Cookin' On The Roof: Expanded Edition

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There are many great things about '80s music that everyone forgets. One of those things is that any band could try just about any style, or mix a few styles together, and if the public accepted it, then that band would have some taste of success. Adam Ant tried it until he got it right (but then kept altering it until he got it wrong.). Thankfully, Roman Holliday's brilliant mix of pop and swing styles clicked with audiences and predated the swing craze by 15 years. This is not to say that the band's version of the swing sound was pure and accurate, but its interpretation of the sound was fresh and exciting. Though packaged as a teen-oriented band, vocalist Steve Lambert and the boys could have been marketed to the teens' parents and grandparents with equal success. Light, breezy, fun, and innocent, Roman Holliday was made up of accomplished vocalists and musicians playing a fun mixture of swing, rockabilly, and pop with class and style. "Stand By," "Don't Try to Stop It," and "I.O.U." were radio hits (and singles), but there were plenty of party tracks on this platter. "Serious Situation" would have made a great single, with a pretty, piano-ballad intro leading intp into mid-tempo, horn-laden heaven. "Motor Mania" is a hoot. Even when the album cruises into auto-pilot ("Jive Dive," "No Ball Games," "One More Jilt"), the results are still more fun than one of Hugh Hefner's parties. One of the true original debuts of the '80s, this album should have been reissued on CD during the heyday of the swing revival of the mid- to late '90s. Those who were there to experience it firsthand will never forget it. ~ Steve Schnee