This is the album on which John Stewart became a rocker, and he is a darn good one. His unabashedly masculine baritone is rare in rock, and welcome to the ears. "Midnight Wind" alone makes this CD worth owning. It is gorgeous, heart-pumping, haunting rock. The title captures the feel of the song: dark, fresh, and full of possibility. "Gold" is a close second. This was John's big hit, also a solid rocker, about the dreams and obsessions from which great music are made. Both these songs feature Stevie Nicks on backing vocal. Her haunting feminine touches are the perfect counterpoint to John's rough, manly vocals. The third tier of winners on this album includes four songs: the pretty pop of "Lost Her in the Sun", the quiet, subtle "Somewhere Down the Line, the thumping and humorous "Runaway Fool of Love" and the raucous "Heart of the Dream". A few more songs like these and this would have been an album for the ages, but unfortunately none of the other four songs are noteworthy or even much fun to listen to. The six good songs total only 19 minutes - just not enough for 5 stars.
"Midnight Wind", "Gold" and "Lost Her in the Sun" are available on the career retrospective double CD entitled "Gold", so if you are not collecting John Stewart albums one by one (worth doing, by the way), "Gold" is well worth the extra few bucks to get the best songs from this album, plus many other great ones from John's accomplished and under-recognized career. I also suggest that if you like John in his rocking mode, check out the CD "Wires From the Bunker", which includes 18 tracks of mostly very high quality. Although released fairly recently, it was recorded just a few years after "Bombs Away".
Top reviews from other countries
Trinnk
it's a fine album
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2023Verified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Not a bad track on it
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2018Verified Purchase
Bmogo
A John Stewart Classic
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2021Verified Purchase
Donna
GREAT MUSIC
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2019Verified Purchase
G. Fields
Great LP by John Stewart...!
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2018Verified Purchase
