Regardless of when you might have asked, “That’s Love” by Jim Capaldi has been in my Top 10 of all-time favorite songs since it was released in 1983. Supported by the undeniable keyboard skills of former Traffic bandmate Steve Winwood, Capaldi’s minor hit from 41 years ago is soft rock gold.
Beyond the sound of Winwood’s keys, the song evokes memories of cold nights listening to the radio from my bedroom in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and watching hours and hours of MTV, VH1, USA Network, and whatever videos I could find. “That’s Love” also has what I would call a winter feel. I don’t know how to describe beyond the feeling I get when I watch the video, which is to say that the skies were gray and the temps cold!
However, thanks to a renewed interest in vinyl, spurred on at least partly by my brother’s recent interest as well as trading some record player setup photos with a colleague, I’ve come to appreciate the full album on which this song lived. The album is called “Fierce Heart,” and I picked it up a few weeks ago.
I didn’t expect the full album to be much beyond the hit, but it’s really well done. Listening to Track 7, “I’ll Always Be Your Fool” I heard Capaldi channeling Mick Hucknall of Simply Red before his time. Track 4’s “Runaway” hints toward what Eric Carmen would do later in the decade. Also had a bit of a Springsteen vibe, or maybe The Babys.
“Bad Breaks” sounds like it came straight from a 1980s movie.
Aside from “That’s Love,” perhaps my favorite track from “Fierce Heart” is “Back At My Place,” which maintains the vibe of the album’s hit — but it also reminds me of another 80’s favorite: “Vulture Culture” by Alan Parsons Project.
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