Taught By Experts

Album review

Sounding like a cross between Neil Sedaka and Billy Joel, without the Top 40 appeal of those voices, Peter Allen certainly seemed like a man who was much too Broadway for the pop charts he helped Olivia Newton-John, Melissa Manchester, and Christopher Cross climb. His version of "The More I See You" is a safe remake, but a Chris Montez cover of the tune from the 1945 Betty Grable film has the charm. This version did get adult contemporary airplay in 1976, and features Herb Alpert on trumpet, Jim Gordon on drums, Carole King's ex-husband, Charles Larkey, on bass, Bostonian Alan Estes on percussion, and even labelmate Lesley Gore on backing vocals. Bobby Rozario's orchestration is lovely, but what needed to happen here was to have Lesley Gore duet with the singer. Peter Allen was just too overbearing for a world where even Barry Manilow at his most ostentatious could wink and get away with it. The other problem with this album is the production by Brooks Arthur, the same dilemma Lesley Gore's Love Me by Name album suffered at the hands of Quincy Jones -- a term producer Jimmy Miller called overproduction. Mr. Miller often said there is no right or wrong in production, but there was half a wink when he said that. At the top of his game he may have brought Peter Allen's vocals down a bit in the mix of "Harbour" and let the music swell. A beautiful composition by the singer, his vocals are so far out in the mix that the elegance is totally drowned out. Where Ronnie Milsap would get away with being loud on a song like "Harbour" is where Allen ventures -- and succeeds -- on the title track, "Taught by Experts." This is blues/schmaltz/pop/cabaret, and it is the best track on the record with its fatalist view on love: "better you get hurt than me." It's a professor of love teaching love that is tough. The late Peter Allen had an army of friends to help him: Carole Bayer Sager co-wrote four of the six songs on side one, Adrienne Anderson another, while the vocalist composed most of side two. "Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage" is, no doubt, for his ex-mother-in-law, Judy Garland. It's the singer with just his piano for the first couple of verses, and it is also a highlight, but the voice -- again -- is so far out in the mix that the excellent musicianship doesn't have the opportunity to buoy the singer/songwriter. Sure, he's got great pipes, and sure, these are a bunch of pros executing the music with absolute precision. What was needed was a bit more soul and a lot more breathing room for the parts. Sometimes artists on this level get too sure of themselves, and some kind of perspective seems lost during the recording of Taught by Experts. The album includes Peter Allen's staple, "I Go to Rio," and as a testament to his life in the business, it should be remixed with the love and care it deserves.

© Joe Viglione /TiVo