Sleeper Catcher

by Mike DeGagneLittle River Band scored their highest-charting single with 1978's Sleeper Catcher release, thanks to the gallant sway of "Reminiscing," which went all the way to number three and stayed in the Top 40 for 14 weeks. Vocalist Glenn Shorrock gives Sleeper Catcher the perfect MOR sound, draping the tracks with his cool, breezy style that is much more apparent and effectual here than on the band's earlier efforts. The album itself gained platinum status, reaching the number 16 spot while scoring another Top Ten hit with the romantic, middle-aged allure of "Lady," one of the group's finest ballads. "Sanity's Side," "Light of Day," and "So Many Paths" have the group fitting in nicely with the late-'70s pop/rock sound, and the opening "Shut Down Turn Off" is the best of the non-released tracks with its appealing yet conventional flow. The album was the last for bass player George McArdle before he left the band to fulfill his religious beliefs. Sleeper Catcher and 1979's First Under the Wire became Little River Band's most successful releases, both with Shorrock as lead singer, who was replaced later by John Farnham in 1983, only to return to the band in the late '80s. Like Sleeper Catcher, First Under the Wire put out two Top Ten singles of the same variety, scoring with "Lonesome Loser" and "Cool Change."