[Review] Bobby & The Midnites: Where the Beat Meets the Street (1984)

Mid-eighties middle-of the-road rock that sounds good for what it is.

Kronomyth 2.0: Under the covers of midnight.

Approaching this from the perspective of Bob Weir’s last two albums (Heaven Help the Fool, Bobby & the Midnites), you’ll understand that this album is yet another crossover into mainstream, middle-of-the-road rock and roll. My initial disappointment with it—and with the whole Bobby & the Midnites experiment in general—is that I expected the addition of Billy Cobham and (initially) Alphonso Johnson to feed Weir’s jazz tendencies, which it did not. As mid-80s studio rock goes, however, this isn’t a bad record. In fact, the first side is solid from start to finish. Beginning with the clever and catchy (I Want to Live in) America, Weir and Bobby Cochran deliver a handful of radio-ready numbers. The title track sounds like Paul Simon’s recent stuff, She’s Gonna Win Your Heart was good enough to score a hit for Eddy Raven later that year, a funky cover of Ain’t That Peculiar is a treat, and Lifeguard nearly crosses over into new wave. The second side is less even. Cochran’s Rock in the 80’s nearly namechecks his uncle, Eddie Cochran (the singer of “Summertime Blues”), but that’s probably the most clever thing about it. Falling is a failed ballad, Gloria Monday is a song about a groupie that comes off sounding desperate. Lifeline is tight studio rock that debuted a year earlier on Le Roux’s last album, and the original Thunder & Lightning might be the best track on the album. What Bobby & the Midnites lack is a great lead singer. Cochran’s voice is good but nothing to write home about, Weir’s voice is noticeably hoarse this time. On the bright side, Dave Garland is a nice addition, pulling double duty on keyboards and sax, and Billy Cobham is Billy Cobham. Were there a lot of bands making music like this in the 80s? Yes, and many of them never got more than a whiff of success. But if you’re going to listen to music like this, you might as well listen to it from excellent, established musicians.

Original elpee version

A1. (I Want to Live in) America (Bobby Cochran/Bob Weir/John Barlow/Gerrit Graham) (3:21)
A2. Where the Beat Meets the Street (Nicky Chinn/Steve Glen) (3:32)
A3. She’s Gonna Win Your Heart (Mentor Williams/Billy Burnette) (3:59)
A4. Ain’t That Peculiar (William Robinson/Warren Moore/Marv Tarplin/Robert Rogers) (3:50)
A5. Lifeguard (Peter Beckett/Dennis Lambert) (3:52)
B1. Rock in the 80’s (Bobby Cochran) (3:10)
B2. Lifeline (Rod Roddy/Leon Medica/Dennis Frederiksen/Tony Haselden) (4:43)
B3. Falling (Bob Weir/Jeff Baxter/Kenny Gradney/John Barlow) (4:22)
B4. Thunder & Lightning (Bob Weir/Bobby Cochran) (3:35)
B5. Gloria Monday (Bob Weir/John Barlow/Jeff Baxter) (4:09)

The Players

Bill Cobham (drums), Bobby Cochran (lead vocals, lead guitars, background vocals), Dave Garland (keyboards, synthesizers, tenor & alto sax, background vocals), Kenny Gradney (bass, background vocals), Bob Weir (lead vocals, guitars, background vocals) with Jeffrey Baxter (synthesizers, guitars), Paulette Brown (background vocals), Steve Cropper (guitar), Paulinho Da Costa (percussion), Chuck Domonico (bass), Lee Drucker (bass), Jim Ehinger (keyboards), Sherlie Mathews (background vocals), Jim McDonnell (drums), Kathie Pinto (background vocals), Brian Setzer (guitar), Ike Ueno (guitar). Produced by Jeffrey Baxter; engineered by Larold Rebhun, additional overdub engineering by Bobby Cochran.

The Pictures

Art direction by Joel Zimmerman. Front cover photo by Jan Cobb. Back cover photos by Glen Wexler.

The Plastic

Released on elpee in August 1984 in the US (Columbia, BFC 39276) and the UK (CBS, 26046) with lyrics innersleeve. Reached #166 on the US charts.

1. Re-issued on compact disc in 1998 in the US (Razor and Tie, 2177).