Workingman’s rocker Eddie Money enjoyed a long career marked by swings in quality not just between albums, but within them. Still, on those occasions when the ex-cop turned singer-songwriter hit on the right ingredients to balance his recipe of hooky bar-band rock paired with urgent blue-eyed-soul vocals, the results could be tasty indeed.
Fourth album No Control makes the top three in Money’s uneven catalogue, a grouping that also includes his self-titled 1977 debut and his 1986 comeback album Can’t Hold Back. The latter was actually the man’s second comeback, though, with the first being this album, which followed the disappointing Life For The Taking (1978) and Playing For Keeps (1980).
Money’s musical foil and guitarist Jimmy Lyon is a big presence, with his tasteful, muscular leads evident throughout. The strong supporting cast includes Alan Pasqua (keys, later with Bob Dylan), Randy Nichols (keys), Ralph Carter (bass), Marty Walsh (guitar, later with Supertramp) and Gary Mallaber (drums, ex-Steve Miller).
The album roars out of the gate with “Shakin’,” whose urgency and strong dynamics play to Money’s strengths while sketching a charismatic love interest; add in that “whoa-oh oh-whoa” earworm chorus hook and you’ve got a sure-fire hit (#63 Hot 100; #9 Mainstream Rock). The other big single here, the propulsive “I Think I’m In Love” (#16 Hot 100; #1 Top Tracks), slots in at track three, distilling the exuberance and optimism of new love into words and music.
As was often the case in this era, the rest of the album doesn’t quite reach the level of its two hit singles, but there’s still plenty to enjoy.
The rumbly, careening title track is a bracingly honest self-examination by notorious party-boy Money, whose well-chronicled habits nearly derailed his career in the ’80s. What’s even more startling is that “No Control” appears on the same album as the Motown-flavored “Passing By The Graveyard (Song for John B.),” a posthumous tribute to Money’s friend John Belushi.
Money was versatile enough to handle anything from straight-up guitar pop like the earnest “Runnin’ Away” to heavier rockers like the stutter-stepping, emphatic “Keep My Motor Runnin’.” And while neither won him any songwriting awards, they’re serviceable tunes that Money elevates with commitment and charisma. There’s also a sincere, appealing vulnerability to more personal songs like the mid-tempo “Hard Life” and acoustic ballad “My Friends, My Friends.”
Not everything here works; “Take A Little Bit” features dry eighties synths over a robotic beat, and heavy rocker “Drivin’ Me Crazy” derails every time it hits its car-crash chorus. Closer “It Could Happen To You” takes another shot at yearning, but the lyric feels like a string of cliches and only Nichols’ organ and Ed Calle’s sax leave a lasting impression.
Money co-wrote most of these tunes with members of his band, with bassist Carter his most frequent collaborator, and the album’s warm, vibrant sound came courtesy of superstar producer Tom Dowd (Bee Gees, Allman Brothers, Derek & The Dominos, Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc., etc.).
It would be a stretch to call No Control essential, but it’s a solid and often appealing album from a solid and often appealing performer—and its pair-of-aces singles are two of the best tracks Eddie Money and band ever laid down.
