Sumner

Album review

The history of rock & roll is full of bands that had a lot of potential but didn't get very far commercially. One such band was the Los Angeles-based Sumner, whose self-titled debut album of 1980 underscores lead singer Sumner Mering's fondness for both arena rock and new wave. This intriguing, if uneven, debut isn't perfect. But the best songs on the LP (which range from "Run Cindy Run" and "Radioland" to the bluesy "Hot Night" and the raucous "More Beer") point to the fact that Mering (who wrote all of the songs himself) had a lot of potential as both a vocalist and a songwriter. And the L.A. rock critics who heard the record seemed to recognize that potential; not all of Sumner's reviews were rave reviews, but the press that the band received tended to be more favorable than unfavorable. Of course, favorable reviews don't necessarily translate into commercial success -- and from a commercial standpoint (as opposed to a critical/artistic one), Asylum/Elektra found Sumner to be disappointing. Despite its imperfections, this album made the listener want to keep a close eye on Sumner and see how it developed. But regrettably, there would never be a second Sumner album.

© Alex Henderson /TiVo