Alexander O'Neal
Hearsay – Deluxe Edition

From 1987 Hearsay provided Alexander O’Neal with the massive hit ‘Criticize’. The album is conceived as a narrative based at a party where songs are interspersed with dialogue, hence the title ‘Hearsay’. Very much of its time in terms of production, with lots of programmed synths and drum tracks, time has actually been kind to the set owing to the strength of the songwriting and O’Neal’s voice. ‘Fake’, ‘Hearsay’ and ‘Never Knew Love Like This’ are also standouts.