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Kathy Valentine Issue #25

Light Years (All for One)

By Charlotte Robinson
Published: September 1st, 2005 | 2:25pm

Light Yearsis the first solo outing by Go-Go's bassist Kathy Valentine. The album finds Valentine taking on production, vocal, and guitar duties, which isn't too surprising if you know that she was a guitarist before joining one of the world's most successful all-female bands (Valentine lied about her bass-playing abilities to land the lucrative Go-Go's gig).

Valentine helped pen such pop gems as "Vacation" and "Head Over Heels" for her band, but if it's '60s-influenced pop or new wave you expect on Light Years, think again. Written and recorded during her pregnancy, Light Years finds the Go-Go in a more mature mode. Valentine has written tightly focused pop tunes but plays them at a slower tempo and with less vigor than the Go-Go's would — although her old flame, Clem Burke (of Blondie), adds a good deal of kick with his drumming.

Valentine has a pleasant if limited voice that sounds eerily like latter-day Debbie Harry at times, especially on the title track and "Retouch Me." On the dreamy ballad "Happy Endingless," she uses this smoky purr to intoxicating effect. Unfortunately, the mid-tempo rockers that make up most of the album are not as engaging and tend to blend together by the album's close. While Belinda Carlisle should envy Valentine's songwriting and musical chops and Jane Wiedlin would be blessed to have her voice, Valentine hasn't made a solo album to rival her achievements with the Go-Go's.

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