In the early '90s, Paul Hardcastle moved away from the synth-pop and dance material that made him semi-famous during the '80s, choosing to pursue a jazz fusion direction with his 1993 album Jazzmasters I and 1994's Hardcastle, Vol.
1.
The sequel, Hardcastle 2, is very similar in terms of style and content to its predecessor.
Keeping vaguely club-oriented dance rhythms as the basis of his music, Hardcastle plays jazzy keyboard and guitar lines that alternate between the jazzy experimentation and jazzy, neo-psychedelic rock fusion (see his cover of Pink Floyd's "Money" for an example).
And "jazzy" is the right term -- he's approximating the sound of jazz, without delving into the blood and guts that makes the music vital.
Consequently, this is music that will please fusion freaks and dance club fanatics, but leave purists feeling cold.
At the very least, purists can be (somewhat) heartened by the fact that Hardcastle 2 boasts the most substantive playing, if not material, that Hardcastle has yet demonstrated on record, and suggests that he could play real jazz if only he chose to.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Livin' in the ShadowsPaul Hardcastle, Steve Menzies | Paul Hardcastle | Play | 05:03 | 11 MB | 37 MB |
| 2 | Bird IslandPaul Hardcastle | Paul Hardcastle | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | Peace on EarthPaul Hardcastle | Paul Hardcastle | Play | 05:37 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 4 | Star of the StoryPaul Hardcastle | Paul Hardcastle | Play | 05:25 | 12 MB | 38 MB |
| 5 | Jokers WildPaul Hardcastle | Paul Hardcastle | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 6 | Look to the FuturePaul Hardcastle | Paul Hardcastle | Play | 05:20 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 7 | MoneyRoger Waters | Paul Hardcastle | Play | 04:55 | 11 MB | 32 MB |
| 8 | Warm GlowPaul Hardcastle | Paul Hardcastle | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 9 | You Are the OnePaul Hardcastle | Paul Hardcastle | Play | 04:50 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 10 | Destination AtlantisPaul Hardcastle | Paul Hardcastle | Play | 05:30 | 12 MB | 39 MB |
| 11 | Acoustic DreamsPaul Hardcastle | Paul Hardcastle | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 12 | Got Ti Be Love | Paul Hardcastle | Play | 04:56 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 59 mins | 135 MB | |||||
| 59 mins | 411 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larry Busacca | Photography, Portrait Photography |
| 2 | Chris Davis | Flute, Saxophone |
| 3 | Tim Falkner | Saxophone |
| 4 | Brian Gardner | Mastering |
| 5 | Sam Gay | Creative Director |
| 6 | Peter Grant | Art Direction, Design, Scenery |
| 7 | Maxine Hardcastle | Vocals, Voices |
| 8 | Paul Hardcastle | Arranger, Bass, Composer, Drum Programming, Drums, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Mixing, Percussion, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Synthesizer, Voices |
| 9 | Bob Hoskins | Voices |
| 10 | Imani | Vocals |
| 11 | Steve Menzies | Composer, Vocals |
| 12 | Laurence Olivier | Voices |
| 13 | Helen Rogers | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Sharon Stone | Vocals |
| 15 | Philip Todd | Flute, Saxophone |
| 16 | Roger Waters | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |