Missing Persons: “Dreaming” (2020) CD Review

I often get Missing Persons’ “Walking In L.A.” stuck in my head, mainly because I do a great deal of walking here in Los Angeles. But also, well, it’s just a seriously cool song. That first album also contained “Destination Unknown” and “Words,” among other treats. And all the songs on that album were originals, written by the band’s three founding members – vocalist Dale Bozzio, drummer and keyboardist Terry Bozzio, and guitarist Warren Cuccurullo. They went on to put out a couple of other good records in the 1980s, also containing all original material, before disbanding. Since then, they’ve had a couple of reunions, the first of which featured all three original members. But since the 2014 release of Missing In Action, the only original member still standing is Dale Bozzio. Interestingly, the new album, Dreaming, contains very few original songs. The covers are mostly well-known hits from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, but given a very different spin.

The album starts with a somewhat haunting, electronic rendition of the classic tune “California Dreamin’.” From its eerie, moody opening, you know this is going to be quite a bit different from the version by The Mamas And The Papas. The only other musician to appear on this track, and most of the album’s tracks, is Adam Hamilton, who is on keys, bass and programming. He also produced and engineered this release. “California Dreamin’” is followed by one of the album’s original tracks, “Lipstick,” written by Dale Bozzio, Adam Hamilton and Devon Mycah Morse. It’s an interesting and engaging song that takes place in Los Angeles, with lines like “Living out your fantasies in a Hollywood bungalow” and “Neon angels hold you in the darkest part of night.” This track also features a spoken word section in the middle, and things turn darker. We then get the album’s title track, “Dreaming,” which is also an original composition by Dale Bozzio and Adam Hamilton. It is interesting to me that the album starts with “California Dreamin’,” then goes to a song about California and then a song about dreaming. Anyway, this one has kind of a beautiful pop sound, with something of a 1980s vibe, and is one of my personal favorites of the album. “I see your face/I see it every time I dream/All this time I’m waiting, waiting for you.”

We then return to covers, with a strange, almost frightening rendition of The Animals’ “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place,” written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. This approach works surprisingly well for the lyrics, and is quite effective. That is followed by the Rolling Stones’ “Play With Fire” (here listed as “Playing With Fire”), Dale Bozzio’s vocal delivery full of attitude. You can almost hear a snarl at certain points, on certain words such as “diamonds” and “pretty clothes,” which is great. “So don’t play with me, because you’re playing with fire” is given as a real warning. This rendition has a steady electronic rhythm. Then we get a really odd take on The Cars’ “Just What I Needed,” a song from that band’s fantastic 1978 debut LP. Here the song is given a strong electric pulse, but also gets heavy at times (like if Nine Inch Nails covered it or something). Jürgen Engler (from Die Krupps) plays guitar on this track, so I suppose that is where we get that heavier sound.

Missing Persons then moves into the 1980s with a cover of The The’s “This Is The Day,” written by Matt Johnson. This song already had something of an electronic pop sound, so this new version from Missing Persons isn’t as much of a departure from the original as are many of this disc’s other tracks. This one has a rather cheerful vibe. After all, “This is the day that your life is going to change/This is the day that things fall into place.” That’s followed by another song from the 1980s, Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” This is a touching and haunting rendition, the focus being on Dale’s vocals, with a beat not coming in until more than a minute into the track. Missing Persons remain in the early 1980s with a cover of Peter Godwin’s “Images Of Heaven,” from a 1982 EP of the same name. This is another that already had an electronic sound, and so this new version is more closely aligned with the sound and vibe of the original. I honestly had forgotten about this song, but it’s fun to revisit it now. I’m digging this version. “Images of heaven/That take me to hell/Images of heaven/Of something to sell.”

The album then goes back to the 1960s with a cover of Strawberry Alarm Clock’s big hit, “Incense And Peppermints.” It has a rather dark opening before the pop beat brightens things, but this ends up being a fun, breezy take on the song. Jürgen Engler plays guitar on this track. That’s followed by the album’s final original song, “This Time,” written by Dale Bozzio and Adam Hamilton. This one is interesting from its opening, but where this song really grabs me is approximately halfway through, in that section where Dale sings “Luck is for the lucky/And the world’s gone insane/And the world’s gone insane.” At that point, I’m totally hooked. The album concludes with a cover of The Dramatics’ “In The Rain,” the electronic sounds giving the song a somewhat darker tone and texture.

CD Track List

1. California Dreamin’
2. Lipstick
3. Dreaming
4. We Gotta Get Out Of This Place
5. Playing With Fire
6. Just What I Needed
7. This Is The Day
8. Love Will Tear Us Apart
9. Images Of Heaven
10. Incense And Peppermints
11. This Time
12. In The Rain

Dreaming was released on March 20, 2020 on Cleopatra Records, and is available on both CD and vinyl.