RAIN PEOPLE
A-side: Little Bit Of Time
(Epic 1989)
I know absolutely nothing about this band, I probably bought this record for the band name. Yes, it's not that great a name, but I've got several records with bands who have the word Rain in their name, so it amused me to add another to that collection. I know, I'm easily amused. Another great marketing ploy this group have used on the sleeve of this disc is to have the pretty, photogenic female almost front and centre of the picture. Not, of course, that I would be swayed by such cheap manipulation, and obviously my given reason for having bought this record is much more likely....
Anyway, Little Bit of Time, has a bouncy upbeat, slightly tinged with wistfulness, feel to it. It's a highly polished piece of guitar pop. In fact I think it may well be over-polished, there's not real any edge to to it, it's just pleasant enough. If I were to hear this on the radio, I might idly bob my head or tap my foot along to it, but it wouldn't distract me from anything else - I wouldn't be interested enough to listen to what its was called, or who it was by, and when it was finished I would forget about it pretty instantly. They sing "All I need is a little bit of time" in the chorus, well I gave them a little bit of time (approx. 3 mins), and I really couldn't get anymore out of it than mild inoffensiveness.
I think they made the mistake of putting the better song on the b-side. Hiding Out is stylistically similar to Little Bit of Time, but it has a bit more bite to it. The guitars twang and throb a bit more. I'm not suggesting that they're actually going as far as to rock out, it's still pleasantly poppy, it;'s just that there's a little less blandness, and a little more energy to Hiding Out. I'm not suggesting that this track is has elevated the whole record from unchallengingly nice to quite good, but it shows there was potentially more to Rain People than I first thought, but maybe not quite enough to make me want to seek out more.
It's odd - I feel a bit bad about what I have written. There's something in me that really, really wants to like this record more than I do. It might be one of those that if I gave it multiple listens, I'd really get into - but I don't think I'm prepared to take the risk that multiple listens will make me hate it rather than feel a slightly regretful apathy.
Next time a good ole boy sings some proper country country and western - Ye haw!
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