This third-season episode is a briar patch of bad stalker vibes dressed in pretty lite-brite colors. Perfect vehicle for beguiling guest star Jan Shutan.
One of five - yes, five - releases from DAC in 1977, this obvious follow-up to 1976's Longhaired Redneck has more of a conceptual bent, with the tracks fading one into the next and Coe really getting a ton of emotional weight of his chest. It's a brash yet unflinching portrayal of his outlaw lifestyle, and I would say the warts and scars are much more prominent than the successes, with the incredulous single "Willie, Waylon, and Me" being a serious exception.
Sunshine was the end result of Dragon's nearly two year search for success after they moved from their native New Zealand to Australia. The progressive rock of their initial albums was long done away with, replaced by a more direct pop-rock sound which dabbled in funk and disco and enhanced by lead singer Marc Hunter's edgy presence. The only ballad is the title track which has a 50's retro vibe, but much of the rest of the album has the same playfully destructive streak reflected by singer Hunter. "Get That Jive" has to be one of the best intentionally vapid pop tunes I have ever heard, bar none, chock full of decadent attitude and languid white-boy funk, while the darker side of the party persona is expressed through tracks like "Street Between Your Feet" and "MX". It's hard to imagine 1970's pop being as recklessly carefree and well-done as Dragon did it here.
