As 3rd Matinee's debut album
Meanwhile was released on April 26, 1994, "I'll Remember," a song co-written by the group's principals, A-list producer Patrick Leonard and former
Mr. Mister leader
Richard Page, with
Madonna, was bulleted in the Top 20 in her recording. That song does not appear on
Meanwhile, and the disc does not sound like a
Madonna album minus
Madonna, however. The group's name recalls Leonard's previous group,
Toy Matinee, which also released an album on Reprise Records three-plus years ago, and many of the subsidiary musicians are the same. But
Toy Matinee was co-led by a different singer,
Kevin Gilbert, with a different musical sensibility, and
Meanwhile doesn't sound like
Toy Matinee, either. So, what does it sound like? It sounds like a
Richard Page solo album produced by Patrick Leonard.
Page has a throaty, expressive voice that reportedly earned him invitations to join
Chicago and
Toto after
Mr. Mister split up. Instead, he teamed up with Leonard, and, from the sound of this album, the two spent a lot of time listening to
Peter Gabriel and at least a little listening to
Steve Winwood and
Sting. The result is an album of evocative, sophisticated pop/rock full of yearning and moodiness, albeit without real depth.
Gabriel has become less and less productive, taking six years to follow up
Us properly with
So in 1992, so fans may get impatient as the years go by. If so, this
Gabriel-lite effort may help them cope, but it remains the work of talented musicians lacking a true spark of their own creativity. ~ William Ruhlmann