The Completion Backward Principle was the first release on EMI/Capitol by San Francisco-based
the Tubes. It found the outrageous septet working with producer
David Foster, who gives the record a high-gloss sheen. It's a pairing that, while possibly surprising to fans of the band's earlier releases, actually works quite nicely. The ballads (the Top 40 hit "Don't Want to Wait Anymore" and the
Toto-esque "Amnesia") don't suit the band, but most everything else does. There's a pair of catchy new wavish rockers in "Talk to Ya Later" and "Think About Me," the wacky "Sushi Girl," and the R&B-flavored "A Matter of Pride."
The Completion Backward Principle rightfully earned
the Tubes new fans and set the table for their commercial breakthrough,
Outside/Inside, two years later. [Capitol's 2007 reissue featured an alternate track list.] ~ Tom Demalon