Slow Dance is an album by the American musician Southside Johnny, released in 1988.[2][3] It was marketed as a solo endeavor, although a few Asbury Jukes played on the album.[4][5]

The album peaked at No. 198 on the Billboard 200.[6] The cover of "Ain't That Peculiar" was a minor radio hit.[7] Southside Johnny promoted the album by again touring with the Asbury Jukes.[8]

Production

The album was recorded during a six-month period between Asbury Jukes commitments.[9] Southside Johnny wrote five of its 10 songs; he wanted to focus more on his lyrics than he had in the past.[10][11]

Bruce Springsteen contributed to "Walking Through Midnight", which was written in part in 1978.[5] The Uptown Horns performed on a few songs.[12] "Little Calcutta" was inspired by the plight of the homeless people who resided at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[13]
The Record	[14]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[15]

The Globe and Mail wrote that "it's pleasant enough—Lyons has a smoky, soulful voice and writes a pretty fair song—but the production has rounded all the edges off the songs."[16] The Orlando Sentinel deemed the album "an exceptional collection that combines the sheen of modern production techniques, eschewed by the Jukes, with the old-fashioned power of Lyon's heartfelt vocals."[10] The Toronto Star labeled the album "pleasant" and "serviceable," but noted that Southside Johnny's "not quite special enough; his experience somehow works against him ... He doesn't quite grab our attention."[17]

The Ottawa Citizen determined that "Lyon can make soul ballads as powerful and assertive as an army of tough-slinging guitar players."[18] The Kingston Whig-Standard opined that, "once again, without horns and their natural bluster, Southside Johnny sounds forced and, well, phony."[19] The Record considered Slow Dance a "pleasant little album that will probably win him some new fans in the easy-listening ranks."[14]

AllMusic called the album "a noble, but failed, experiment," writing that it was an "attempt is to take Southside out of the bar band, R&B, horn-filled Jukes style, and put him with contemporary synthesizer sounds and programmed drums."[5]

Track listing

References