Managed by
Bud Prager in 1979 (the man who represented
Foreigner,
Deena Miller -- daughter of Rolling Stones producer
Jimmy Miller --
Leslie West, and many others), the former singer for Stories was produced by a man instrumental in
Aerosmith's comeback, the late
Bruce Fairbairn. With help from members of
the Cars,
Foreigner, and former
Aerosmith guitarist
Jimmy Crespo, this album had all the elements for the breakthrough disc that
Ian Lloyd deserved. "Slip Away" was written by
Ric Ocasek and should have been a big Cars hit since it really didn't conquer radio on behalf of Lloyd. Ben Orr is on bass and backing vocals,
Ric Ocasek pipes in on backing vocals and rhythm guitar, and
Jimmy Crespo plays the very new wavey guitar -- it's
Aerosmith meets
the Cars with Stories lead vocalist!
Russ Ballard's "First Heartbreak" sounds like a lost girl group classic with T.Rex overtones. A smart cover like
the Bee Gees' "Holiday gets all synthed up, while the Zombies' "Time of the Season," always a welcome title, gets a respectable and unique reading by Stories former lead singer. "Open Soul Surgery" definitely goes the
Foreigner route, though
Lou Gramm and
Mick Jones are on other tracks like "Love Stealer" and "She Broke Your Heart." Side one is very good, but side two fares even better, the title track, "Goose Bumps," with a solid riff and creepy vocal by the singer, and something even more key -- hooks different from the other 11 songs. There are substantial melodies all over this disc, solving the problem of his Polydor outing three years prior. Where the self-titled
Ian Lloyd disc was mostly penned by the singer,
Goose Bumps has a dazzling display of inviting and original tunes from all sorts of contributors.
Ian Hunter and
Corky Laing collaborate on "Easy Money" -- and this would've been great on a
Mott the Hoople or
Mountain disc, very different and distinctive, like when Hunter co-wrote "Goin' Through the Motions" for Blue Oyster Cult. "New City Lights" features
Michael Brecker on tenor sax while
Jim Vallance and Bryan Adams contribute the strong "I'm Ready."
Paul DaVinci pens the final tune, "Love Is a Ship"; it is dreamy, another change of pace, and a superb conclusion to an album by a singer who gets help from some serious players, colors and flavors for his music that are more than worthwhile. Coming three years after his self-titled Polydor release, the 1976 disc which retained the services of Stories guitarist
Steve Love and also contained performances by
Mick Jones, this was the one after the transition album, the one that should have brought
Ian Lloyd more hits like "I'm Coming Home," "Mammy Blue," and "Brother Louie." It made some noise but got lost in the rock & roll shuffle, however,
Goose Bumps, with its red fingernails scraping across a chalk board cover (perhaps a little too punk for a pop artist), is more than just a solid outing from
Ian Lloyd, it is an exemplary record and is worth repeated spins.