The challenge for me at the moment is writing some music blogs
which have broad enough appeal to try and entice some people
who read this blog to make some comments for once but at the
same time stick to my guns of basic common decency and prin-
ciples and let a large percentage of my audience know that
Tim wont give in on the comments issue, until i can get my
readers to start participating and make a few comments, no
matter what you want to say, until then Lost Treasures will
remain inclusive of all subjects relating to anything which
is a lost treasure, not just music.It`s that simple! Talking
of wasted blogs of mine, no dickhead bothered to respond to
one of my best music blogs going back a while about US 80`s
pop progressive rock band Mr. Mister, it sunk without a trace
even though i rated it as one of my best pieces of journalism.
To refresh your memories, Mr. Mister are most famous for the
FM rock anthems ` Broken Wings` and `Kyrie`, their landmark
glossy 1985 album `Welcome To The Real World` also contains
other gems besides these 2 songs, including the silky smooth
ballad `Run To You`. In 1987, the band released a more seri-
ous but more musically diverse album `Go On` that contained
the soulful, magical song Healing Waters`, among some other
incredibly good tunes. After that, Mr. Mister broke up ,i am
not real sure what the individual band members got up to be-
tween 1987 and 1996, the year when lead vocalist and bassist
Richard Page released a very astute and inspiring set of songs
on the solo album `Shelter Me`. Apparently, but i cant say for-
sure simply because i`ve never sat down & watched the David
Letterman Show, Mr. Mister lead guitarist Steve Farris ended
up being a member of the resident live band on this show, per
haps somebody can actually make a comment (what`s that?)
to this blog to say whether this is the case or not, save me
having to get up to watch Letterman at two in the morning.
Farris made a guest appearance on the CD for the song `Heav-
en is 10 Zillion Light Years Away, a Stevie Wonder cover that
Richard does a masterful job of singing. The stunning opener
`The Best Thing` is as good as any other cruise music in the
90`s, soulful and sophisticated but not over produced. Music-
ally a lot like Aaron Neville`s approach of the early 1990`s.
The acoustic led `My Oxygen & `Let Me Down Easy` speaks
for Page`s sincerity and loyalty to the memory of his moth-
er who passed away that year. The biggest scoop about the
album is the most commercial sounding one `A Simple Life`,
one that australia`s own John Farnham recorded just after
Richard Page wrote & recorded it on `Shelter Me`. I did not
really like Farnsies 90`s output to be honest, his 80`s stuff
was a lot better, but he did a pretty good job of singing A
SIMPLE LIFE. However,i think Richard Page who wrote it can
still lay claim to having the best version. My favourite song
on the album is one of the most un-kocha on here, one that
highlights the artists musical depth better than any Mr. Mis-
ter song or one on here, `Dependence`. Just listen to it, to-
tally mesmerizing stuff. The other soul fired numbers on the
album, including the title track and `Just To Love You` is
only more proof that Richard Page didn`t just have a good
voice but a good heart as well. Maybe that has something
to do as to why the record industry stereotyped Page as
just another burnt out pop star from the 80`s. Substance
and a good heart never has earned you too many friends
amongst the frivolty of the record industry, especially if
you are a commercial has been like Page was by then.
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