from DAVID FOSTER
written by David Foster & Michael Landau
David Foster’s 1985 instrumental hit, “Love Theme From St. Elmo’s Fire,” gave the Canadian super-producer the chance to record a whole album of evocative instrumental themes for Atlantic Records. Aptly titled David Foster, it was the introduction of Foster’s multiple talents to mainstream audiences after more than a decade of hard work in the studio as session player, writer, producer and arranger. David Foster featured Foster’s keyboard wizardry using all the advanced technology of those days including synths and sequencers such as the Fairlight CMI, Linn drum machine, Kurzweil, Roland Jupiter-8, Wendell Junior, Emulator 3, as well as many others. Although the sound result may be a tad cold for today’s ears, it was a standard of excellence back in the day. Foster’s superior art of composing and arranging came through beautifully. The rock/fusion landscapes of “Playing With Fire” from David Foster is the pick for this week’s review.