Bookended by Cats was named after Milo and Otis. They are the short, orange, and furry brothers who, upon entering our lives in 2003, often bookended us on our couch. And who are we? We're a geek couple living in PA. We love music, movies, TV, comics, books, and comic cons. And, from time to time, we'll share our thoughts on these nerdy things.
[Introducing: Aztec Camera] -- This week's Flashback was released in April 1983 -- maybe on the first of the month, maybe on the 19th. But whether it is this week or in a few weeks, Aztec Camera's debut album turns 40 this very month. A new wave, jangle pop band out of Scotland, Aztec Camera was pretty much a critic's darling in the 80s. They didn't generate many radio hits outside of college stations, but they did have a devoted fanbase. And that devoted fanbase started right here with this album, High Land, Hard Rain. Speaking of devoted fans, AllMusic's Ned Raggett calls this record "a flat-out must-have."
Of the four singles – "Just Like Gold," "Pillar to Post," "Oblivious," and "Walk Out to Winter" – only "Oblivious" got significant chart attention, peaking at #47 on the UK Singles chart. And despite critical acclaim, the album peaked at only #129 on the Billboard 200. Still, there's plenty to like here, particularly if you are fond of jangly guitars and keen turns of a phrase. In particular, I'm fond of "Walk Out to Winter" which, while it has never been released as a Christmas single, and it hasn't appeared on any holiday albums, certainly highlights the hope of the Yule season. A hope, as I've written before, that transcends any one religion's viewpoint.
Flashback: High Land, Hard Rain (April, 1983)
That's all I have for you until next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[New Wave Blues-Rock] -- ZZ Top, that little ol' band from Texas (which was the title of a 2019 documentary about said band), had been doing the little ol' band thing since their debut in 1969. And their thing was mainly blues rock, but they included enough boogie rock to keep it interesting. And 1983 was certainly interesting for ZZ Top. Eliminator, the band's eighth studio album, was released 40 years ago this week, on March 23, 1983. But it was not their 1980s debut. That distinction goes to 1981's El Loco, which was a fine record with some respectable charting action; it even went Gold. But El Loco didn't have any of the impact of Eliminator.
Eliminator was very much a product of its time, and it surprisingly launched ZZ Top into hip and cool status with the MTV generation. Their music videos, coupled with the polished synth grooves on this record, made the Texas trio popular with a capital "P." And those hits carried the album into top ten status in the US and around the world (Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, New Zealand, and the UK). It was even a top 25 record in Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.
All four singles -- "Gimme All Your Lovin,'" "Sharp Dressed Man," "TV Dinners," and "Legs" -- were pretty much international hits. Even "TV Dinners," the lowest charting single, still managed to peak in Billboard's top 40. The music videos featured guitarist Billy Gibbons' then newly customized 1933 Ford coupe, which also graced the album cover. That car is known as the "Eliminator" coupe, but the album name came first, and it's a reference to a drag racing term. Oh, and the "Legs" video featured the debut of the band's patented spinning guitars (I think they're patented, or trademarked maybe; they're just very recognizable)
I love all facets of ZZ Top's catalog. I was kind of raised on some of their older stuff through AOR radio and my Dad's love of 1960s and 1970s rock music. But this record holds some great memories for me. It's like they made it for my generation. So, for at least a short while in the early 1980s, these old boys from Texas shed their status as old-fogeys from the local radio station's glory days, and MTV's audience embraced them. At least, like I said, for a while.
Flashback: Eliminator (March 23, 1983)
That's all for the Flashback till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[...to Remind Me] -- March 16, 1983. Forty years ago this week. The British New Wave duo known as Naked Eyes released their debut album. In the UK and Europe, this album was titled Burning Bridges (see this post's preview image above). For North America and Japan, the album was released eponymously in April 1983, and it had a different album cover (see below) with a rearranged track listing. Naked Eyes' first single off their debut, on either side of the Atlantic, was a cover of "Always Something There to Remind Me."
You're probably humming the opening notes of the song right now, aren't you? Or, maybe, you're recalling the music video, which featured singer Pete Byrne and keyboardist Rob Fisher as journalists, or some other kind of investigators, keeping tabs on a famous woman, a woman Byrne seems to have a past with and still loves. "Always Something There to Remind Me" was penned by Burt Bacharach and Hal David in the early 1960s. Byrne always loved the song. So, nearly two decades later, Naked Eyes recorded it and their version peaked at #8 on the US Billboard Hot 100. While it also reached the top ten in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, the Naked Eyes single missed the top 40 in their native UK, where it peaked at #59.
Naked Eyes is best known for their synth-pop cover of "Always Something There to Remind Me," but the duo (and additional credited musicians) are not a one-hit wonder. Their second single, "Promises, Promises," peaked at #11 on the US Billboard Hot 100; it also reached #13 in Canada, #15 in New Zealand, #29 in South Africa, and #95 in the UK. Sometimes, I think I prefer "Promises, Promises" to "Always," but only because "Promises" is their first single that was also 100% their own composition. Oh, and there was a third single, "When The Lights Go Out," which just barely reached the top ten in the US.
But what about the rest of the album? I'm glad you asked.
AllMusic critic Chris Woodstra considers this debut album to be the duo's finest moment. That might be hyperbole considering the duo released only one other record together in the 1980s, and keyboardist Rob Fisher died in 1999, well before singer Pete Byrne put together a new lineup of Naked Eyes to play shows starting in 2005. So, we don't have much of a catalog to consider. However, having made those caveats, I will confess that I do consider this debut to be a masterpiece of early 1980s New Wave and studio wizardry. You can tell which songs received the most attention in the studio, but that doesn't mean the rest of the tracks are filler. Consider "Emotion in Motion," "A Very Hard Act to Follow," and "Could Be." They didn't receive any airplay, but any one of them could have -- maybe should have -- supported a TV show or appeared on a movie soundtrack. I'm just saying they deserve a wider audience.
The Eponymous US release on EMI America (April 1983)
This post's embedded YouTube playlist follows the song order found on the March 1983 UK release of Burning Bridges. If you're curious about the North American track listing for Naked Eyes, check out this video, which not only rearranges the song order, but also drops two UK tracks (the aforementioned "A Very Hard Act to Follow" and "The Time Is Now," which might have been the weakest entry, but it wasn't bad).
Flashback: Burning Bridges (March 16, 1983)
Once again, I remind you that the rule of three applies when doing Flashbacks. As I've made my three offerings, that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[Introducing Bananarama] -- Before "Cruel Summer" (1984) and a cover of "Venus" (1986) put them in the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100, Bananarama released a fully fleshed out pop debut. And by "fully fleshed out," I mean it wasn't just a record of filler songs sandwiched between singles. It did well in their native UK, earning them a top ten album (#7 on the UK Albums chart), as well as three top ten singles. "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin,'" "Shy Boy," and a cover of Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" all peaked within the top five of the UK Singles chart. They all fared less well in the US, barely breaking into the Billboard Hot 100, but this record still paved the way for Bananarama's later success.
AllMusic Stewart Mason considers Deap Sea Skiving to be the trio's best record. He points to their being "hip enough for their first single to be produced by ex-Sex Pistol Paul Cook," their collaboration with mentors Fun Boy Three ("Shy Boy"), and their funky cover of Paul Weller's "Doctor Love" as evidence of his assessment. And he might be correct: At least, I agree that the four British chart hits still sound great 40 years later. In addition to the singles, my favorite track is "Boy Trouble" -- The production and instrumentation, particularly the percussion, are just top notch. I also feel the entire album has a subtle, yet strong, fun factor at its core, and that sense of pop fun helps give this collection of songs an undeniable danceability.
Give this under-appreciated gem a spin.
Flashback: Deep Sea Skiving (March 7, 1983)
That's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[Still True] -- Depending on the source, this weekend's Flashback album was released on either February 28 or March 4 of 1983. Either way, it is 40 years old as of this week. I'm talking about True, the third studio release by the English new wave band, Spandau Ballet. They already had something of following in their native UK, but the release of True, and in particular the album's title track, brought Spandau Ballet international acclaim and success.
It certainly grabbed my attention around the spring of 1983, when "True" was released as the album's third single. I still have my copy on 45-rpm.
As an album, True ushered in a new sound and style for Spandau Ballet. While they had previously pursued the night club and dance audiences associated with early new wave efforts, audiences which the band starting losing after their second album, songwriter/guitarist Gary Kemp decided to focus on soul and R&B influences, notably Marvin Gaye and Al Green. Kemp's new songs were more lounge oriented and leaned heavily on the sound of Steve Norman's saxophone and singer Tony Hadley's expressive range, but overall were still infused with a New Romantics flair.
"True" peaked at #1 and #4 on the UK Singles and US Billboard Hot 100 respectively, and it enjoyed global chart success. Much of that success was likely due to a music "video that cast singer Tony Hadley as a young Frank Sinatra, crooning about the sound of his soul" [AllMusic]. Spandau Ballet's next single, "Gold," also performed well, though it did not reach the mega-hit status of its predecessor: It peaked at #2 in the UK, but reached only the top 30 on US charts (#29 on both US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box charts, and #17 on the US Adult Contemporary chart). As much as "True" is the better known single, and I do still love it, I might prefer "Gold" just a little because of its "Always believe in your soul" message. Maybe. Let me know what you think.
True reached the #1 position on the UK Albums chart while peaking at #19 on the US Billboard 200. It was also a top ten album in Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Spandau Ballet continued to release albums throughout the 1980s, and they enjoyed success in Europe, Canada, and Oceania. But they never again reached those dizzying heights to which they had soared with True.
Flashback: True (March 4, 1983)
Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
