PETER McIAN – Playing Near The Edge (1980) vinyl rip by brooklyne

As requested, here’s the only LP released by PETER McIAN, 1980’s “Playing Near The Edge“, never reissued on CD or any other digital format. This is a vinyl LP-rip done by the 0dayrox team trying to get the best sound quality.

Peter McIan is mostly an ‘music industry man’: songwriter for others, musician, record producer, recording engineer, and A&R executive – who like many of his peers back in the ’80s also recorded & released an album himself.
Over the years McIan produced acts such as Men At Work and Mr. Mister, and wrote songs for Pat Benatar and Barbra Streisand just to mention a few. Additionally, he has written books on the subject of recording and audio engineering.

So expect top class production here and a crew of session musicians to dream: Earl Slick, Steve Lukather, Billy Steel, Les Dudek, Duane Hitchings, James Newton Howard, etc. There’s also a big string section – a real one – this type of productions are impossible to achieve nowadays.
But results that McIan is also a very good vocalist, and compose stupendous songs. Someone said that Peter McIan recorded this 1980 LP with a power pop/rock style before the term was invented. And it’s accurate. We find as well a lite AOR feeling, and while overall the album is based in melody, there’s a biting guitar work from these session monsters.

“Playing Near The Edge” is one of these albums that defined an era: ’80s huge recording productions, with the best of the best involved. Being his own child, McIan took the time to polish everything to detail.
After this album Peter McIan concentrated in songwriting and producing, making Men At Work a world-wide success and helping Mr. Mister to craft their awesome 1985’s album Welcome To The Real World.
Highly Recommended

01 – Playin’ Near The Edge
02 – Light In Your Eyes
03 – With Every Beat Of My Heart
04 – It’s Only Love
05 – Solitaire
06 – True Believer
07 – Runnin’
08 – Listen To Your Heart
09 – Clear Sailin’

Lead Vocals, Keyboards – Peter McIan
Guitars – Billy Steel, Earl Slick
Guitar on 5 – Les Dudek
Guitar on 7 – Steve Lukather
Bass, Backing Vocals – Erik Scott
Drums – Craig Krampf
Synthesizer – Scott Wilk
Synthesizer on 1 – Duane Hitchings
Piano on 1 – James Newton Howard
Cello – Julianna Buffum, Linda Sanfilippo
Saxophone on 1 – Phil Kenzie
Strings – Carol Shive, Dan Neufeld, Gareth Nuttycombe, Jay Rosen
Backing Vocals – Frannie Golde, Paulette Brown, Venetta Fields, Max Gronenthal

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