It's common to hear someone describe a piece of music by saying "I can't believe that wasn't a hit!" But with a few rare exceptions (*cough* Big Star *cough*), the reasons why a single or an album didn't find wider commercial success is that while the music might be good, it wasn't any better than dozens of other worthwhile releases.
But when it comes to the 1979 Ian Lloyd album "Goosebumps," it's pretty easy to wonder why the album didn't find an audience. Lloyd had one hit as part of The Stories - the memorable "Brother Louie" - and after a rocky start to his solo career, this album seemed almost guaranteed to be huge. He had a new label, his new manager Bud Praeger also managed the red-hot band Foreigner and the album was produced Bruce Fairburn, who went on to produce Loverboy's biggest albums, Aerosmith's comeback releases and other classic rock iconic albums like Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet" and Poison's "Look What The Cat Dragged In."
The band for the album included former Aerosmith guitarist Jimmy Crespo, along with various members of The Cars and Foreigner. And there were original songs from Ric Ocasek, Ian Hunter and Corky Laing and a pre-solo artist Bryan Adams. And there is barely a weak track on the album, especially when you listen to it in the context of what else was on the radio in 1979.
And yet it died a slow, painful death. The Ric Ocasek track "Slip Away" was originally considered for The Cars "Candy-O" album, but as you can tell from this demo track, he and the band didn't quite have a handle on it. But the version that appeared on "Goosebumps" offers up some subtle nods to The Cars sound, while still allowing Lloyd to make it his own. Add to that bass and backing vocals from Ben Orr as well as backing vocals from Ric Ocasek and you end up with a song that sounds like it would have been a hit in some alternate universe. In fact, a number of the tracks from this album and the follow-up album "3WC" sound like they could be part of some greatest hits album from another reality.
