SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CHRISTOPHER WARD – SPARK OF DESIRE

Christopher Ward
Spark Of Desire
Warner Music Canada

Back in 1978 when this album was first released, baroque pop was something of a dirty word. It was all either punk (the hardcore stuff first) or commercial versions of hard rock/heavy metal.

There might lie the reason this Christopher Ward gem that goes under the title Spark of Desire remained mostly the thing of core of fans, mostly in Canada. Not that Ward didn’t get any prominence, as his song “Black Velvet” recorded by Alannah Myles reached Billboard’s No 1 and won him a JUNO for his songwriting. He was an original MuchMusic veejay, and an author and podcaster. Yet, this album somehow didn’t get the traction it deserved.

Luckily Ward kept the master tapes, and now Warner Canada decided to reissue this melody-laden piece of baroque pop, that ranges from the ‘original’ late 60s baroque pop of tracks like “Sweet Rose” to prime white soul South California style of “Danceaway” to, again prime, 70s singer songwriter stuff of “Lost in A Love Song,” as if Jimmy Webb and Burt Bacharach worked jointly on it.

Maybe this time around it will get the attention it deserved, after all, everybody’s talkin’ about the ‘old’ music revival.

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