James Warren - Burning Questions (2023)

With the demise of the Korgis, in 1985 James Warren turned his pen to solo work, and inked a deal with the small Swedish Sonet label. Warren, however, wasn't entirely working his own, with his old bandmate Andy Davis co-writing and providing backing vocals on three numbers. Two of them, "True Life Confessions" and "Burning Questions," were promptly released as a singles by Sonet and credited to the Korgis. The lavish "They Don't Believe in Magic," however, was credited to a solo Warren, yet another taster for his full-length Burning Questions. All three numbers appeared on the set, which was very much a child of its time. The title track, for instance, could have been written for Duran Duran, "Possessed" was made for the Human League, the world music spiced "True Life Confessions" was sure to be fought over by Peter Gabriel and Eddy Grant (bets should go on the latter, what with its infectious Equal-esque chorus), while "Loneliness" would likely have resulted in a punch up between George Michael and Billy Ocean. Spandau Ballet should have danced all over "Loneliness," while the elegant "Magic" was tailor-made for Bryan Ferry. As for "Climate of Treason," the best of a stellar batch that would have hit for any star who managed to wrestle it away from the others, it'd be nice to hear what the Pointer Sisters could have done with it. Which isn't to say that Warren doesn't do a great job with his own songs; in fact, he does a brilliant one. So why didn't this album tear up the charts and have every major act of the era on their knees begging to promptly cut their own covers? Lack of promotion, pure and simple. It's criminal. Warren's songwriting has always been notable, but the numbers here put even his past hits to shame. Arguably his strongest songs to date, and all were consigned to the dust heap of history. [Thankfully, Angel Air has pulled them from the rubbish, reissuing this remarkable record and adding the equally excellent non-album B-sides to boot.] © Jo-Ann Greene