By his fourth solo album, this erstwhile folky had thoroughly sublimated his trad tendencies and replaced them with a pervasive modern soul groove and more than a hint of a
Van Morrison influence. Primitive Dance, originally released in 1987 and presented here in remastered form, hits its high and low points early on, with the first and second tracks, respectively. "Steal Your Heart Away" is one of the best compositions in his impressive songbook, a melody so strangely lovely and a lyric so earnestly commonplace that it will settle into your brain for days; "The Soul Commotion," on the other hand, is an embarrassing exercise in attempted soulfulness. Everything else falls somewhere in between, from the wonderful "Paradise Is Here" (later covered by both
Cher and
Tina Turner) to the pretty good "Eat the Peach" (with its very '80s synthesizer and its Uillean pipes) and the vaguely Spanish-sounding "The Game of Love." Recommended overall. ~ Rick Anderson