Hot on the heels of the re-promotion of his last album 'The Hard Way' (see the review here) comes John Waite’s “new” album, Downtown Journey Of A Heart. Well I say new but what we have here is a re-recording of tracks from his previous albums. Whilst for some one like me, perhaps only a distant fan of Waite, this is the ideal way to get acquainted with Waite's body of work, for more ardent fans it may feel like a bit of a waste of a time.

The tracks taken from the aforementioned 'The Hard Way' album sound almost identical. Likewise 'Isn't it TIme' is extremely close to The Baby's original version, however the same cannot be said of 'When I See You Smile' which has been remade completly acoustically with no keyboards. And still works, just goes to show why Diane Warren is worth a bloody fortune. In fact the whole album is very stripped back and could almost be John Waite unplugged at times. 

There are also two new tracks,  a Dylan cover in the shpae of 'Highway 61' (at least it’s not 'Knocking On Heaven’s Door and St Patrick's Day which again highlights Waite's excellent style of story telling in his songs telling, as it does, the story of a couple who meet in New York on St Patrick’s Day. of course what Waite album would be complete without yet another version of 'Missing You' and 'Downtown Journey of A Heart' doesn't fail on that score this time seeing the song transformed into a duet with accompanying female vocalist and also perhaps slightly 'countrified' in style. 

The remaining songs featured on the album are not ones with which I am overly familiar but they have definitely struck a chord and the whole album has been an enjoyable listen and hence the record scores big time. As I said right at the beginning if you’re a passing fan or have not heard much by John Waite I can thoroughly recommend this album, however if you  are a  fan and  have all his albums anyway this may seem just a bit pointless.

Let Us Know Your Views On 'Downtown Journey Of A Heart'

Track List

The Hard Way
In Dreams
Blue Venus
Missing You
Keys To Your Heart
Highway 61
Isn't It Time
St. Patrick's Day
New York City Girl
Headfirst
Downtown
When I See You Smile