Crossfire Choir (1986, Passport)

More rock o' the '80s, comin' atcha.  So...this one wasn't exactly what I was expecting.  I've been interfacing with Crossfire Choir's albums for awhile - more like a decade or so to be exact.  I initially took the plunge with their third record, Dominique a couple years ago (which I'll get to in a future post) but I thought I'd start chronologically with these Florida to NYC transplants. A good half of the quartet's self-titled debut is actually pretty respectable, albeit nondescript at points.  Residing in the middle of the FM bandwidth, the band offer meager concessions to us left field types, sporting an array of mainstream-ish likenesses such as late '80s Duran, the Alarm, and Glass Tiger (yeah, I know, but occasionally accurate).

Oddly enough, C/C would wind up accumulating artistic cred as their tenure progressed, which was usually the polar opposite with any of their contemporaries, famous or otherwise.  So far as this platter is concerned, revelations are in short supply yet it's more than listenable, perhaps with one glaring exception.  One of Crossfire Choir's key selling points for yours truly was the inclusion of a CD bonus track (remember those?), "Frantic Romantic."  Any indie music-head worth their salt would make the safe assumption this was a cover of the Scientists post-punk classic, but startlingly it's an original - one that veers heavily in the vicinity of Oingo Boingo to boot.  Bummer.  Here's a link to an archived article on the Choir pertaining to the era surrounding the record in question. 

01. Love Hate Relation
02. Nation of Thieves
03. To Be Young
04. Walk Walk
05. The Last Word
06. Well Lets...
07. What's it to Ya?
08. Disappointment
09. Blue Eyed Thunder
10. Spark In Your Eye
11. Left Behind
12. Hell Hath No Fury
13. Waiting
14. Heaven and Earth
15. The Bringing
16. Frantic Romantic

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