You’d think that after all these years of the CD being the king of pre-recorded
music formats that there wouldn’t be any albums left to reissue, especially in
this day and age of any old classic album getting an oft-times unnecessary
deluxe reissue with a buttload of bonus tracks that are usually not worth
hearing after one play. Not only that, but there have been so many obscure
releases from the ‘60s brought out on CD that really play to the esoteric
crowds, the real hipsters, the folks who thrill at dropping a little extra money
on something freaky. So yea, you’d really think that everything would be out
there to enjoy. But it isn’t.
So why has it taken this long for Stephen Bishop’s wonderful third album to be
reissued?
Good question. And who knows, really? But the fact that it has been done so by
CD Baby makes one thing clear: Bish himself has reissued the thing all on his
own. There’s no fancy frills to the disc. The sleeve has obviously been
reproduced on a printer, and there are no lyrics or inner sleeve pictures or
credits like on the original vinyl. This is not a deluxe reissue. But it’s a
very important reissue. At least to a fan like myself, who as a kid got the LP
for 50 cents in a Woolworth’s bargain bin after hearing his older brother’s
copy.
To most people, Stephen Bishop is the guy who sang “On and On” or “It Might Be
You”, or even the theme to “Animal House.” Then there’s also “Send a Little Love
My Way (Like Always)” which comes from this album and is typical of Bish’s soft
rock love song style. But that’s just the thing here. Red Cab to Manhattan
broke away from the mold of Bishop’s first two platters, Careless and
Bish, by mixing up the styles and rocking things a bit more. Plus there’s a
whole lot of great humor packed into these songs.
For instance, there’s the opening track, “The Big House,” which is a tasty
metaphorical tale about getting shitcanned in a relationship. Then there’s the
wacky Broadwayesque groove of “Thief in the Night,” a tender tune about a lover
cheating on the singer. And let’s not forget the touching mobster tale
underpinning “Living in the Land of Abe Lincoln,” or the rocked-up goofiness of
“Sex Kittens Go to College.” Yes, Bish was certainly working at 110% on these
songs.
But then there’s also the softer side as well, as on the smooth “Don’t You
Worry” and the touching title track that makes perfect sense to me all these
years later. Or how about “Little Moon,” which is possibly about actress Karen
Allen (on the LP’s original inner sleeve was a strip of photos with Bish and
Allen done in one of those photo booths)? These are fantastic songs, and along
with the likes of such numbers as “The Story of a Boy in Love” and “My
Clarinet,” these are simply perfect pop songs that have unfortunately been
forgotten by the CD reissuing machine, and perhaps even the public at large if
they weren’t there to enjoy it the first time around.
So my personal thanks to Bish himself for finally getting this one out on disc.
I have literally waited years for it to happen, and now there’s no longer this
yawning hole in my collection waiting to be filled. If you’ve never been privy
to Red Cab, then do visit the CD Baby website and give it a try. It’s
seriously one of the best albums that arrived at the beginning of the ’80s, and
easily the best in Bish’s catalogue by far.
~Jason Thompson
jthompson@bullz-eye.com
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