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Southside
Texas
Mercury, 1989
REVIEW BY: Benjamin Ray
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 12/27/2005
It's safe to say Texas is probably the best Scottishcountry-pop band there ever was.
Yet few people outside of the British Isles haveheard of them. Had one been around in the early 90's, they mighthave recognized "Prayer for You" or "I Don't Want a Lover" on theradio, but it was a fleeting listen. Because while Texas istalented, they are also very professional and adult, and thatdoesn't necessarily translate to entertaining.
On Southside, the band's debut album, Texas isable to emulate the pop aspects of country music rather well,predating Faith Hill and Shania Twain by almost a decade, and thepop aspect of their music sounds similar to Madonna around the sametime period, without the dance aspect. But the end result isn't ascatchy as Shania's later hits (overplayed as they were) or thetinny 80's pop songs that ruled that decade because they lack asense of fun.
The only time the band really has fun is "Prayer forYou" and "One Choice." The former is the best song here, a drivingacoustic number with some amazing vocals by Sharleen Spiteri andminimal percussion that enhances the song. A shorter version ofthis song appeared on the band's greatest hits release, but this isa superior version. "One Choice" is notable for its stomping drumsand quick acoustic strumming too.
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