Huey Lewis & the News
Time Flies... The Best of Huey Lewis & The News

THE REVIEW

Some time ago, I was talking on the train with a guy about music and records, and I was particularly surprised when he confessed that he had about 50 records, all collections, like the best of U2, Dire Straits, Queen, Vasco Rossi, etc. When I asked if he had ever been curious to explore the individual discography of the artists whose best of he had enjoyed, he shrugged, saying there was no need, as probably the best stuff was in those albums he already had.

The age-old question about collections is whether they are exhaustive, whether they faithfully represent the artist, if they can be a good substitute for the entire discography. This almost never happens, mainly because collections are created ad hoc by record companies without the artists' input, and because summarizing careers that might be even decades-long in 15 songs is really difficult.

Personally, I use these types of albums (though rarely) a bit as a starting point to get a sense of the musical offering and, especially, for those artists whom I already know I won't be buying anything else from but whom I still want to have an important testament of. Kind of like what happened with this "Time flies" by Huey Lewis, whose discography I'm unlikely to explore, not because it's bad but because deep down I know that the 16 songs present here will be more than enough for me. Lewis’s music is like Malibu Beach music, not even too original, pleasant, like a refreshing drink on a hot summer day. There are sounds that can be "sipped," Lewis's are among them: in small doses to savor the sugar and fizz, obligatorily on the beach, preferably with shark spotting towers, here on our beaches it wouldn't work.

Huey Lewis has never been my cup of tea: too tidy, too handsome to play rock, more like a musician he has always seemed like a Wall Street stockbroker to me. Charming look, eternal smile, he seems like the classic American from jokes, where the Italian guy comes along and takes his money and girl. So, if you have short hair and want to play rock, you are allowed as long as you wear jeans, a white t-shirt, and a telecaster! However, I remember that the song The power of love, from the first Back to the Future, had a deadly groove and energy, classic pop-rock, with horns accompanying the motif, which I recall the summer jukeboxes played over and over, so when I saw this collection in the used section of a well-known record store in Naples at a bargain price, I didn't think twice and made it mine.

The first surprise is in the booklet and the CD design, where Huey is completely sweaty and worn out, intent on jumps and monkey-like somersaults, indicating that probably in live performances, his appeal is at least momentarily set aside. The music... well, the music is so light the disc risks flying away: simple and direct rock n' roll, mixed with a good dose of r n'b and a sprinkle of AOR, which was kind of like a mandatory spice in every production of the '80s. There's the already known The power of love but also another famous hit like I want a new drug or the opener The heart of rock n' roll. Your foot easily follows the rhythm and you'd never admit it to anyone, but you get the sudden urge to raise the horns to the sky as if AC/DC were playing!

Huey's version is the beach version of American auteur rock, one where social and engaged lyrics are replaced with words like "Heart," "Love," "Baby," etc. The main theme of this collection is frivolity and fun, supported by that healthy and robust rock n' roll that has its fathers in Chuck Berry and Little Richard and, truth be told, also by an excellent vocal performance by Huey, warm and expressive voice. In short, nothing to be passed down to future generations, it's only rock n' roll....

63 minutes of carefree fun, but every now and then it's needed....