Roger Daltrey 9: Rocks In The Head

One would think any struggling songwriter would be happy to have someone like Roger Daltrey record his or her compositions. But given the man’s spotty solo discography, would that be enough to bring in the big checks? That likely wasn’t too much of a concern for one Gerard McMahon, who’d tried the solo himself route throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, but got most of his work creating songs for movie soundtracks. Interestingly, one of those was The Lost Boys, which we should know also included a tune sung by Roger.

Five years later, McMahon was the producer and main songwriter on Rocks In The Head, which would turn out to be Roger’s last original solo album of the century. On this album the synths of the ‘80s were gratefully left behind in favor of crunch and mildly socially conscious lyrics, but that doesn’t keep it from sounding like the generic FM rock perpetuated by the likes of Bad Company without Paul Rodgers.

“Who’s Gonna Walk On Water” and “Before My Time Is Up” set the template; he’s in good voice for the most part, but the songs themselves are just plain ordinary. Track three is normally where people try to mix it up, but except for the interminable two-note riff, “Times Changed” is more posturing. Instead, “You Can’t Call It Love” tries to be a little softer and less edgy with more acoustics, and still sounds like Bryan Adams. “Mirror Mirror” has some nice textures and hooks, but is ultimately sunk by way too many clichés.

Flamenco-style guitars and a mild island feel “Perfect World”, an awkward call for racial unity. Nobody noticed that “Love Is” starts out like “Jessie’s Girl” but has none of the drama, and while “Blues Man’s Road” starts with a tantalizing snippet of dobro, it’s dropped for a backbeat and badly placed yowl. Still, you’d have to be a real curmudgeon not to smile at “Everything A Heart Could Ever Want (Willow)”, written for one of his daughters. “Days Of Light” was the single, but should be in a lower key for his voice and what’s with all the chorus vocals? Finally, “Unforgettable Opera” has potential, but a crowd cheering to punctuate a pre-chorus is never a good idea.

Having been spoiled by decent lyricists over the years, his voice simply isn’t enough to carry all the material he’s given. While Rocks In The Head isn’t as pointedly bad as some of his other solo albums, it’s still pretty bland. He deserved much better material. Too bad Pete wasn’t writing it for him.

Roger Daltrey Rocks In The Head (1992)—2½