Album Notes

After the explosive breakup of the rock band, Decadence, in 1982, guitarist and songwriter Gary Richard Jinks recorded this collection of jazzy pop songs with the vocal duo "Tandem Deluxe" featuring Lou Castiello and Neil Keenan. Joining them was reggae and pop drummer, Billy Doody, acoustic piano and vintage synths, Jeff Kazanow, bassist, Michael Harris, Jack Hubble on sax and flute and Tami Thomas on harp. The project was finished in 1984, but never released, until now.

The project titled "Valentine In Flux" was recently remastered for release and is currently available in a limited release. The CD opens up with Lou on "Just Dropped By" featuring the Sassy Sisters Sextet Children's Choir and the meandering moog stylings of Jeff Kazanow. Neil's first song is the wild "Payment is Optional", a driving tribute to sex and cruising, featuring the craziest solo ever recorded. (This song was recently re-recorded for the Flashpot Theater release of Think of the Possibilities coming to CD Baby next month.) Lou follows this up with a pretty duet, "Let Me Love You Tonight" with guest star, Cindy Bodnar. Neil follows with a duet of his own, featuring Laura Botton, on "Side by Side" from the rock opera, "Savagery and Grace" as performed by Decadence. Neil keeps it light with the real jazzy, "Perhaps" featuring Jack Hubble on flute and Michael Harris on bass. Lou and Neil team up on "If Only Time Stood Still", the infectious latin pop tune. Neil follows this with "Godspeed", a pretty song, featuring Tami Thomas on the harp. Lou follows this with the reggae flavored, "If It Was Your Song" featuring Jack Hubble on soprano sax. Neil, follows that with the Cheap Trick influenced "Winter Lies as Dust". The CD concludes the Tandem Deluxe portion with Lou and Neil singing "It's Not The Same", featuring a guitar solo reprise.

The CD features acoustic piano, female background vocals and percussion and is a complete contrast to the hard rock stylings of the Decadence CDs.

The album concludes with five bonus tracks from the Savagery Records catalog. The first is Let Me Love You Tonight from Marilyn DeStefano's Lullaby Sweets CD, also available on CD Baby. The second is Say Goodbye to Questions from Monica Jinks and Windstorm's CD "Somebody's Memories", also available on CD Baby. The third bonus track is from Decadence's 2nd album, "Je Ne Sais Quoi", but an alternate mix of "Portrait" featuring Angela Cliff, which will soon be available on CD Baby in 2004.

The fourth and fifth bonus tracks is an abridged 23 minute version of a new musical project featuring Neil Keenan of Tandem Deluxe. The project is called Flashpot Theater, and its first release is an original rock musical called "Think of the Possibiities" and will be releasing it shortly. It is a comic rock and roll musical fable featuring the talents of over 20 vocalists.

Gary Richard Jinks, songwriter, has performed, produced or written on over 20 albums, such as the "Lullaby Sweets" album for Marilyn DeStefano and "Somebody's Memories" for Monica Jinks and Windstorm and the cult album for Decadence called "Savagery and Grace" which is in current pre-production for release soon be available on CD Baby.