Switching gears after the widescreen instrumental spectacle of
Gypsies,
Lalo Schifrin devoted himself to disco on 1979's
No One Home, his second and final album for Tabu. Working with associate producer Schuyler "Sky" Traughber,
Schifrin constructed something of a pulsating cityscape for
No One Home, spending much of the first half of the record on glitzy, reflective disco beats then also dipping into softer, seductive territory on its flip side, highlighted by the quiet storm shimmer of "Memory of Love." With the exception of "Oh Darlin'...Life Goes On," a song co-written by
Minnie Riperton, this is all composed in part by
Schifrin and it emphasizes his skills as a composer and producer, but not a songwriter: it's an album that gets by on feel and attitude but its individual song hooks do not sink in deeply. [Edsel's 2014 expansion of
No One Home contains two bonus tracks: an edit of the title track and an instrumental version of the same song.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine