 |
| Label: |
Hip-O Records, Hip-O Records, Hip-O Records, Hip-O Records
|
| Catalog#: |
314 585 380-2, 314 585 381-2, 314 585 382-2, 314 585 379-2
|
| Format: |
3 x CD
Box Set
|
| Country: | US |
| Released: | 2002 |
| Genre: |
Electronic,
Funk / Soul,
Pop,
Rock
|
| Style: |
Pop Rock,
New Wave,
Euro House,
Electro,
Synth-pop,
Funk
|
| Credits: |
Artwork By [Art Direction And Design] -
SMAY Vision
Compilation Producer -
Mike Ragogna
Compilation Producer [Co-producer] -
Pat Lawrence
Compiled By -
Anthony Hayes
,
Dana Smart*
,
Mike Ragogna
,
Pat Lawrence
,
Rhonda Shields
Mastered By -
Elliott Federman
Other [Essay] -
Kevin Flaherty
Other [Licensing] -
Robin Schwartz
Other [Off-label Copy] -
David "Digital" Mucci
Other [Production Coordination] -
Michele Horie
|
| Notes: | This release has four unique catalogue numbers:
314 585 380-2 - printed on Disc 1.
314 585 381-2 - printed on Disc 2.
314 585 382-2 - printed on Disc 3.
314 585 379-2 - printed on packaging and inside booklet.
-----
Errata: ( ...expand )
1.9 producer listed as Mike Durand.
1.10 producer listed as Ray Parker, Jr.
1.11 producer listed as Curtis Anthony Nolan.
2.5 artist listed as Greg Kihn.
2.8 artist listed as Philip Bailey Duet With Phil Collins.
2.12 supporting producer listed as Frank Hierber.
2.14 producer listed as Paul Devilliers.
3.1 artist listed as Katrina & The Waves.
3.6 artist listed as Commodores.
3.6 associate producer listed as Peter Wolfe.
3.11 producer listed as Paul Stavely O'Duffy.
3.13 producer listed as Rick Nowles.
( ...collapse )
Extended credits: ( ...expand )
1.1 -
Sire single 49181
Pop #14 / charted 2-16-80
From the album Pretenders
(p) 1980 Real Records
Produced under license from Warner Music UK Ltd.
1.2 -
RCA single 12201
Pop #1 / charted 3-28-81
From the album Working Class Dog
(p) 1981 BMG Entertainment
Courtesy of the RCA Records label, under license from BMG Special Products
1.3 -
RCA single 13354
Pop #1 / charted 10-16-82
R&B #78 / charted 11-20-82
From the album H2O
(p) 1982 BMG Entertainment
Courtesy of the RCA Records label, under license from BMG Special Products
1.4 -
Gordy single 7205
Pop #16 / charted 8-8-81
R&B #3 / charted 8-1-81
From the album Street Songs
(p) 1981 Motown Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
1.5 -
Columbia single 03303
Pop #1 / charted 11-6-82
From the album Business As Usual
(p) 1981 Sony Music Entertainment (Australia) PTY. Limited
Under license from Sony Music Special Products, a division of Sony Music, a group of Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
1.6 -
EMI America single 8122
Pop #3 / charted 12-25-82
From the album Built For Speed (US)
(p) 1982 EMI Records
Courtesy EMI Records, under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets
1.7 -
Epic single 03367
Pop #12 / charted 11-13-82
From the album Friend Or Foe
(p) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Limited
Under license from Sony Music Special Products, a division of Sony Music, a group of Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
1.8 -
Polydor single 2196
Pop #62 / charted 5-8-82
From the album Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?
(p) 1982 Universal Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
1.9 -
Backstreet single 52232
Pop #3 / charted 6-25-83
From the album Rhythm Of Youth
(p) 1983 MCA Records
1.10 -
MCA single 52484
Pop #12 / charted 12-22-84
R&B #1 / charted 12-15-84
From the album New Edition
(p) 1984 MCA Records
1.11 -
Motown single 1731
Pop #2 / charted 1-28-84
R&B #1 / charted 1-28-84
From the album Somebody's Watching Me
(p) 1984 Motown Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
1.12 -
Warner Brothers single 49550
Pop #14 / charted 8-30-80
From the album Freedom Of Choice
(p) 1980 Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Produced under licensed from Warner Bros. Records Inc.
1.13 -
Jive single 102
Pop #9 / charted 7-10-82
From the album A Flock Of Seagulls
(p) 1982 Zomba Records Limited
A Flock Of Seagulls appears courtesy of Jive Records
1.14 -
Harvest single 5195
Pop #3 / charted 12-25-82
From the album Rio
(p) 1982 EMI Records Ltd.
Courtesy EMI Records Ltd., under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets
2.1 -
Chrysalis single 42762
Pop #46 / charted 1-28-84
From the album Rebel Yell
(p) 1984 Chrysalis Records Inc.
Courtesy Chrysalis Records, under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets
2.2 -
Atlantic single 89641
Pop #21 / charted 7-28-84
From the album Stay Hungry
(p) 1984 Atlantic Recording Corp.
Produced under license from Atlantic Recording Corp.
2.3 -
Columbia single 04424
Pop #7 / charted 6-30-84
From the album Warrior
(p) 1984 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Under license from Sony Music Special Products, a division of Sony Music, a group of Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
2.4 -
Elektra single 69706
Pop #3 / charted 8-4-84
From the album Heartbeat City
(p) 1984 Elektra/Asylum Records
Produced under license from Elektra Entertainment Group
2.5 -
Beserkley single 69847
Pop #2 / charted 1-29-83
R&B #48 / charted 3-26-83
From the album Kihnspiracy
(p) 1983 a Beserkley Recording
Courtesy of Sanctuary Records Group
2.6 -
Planet single 13780
Pop #3 / charted 4-28-84
R&B #3 / charted 4-28-84
From the album Break Out
(p) 1983 BMG Entertainment
Courtesy of the RCA Records label, under license from BMG Special Products
2.7 -
Jive single 9199
Pop #1 / charted 8-11-84
R&B #1 / charted 6-30-84
From the album Suddenly
(p) 1984 Zomba Records Limited
Billy Ocean appears courtesy of Jive Records
2.8 -
Columbia single 04679
Pop #2 / charted 11-24-84
R&B #3 / charted 12-15-84
From the album Chinese Wall
(p) 1984 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Under license from Sony Music Special Products, a division of Sony Music, a group of Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
2.9 -
London single 810127
Pop #9 / charted 7-21-84
From the album Bananarama
(p) 1984 London Records, Ltd.
Produced under license from London Records, Ltd.
2.10 -
Capitol single 5204
Pop #5 / charted 2-19-883
From the album The Golden Age Of Wireless
(p) 1982 EMI Records Ltd.
Courtesy EMI Records Ltd., under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets
2.11 -
Geffen single 29360
Pop #23 / charted 3-10-84
From the album Love Life
(p) 1984 Geffen Records
2.12 -
Elektra single 69811
Pop #14 / charted 9-24-83
Produced for PSP-Produktions
From the album Error In The System
(p) 1983 WEA Musik GmbH
Produced under license from WEA Music, a division of Warner Music Germany GmbH
2.13 -
Chrysalis single 42720
Pop #4 / charted 8-6-83
R&B #76 / charted 8-27-83
From the album True
(p) 1983 Chrysalis Records Ltd.
Courtesy Chrysalis Records Ltd., under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets
2.14 -
RCA single 14136
Pop #1 / charted 9-21-85
From the album Welcome To The Real World
(p) 1985 BMG Entertainment
Courtesy of the RCA Records label, under license from BMG Special Products
3.1 -
Capitol single 5466
Pop #9 / charted 3-23-85
From the album Walking On Sunshine
(p) 1985 Capitol Records, Inc.
Courtesy Capitol Records, under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets
3.2 -
MCA single 52666
Pop #1 / charted 9-7-85
R&B #10 / chared 9-28-85
From the soundtrack album Miami Vice
(p) 1985 MCA Records
3.3 -
MCA single 52651
Pop #2 / charted 9-14-85
From the soundtrack album Miami Vice
(p) 1985 MCA Records
3.4 -
Elektra single 69549
Pop #4 / charted 4-12-86
From the album One To One
(p) 1985 WEA Records Ltd.
Produced under license from Warner Music UK Ltd.
3.5 -
Elektra single 69564
Pop #1 / charted 4-5-86
R&B #29 / charted 5-31-86
From the album Picture Book
(p) 1986 EastWest Records America
Produced under license from Warner Music UK Ltd.
3.6 -
Pop #3 / charted 1-26-85
R&B #1 / charted 1-19-85
From the album Nightshift
(p) 1984 Motown Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
3.7 -
MCA single 52636
Pop #1 / charted 8-3-85
R&B #1 / charted 7-20-85
From the album Ready For The World
(p) 1985 MCA Records
3.8 -
Atlantic Artists single 884933
Pop #6 / charted 9-13-86
R&B #1 / charted 8-16-86
From the album Word Up!
(p) 1986 The Island Def Jam Music Group
3.9 -
SBK single 07311
Pop #2 / charted 10-14-89
R&B #10 / charted 11-4-89
From the album Pump Up The Jam
(p) 1990 ARS Productions Belgium, under exclusive license to SBK Records
Courtesy SBK Records, under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets
3.10 -
Polydor single 883362
Pop #7 / charted 2-15-86
From the album World Machine
(p) 1985 Polydor Ltd. (U.K.)
3.11 -
Mercury single 888016
Pop #6 / charted 8-15-87
From the album It's Better To Travel
(p) 1987 Mercury Records Ltd. (London)
3.12 -
Columbia single 06257
Pop #1 / charted 9-27-86
From the album Different Light
(p) 1985 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Under license from Sony Music Special Products, a division of Sony Music, a group of Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
3.13 -
MCA single 53181
Pop #1 / charted 9-26-87
From the album Heaven On Earth
(p) 1987 MCA Records
3.14 -
Mercury single 870644
Pop #12 / charted 9-3-88
From the album Long Cold Winter
(p) 1988 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Thanks to Bruce Resnikoff, Chris Butler, Jim Dobbe, JoAnn Frederick, Richie Gallo, Rickie Goodman, Jason Kleve, Bill Levenson, Andy McKaie, Ryan Null, Ken Patrick, Lisa Reddick, Michael Rosenberg, Glen Sanatar, Stephanie Spring, Jerry Stine, Harry Weinger & UMVD Sales.
Special thanks to Frank Lopez, Vinnie Maressa, Steve Morgan & Kevin Flaherty.
( ...collapse )
Liner notes: ( ...expand )
I KNOW -- you want it like I do. You're prepared to embrace it like a prodigal child, albeit a child shrouded in red parachute pants and a painter's cap with an Ozzy headband. But still, the love is there. We're alike, you and me. Only I can still get there, you see. I'm there every time I hear that Men Without Hats is playing a reunion show at Toe's Tavern, with no original members and half new material. I'm there when the USA Network runs a Miami Vice marathon that doesn't compete with back-to-back John Hughes movies. I'm there when I want to restore the simplicity of it all; when I want the magic that can only be generated by a too-familiar song whose very chords (one of them so complex that the synth guy has to play it with two hands -- two!) conjure a time and place when it was all golden... or at least a little more hopeful. And at the risk of sounding pathetically nostalgic (or worse -- indulging in a little revisionist history), it really was hopeful. A few years before "Jeremy" spoke in class, there was actually a good time to be had. And you didn't have to have a spikey blond mullet to sing about it... but it helped.
The Pretenders kicked it off within the first couple of months. "I'm special?" Well, okay. It beats "Daddy didn't love me." There she was -- Chrissie Hynde, serving it up to ill-fated bandmates James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon (bear with me --- we're gonna see a few more of these) in the campy clip for "Brass In Pocket". It was pure pop for the Pretenders' debut -- a winsome little ode to getting noticed that foreshadowed the stalking craze to come (see notes to I Want My 80's Box). But if you really wanted camp, I happily refer you to the makeshift Old West set that was the backdrop for Devo's "Whip It". One part Ohio new wave and two parts Benny Hill, the hit was a barn-burner for the Spudmen, though it may have undermined their true credibility as post-punk geniuses. Twenty-some years later, we're all blissfully unaware of what the song was about, but it featured a lot of whipping in the mid-afternoon drive, so who the hell cares?
Oh yeah -- the stalking again. Well, we really need to bestow a modicum of praise on Rick Springfield for two feats: a) though he'd already made records, he led the exodus of soap stars into pop music (say what you will about Jack Wagner) and b) he erased all waking memory of "Speak To The Sky" when he virtually reinvented himself for 1981's #1 "Jessie's Girl". "Jessie is a friend?" Not likely. He's more a guy who should probably watch his back in the parking structure. And speaking of guys you wouldn't take home to mother, there's good old Rick James, the troubled master of funk whose "Super Freak (Part 1)" provided the elastic backbone to M.C. Hammer's "U Can't Touch This," giving it another lease on life a full decade later. Hammer time? According to the publishing split, only somewhat so. James returned to the charts -- and the nightly news -- several more times throughout the ensuing years, but the tale of the very kinky girl remains the pinnacle of his many achievements.
One of the virtues of this era of aggressive men, of course, was the preponderance of equally aggressive women. And so we come to the Waitresses, a loose aggregate of low-fi popsters whose jangly '82 epic, "I Know What Boys Like," was a true hallmark of the decade. It was likely a factor in their penning the theme to the short-lived dramedy Square Pegs (which starred an admittedly unfashionable Sarah Jessica Parker). The late Patty Donahue's been-there-done-that vocals were the group's calling card, though the fact that they featured one member whose instrumental credit included "television" is pretty memorable in its own right. On the oh-so-fashionable side, there was A Flock Of Seagulls, the pre-eminent hair band, given that they earned that tag several years before it hit Webster's. Single #1 -- "I Ran (So Far Away)" -- supported the theory that new wave arose not out of the ashes of post-punk but as a projectile from deep space. Those interstellar guitar effects belied an otherwise romantic roster of songs that kept the band on the charts for a full two more years.
Of course, Philly's own Hall & Oates cracked the code much earlier on, riding a string of 15 (!) Top Ten singles into an echelon of greatness that was the envy of some and the subject of private counseling for others. "Maneater" -- their fourth #1 -- was a cautionary tale of a woman whose aggressive -- almost feral -- tendencies made for a nice AC hit but a superb extended metaphor. It was a dubious privilege to be 12 years old at the time of its release. ("Does she really eat men, mom? Why are you looking at me like that?") Equally enigmatic to a child of suburban upbringing was the venerable vegemite sandwich, some sort of Aboriginal protein compound that Men At Work canonized in their '82 chart-topper "Down Under". As part of a short-lived obsession with all things Aussie, which included Crocodile Dundee and koala pants (I told you -- it was a suburb), the Men carved out a quirky niche for their imported pop. It was a niche that was somehow wide enough for INXS, but not for Mental As Anything (go figure).
Injustice abounded. Before the decade had even gotten underway, poor Adam lost his Ants when the (in)famous Malcolm McLaren -- producer, artist, boutique-owner, purported shit-disturber -- appropriated three of them to form Bow Wow Wow. Visibly non-plussed, Adam -- by then a war-painted Chippendale composite -- rebounded with style and gave the new wavers a rave-up, send-up of puritan morés. "Goody Two Shoes" remains one of the most enduringly enjoyable workouts this side of "Walking On Sunshine" (but wait -- we'll get to that). By Christmas of '82, fellow pin-ups Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garrett were a distant memory in the mind of the pre-pubescent girl (as was I). There was a new gang in twon, and they had an expense account. Duran Duran literally burst onto the scene ("the scene" being everywhere except parts of southwest Thailand) with a cadre of stunning videos and even better hit songs, the first of which was "Hungry Like The Wolf." The Durans' travelogue of South America was a hurtful one-up on the bands who were forced to make 3-minute videos with a refridgerator box and some Sharpies, but then royalty accounting is a harsh mistress.
For afield of the tailored suits and stretch yachts were rockabilly revivalists the Stray Cats, no less dapper in their sleeveless tees and shore-leave tattoos. Their namesake hit, "Stray Cat Strut," was a piece of understated excellence, its very arrangement resembling a stalking feline. Top cat Brian Setzer would go on to a few major stylistic shifts, ending up with a big band revue that resurrected some of the Cats' gems for the nu-swing movement. At this retrogression rate, he may be exploiting fugue music by 2010, but more power to him. Ditto Greg Kihn, whose obsession with his last name may have been his undoing. Like fellow guitar-slingers Donnie Iris and Martin Briley, Kihn fashioned a career out of not-too-heavy pop for the common man. His '80s benchmark "The Breakup Song" set the stage for some great moments at FM, but it was the #2 "Jeopardy" that made him a star -- and a target for Weird Al Yankovic. But then, who wasn't?
And now for the category of song titles that could not have originated in any other decade... Mr. Thomas Dolby. Similar shout-outs go to the Buggles and Ebn-Ozn on this one, but it's Mr. Dolby's 1983 techno-smash "She Blinded Me With Science" that takes the cake. It's an absolute testament to the '80s that a man with this image could achieve such dizzying heights of stardom (now, we would simply call him "Tech Support"). But a hit song is a hit song... and a woman with a Stradivarius on her back is a bad bet. In retrospect, '83 may have been the year for non-linear. How about those guys and that village and all the dwarfs there? With a debut like that, was there really any hope for an equitable follow-up? The Great North's Men Without Hats may have been cursed from the get-go; not only was their name a bit too reminiscent of their peers from down under, but their logo was appropriated from the city's public works department. And hell, if you're limited to 15 minutes of fame, why not spend them dancing around the maypole? Sure, I've said it before, but now it really rings true. "The Safety Dance" -- better served when it's spelled out up front.
It must have been a pivotal moment when the founding members of Britain's Spandau Ballet settled on this name over, let's say, "The Clothes Whores." The only band besides the Durans who actually appeared to be living it, Spandau gave us a few great years of seduction music, even if we were too young to buy Harvey's Bristol Creme over the counter. "True," the breathy prome theme for the sportcoat generation was a slice of smooooth pop, but its cryptic lyric was as impenetrable as... well... a prom date. And PM Dawn mused all the way to the bank. If there was fame to be made off the brainchild of another, then Peter Schilling certainly deserves a mention. Just as the law of gravity is an ever-present theorem in the world of pop music, so Major Tom must come down sometime. It was Schilling who yanked the line in the fall of '83, in a spooky whisper of a song called "Major Tom (Coming Home)" that chronicled a mission gone wrong and a chilling countdown to an epic chorus. And all this was from a guy born in Stuttgart, Germany.
A spaceboy in his own right, punk-expatriate Billy Idol drew upon a lifestyle of willfull excess for his autobiographical "Rebel Yell." What it lacked in chart legs, it more than made up for in testosterone and timelessness. At this very moment, Idol is out on a comeback tour in which he and original sidekick Steve Stevens rework his hit material with an acoustic makeover. How very like him to defy even the law of gravity. But lest you think that the era was all about new wave and new romanticism, be advised that there was also a preponderance of memorable R&B. And there was even a guy related to it by blood. Rockwell (aka Berry Gordy Jr. Jr.) may not have founded Motown, but he certainly had access to its rolodex, employing none other than Michael Jackson to sing backup on his sole Top Ten "Somebody's Watching Me". Perhaps he's adopted a clever disguise these days.
Recently out of hiding are Berlin, or at least a close approximation. All grown up and none the worse for were is Teri Nunn, though the side of beefcake that comprised her backing band is noticeably absent. A few decisive years after her adolescent appearance in the classic Thank God It's Friday, Nunn hit the big time with a fiercely sexual image and a string of provocative songs to fit the bill, among the best of which was '84's "No More Words." Equally focused on the luv thang (albeit with a slightly more subtle approach), the Pointer Sisters made the charts consistently for almost 15 years; it only took a handful of aerobics anthems and a couple of prominent spots in the Beverly Hills Cop series to cinch it. Sisters Ruth, Anita and June hit the daily double with their aptly-titled '84 album Break Out, which launched four Top Ten singles and cashed in with that year's odd fixation with jumping. "Jump (For My Love)" went all the way to #3, only outdone by an equally energetic Van Halen.
It was gettin'-gettin'-gettin' kinda hectic by this time, what with the economy booming and housewives jazzercising frantically while their husbands pimped junk bonds. But I digress. What could only have come straight out of Andrew Lloyd Webbers id was a slick pastiche of small-stage choreography and grease paint in the form of the new Scandal. One of the true great women rockers, Patty Smyth gave an eleventh-hour dose of credibility to this strange little circus, making "The Warrior" a summertime classic. Registering a bit lower on the energy meter was the London trio Bananarama. The tall girls' vocal blend and pre-ordained celebrity status (hey, they were even in Band Aid!) was a built-in recipe for success. Presaging their 1986 #1 "Venus" was a significantly more understated number -- "Cruel Summer," a Top Ten sing-a-long and yet another soundtrack for a sweltering July.
Not as well known for their even-tempered complacency, however, was Twisted Sister, a New York-based, hard rock band whose "We're Not Gonna Take It" was second only to "go for it" in the annals of great '80s rallying calls. Gigantor vocalist Dee Snider gave the band its video-ready image, and cameos by Animal House's Needermeyer didn't hurt, either. It would've been a cold day on the Sunset Strip before Snider & Co. softened up with a ballad (even to a stripper with a heart of gold, mind you), but it was a winning move for the Cars from Boston. By '84, the band had been together for a decade, having ridden the crest of early new wave, and ultimately morphing into a slick, hit-making machine. Chugging radio and video-friendly anthems like "Shake It Up" and "You Might Think" became dietary staples, but it was their late bassist Benjamin Orr's ballad "Drive" that wound up becoming the band's biggest-charting single. Not one to be outdone by his former bandmates, of course, singer Ric Ocasek found himself a supermodel bride and, eventually, a production deal with obvious devotees Weezer.
As far back as '76, Trinidad-born Billy Ocean was making musical waves with a sort of good-time soul that made for beach music classics like "Love Really Hurts Without You" and "Love On Delivery". By '84, armed with the same basic agenda, Ocean took his slick sound & toothy smile to #1 with the sophisticated "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)" -- a clear touchstone for the like-minded Sade, whose debut would come less than a year later. And not for the remainder of the century would a popular singer ever again utter the words "she's totally... awesome." Nor would the be another ode to an "Easy Lover" per se, though I can steer you to a few hip-hop era euphemisms that explore similar territory. Philip Bailey -- doubtlessly tired of dividing his per diem in tenths -- departed the great Earth, Wind & Fire to explore more edgy hit material with buddy Phil Collins, whose beads of sweat were worth millions by this time.
New Edition (who enjoyed a similar sense of deification, albeit from a different audience) would themselves splinter into no less than four viable acts by the end of the decade. In their time together, though, they would see hits like "Mr. Telephone Man" reaffirm their standing as the most successful boy band around... at least until mid-'88, when New Kids On The Block emerged -- also from Boston, and also produced by Maurice Starr. Ouch. And so it goes -- what New Edition toyed with for a few years, the Commodores had written the book on. Star vocalist and writer Lionel Richie may have been long gone from the group by 1985, but some of his songcraft had clearly rubbed off on his bandmates. A soulful memorial to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, "Nightshift" had all the makings of a hit single, right down to that over-the-burning-trashcan-harmonizin'-and-finger-snappin' that never seems to go out of style.
Despite a few eulogies here and there, it was getting positively chipper by that spring, as Katrina and the Waves birthed one of the era's most unabashedly feel-good records. "Walking On Sunshine" was a run through the heather for perky vocalist Katrina Leskanich, but a pretty sizable leap for ex-Soft Boys guitarist Kimberley Rew. Altogether a lucrative one, if you don't count sophomore slumps like "Que Te Quiero". It's a cruel market -- one minute, you're writing an infectious Top Ten single like "Oh Sheila" and the next you're writing... well... an infectious Top Ten single like "Love You Down". Bad example, yes. But the same basic idea. Still, Ready For The Worlld (that's 'RFTW' to you and me) has the distinction of having hit #1 very early on, a considerable feat for just about anything outside of the pharmaceutical market.
As long as we're on the subject, maybe '85 was a turning of the tide for all of that reckless euphoria. Amnesty International certainly experienced a renaissance, just as the free world's collective conscience kicked in for a mother of a hangover. Not too many good vibes cascading over southern Miami, as Crockett & Tubbs brought down their share of the Colombian cartel, all to the strains of Jan Hammer's eerie score. The "Miami Vice" theme was the final piece in a cross-promotional puzzle that ensnared in its web everyone from Ted Nugent (actor?) to Sheena Easton (actor?) to Phil Collins (game show host?). Even ex-Eagle Glenn Frey couldn't resist getting in on the game, coming up with the suspiciously synchronous "Smuggler's Blues" and completing the one-two with "You Belong To The City". He even got his SAG card for one episode that very season.
Even Mr. Mister had to put off their inspired take on "Kyrie Elaison" to take one for the brokenhearted. "Broken Wings" was a true success story for ex-Pages members Richard Page and Steve George, who enjoyed back to back Number Ones with the aforementioned singles. The moody video clip found the band doing a lot of driving and wandering around, earning bassist/vocalist Page the sensitive-guy achievement award, just in time for a few peppy numbers that help them close out the decade on an 'up' note. So then there's this bass player coup thing that happens. First Sting starts letting these guys know that bassists don't have to ride the chaser van on tour anymore, then they all just get downright empowered. Page makes it okay to be a couple strings lighter than the spiky-haired guy on lead (there's always one), then Level 42's Mark King shows you can mix it up and make it funky to boot. And so we got "Something About You," saw a few more 4-stringers get their star turn, then lost these guys to exit stage left again.
Oh yeah -- then this red-headed guy shows up. It wasn't enough to be a white soul practitioner singing acid to Ronald Reagan, but you had to have a flaming red, kinky, shoulder-length mane. Give him a househcoat and a prediliction for black magic, and it might've been an entirely different story. But against all possible odds, Mick Hucknall fashioned himself -- and his tight band -- into one of the most formidable R&B talents of the time. "Holding Back The Years" introduced the world to Simply Red and made a bona fide star out of Manchester's answer to Otis Redding. Playing it a bit more close to the vest with a timely coif and a synth-based song catalog was fellow Brit, Howard Jones. Having taken more than a few cues from Phil Collins' AC radio correspondence course, Jones abandoned his squeakier synth-pop for the latter half of the decade, landing "No One Is To Blame" at #4 and making the world safe for those shoulder-harnessed Casios.
Then it got weird again. It always started with the hair. Kid 'N Play built it higher, but Cameo made it convertible-ready. In the end, the man with the 'fro for all seasons and the voice that absolutely begged mimicry was equally memorable for his contribution to pure funk, '80s style. "Word Up" was truly the order of the day, signaling as it did a stylistic shift that would very soon put beat-heavy R&B back on the dance charts where it belonged. Obviously no one knew where it was going, because the Bangles had us believing for a split-second that it might be coming from Cairo. Note to self: when writing novelty dance craze hit, by all means select plausible moves entirely unreliant on understanding of ancient civilization. "Walk Like An Egyptian" didn't exactly light any fires in the clubs, though it did hit the top slot in late '86, proving the ladies (if not prolific songwriters) exceptional performers.
As titles go, there may not be one as apt for an artist's debut hit as "Breakout" (unless, of course, it happens to be called "Dude, Check It Out -- I'm Actually On The Radio.") Swing Out Sister were summoning some powerful synchronicity with this one, the first in a series of jazz-inflected pop gems whose "continental" feel only partly explained their imperative verb of a name. This was music for the afternoon tea crowd, the one that couldn't be bothered with Everything But The Girl, but now I'm just getting bitchy, and there's nothing jazzy about that. There was nothing much jazzy about this whole period, especially if you consider that we were in the throes of the latest teen-pop craze (which generally pre-empts the ever popular teen-litigation craze). Ex-Go-Go Belinda Carlisle, somewhat beyond her teens by this point, joined the fray with her new single and new image. The bright & shiny "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" proved that teen appeal is only a pair of tight black pants away.
No segue necessary there. If you recall the dawn of the '80s, then you surely remember when it all came down. Crashing down. And if you happened to be wearing a preponderance of leather and hairspray, well then.... No sooner did they announce last call upstairs at L.A.'s Roxy than a bunch of new kids showed up and changed everything. No more videos filmed at Bare Elegance, no more ballads about how hard the road is on a relationship, no more violating the mic stand... just a lot of bad, bad vibes. And work shirts. Lots of work shirts. And Cinderella's "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" started to sound pretty damn prophetic. Within three years or so, most of their buddies would be packing it in to make room on the rock airwaves for the new deal, while an emergence of "mixmasters" and pre-programmed dance music like Technotronic's "Pump Up The Jam" changed the face of the pop charts. These days, that processed, syncopated beat is still big in the mix, and the rest has that same R&B / hip-hop flavor that we should have seen coming all those years before. But really, who knew?
So now I go back once in a while. I try to remember where it all started -- what the first thing was that rocked my world way back in 1980 (mighta been Blondie). And I try to forget what I've learned since then, and what I've been told to disavow. I go back and take another listen to that late, great era. And lo and behold, it's just like I remember it. Only now I can drive.
Kevin Flaherty
October 2001
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