Darling - Put It Down to Experience

Name: Darling
Album: Put It Down to Experience
Year: 1979
Style: Power Pop Rock
Similar Bands: Pat Benatar, Scandal, Ex Hex, Spider, Threshold, Heart
"One-Word" Review: Sliced T-Shirt Power Rock
Based Out Of: London, UK
Label: Charisma, Polydor

 Cover, Record

Record, Back

Put It Down to Experience (1979)

1. Storm Warning 2:25
2. Tip of My Tongue 3:44
3. Do You Wanna 3:09
4. Voice on the Radio 3:24
5. Stuck On You 3:08 /
6. Precious Cargo 3:31
7. The Word is Out 2:33
8. Dream Street 4:58
9. Save Me 3:06
10. Slot Machine 4:32

Album Rating (1-10): 8.0

Members & Other Bands:
Alice Spring - Vox (Slack Alice, Nana Love, Sandra Barry)
Hal Lindes - Guitar (Dire Straits, Tina Turner, Fish, Steve Ewing)
Mick Howard - Bass (Slack Alice, Skitzofrenik)
Paul Varley - Drums (Arrows, Little Free Rock, Purple Haze, Streak, Alan Merrill)
Mark Rivera - Sax (Tycoon, Foreigner, George Wallace, Billy Joel, Lou Gramm, Holly  Knight, Ringo Starr & his All-Starr Band)
Richard Gottehrer - Producer
Rod O'Brien - Engineer
Thom Panuzio - Engineer
Gregg Caruso - Asst. Engineer
Rob Freeman - Engineer
Eric Block - Asst. Engineer
Sheila Rock - Photography
Rocking Russian - Album Design

Unknown-ness: Never heard of this band, and there is quite a diveristy in what this could be, but it is only going to lean one way or the other 100%: Hard Power Pop Rock, or synth inspired dark pop. Looking at the instruments & members, plus 1979, I'm leaning rock.

Album Review: This turned out to be a solid album...the songs are all upbeat, and fun rockin jams. It was the style of music that Ex Hex has more recently captured again. But here in its raw, original form, it is fun. Alice's vocals are high, but trained well (reminds me of Toyah). It is straightforward power pop that might show up in a pub sometimes. The final track Slot Machine has something of a secret track, where the last minute and ten seconds or so is a different composition after a normal length of track separation, perhaps called Lost and Found. Their sax player is linked with Billy Joel on many of Joel's albums, and Guitarist Lindes played with Dire Straits for a bit. Apparently Spring had a vocal career in the 60's under the name Sandra Barry and a minor film career as Sandra Alfred. The

Stand Out Track: Voice on the Radio

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