The Love Experts
Many artists have attempted to express love’s mysterious ways in song. Take, for example, the singer Haddaway, whose Eurodisco hit “What Is Love” boldly endeavored to answer an age-old question but ended up fixated on a lone request: Baby, don’t hurt me/Don’t hurt me no more. Haddaway had gumption, but his follow-through was unfocused, to say the least.
Not so with Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock, two Australian chaps better known as Air Supply. Their insightful meditations on love have a way of devastating even cynics and reducing grown men to tears (or at least one grown man). But, you ask: Has Air Supply had a legitimate hit in the past 20 years? Well, not really. Aren’t they currently touring the casino circuit? It seems that way. But does the world need Air Supply now more than ever? Undoubtedly — in this war-torn age, overearnest adult-contemporary love songs can help put our crazy world into perspective.
And of all the days of the year, they come through town this Valentine’s Day. Their mission: To teach Kansas City valuable lessons in love through the medium of soft-rock hits.
1. Is it possible to give away so much love to others that you yourself become completely devoid of love?
Love requires reciprocity, no doubt about it. “All Out of Love” — a KUDL 98.1 staple — addresses the feelings of exhaustion and emptiness that accompany unrequited love. There’s no easy way/It gets harder each day/Please love me, or I’ll be gone. One last appeal to a distant lover wrapped inside a heartbreaking melody — in short, a stunning tour de force.
2. Is it possible to become so immersed in love that you find yourself quite literally lost within it?
“Lost in Love” explores the idea that the intensity of love can be confusing but that eventually we all figure out that love itself is what’s most important: I’m lost in love, and I don’t know much/Was I thinking aloud and fell out of touch?/Now I’m back on my feet, eager to be what you wanted. A massive hit. Download it.
3. Does love have a chemical origin, or can it be created ex nihilo?
Were Russell and Hitchcock actual magicians? It’s hard to say. They did churn out megahits such as “Making Love Out of Nothing At All,” which is nothing short of miraculous. But were they so astute and in tune with their feelings that they could toss fairy dust and create human love? It seems they had the skills: I know just how to fake it/And I know just how to scheme/I know just when to face the truth/And then I know just when to dream. They later claim in this song that they can make all the stadiums rock — an assertion that can be verified only in person this Tuesday at the, uh, casino.
