Description
Go On… is the third album by the American pop/rock band Mr. Mister, released on RCA Records in 1987. The album was produced, recorded, and mixed by Kevin Killen at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles, California; with the band co-producing.
The album suffered at the hands of a record company corporate reshuffle, one that saw it change hands and clean out its long time staff. RCA Records had been sold to German media group BMG who set in motion a restructuring of the company, a place where Mr. Mister’s new music was not appreciated. It was a disappointing state of affairs as the band had poured their heart and soul into crafting an album that, in many respects, displayed a far more confident and courageous sound…but one that BMG were not sold to.
Utilising producer Kevin Killen, who had previously crafted records by U2 and Peter Gabriel, Go On… elevates the band to another creative level. The sound is perfectly pristine, boasting a brace of superb songs wrapped up in a progressive pop sheen that, even to this day, makes it entirely unfathomable as to why the record label failed to see its potential.
For their third and final record, Go On, Mr. Mister made few changes. The record contained an uplifting pop/rock vibe that was consistent with their first two efforts. They continued to write songs in the vein of ’80s pop bands like Mike & the Mechanics and Genesis, and their lyrics continued to center around the vaguely spiritual themes explored in their hit singles «Broken Wings» and «Kyrie». The only significant change was in record sales. Go On produced one moderately successful single, «Something Real (Inside Me/Inside You)», which lacked the killer hook of their previous hits, though it did include some compelling experiments with exotic keyboard sounds. The greatest strength of the record is its lyrical substance. Songwriters Richard Page, Steve George, Steve Farris, and John Lang are not the most skilled wordsmiths in pop music, but they find some laudable ways to express their favorite themes. «Man of a Thousand Dances» is written from the perspective of a man who is doggedly haunted by a presence that we begin to feel may be divine. «The Tube» blasts couch-potato culture and its illusory perfection: “I want to live in a dream that’s neverending / I want to love all the wasted time I’m spending.” Released in 1987, during the height of the materialistic ’80s, Go On was an example of a band using its pop culture bully pulpit to suggest that the “greed is good” philosophy was leaving a spiritual vacuum in American culture. [Evan Cater, AMG]
In interviews after Mr. Misters last album, ‘Welcome to the Real World‘, especially after the massive success of the single, «Kyrie», singer/lyricist Richard Page often seemed to find himself in interviews explaining that no, he wasn’t a “born again Christian,” but yes, he was a spiritually-minded seeker. ‘Go On…’ is bound to raise even more of those kinds of questions. It could easily be read – rightly or wrongly – as a Christian statement of faith. It’s a fairly blatant, even self-consciously obvious attempt at some heavy-duty soul searching (the B side to the new single, not on the album, is even called «Bare My Soul»), and God – as a concept, or as a reality – is a strong presence throughout.
The surprising thing is how well it works, even for those of us who weren’t especially predisposed to appreciate it on the basis of Mr. Mister’s previous albums and tours. The sound, for one, is tougher – still synthetically lush at times, but with a strong, live-sounding rhythmic base that sounds as funky as the band always wanted to be without trying so hard.
Not that Mr. Mister doesn’t occasionally live up to its sterile, studio-contrived reputation. One of the songs in which that happens, unfortunately, is «Man of a Thousand Dances», which by lyrical design should be one of the most soulful cuts as Page runs away from – then reconciles with – his Maker. “Who Is following me?” he initially demands to know. Eventually, he comes up with a round of “hallelujans” – some of the least convincing hallelujanhs, we’re sorry to say, you’re likely to find this side of a typical white gospel record.
Happily, exactly the opposite effect is achieved on the album’s shining moment of musical brilliance, «Healing Waters», which features background vocals from the Stan Lee Revue that sound genuinely gospel-like – but are used with surprising understatement to spinechilling good results. “Silent God/ Moving in my heart/ Telling me/ Not much I understand,” Page sings, underscoring that this album is at its best when it’s indeed about not understanding, but struggling forward – “going on,” if you will – with the search for meaning.
‘Go On…’ shows unusual compassion and other-directedness for a pop album, even in its less obviously religious moments. When this humanitarian concern is vague and all-encompassing, it’s less than satisfying – witness the two most commercial songs, the overly anthemic «Something Real (Inside Me/Inside You)» and «Watching the World». On a more personal, singular level, though, it can be quite touching – as in «Power Over Me», written as Page watched his newborn infant struggle for life in a hospital, and «Dust», about the children of American servicemen left behind in Vietnam.
These songs are further signs that Mr. Mister can “go on” beyond Top 40 success to the land where artists live as receptors and movers. Welcome to the real world, indeed. [Chris Willman, CCM, November 1987]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/go-on/403378291)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Stand And Deliver” – 5:32
A2. “Healing Waters” – 5:45
A3. “Dust” – 6:32
A4. “Something Real (Inside Me/Inside You)” – 4:19
A5. “The Tube” – 5:15
Side Two
B1. “Control” – 4:17
B2. “Watching The World” – 4:21
B3. “Power Over Me” – 5:02
B4. “Man Of A Thousand Dances” – 4:50
B5. “The Border” – 5:39
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette, 12-inch vinyl LP, and CD by RCA Records. (Most CD editions feature an extra track, “Bare My Soul”.) Re-issued by Rock Candy Records in 2015 as a Special Deluxe Collector’s Edition CD, fully remastered 24 BIT audio, four bonus tracks, 16 page full colour booklet, new interviews, 3,500 word essay, enhanced artwork and rare photos. Bonus tracks are: 11. Healing Waters (Remix) 12. Bare My Soul (B-Side) 13. Something Real (Inside Me/Inside You) (Rock Dance Mix) 14. Stand And Deliver (Remix).
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