CANDY – Whatever Happened To Fun [Rock Candy remaster]

Out of print for many years and never properly re-issued / remastered, the only album by Americans CANDY “Whatever Happened To Fun…” was ‘Remastered & Reloaded‘ by Rock Candy Records specialists with their usual quality standard.

Including guitarist Gilby Clarke (later of Guns N’ Roses and solo fame) and talented vocalist / keyboardist Kyle Vincent (who is now a celebrated cult AOR solo artist), Candy’s chief songwriter was bassist Jonathan Daniel, who later formed Electric Angels with drummer John Schubert.
Emerging from the same early ’80s L.A. glam scene that would eventually spit out platinum sellers such as Motley Crue and Poison, Candy might have had the same larger than life image and persona, but stylistically speaking they were cut from rather different cloth.
Daniel’s lyrics convey the growing pains of L.A. teenagers who see the end of their youthful party years coming, and are confronting the realities of adulthood. The lyrics of the title track and “Last Radio Show” actually seem to predict the negativity which would permeate rock music in the ’90s and beyond.

Musically, Candy fuse glam melodic rock with power pop catchiness embodying a seemingly long-lost era, when rock and roll was about having fun instead of being miserable (read grunge dark ages).
Citing influences as diverse as The Sweet, Kiss, Slade or New York Dolls the band worked the Californian scene like men possessed. They even received a helping hand from Runaways svengali Kim Fowley before hooking up with Kiss’s management company. Signing a record deal with the powerful PolyGram corporation, the band’s debut, and only album, was recorded in Criteria Studio in Miami with producer Jimmy Ienner (the Raspberries, Bay City Rollers) and set out an impressive stall consisting of a flamboyant mixture of powerful melodies and glam rock riffs.

Driven by big hooks and bigger melodies, tunes like “Electric Nights,” “Kids in the City” and “Turn It Up Loud” provide the same giddy infection as the best bubblegum. But the bright and shiny sheen is somewhat deceptive, as a melancholy streak brings a bittersweet cast.
‘Trying to find love in a party world’ asserts the hopeful “Weekend Boy,” before the backing singers pull the rug out from under the character’s optimism with a blunt ‘It won’t work this time’.
“American Kix” looks futilely for reasons to be happy, though hope springs eternal in the anthemic melody. The band’s light and dark sides find the perfect balance in the title track, which never manages to hide its desperation behind its melodic soaring chorus.
As you see, Candy’s lyrics are not the typical cheesy stuff from the bands of the era, which turn things even more interesting.

Plenty of crunchy guitar, tons of hooks and catchy melodies / vocal harmonies, “Whatever Happened To Fun…” is a remarkably good and enjoyable album.
Definitely, Candy was a different beast from the mid-Eighties L.A. scene. Originally it was one for those in the know, now it can be enjoyed by all.
Crystal clear remastering by Rock Candy, including a juicy essay in the booklet to discover the story of a band which was pretty unique among its peers.
Highly Recommended.

01 – American Kix
02 – Turn It Up Loud
03 – Whatever Happened To Fun…
04 – Last Radio Show
05 – Kids In The City
06 – Weekend Boy
07 – First Time
08 – Electric Nights
09 – Lonely Hearts

Kyle Vincent – Lead Vocals, Piano, Saxophone
Gilby Clarke – Guitars, Vocals
Jonathan Daniel – Bass, Synthesizers
John Schubert – Drums, Percussion

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www.sears.com/pid-candy-whatever-happened-to-fun-limited-collectors/p-SPM8401824102
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