The Highlands

Description

The Highlands is the sophomore album by the American singer and songwriter Rick Schroeder (this time around credited as The Rick Schroeder Band), released on AirCraft in 1983. The album was recorded by Henry Yoder and Barney Lee at The Air Craft Studios, Dormont, Pennsylvania, and was produced by Rick Schroeder, Tom Bajoras, and Blake Samuels. All songs written by Schroeder.

The Highlands continues to present creative music with a stately progressive edge that makes equal use of synthesizers and guitars. Cuts like «Learning To Dance» and the brisk electric piano-backed opener «Upward Road» bear strong resemblance to Dan Fogelberg, as do the acoustic ballads «Valentine Song», «A Broken Heart» and «Wheelchair Row» (in fact Dan is cited as an inspiration on the back cover). There’s one excursion into new wave: «Dear John Letter», a fast driving ATF-ish rocker with power synths and a scurrying electric guitar lead that sizzles. Art-rock influences surface on the hard-rocking «Heart Of Darkness». Fogelberg is once again paid homage on the closing majestic title track. Beautiful pen/ink cover illustration of a castle. [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th edition]

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “Upward Road”
A2. “Learning to Dance”
A3. “Valentine Song”
A4. “Dear John Letter”
A5. “A Broken Heart”

Side Two
B1. “Heart of Darkness”
B2. “Wheelchair Row”
B3. “Confessions”
B4. “Rejoice”
B5. “The Highlands”