Mr Mister: Lessons about life in Welcome to the Real World

Even though Mr Mister had released their debut album entitled I Wear the Face, it was not until 1985's Welcome To The Real World was unleashed to the world that I became aware of them. 

The first song "Black and White" may possess an artificial drum sound but this was just the sound of the day. The catchy lead-off track is highlighted by a Pink Floyd-inspired guitar solo at 2:45. Yes I did just compare pop rockers Mr Mister with Rock and Roll legends Pink Floyd. Just listen to Steve Farris’s guitar solo “Black and White” back to back with the David Gilmour guitar solo on “Dogs” or any other song off of Pink Floyd's Animals and you will see just what I mean.

Track 2 “The Uniform of Youth” is a rebel song. Even though they wear Miami Vice-style blazers and have spiky highlighted hair Mr Mister could still get angry! When singer/bassist Richard Page sings lines like “I don’t think I like this place, I don’t think I like your face” you better watch out because he means it!

But of course, it’s not all about anger. Mr. Mister could write an inspirational anthem and Track 3 “Don’t Slow Down” was one of 1984’s best. Hearing Page sing “Don’t slow down. The fires burning in us now. Don’t slow down. We've come too far to turn back now”, will get you so pumped up that by the time the “Oh ohs oohs” of the second chorus comes on you are ready to take on anything the world puts in front of you.

Unfortunately, power ballads were the only clink in Mr Mister’s armor. “Run to Here” may have been a ballad but it is not at all powerful. It’s actually almost painful to listen to. How I used to wish you could fast-forward an LP.

The band greatly redeems themselves when “Into My Own Hands” comes on. It’s a quintessential 80’s pop song right up there with Track 1, only this time a little heavier with the keyboards. The keyboards do take a step back at the 3-minute mark when the bass and guitar duel it out for a few seconds. The guitar proves the victor but it was probably due to bassist Page having to go back to concentrating on the singing.

Since I originally owned this album on vinyl LP and played it HUNDREDS of times, regardless of later owning Welcome To The Real World on CD followed by Mp3’s, to me “Is It Love” will always be considered the beginning of Side B. With its heavy bass, shooting missiles of guitar, and its ever-questioning philosophical title, “Is It Love?” was such a great way to kick it off. Plus we are given some more of that awesome Pink Floyd Animals guitar work.

Then the first of Mr Mister’s masterpieces comes on. On “Kyrie” lines like “When I was young I thought of growing old, Of what my life would mean to me. Would have followed down my chosen road or only wished that I could be” show “introspection” was yet another weapon in Mr Mister’s arsenal. It’s not just singer/bassist Page either. It’s the whole band. Listening to the whole group sing together on the final chorus brings to mind the chorus of the ensemble “We Are The World”. This is rather ironic since that is the song “Kyrie” lost out the “Best Pop Song” category at the Grammys that year. 

As great a song as "Kyrie" was, I will always favor that first single I heard from Mr Mister just a fraction more. "Broken Wings" has such a great build-up over the first three choruses before, at the three-minute point it becomes too much and comes crashing down. But wait. There is still one more emotion-filled verse. In fact, the song is so powerful with Page putting forth so much emotion that at the four-minute mark you can hear his voice crack. Too choked up to continue singing Page allows keyboardist Steve George to bring the song home. 

One thing that always made me think how awesome and daring Mr Mister's Welcome to the Real World was is how the album has its two biggest singles on tracks 7 and 8 of the LP, neither one the first song on one of the sides of the record. Very unconventional and awesome move for 1985. 

Nearing the end of the album, at Track 9 the steady-paced "Tangent Tears" showcases Page's astonishing vocal range. This song shows clearly why Page had been chosen by both Toto and Chicago to replace singers Bobby Kimball and Peter Cetera. I for one am glad he turned both bands down. Had Page accepted one of those offers Welcome to the Real World may have never been created.

The album's closer, the title track "Welcome to the Real World" teaches us another lesson: Life is not always easy. Just try to make the most of it. 

Not only did Mr Mister put out such a landmark rock and roll album but they were also a gateway band. Because of them, I wanted to check out other double-named musical groups. Soon Talk Talk and The The were constants in my rotation. (I had been listening to Duran Duran for a few years already)

Over the next few years, my musical tastes would seriously expand making me totally miss Mr Mister's 1987 follow-up album Go On. Actually, I didn't even know that album existed until I wrote this blog entry.