THEN
AND NOW REVIEWS
I was disappointed in October when I received the UK version of "Then and Now". I am not less disappointed this time. Nine of the songs from the UK release have been removed, and replaced with two new songs. Instead of 22 songs we have now 15 on the US release.
What I cannot understand is why all the "Then" songs have to be so close to the originals. This is not how David plays these songs live. Some of the songs have actually changed a lot since the early seventies. More or less all of the "Then" songs have appeared on the "The Partridge Family Greatest Hits" or the more recent CD "The Definitive Collection." So why use the original musicians and the original background singers to make the songs sound like the original. You have developed a lot since then, David. Why not record the funky version of "C'Mon Get Happy" you do live, instead of one that's exactly like the one used on the Partridge Family TV series? You have wanted to move on, away from the Partridge Family, so why go back?
So "Then and Now" has been made for the old Partridge Family fans from the seventies, but what about the fans who have been there all along and still are? Okay, there are the "Now" songs. "No Bridge I Wouldn't Cross" has never been one of my favorites, but the brand new "Young & Gifted Mix" is actually not so bad, better than the original from 1998.
"Do You Believe In Magic" was originally recorded for the Mervin X-mas commercial last year, and added to the US release of "Then and Now." It is not bad at all, kinda reggae feel to it. Something for the trivia: Which Cassidy has done this song before? Answer: David's brother Shaun did it on his "Born Late" album from 1977.
"Lyin' To Myself" has changed a lot since its original release in 1990. It used to be a rock song, and is now a ballad, blends better in with the other songs on "Then and Now".
"Ain't No Sunshine" has gotten some airplay in the UK, and is one of the reasons "Then and Now" has sold more than 300,000 copies there, and given David another platinum award. If the song will bring David another platinum award in the US is yet to see.
Erik
DAVID CASSIDY
"Then and Now"
Decca
David Cassidy, who turned his character as the lead singer of a pop band in the TV sitcom "The Partridge Family" into international pop stardom, dusts off his voice and his still-boyish good looks for a comeback album.
Well it isn't exactly a comeback disc, but his fans that are still out there can now get another dose of his smooth croon on a collection of oldie rock.
Partridge hunters can bag new versions of "I Think I Love You," "I Woke Up in Love This Morning" and "C'Mon, Get Happy" mixed in with oldie radio classics such as "Ain't No Sunshine," "Do You Believe in Magic" and "Cherish" among others. What the album illustrates is that the kind of pop that was being purveyed by the Partridges for the TV show wasn't very far off the mark of mainstream pop of the same era.
Cassidy still has a good voice (albeit gritless) that leans toward Broadway belting. He is best here when he reprises Johnny Ray's bluesy "Cry." This is for fans only.
DAVID CASSIDY
Album Title: Then and Now
Producer(s): various
Genre: POP
Label/Catalog Number: Decca 440 017 454
Source: Online
Originally Reviewed: May 04, 2002
For those in the almost-40 crowd who aimed their first celebrity crush at David Cassidy, the arrival of Then and Now is almost as much fun as chewing two pieces of Super Bubble at once. Among the 15 tracks found here are such Partridge Family favorites as "I Think I Love You" and "I Can Feel Your Heartbeat," solo hits "Cherish" and "Rock Me Baby," and some surprise oldies, including "Do You Believe in Magic." While the trip down memory lane is succulent, fans should be aware that all of the selections here are newly recorded by Cassidy-not necessarily a bad thing, since the 51-year-old remains in fine voice - but for those who remember every nuance of these favorites, some things are better left untouched by time. Still, a guilty pleasure worth a giddy spin around the block.-CT
While both David Cassidy and the Partridge Family have been at least partially anthologized over the years, it remains a thing of wonder that nobody has yet sat down to compile the best of both into one all-encompassing package — all the more so since Cassidy's personal appeal remains as high as any '70s icon could dream of climbing. Cassidy himself has toyed with his past on occasion, with releases ranging from a mid-'80s live hits album to the savage reinvention of "I Think I Love You," which so dignified his 1998 Slamajama album. Then and Now, however, goes further than either he, or his past record companies, have ever traveled, serving up 22 songs of which just three ("Cry," "No Bridge I Wouldn't Cross," and "Sheltered in Your Arms") don't immediately leap out of the memory banks. From "I Woke Up in Love This Morning" to "I Write the Songs," from "Cherish" to "The Last Kiss" (a 1985 U.K. smash that marked the first of his serious comebacks), Cassidy revisits a career's worth of pop classics, as straight as a die and faithful enough that you could almost forget you're not listening to the greatest hits collection on earth. No sneaky drum'n'bass redesigns, no nasty modern production tricks, no heartless stab at "updating" the songs for the modern listener. A pointless duet with boy band Hear'Say does raise a few anachronistic hackles, but "Could It Be Forever" has already appeared once on the album; once more is no skin off anyone's nose. It's unabashed nostalgia, then, and all delivered with such sincerity that you can't even feel cynical about the exercise. The booklet photos are early-'70s classic; the inclusion of the lyrics lets you cheat and peek at the occasional line you may not quite remember. And Cassidy's voice hasn't lost an ounce of its charm since the first time he sang these songs. Of course it isn't quite the real, all-encompassing best-of box thing that fans have been waiting for all these years. But it's close. — Dave Thompson