The Great Escape

Destined to be forever synonymous with her 1988 Coca-Cola theme, "The First Time," gravelly voiced one-hit wonder Robin Beck's career extends far beyond her soft-drink soundtrack, having recorded her debut LP, Sweet Talk, as far back as 1979, while also maintaining a loyal if rather small dedicated fan base across Europe thanks to persevering with her trademark good old-fashioned AOR sound. While she may have become a staple on those VH1 Where Are They Now nostalgia shows, The Great Escape is in fact Beck's eighth studio album, and sixth since disappearing back into obscurity after failing to build on the momentum of her worldwide chart-topper. But apart from a few rather topical references to Tiger Woods on the feisty full-on rocker "Cross My Heart," an empowering anthem for jilted women that suggests Beck is not someone you want to mess with, and a slight nu metal influence on "All the Rivers," its 11 tracks unashamedly revel in the sounds of her '80s heyday. Produced by House of Lords frontman and husband James Christian (who she also duets with on the ABBA-inspired melodies of closing track "Till the End of Time") and prolific Swedish Grammy nominee Tommy Denander (Richard Marx, Yngwie Malmsteen), the likes of "The One" and "Got Me Feeling Sexy" adhere to the chugging guitar riffs and overblown glam metal solos of the poodle-haired rock scene; "Inside of Me," "Everything Is Alright," and "That All Depends" (the latter a duet with former Rainbow lead singer Joe Lynn Turner) feature the kind of shoehorned key changes usually associated with the Eurovision Song Contest; and the title track and "Don't Think He's Ever Comin' Home" provide Beck the opportunity to showcase her powerful raspy Kim Carnes-esque tones on two epic power ballads just crying out for a leather jacket-wearing, motorbike-riding supermodel video. The Great Escape certainly doesn't believe in the "less is more" approach, but whatever your stance on powerful-lunged female rock, you have to admire Beck for sticking to her guns. Unless another major advertising campaign comes her way, she won't be gracing the charts again anytime soon, but for those who feel that the "Alone" and "These Dreams" era was the pinnacle of Heart's career, this should be right up their street. ~ Jon O'Brien|