The Record Music Magazine

AIR SUPPLY - THE SINGER AND THE SONG - UNIVERSAL
Record Rating: ***

For well over thirty years and twenty odd magical records, the tale of Air Supply has wound inexorably through the highest acclaim, with a fanatical word-of-mouth fan base along the way, which includes Rod Stewart, Phil Collins, Celine Dion and Stevie Wonder. The team of Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell were The Beatles of the early 80s with a string of easy listening ballads that crossed over into pop radio and became huge hits.

There’s nothing unusual about a band going back into its musical closet to dust off and slip into old favourites for another package of greatest hits ~ and that’s exactly what Air Supply does for latest release The Singer And The Song.

The album includes two discs, comprising a CD and a DVD. The audio set is titled Unplugged And Acoustic, and revisits some of the band’s best-known material with sparse, acoustic arrangements. Lost in Love, The One That You Love, All Out Of Love and Making Love Out Of Nothing At All were all soaring melodies that articulated to millions what love should be and feel like. Years later, people still live in fidelity to those lyrics and, of course, the original production work. Unfortunately, these electric guitar- and percussion-based anthems don’t translate well unplugged and tend to come across as hollow and unimpressive.

Elsewhere on this short, 11 track disc, classics like Sweet Dreams, Chances and Two Less Lonely People (In The World) are surprisingly accessible and pleasant, and should appease long time fans seeking salvation. The real reason to get The Singer And The Song would be for the DVD ~ besides four unplugged performances, rare footage draws the viewer into a very personal story of love and family, and reminds one why they loved Air Supply the first time around.

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