ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 25, 1983
By Steve Newton
Those who enjoyed Aldo Nova’s popular debut album should be quite satisfied with his new release. The thick keyboard/guitar sound that made songs like “Fantasy” big hits last year figures strongly on Subject…Aldo Nova.
Particularly impressive is Nova’s energized version of Coney Hatch’s “Hey Operator”, on which his talents as a rock guitarist are surprisingly sharp. He also goes hog wild on the riveting rocker “Cry Baby Cry”, and squeezes some swell-sounding noises out of his cranked six-string.
Like his playing, Nova’s singing is always passionate and forceful and suits well the to-the-hilt arrangements of his songs. And although the album suffers from a stifling, too-controlled studio climate it will undoubtedly be a big winner on the commercial airwaves. Formula rock at its best (or worst, depending on what you think of formula rock).