i-TEN [US] - AOR
left: Billy Steinberg & Tom Kelly (1987) - right: Tom Kelly & Billy Steinberg @ Songwriters Hall Of Fame Induction (2011)
Taking A Cold Look
Epic, 1983
Produced by Keith Olsen & Steve Lukather Ratings: HH: 89 (39) | RYM: 3.87 (66) Total rating: 832 Updated: 150116 Line-up
Tom Kelly (v, g, k)
Billy Steinberg (v, g) + Alan Pasqua (k, sy) Chas Sandford (rg) David Paich (k, sy) Dennis Belfield (b) Lenny Castro (p on tr. 5) Mike Baird (d) Peggy Sandvig (sy on tr. 7) Richard Page (bv) Steve Lukather (g, k, sy) Steve Porcaro (sy, pr) |
Track listing
01|Taking A Cold Look (BS/TK)
02|Quicksand (BS/TK) 03|Alone (BS/TK) 04|Workin’ For A Lovin’ (BS/TK) 05|Lonely In Each Other’s Arms (BS/TK/AP) 06|I Don’t Want To Lose You (BS/TK) 07|Time To Say Goodbye (BS/TK) 08|The Easy Way Out (BS/TK) 09|I’ve Been Crying (BS/TK/AP/SL) 10|Pressing My Luck (BS/TK) Songwriters
AP = Alan Pasqua
BS = Billy Steinberg SL = Steve Lukather TK = Tom Kelly |
Rock Report reissue review
i-TEN - Taking A Cold Look - Rock Candy Records, 2009
Two of the world's most successful songwriters of all times are Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg. "Like A Virgin" (Madonna), "True Colours" (Cyndi Lauper) and "I'll Stand By You" (The Pretenders) are only three of the songs they've written for renowned acts. But before they became famous as songwriters, they released an album, called "Taking A Cold Look", under the somewhat strange moniker of i-Ten.
How Kelly and Steinberg stumbled upon each other is carefully described in the liner notes for this Rock Candy Records reissue, written by Dave Reynolds. Suffice it to say that it was at a party in the summer of 1981, hosted by (producer) Keith Olsen. It didn't last for too long before they started writing songs, Steinberg being the main lyricist while Kelly delivered the music. Taking the name i-Ten from the Interstate 10 highway, which they used a lot to meet each other, the pair set to work on writing material for an album, after having scored a deal with Epic. Keith Olsen seemed a logical choice as producer, as he and Tom Kelly had been working together before on various albums. Recruiting musicians to record the album wasn't much of a problem as both Kelly and Olsen had worked with the likes of Mike Baird, Dennis Belfield, Alan Pasqua and various members of Toto. The fact that Kelly and Olsen knew all these westcoast musicians left Billy Steinberg feeling like the odd man out during the recording of the album. While recording, Steve Lukather's role extended from just being the guitar player to being the co-producer as well. The original plan was for Steinberg and Kelly to share the lead vocal work, but at the end it was Kelly who sang most of the tracks, leaving Steinberg a bit in the cold. Once the album was released, Epic didn't do much to promote it. No live gigs were scheduled and no plans were made for a follow-up album. Luckily enough for Steinberg and Kelly, they started having a good deal of success in getting their songs covered by other artists.
If you haven't got a copy of this all-time classic, hurry to your nearby shop to purchase one, albeit for the four songs that were later covered by other artists with far more successful results: "Alone" (Heart - Bad Animals), "Taking A Cold Look" (Honeymoon Suite - Racing After Midnight), "No Easy Way Out" (Juice Newton - Can't Wait All Night) and "I Don't Want To Lose You" (REO Speedwagon - Hits). One of the best albums reissued by Rock Candy Records so far!
Chris Lambert, February 2009
Two of the world's most successful songwriters of all times are Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg. "Like A Virgin" (Madonna), "True Colours" (Cyndi Lauper) and "I'll Stand By You" (The Pretenders) are only three of the songs they've written for renowned acts. But before they became famous as songwriters, they released an album, called "Taking A Cold Look", under the somewhat strange moniker of i-Ten.
How Kelly and Steinberg stumbled upon each other is carefully described in the liner notes for this Rock Candy Records reissue, written by Dave Reynolds. Suffice it to say that it was at a party in the summer of 1981, hosted by (producer) Keith Olsen. It didn't last for too long before they started writing songs, Steinberg being the main lyricist while Kelly delivered the music. Taking the name i-Ten from the Interstate 10 highway, which they used a lot to meet each other, the pair set to work on writing material for an album, after having scored a deal with Epic. Keith Olsen seemed a logical choice as producer, as he and Tom Kelly had been working together before on various albums. Recruiting musicians to record the album wasn't much of a problem as both Kelly and Olsen had worked with the likes of Mike Baird, Dennis Belfield, Alan Pasqua and various members of Toto. The fact that Kelly and Olsen knew all these westcoast musicians left Billy Steinberg feeling like the odd man out during the recording of the album. While recording, Steve Lukather's role extended from just being the guitar player to being the co-producer as well. The original plan was for Steinberg and Kelly to share the lead vocal work, but at the end it was Kelly who sang most of the tracks, leaving Steinberg a bit in the cold. Once the album was released, Epic didn't do much to promote it. No live gigs were scheduled and no plans were made for a follow-up album. Luckily enough for Steinberg and Kelly, they started having a good deal of success in getting their songs covered by other artists.
If you haven't got a copy of this all-time classic, hurry to your nearby shop to purchase one, albeit for the four songs that were later covered by other artists with far more successful results: "Alone" (Heart - Bad Animals), "Taking A Cold Look" (Honeymoon Suite - Racing After Midnight), "No Easy Way Out" (Juice Newton - Can't Wait All Night) and "I Don't Want To Lose You" (REO Speedwagon - Hits). One of the best albums reissued by Rock Candy Records so far!
Chris Lambert, February 2009