Sniff 'n' the Tears - The Games Up (1980)

I have no reservations at all in giving this a 5-star rating. I personally think this is one of the best albums in my record collection. Paul Roberts (the singer and main writer for Sniff'n' the Tears) writes some songs with nice solid stories to them, and then him and the band put some very good instrumental work around those lyrics. The music is kinda laid back, which (in my opinion) fits the material. Paul's voice comes through clearly, but music is not some simple guitar strumming in the background.

The first song on the album is (IMO) the weakest. It's also probably the only song that has any connection at all to the cover art (the cover art is actually a painting that Paul had done, and the record company in Germany thought it was a really cool painting so they wanted it for the cover). The original US release of this on vinyl had a much more reasonable picture on the cover, with a guy trying to cozy up to his date at a fancy restaurant. Not as eye-catching as this cover, but it was a much better match for the songs on the record!

The album has several excellent songs, with "What Can Daddy Do" (about a rich father and the life of a daughter that he spoils a bit too much), "If I Knew Then", "5 & Zero" (a gambler in action, gambling at love while gambling for money), "Poison Pen Mail" (a relationship which has gone painfully sour), and "Rodeo Drive" (lifestyles of the rich and conspicuous, as well as those who fall by the wayside).