Strawberry daiquiris, mai tais, rum and cokes. Reel to Reel was recorded on Montserrat in the Caribbean and listening to this makes me long for a fruity island drink. The LP reflects its surroundings with a pleasant, easy going vibe that makes for fine background music without a lot of scrutiny. My favorite is the Peter Haycock sung "Summer Rain," which also has a nice Haycock guitar solo. Colin Cooper sings in a harder style which hints at the band's blues roots ("Long Distance Love" and "Lovin' Wheel"), but its still pop/rock. The music is performed with studio pro like precision, but stops short of slickness. The songs are consistently good, but none are catchy in the way "Couldn't Get it Right" is. "Children of the Nightime" tries a tad too hard to be the big single. "Crazy World", sung high by Derek Holt is so lightweight it floats away. The LP is short, coming in under 35 minutes. I saw the group when they toured this LP. It was an outdoor festival on the Fourth of July. CBB delivered a very relaxed and affable set. Even "Crazy World" sounded okay live. Afterward, they played cricket behind the bandstand while the headliner performed. Unfortunately mixed drinks were not available that day, just beer.
01 Summer Rain 5:28 02 Money In Your Pocket 4:06 03 Children Of The Nightime 4:00 04 Long Distance Love 3:54 05 Lovin' Wheel 4:21 06 Fallen In Love (for The Very Last Time) 3:28 07 Fat City 4:35 08 Crazy World 4:30