Monsoon (Little River Band album)

Monsoon is the tenth studio album by Australian group, Little River Band, with Glenn Shorrock returning as lead singer after John Farnham left the group to release his solo album Whispering Jack. The album was released in May 1988^[1] and peaked at number nine on the Kent Music Report albums chart.^[2]

Monsoon
Studio album by Little River Band
Released	May 1988
Recorded	1987
Studio	Metropolis Audio (Melbourne) Capitol (Hollywood) Sunset Sound (Los Angeles)
Genre	Rock
Length	43:17
Label	MCA
Producer	John Boylan
Little River Band chronology
No Reins (1986) Monsoon (1988) Too Late to Load (1989)
Singles from Monsoon
"Love Is a Bridge" Released: April 1988 "Son of a Famous Man" Released: August 1988 "Soul Searching" Released: September 1988

Background

Little River Band (LRB) issued Monsoon as their tenth studio album with the line-up of Graeham Goble on guitars and vocals, Stephen Housden on lead guitar, Wayne Nelson on bass guitar and vocals, Derek Pellicci on drums and Glenn Shorrock on lead vocals and keyboards.^[3][4][5] The Australian band had formed in Melbourne as a harmony rock group by Goble, Pellicci and Shorrock, they toured extensively in the United States and were later joined by Nelson and Housden.^[3][4] Shorrock left LRB in 1982 and Pellicci left in 1984.^[3][4] Shorrock's replacement on lead vocals John Farnham left in 1986 to return to his solo career and LRB remained in hiatus.^[3][4] Pellicci and Shorrock returned in July 1987 at the request of Irving Azoff, the head of MCA Records, who wanted the group on his label.^[6] According to Lisa Wallace, Pellicci and Shorrock's rejoining was due to "the fact that they still make good music together, and the money".^[7]

Monsoon peaked at number nine on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart.^[2] It provided three Australian singles "Love Is a Bridge" (April 1988), "Son of a Famous Man" (August) and "Soul Searching" (September).^[3] Meanwhile "It's Cold Out Tonight" was issued in North American instead of "Soul Searching". Only "Love Is a Bridge" charted – it reached number six in Australia and number 18 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.^[2][8]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[10]

The Canberra Times' Lisa Wallace was disappointed by Monsoon's lack of innovation despite the group showing technical skills.^[7]

Track listing

Monsoon track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"It's Cold Out Tonight"	Graham Goble[11]	4:38
2.	"Parallel Lines"	Glenn Shorrock, J.C. Crowley	3:23
3.	"Love Is a Bridge"	Goble, Stephen Housden	4:04
4.	"The Rhythm King"	Derek Pellicci, John Capek	4:25
5.	"Face in the Crowd" ([upper-alpha 1])	Goble	4:45
6.	"A Cruel Madness"	Goble	4:50
7.	"Inside Story"	David Scheibner, Steven Marc Cristol, Goble, Wayne Nelson, Pellicci, Housden	4:40
8.	"Son of a Famous Man"	Goble, Nelson, Pellicci, Housden	4:49
9.	"Soul Searching"	Peter Beckett, Shorrock	4:22
10.	"Great Unknown"	John Boylan	4:56
11.	"Shadow in the Rain"	Goble	3:56
Total length:			43:17

Notes

1. Original version released on No Reins.

Personnel

Little River Band

• Glenn Shorrock – vocals, keyboards
• Graham Goble – guitar, vocals
• Stephen Housden – lead guitar
• Wayne Nelson – bass, lead vocals on "Inside Story"
• Derek Pellicci – drums

Additional musicians

• Chong Lim – synthesiser
• Jai Winding – piano
• John Capek – keyboards
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion

Technical work

• John Boylan – producer
• Ian McKenzie – engineer
• Michael Wickow, Paul Grupp – additional engineers
• Barry Conley, Jim Champagne, Leanne Vallence, Leslie Ann Jones, Paul Wertheimer – assistant engineers
• Wally Traugott – mastering

Charts

Chart performance for Monsoon

Chart (1988)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Australian Music Report)[2]	9

References

1. "POP MUSIC REVIEW : Maturing Little River Band Cuts Back on the Saccharine". Los Angeles Times. 24 May 1990.
2. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 179. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
3. • First edition (online copy): McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Little River Band'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 15 June 2004. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
   • Second edition: McFarlane, Ian (2017). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Little River Band'". The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Jenkins, Jeff (Foreword) (2nd ed.). Gisborne, VIC: Third Stone Press. pp. 282–283. ISBN 978-0-9953856-0-3.
4. Little River Band related entries at Australian Rock Database:

   • Little River Band: Holmgren, Magnus; Reboulet, Scott; Warnqvist, Stefan; Birtles, Beeb; Sciuto, Tony. "Little River Band". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 28 March 2004. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
   • John Farnham (1982–86): Holmgren, Magnus; Reboulet, Scott; Albury, Lyn; Birtles, Beeb; Warnqvist, Stefan; Medlin, Peter. "John Farnham". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 19 March 2004. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
   • Graeham Goble/Graham Goble (1975–1992): Holmgren, Magnus; Reboulet, Scott; Warnqvist, Stefan; McCarthy, Ken. "Graham Goble". passagen.se. Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 28 March 2004. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
   • Stephen Housden (1981–2006): Holmgren, Magnus; Warnqvist, Stefan; Stephen, Housden. "Stephen Housden". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 24 February 2004. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
   • Derek Pellicci (1975–84, 1987–98): Holmgren, Magnus. "Derek Pellicci". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 19 January 2004. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
   • Glenn Shorrock (1975-82, 1988-96): Holmgren, Magnus; Warnqvist, Stefan. "Glenn Shorrock". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 19 March 2004. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
5. Little River Band (1988), Monsoon, MCA Records, retrieved 27 October 2022
6. Wardlaw, Matt (29 March 2015). "The Little River Band at 40: Wayne Nelson Talks About Keeping a Band Together and Working with George Martin". Ultimate Classic Rock. Townsquare Media. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
7. Wallace, Lisa (5 June 1988). "Joni Mitchell 'sick' of suffering for her art". The Canberra Times. National Library of Australia. p. 16. Archived from the original on 31 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
8. Whitburn, Joel (2007). Top Adult Songs: 1961-2006. Record Research.
9. "Monsoon - Little River Band | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
10. Larkin, Colin (27 May 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958 – via Google Books.
11. "Song Catalogue Search Results for 'It's Cold Out Tonight'". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 28 October 2022. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search and filter' and input another title.