It’s one thing to be retro, and another thing entirely to actually be stuck
in a particular decade. Richard Harris’s recent release Pssst…Over
Here falls into the latter category. The first track, “We Will,” started
to draw me in because it sounded like a fist-pumping homage to Blue Oyster Cult.
But the rest of the record is bogged down by the kind of songs and styles that
could have only existed in the 1980s. I couldn’t help but sing “everybody
cut footloose” during “Her;” the urge is just too irresistible
given the pseudo-new wave beat. The record alternates between third-generation
blues-rock and… well, the type of tepid MOR rock-lite made famous by the
likes of Eddie Money and Rick Springfield. “Danger” even reminded
me of Christopher Cross. And while the 1980s was an era of excess and overproduction
in music, Pssst is surprisingly under-produced, and the lo-fi sound actually
works against the material. All in all, it’s difficult to believe that
this was recorded just a year ago; everything about the record seems trapped
in a time capsule. I can only give kudos to Harris and company for perfectly
recreating an outdated sound.