Album Club: 27.09.2011: Judie Tzuke - Welcome to the Cruise (1979) (Vinyl, CD, MP3)

[Reid Malenfant]

I must have been on planet mong...

Nice vacation, i know it well

[Vinyleyes]

This one not for me ... did not involve me at all at the time .. and things have not changed.. far too MOR.

I never saw her live but I am sure that would have been much better than this album at any rate ......... and I respect her as a sterling and honest performer over the years and so will give it a 3.

[WAD62]

I must have been on planet mong...

You can tell what vote you gave, as that key to the voting histogram will be in italics for that selection...

[SCIDB]

Hi,

I remember the the track "Stay with me till dawn" from back in 79. I was a song that was played at some of the discos I went to. It was one of tunes for the last dance. Not bad.

I have of this album knocking about some I gave it spin. I have to admit that only the well know track stands out for me. There are alright tracks but nothing that grabs me much.

It's not awful but it doesn't do it for me. I can see why people like Judie's songs & singing. Her voice isn't too bad at all. Some of the tracks are "middle of the road" to my ears.

Dean

[The Grand Wazoo]

I have none of her albums & have never really listened to her music at all, despite having a mate who used to play it quite a lot - I heard it, but never listened - there's a big difference!

So before I came to listen to it this time around, I tried to assess why this was. I came to the conclusion that possibly, at the time, I may have been a bit blinkered about music and had subconsciously decided that I shouldn't like it. Therefore, I probably never gave it a chance.

I've now listened to this album twice and I'm afraid I've come to the conclusion that my earlier attitude was probably as a result of simply being bored by what I heard. It's not a sound that will ever make the hairs on the back of my neck stick up.

It's fantastic that some folks like it & get real enjoyment from it, but it's not for me I'm afraid. Maybe I still am just a teeny bit blinkered, eh?

[Welder]

I really like Judy Tzuke’s voice.
To add to the problem I think I should like Judy Tzuke; she’s pretty enough, she can sing, she hasn’t done the big commercial bit, she alternative and folksy, everything that should give mega music cred and deserving of my support in the pursuit of “proper” music.

Trouble is there are only about 4 tracks in the stuff I have of hers that I listen to.
So all the right attributes but not the right tunes and none of the tunes I like are on this album.
I would like to be able to give a 2.5 vote here but I cant give this album 3 even if Judy herself deserves the marks.

[Audioman]

I thought this would divide opinion and it has. I can understand some will find it is not edgy enough but it is a super sounding record. I also note some like Judie but not this material. Perhaps I should have picked her later more obscure stuff but it's not on Spotify. The album is not 80's sounding as someone suggests -try 'Turning Stones' for that. Judie's music is not MOR perhaps folky/soft rock here.

Some of the later output is closer to Dance music and she uses more electronic sounds. For an overview of her career I would recommend the recent Moon on a Mirrorball compilation which is equaly split between the 80's material and her more recent independent releases. She has also written for various contemporary 'pop' acts such as Lucie Silvas and guested on the last Morcheeba album.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Judie's music is not MOR perhaps folky/soft rock here.

MOR/folky/soft rock?

MOR has been used to describe so many different types of music as to make it almost redundant as a useful description.
I try not to use genres too much, but I'd put this closer to Fleetwood Mac circa 'Rumours' than, say, Joni Mitchell circa 'Blue'.

On the second listening, I noted at times, a kind of flatness to her voice that stops it from really soaring. It's kind of hard to describe this - I don't mean she's singing flat but it's something in the actual sound of the voice. It's most pronounced in the 'oo-oooh's' towards the end of 'Ladies Night' and it kind of sounds to me like she's done too many takes and she's just a bit bored with it all. I'm playing that track again now to check I'm not imagining it & I'm not!

Looking at the poll, its good that all of the people who seem to like it really, really like it!

[Audioman]

MOR/folky/soft rock?

MOR has been used to describe so many different types of music as to make it almost redundant as a useful description.
I try not to use genres too much, but I'd put this closer to Fleetwood Mac circa 'Rumours' than, say, Joni Mitchell circa 'Blue'.

On the second listening, I noted at times, a kind of flatness to her voice that stops it from really soaring. It's kind of hard to describe this - I don't mean she's singing flat but it's something in the actual sound of the voice. It's most pronounced in the 'oo-oooh's' towards the end of 'Ladies Night' and it kind of sounds to me like she's done too many takes and she's just a bit bored with it all. I'm playing that track again now to check I'm not imagining it & I'm not!

Looking at the poll, its good that all of the people who seem to like it really, really like it!

I think what you are saying is this album is overproduced. It's pretty obvious that in places Judie's vocals are overdubbed multiple times which would have involved many takes. To me it's overproduced in a good way and I am a sucker for good rock with string arrangements - Paul Buckmaster of Elton John fame being used here. It's the type of production that unfortunately disappeared soon afterward with the wide use of keyboards and synths. If you prefer Judie unadorned in a band setting the 'Road Noise Offical Bootleg' album may be the place to start.

[keiths]

Alarm bells were ringing a bit with this one for me as I clearly remember hearing it on release - a friend was pretty keen on her (not sure if he was keen on the music or just on her to be honest) at the time - but the fact that I had never bothered to acquire a copy of it, on any format, in the intervening 32 years, struck me as a tad suspicious.
Anyhow, I have picked up an excellent vinyl copy on eBay and given it the required couple of spins before now commenting and voting.

The first thing that struck me was what a nice-sounding recording it is and that Judie's voice is very pleasant throughout. The arrangements are pretty good, though some are bit dated with the many overdubbed vocal lines etc. The main problem I had was (other than Stay With Me 'Till Dawn) the songs didn't seem that memorable and on the second play through I found my attention wandering.

So I've given it a 3 - better than I was expecting and am happy to add a copy of this LP to my collection.