Ready Eddie Minnesota

Ready Eddie

Eddie Money

CMC International Records, 1999

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 06/21/1999

Back in 1978, Eddie Money had the tiger by the tail. With songslike "Baby Hold On" and "Two Tickets To Paradise," his self-titledsolo debut burst forth onto the scene, catapaulting Money into theland of superstars.

Ah, but the fickle finger of fate hasn't been particularly kindto Money over the years. While he's occasionally made it back ontothe radio with some hits ("Shakin'", "Take Me Home Tonight"), he'snever quite reached the levels of fame and success that he had withalbum number one. Likewise, people haven't seemed willing to giveMoney a chance to prove that he's still a voice that's importantenough to be heard in the '90s.

His latest effort, Ready Eddie, is a step in the right direction, showing notonly that Money can still rock out with the best of them, but alsothat he knows when to turn on the charm in a ballad. If only he hadbeen able to keep that energy level going throughout the album,this one could have been a contender for some serious action.

Money gets off to a shaky start on "Ready To Rock," a song thatis eventually undermined by its bland-sounding chorus. Two words:harmony vocals. But Money quickly overcomes that first hurdle,throwing the rock gear into overdrive with numbers like "So ColdTonight" (which has a great sound due to a minimal rhythm line -pow!) and "Let It Go". Both songs should erase any doubts one mighthave had about Money as a bonafide rock star. Even a more roughedge to his vocals seems to add the right texture to thesesongs.