Album of the Day-April 25

Animal Logic — Animal Logic

Animal Logic — Animal Logic

Animal Logic — Animal Logic

25 April 2020
Animal Logic
Animal Logic
1989

What do you get when you combine a drum virtuoso, a master bassist and a gifted vocalist?

Animal Logic.

Ex-Police drummer Stewart Copeland, jazz bassist Stanley Clarke and Canadian vocalist Deborah Holland first got together in 1987. Recruiting ex-Police guitarist Andy Summers the band did a short tour before jumping in the recording study to record.

Unfortunately, Summers bailed before recording. Fortunately, they got studio musician Michael Thompson to step in.

Released in 1989 Animal Logic and given the pedigree of the band, anticipation was high. Unfortunately, the eponymous first album failed to burn up the charts or radio. It didn’t reach too far beyond music nerds and Copeland and Clarke die-hard fans.

This doesn’t lessen the quality of the musicianship or songs. Quite the contrary. Stewart Copeland and Stanley Clarke…’nuff said, and Holland has a solid grasp on songwriting, wordplay, and vocal prowess that is on par with her virtuosic bandmates.

Animal Logic combines the best of what Copeland and Clark have to offer. It’s an amalgam of rock, pop, and funk.

Stewart Copeland and Stanley Clarke will most certainly be remembered for their work outside of Animal Logic. This is not to say Deborah Holland has done nothing independent of this band.

In addition to work in television and film, Holland has released six solo albums and was a founding member of the folk “supergroup” The Refugees. Along with Wendy Waldman and Cidney Bullens The Refugees have released two albums.

After Animal Logic, the trio sputtered into a second album, Animal Logic II. That album also failed to rally the troops so the band went on ice until 2013 when they released the song “Whipping Boy”.

In March of 2020, Deborah Holland acknowledged that the band had recorded five new songs for an ep and that it’s in the finishing stages but may still “take awhile”.

Animal Logic is a great sounding album by a band that deserved more attention than they received. Fortunately, none of them had to rely on their work in Animal Logic to live by.