Manzanera & MacKay: limited edition

Following the commercial and critical failure of the first Explorers album, Manzanera and MacKay attempted to cash in on their names and history (with Roxy Music) for sales. It did not help. James Wraith (the third member of the Explorers) could not have been happy with such a decision, as he is not even pictured on the front sleeve. Perhaps it works in his best interest, as this is yet another mess from these three. Music fans have come to expect a lot more from both Manzanera and MacKay. Besides their stellar career in Roxy Music, these two have produced excellent solo albums. This is not the case. On this outing, Wraith does not sound like a carbon copy of Bryan Ferry, but he does sound remarkably like Andy Bell of Erasure. So picture Andy Bell singing Roxy. To make matters worse, they attempt to sound contemporary and have produced predictable, boring, synth-based, '80s dance music. It just does not go anywhere or say anything. Lyrics are predictable and downright juvenile at times (just look at the titles). Some of the songs are pleasant, but there is nothing here that stands out or sticks in the listener's mind. Completists of these artists should only bother.