3WC (Third Wave Civilization) – Ian Lloyd

3WC is terrific, a smoother outing than the previous Goose Bumps with the singer and producer, Ian Lloyd and Bruce Fairbairn, respectively, seeming to be in sync, more comfortable with each other. "Straight From the Heart" was recorded three years before it became the breakout hit for the former lead singer of Sweeny Todd, a guy by the name of Bryan Adams, and this early version is an absolute revelation. What would have happened had the voice on the number one hit "Brother Louie" taken "Straight From the Heart" to the Top Ten first? Maybe it would have led to more hits for Ian Lloyd. Bryan Adams' songwriting partner, Jim Vallance, co-writes the title track with Ian Lloyd, and it is a great direction for this singer in search of a new hit. It is spacy, it is science fiction, it takes his Ric Ocasek-written track, "Slip Away," from the previous disc to the next level. It is simply a great piece of music. With Mick Jones of Foreigner, the brilliant Fairbairn, Loverboy's Paul Dean, and songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Jim Vallance, it is hard to imagine the former singer of Stories missing with this superlative effort. Foreigner's manager, Bud Prager, had the ear of the industry, and producer Fairbairn was a year away from his breakthrough hits with Loverboy. Much more refined than the excellent Goose Bumps album from 1979, that album had much potential but was all over the map. 3WC smooths things out with the pop flavors of Stories and that '80s sound which Bryan Adams made so popular. Lloyd's own songs, "Dedicated to You" and "Wanderers," are much more on target here as well, while he takes on covers of Gary Glitter's "Do You Wanna Touch Me" (which Tommy James did four years before this album), and the Supremes' "Stop! In the Name of Love." Both covers are fun, and they allow Lloyd the opportunity to go beyond the seriousness of the original tunes. The album is consistent with the tremendous reading of "Straight From the Heart," a Vallance/Adams original that works in "Lonely Nights" and an appealing combination of sounds which finally complement this valuable singer as perfectly as did the compositions of the Left Bank's Michael Browne. Innovative and carefully produced, it was just a couple of years before its time. Seek it out, hear some magic, and wonder what it takes to bring important music like this to the attention of the public. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide