Bob Welch - "French Kiss" (Capitol, 1977)

Barf.

This was Bob Welch's first solo album after leaving Fleetwood Mac. Actually he was briefly in a band called Paris, but Fleetwood Mac is a better reference because no one has ever heard of Paris. This album opens with a re-recording of 'Sentimental Lady,' a Fleetwood Mac song originally released on 'Bare Trees.' This version is okay, but doesn't really add anything to the song.

After 'Sentimental Lady,' we get into what this record is really about--scuzzy disco. There are some pretty great hooks on this album, but it seems like Bob brought a bunch of songs into the studio, and some dude named Carter (who has the production credit) told Bob the songs weren't 'now' enough. The label image fits really well with the production of the album, but it's not clear why Bob Welch was the chosen medium for this type of music. His singing on this album is painfully torpid, where his singing with mid-period Mac seemed perfectly laid-back. When he flatly chants 'Hot love, cold world--gonna make ya cry' with the mysterious Carter trying to have a party on the backing tracks, it kind of makes me feel bad about myself. Especially if I happen to glance at the album cover at the time, which has the full image of the picture on the label. Just supremely icky.