Dancin' on the Couch

by Dan LeRoyTheir first album scored hits on both sides of the Atlantic with a polished but infectious brand of pop-soul, so it was no surprise that the duo Go West returned two years later with much the same sound. The disappointment of Dancing on the Couch (the enigmatic title is a reference to the book The Red Couch: A Portrait of America, though one would be hard-pressed to figure that out from most of the lyrics) is the missing hooks: Peter Cox's appealingly rough tenor just slides right over the glossy grooves, searching in vain for something memorable to catch onto. By far the most memorable song of the set is a reworking of the first album's "Don't Look Down," which, even in this slightly inferior version, is head and shoulders above the other nine cuts. The only other tracks that make any sort of impression are the R&B-tinged opener "I Want to Hear It From You," with Cox and guest Ma Birch adding a little heat to Gary Stevenson's synth-heavy production, and "The King Is Dead," incongruous but attractive cocktail jazz with an assist from Kate Bush. The rest veers from the instantly forgettable ("Chinese Whispers") to the truly dire (the unfunky funk of "True Colours" and "Dangerous"), wasting the typically excellent fretless bass work of Pino Palladino in the bargain. The album flopped, though Cox and partner Richard Drummie would regain commercial footing a few years later with a series of adult contemporary soul singles. What they didn't regain was the spark that made their first album special.