Departure

AMG Review of Departure

Arthur Rowe
All Music Guide

Departure was Pat Boone's only album for the short lived Tetragrammaton label. It is, as the title suggests, a clean break from most everything he had done befpre. It was released in early 1969 and consists of contemporary material that focuses on compositions by John C. Stewart, John D. Loudermilk, Biff Rose, and Roger Dollarhide. The album's sharp contrast to the Pat Boone of 1955-1968 is a kind of earlier version of a new musical direction that he took with his In A Metal Mood CD of 1997 (and which was, in actuality, a much greater departure). Ironically, Departure's best tracks are its more forceful Rock songs, since it was mainly the subdued stuff that had earned Boone his reputation as a singer. Worthy of mention are the hard-hitting "Bad News," "I've Got A Secret," "Break My Mind," as well as the terrific leadoff track "What's Gnawin' At Me." "July, You're A Woman" is a mixture of Country, Rock, and Folk that has a "Gentle On My Mind" (Glen Campbell) flavor to it, even though it's far less gentle. (The song was released as a single and made a brief chart appearance). "Never Goin' Back" a driving Country Rock tune - may well have been the album's top track with some more work and a few more takes. And that's how it is with several other tracks, as well. There's no problem with the material, per se, it's just that the finished sound does not really sound finished. Some rough edges needed to be ironed out and it seems there was insufficient time allowed to accomplish this. Perhaps due to scheduling constraints they had to be done at the end of too long a day in the recording studio. Just the same, there is enough good with Departure to redeem it.