MICHAEL McDONALD – No Lookin’ Back [Japan SHM-CD remastered] *EXCLUSIVE*

As requested, here’s in exclusive MICHAEL McDONALD‘s 1985 album “No Lookin’ Back” in its Japanese SHM-CD remastered version, released as part of the Warner Music Japan ‘AOR Best Selection 1300’ reissue series.
Ex- member of The Doobie Brothers, “No Lookin’ Back” is McDonald’s second solo album, and as you can see in the credits, this is a heavily synth based album typical for the year – 1985 – yest with organic instrumentation as well including Jeff Porcaro on drums (Toto), David Pack from Ambrosia on guitar, contributions from guitarists Joe Walsh (Eagles, James Gang), Robben Ford, and more.

When five-time Grammy winner Michael McDonald left the Doobie Brothers behind in the early ’80s, he seemed destined to succeed as a solo artist — but by the time he released his second post-Doobies effort, No Lookin’ Back, in August 1985, he’d lost much of that incredible momentum.

Between scoring Doobies hits and lending his distinctive vocals to a lengthy list of successful singles for other acts (including Steely Dan, Little Feat, Kenny Loggins, and Christopher Cross), McDonald’s voice was all but inescapable when he released his solo debut, If That’s What It Takes, in 1982.
As a songwriter and recording artist in his own right, his co-writing credits ran the gamut from Carly Simon to Van Halen. Yet as it happened, McDonald was surprisingly ill-suited for the solo limelight.

Part of the problem lay with his own perfectionism and slow songwriting process, which added up to progressively longer delays between albums once he found himself in charge of coming up with and recording all the material.
Fortunately in between albums, he remained in demand as a session player and vocalist, and continued to pick up high-profile gigs like “Yah Mo B There,” a Grammy-winning duet with James Ingram that gave McDonald half of a Top 20 hit in 1984 while he continued chipping away at this, his second solo LP “No Lookin’ Back”.

Co-produced by McDonald and Ted Templeman (Van Halen), “No Lookin’ Back” is indeed an elaborated album despite being AC radio oriented. He took the time to polish every song and arrangement to the extreme, and it’s reflected in the final result.
The album’s first and leading single, “No Lookin’ Back” – co-written with Kenny Loggins – was a commercial success, peaking at No. 4 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Often associated with more soft rock sounds, McDonald’s “No Lookin’ Back” is a pretty uptempo album with that ‘1985 synth’ style mixing Hi Tech Lite AOR / AC rhythms and a classic rock feeling.
It’s a record that every US ’80s music fan should check out, strong in songwriting / performances and glossy in the production side.
Highly Recommended

Only at 0dayrox

01 – No Lookin’ Back
02 – Bad Times
03 – (I’ll Be Your) Angel
04 – By Heart
05 – Any Foolish Thing
06 – Our Love
07 – (I Hang) On Your Every Word
08 – Lost in the Parade
09 – Don’t Let Me Down

Michael McDonald – all vocals, keyboards, synths
Randy Goodrum, Mike Hanna, Brian Mann – synthesizer
Chuck Sabatino – synthesizer, backing vocals (3, 5)
David Pack – guitars, synthesizer
Joe Walsh – slide guitar (2)
Robben Ford – guitar (3), lead guitar solo (9)
Willie Weeks, Nathan East – bass
Jeff Porcaro – drums, cymbals
George Perilli – drums (1)
Staff Fieldhouse – electronic drums (4, 8)
Roger Nichols – drums (6)
Paulinho da Costa – percussion (6, 9)
Cornelius Bumpus – tenor saxophone (3, 5)

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www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/WPCR-17480