WalkAThinLine.
01-11-2025, 11:15 AM
I was going through ProQuest when I came across this review of The Visitor from The Globe and Mail. I'll include the text here.
INSIDE THE SLEEVE POP The Visitor Mick Fleetwood
Saturday, September 05, 1981
Paul McGrath
RCA, AFL 1-4080 Chapter 47 of the Fleetwood story, in which Mick goes to Africa to discover his roots and ends up being out-drummed by 7-year-old Ghanaian villagers.
It was timely of Fleetwood to record an album in Africa; many pop eyes and ears are turned in that direction, and the thirst for African music grows by leaps and bounds.
It's unfortunate that Fleetwood is put to shame by everyone else around him, from the Africans to his own band members, guitarist Todd Sharp and bassist George Hawkins, both fine singers and instrumentalists. If Fleetwood's name were not on the cover, you would not know he was there; suffice it to say that this is a project rather than a presentation of his abilities.
The pop pieces are standard ballads and rockers. Even with a roots drum corps in the background, Not Fade Away fails to capture the mysterious element in the beat. But when the players roll into the African pieces, things start to pick up. O'Naimali, The Visitor and Amelle are all bright little pieces, far more exuberant than the rock material.
https://www.proquest.com/docview/386807302/497DFC6542C141AFPQ/1?sourcetype=Newspapers
(subscription required for this link)
INSIDE THE SLEEVE POP The Visitor Mick Fleetwood
Saturday, September 05, 1981
Paul McGrath
RCA, AFL 1-4080 Chapter 47 of the Fleetwood story, in which Mick goes to Africa to discover his roots and ends up being out-drummed by 7-year-old Ghanaian villagers.
It was timely of Fleetwood to record an album in Africa; many pop eyes and ears are turned in that direction, and the thirst for African music grows by leaps and bounds.
It's unfortunate that Fleetwood is put to shame by everyone else around him, from the Africans to his own band members, guitarist Todd Sharp and bassist George Hawkins, both fine singers and instrumentalists. If Fleetwood's name were not on the cover, you would not know he was there; suffice it to say that this is a project rather than a presentation of his abilities.
The pop pieces are standard ballads and rockers. Even with a roots drum corps in the background, Not Fade Away fails to capture the mysterious element in the beat. But when the players roll into the African pieces, things start to pick up. O'Naimali, The Visitor and Amelle are all bright little pieces, far more exuberant than the rock material.
https://www.proquest.com/docview/386807302/497DFC6542C141AFPQ/1?sourcetype=Newspapers
(subscription required for this link)