When Desire Meets Destiny in a Flash of Sound and Soul
When David Cassidy released “Touched By Lightning” in 1985 as part of his album Romance, the song emerged as a striking testament to his evolution beyond the teen-idol image that had defined him in the early 1970s. While the album achieved notable success in parts of Europe and Japan—particularly with its lead single “The Last Kiss”—“Touched By Lightning” revealed another side of Cassidy’s artistry: mature, introspective, and unafraid to wade into the complexities of love, longing, and self-renewal. Though it was not released as a major single nor charted independently, the song remains a hidden jewel within his catalog, admired by those who followed his transformation from pop phenomenon to reflective adult songwriter and performer.
In Romance, Cassidy sought to fuse sleek mid-1980s production with emotional authenticity, collaborating with seasoned musicians and producers who helped him craft a sound that was both contemporary and deeply personal. “Touched By Lightning” encapsulates this balance perfectly—it is a song that glows with polished studio sheen yet pulses with something elemental beneath the surface: an electric current of feeling that suggests love as both salvation and danger. The title itself speaks to the paradox at its core—lightning as illumination and destruction, ecstasy and peril.
Lyrically, the song inhabits that fleeting instant when two lives collide with such force that nothing remains untouched. Cassidy’s vocal performance is nuanced—controlled yet vulnerable, charged with yearning. He doesn’t shout his passion; he lets it flicker and build, like storm clouds gathering on the horizon before the inevitable strike. The arrangement mirrors this tension: smooth synthesizers shimmer against a crisp rhythmic foundation, while guitar lines arc like flashes through darkened skies. This was 1985, after all—a time when pop music was discovering new ways to translate emotion through technology—and Cassidy used these tools not as gimmickry but as instruments of atmosphere and mood.
What makes “Touched By Lightning” enduring isn’t merely its sonic craftsmanship but its emotional universality. The song transcends the trappings of its era by articulating something timeless—the intoxicating terror of falling completely, uncontrollably in love. It’s about surrendering to a force greater than oneself, about being illuminated by contact even if it leaves a scar. In this sense, it speaks directly to Cassidy’s own artistic narrative: a man repeatedly reborn through passion—whether for music, performance, or connection.
For listeners who delve into “Touched By Lightning” today, it stands as more than an overlooked track from a mid-’80s pop album; it is a moment suspended between past innocence and adult reckoning. The former idol has become the interpreter of deeper truths—singing not to adoring crowds but to kindred spirits who understand that sometimes love doesn’t simply warm us; it strikes.