My Amazon Reviews: New England "Walking Wild"

Walking Wild, Heavy Style
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Back in 1981, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing New England's lead singer John Fannon for my college radio station as we sponsored a "Week in New England" promotion for "Walking Wild." The finale was a 100 yard Wild Walk race, with the winner getting a Sony Walkman (a cool prize back then) and copies of "Walking Wild" on cassette to groove on. John was an amicable interview and even complimented me on having knowledge of the band and decent questions prepared for our chat.

So I have a certain amount of nostalgia involved with "Walking Wild." While it is my personal favorite New England album, it's probably not the most representative work of the band. ("Explorer Suite" claims that title.) The person to point the finger of circumstance at is producer Todd Rundgren, who helped the band whip "Walking Wild" together in less than a month. He stripped a lot of the layered production of the first two albums away and turned the album into a leaner and tougher record.

There are moments when Todd's hand weighs in very heavy, making New England sound like a fantastic Utopia cover band. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the album's first single, a goofy hook feast called "DDT." Short for "Dirty Dream Tonight," it steams away with a barreling piano, thick harmony and an insta-catchy chorus. This really should have been the band's breakout single, but maybe it was a little too risque for the moment.

The sound New England is better known for shines through in the lush ballad "Love's Up In The Air" and the progressive synths of "Get It Up." The rockers (the title cut and "She's Gonna Tear You Apart") are the kind of arena rock you'd probably peg right-off as 80's music. There's also a great rock-rebel lyric line in the opening track that states "he looks good, he feels good, he's fashionably mad." When I asked John Fannon what that meant, he replied that "it feels good to be a little crazy sometimes. It's hip to be a little mad." "Walking Wild" was New England's last big crazy swipe at the brass ring, and they went for it with all guns blazing.