After the premature breakup of
the Marbles, larynx acrobat
Graham Bonnet took a stab at movie stardom (landing a role in Three for All), and then returned to mount a solo career with this eponymous outing, an Australian hit distributed by
Ringo Starr's label. As with his previous duo,
Bonnet exclusively interprets other folks' tunes. One can't really fault any of the songwriting, as most of these numbers are dependable standards; and nothing's ever wrong with
Bonnet's sterling voice. But the record definitely betrays its time. The disco-string coda on "Goodnight and Goodmorning" (from
Hall & Oates' debut) screams 1970s, which doesn't diminish the entertainment value one iota. Many have recorded
Bob Dylan's sturdy
Joan Baez dissolution, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," but none included squawking talk-box guitar.
Bonnet later released a groovy single ("Warm Ride," one of his many
Bee Gees covers) and dropped another one-man bomb No Bad Habits before
Ritchie Blackmore plucked him for duty in
Rainbow. Much of this scarce material can be found on the Rock Singer Anthology, which is fast becoming a rarity, itself.