Time And Tide (1982)
I’ll be upfront: I’ve got mixed feelings about this one. Time and Tide is a solid record, but after the back-to-back peaks of True Colours and Waiata, it’s the first time I can hear the band easing back down to earth. It holds together beautifully as a complete album. It’s just that the individual songs don’t always stand as tall on their own, and you can start to feel their signature style fading a little at the edges.
What’s not in doubt is the opener. Dirty Creature is a fantastic start, all infectious funk energy, driving drums, layered guitars, and a powerful vocal, and nothing else here knocks it off the best-on-the-album spot. Giant Heartbeat follows with pop hooks and a bright tempo but doesn’t leave much of a dent, a clean radio-ready tune that stays comfortably inside the band’s lane.
The middle stretch is where it earns its keep. Hello Sandy Allen comes out rocking, one of their more energetic rock ‘n’ roll cuts. Never Ceases to Amaze Me leans on a sing-along chorus and the old quirky Enz instincts, tight harmonies and lively playing up front. Lost for Words keeps the playful streak going with a guitar line that lodges itself in your head. Small World slows things down without losing you, piercing synth accents over a dreamy chorus, and it’s an absolute gem. Take a Walk is the toe-tapper, a funky groove built on a great bassline, lively percussion, and bouncy piano.
Then the record pulls its best move. Pioneer is a short, cinematic instrumental that bridges the album into its final third and flows straight into Six Months in a Leaky Boat, one of the band’s true signature songs and one of my all-time favorites from them. Sea-faring theme, sing-along chorus, and the kind of songwriting that explains why it stuck around. The nautical thread carries into Haul Away, which goes full sea-shanty, and look, that’s just not my genre. The band does it well, but I’ll be skipping it. Log Cabin Fever starts contemplative and turns electric by the end, the band basically painting you a picture of a dark cabin down by the water. The closer Make Sense of It is one of the weaker spots, eerie Scooby-Doo sounds over an energetic beat, fine in context and forgettable out of it.
Time and Tide works far better as a whole than as a stack of singles. The thematic threads tie it together and carry the lighter tracks, and the highs are still very high. Just don’t expect another True Colours. Solid all the way through. Except for Haul Away, of course.
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Highlight Songs:
Dirty Creature
Six Months In a Leaky Boat
Take a Walk
Small World
Own it, Stream it, Forget about it?
Worth owning. Gorgeous cover too, even if the photo deserves to be printed bigger, and the whole thing flows really well front to back. There’s plenty to love here, even if it doesn’t stack up commercial pop-rock hits the way the last two did.
Overall Rating:
4 Stars
