Starcastle - 1978 - Real To Reel

Starcastle 

1978

Real To Reel

01. Half a Mind to Leave Ya (4:48)

02. Whatcha Gonna Do (When It All Comes Down on You) (3:33)

03. We Did It (3:54)

04. Nobody's Fool (4:00)

05. Song for Alaya (3:06)

06. So Here We Are (3:57)

07. She (3:43)

08. Stars Are Out Tonight (3:53)

09. When the Sun Shines at Midnight (6:16)

Terry Luttrell / lead vocals

Matthew Stewart / electric & slide guitars, electric sitar, vocals

Stephen Hagler / guitars, piano, electric piano, vocals (5-lead)

Herb Schildt / synthesizer, organ, electric piano, electronic strings, ALF computer synth

Gary Strater / bass, clavinet, vocals

Stephen Tassler / drums & percussion, synth percussion, vocals

Real To Reel_ was Starcastle's last studio album and was the point where most hard-boiled supporters gave up on the band. It represents the completion of a transformation from an ethereal progressive rock outfit to a standard radio-friendly, commercially viable AOR group. I don't hold with this disdainful attitude but I can understand it. Prog fans consider the genre a cut above all other rock classifications; the domicile of legitimate musicians. To those same fans AOR, by comparison, is akin to the crud which accumulates in between your toes! I don’t have the same hard and fast rules so, whilst I recognise the change in direction, I don't hold it against them.

Unlike most guitar-led AOR Bands, still dominating proceedings for Starcastle are the keyboards of Herb Schildt and Stephen Hagler – even Stephen Tassler's percussion is synthesised. Only "So Here We Are" is a typical riff-driven rocker. Tracks like "Half A Mind To Leave Ya", "She", "We Did It" and "Whatcha Gonna Do (When It All Comes Down On You)" have enough hooks to attract radio airplay – but they are a little long for AOR; as if the band feel restricted musically by the change in genre. But there are still elements of the old Starcastle in evidence, particularly on the magnificent power ballad "When The Sun Shines At Midnight".

I've no idea why Starcastle decided to call it a day after _Real To Reel_. I would have thought they could have tapped into a new lucrative market. Maybe their heart just wasn't in the change in direction.

This album is pretty underrated, it's not prog mind you, but this is a collection of well written and well performed soft rock pieces. I do think that some of the songs aren't good, kind of like when you listen to 'One Eighty' by Ambrosia, some of those soft rock songs just don't work. I think that even though this album isn't prog, and it's more Soft Rock, it still has a bunch of acceptable musical forms that would fit in any prog collection. Soft Rock and Prog are more related than many people give credit to the genre for. Supertramp is a great example of a Prog band with a bunch of Soft Rock elements, and if you are a Supertramp fan, this is an acceptable listen.