Friday 80s Flashback for February 24, 2017

[Urban Dance Squad] -- For the end of February, we're going to revisit an album that came out in the final year of our favorite decade. Mental Floss for the Globe was the debut album by Urban Dance Squad, a rap rock band founded in Utrecht, Netherlands, in 1986. They recorded their debut in the middle of 1989 and released it eight months later in March of 1990. The album climbed to #54 on the Billboard 200 album chart, driven by their popular hit, "Deeper Shade of Soul," and a tour with Living Colour. I saw the Penn State show, which took place shortly after Desert Shield became Desert Storm. Urban Dance Squad was the opener, and I was fascinated with the lead singer's use of an old WWII field phone as a microphone. The three tracks for this week show a certain genius for melding rock, rap, soul, metal, etc. You can read and hear more about them after the break.

Friday 80s Flashback for February 17, 2017

[A Classic Case] -- I'm doing something a bit different for the Flashback this weekend. I'm featuring an album of music from the 70s ... that was re-recorded and released in the 80s ... with the backing of a symphony orchestra. I'll bet you're intrigued now, right? Well, the band in question is Jethro Tull. In 1984, the Tull lineup of Ian Anderson (flute, vocals), Martin Barre (electric guitar), Dave Pegg (bass), Peter-John Vettese (keyboards), and Dave Burgess (drums) teamed with the London Symphony Orchestra. And you can read and hear more about this project after the break.

Friday 80s Flashback for February 10, 2017

[Spike] -- After yet another brief hiatus, brought to you by my day job and multiple side gigs, I'm back to the blogging of 80s tunes. And what a post I have for you this weekend! Most people remember Elvis Costello's 12th studio album for the top 20 single, "Veronica," which he co-wrote with Paul McCartney. That is, if they recall the album at all. But Spike (1989) features a wealth of fabulous tracks ranging from sombre to spitfire, and it's a personal favorite. Spike was released 28 years ago this week (2/6/1989 in the UK and 2/7/1989 in the US), and it reached the #5 and #32 positions on the UK album chart and the Billboard 200 respectively. From its cover art featuring Costello's own head as the stuffed and mounted head of "The Beloved Entertainer," you knew you were in for something a bit different than his past efforts. Spike was also Costello's first album for his then new label, Warner Brothers. He started writing for it in 1987. And, as WB had provided him with a huge budget, Costello decided to use the blueprints he had in mind for five different albums. Maybe that's why this record weighs in with a whopping 15 total tracks. Now, I've already linked the album's highest charting single, so which of the remaining 14 tracks will I highlight? Well, to find that out, you can read and hear more after the jump.