of people look at groups like that in regards to their roots. A lot of great Australian bands never got the kudos they deserved, but I still listen to them & enjoy what they have done.