"Learning To Breathe." Hey Larry, title your next album "Learning to EDIT !!!" While I was a big fan Of Larry's old band, Restless Heart's achingly poppy country, RH was indeed famous for trudging a very, very, VERY fine line between nice, pretty songs and maudlin crap with such hits as "I'll Still Be Loving You" and "'Til I Loved You." I was also a fan of Larry's later solo efforts, before his .. ahem... leap over to make his "own" music and "own" album of nothing but Adult Contemporary cuts. It would be utterly redundant to pick out individual cuts on this disc. Why? Well, before I try to find some positives (and there are indeed some) about this CD, the overwhelming bad news has to be delivered first.

Issue One, regarding my pithy comment to open this review, this whole CD is too damn long. I mean did Mr. Stewart thing he had a CHANCE to get any hits off an album where the "single"-y sounding almost easy-listening ballads are sometimes SEVEN FRIGGING minutes long???????????????? The notes here say Larry was basically turned loose at Windham Hill. Sorry, that rings 2 alarms. Alarm #1, while Larry, who wrote many of these cuts is obviously a very capable songwriter and does possess a lovely voice, it is the RAREST of musicians who can simply be turned loose with no producer or overseer and make a coherent, worthy album. (Garth and Reba are the only 2 in the Country field that immediately come to mind.) Alarm #2, Windham Hill, I am afraid, are certainly known for their lovely, but mostly MIND-NUMBING, albums full of light-weight instrumentals.

Issue TWO, (and the most upsetting)... Ok, there is indeed a place for pretty, almost gloppy songs. Maybe even 3 or 4 of them on an album. Not 11. That's the point of issue Two here. Everything on this album save ONE song sounds JUST like the others. I have listened to all of this twice, and I am known for a dandy musical memory If I say so myself, but I couldn't tell one of these songs from another right now with a gun pointed at my head.

Final issue, Larry tries valiantly to make ONE contrasting cut to close the album, a cover of the Lovin' Spoonful rocker "Summer In The City." Unfortunately this may be the most drastic failure on this whole mess of a disc. Could someone please tell me WHY there is an orchestra playing Grieg's "Hall OF The Mountain King" in the intro and towards the end? And I am sorry, after 11 cuts of mush, hearing Larry try to "get down" sounds flat-out silly.

This whole album is a sad but true testimonial of why it simply isn't a good thing to turn a kid loose with the keys to the candy store. It's not that the still talented Mr. Stewart has sugared HIMSELF to death and made HIMSELF sick, it's that he's made anyone who listens to this total misfire of a CD sick ourselves.

Look Larry, get a producer and someone to watch over you next time. You are far far too talented to release an embarrassment like this again. If anyone needs mind-numbing sentimentality, Windham Hill has plenty of piano/organ/mushy string instrumental albums that will make it, so you don't have to attempt lyrics that interrupt your desired coma.

No need to suffer through this album.