One of
the guilty pleasures I hope to impart to you is a fondness for Stephen
Bishop. Other than "On And On" and the theme from Tootsie,
he's relatively unknown. He is a gifted songwriter and arranger, however, and
his polished style should not conceal his talent. He can be saccharine and
mopey in the worst singer/songwriter sort of way, and for that I beg your indulgence.
His first (now out-of-print) album, Careless, is very good, and his
third, Red Cab To Manhattan, is his most accomplished (but available
only in Japan - maybe). There's a
good compilation, The Best Of Bish, on Rhino that includes a variety
of non-LP and/or out-of-print tracks. Bishop is an interesting mix of Tin Pan
Alley glitz and California mellow, with a sense of humor to boot.