Friday 80s Flashback for August 30, 2024

[Four Turned Forty] -- I missed posting a Flashback last week. I also missed two Fridays in July. So, I figured I'd finish August 2024 by highlighting four albums that turned 40 this month. 

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Mirror Moves – First up, we have the fourth studio album by the Psychedelic Furs, Mirror Moves. This record built upon the success of 1982's Forever Now, and its hit single "Love My Way." This time, they had three singles – "Heaven," "The Ghost in You" (one of my fave Furs tracks) and "Here Come Cowboys" – that either charted well or received heavy rotation on MTV or both. Mirror Moves peaked at #43 on the Billboard 200, and ended up as the band's second album to go gold in the US. 

Flashback #1: Psychedelic Furs, Mirror Moves (August 21, 1984)

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Warrior – Our second flashback this week is the debut, not to mention the only, studio album by Scandal. The album, featuring Patty Smyth, is Warrior. It peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200, and that was probably due solely to the hit single, and almost title track, "The Warrior." Unless you're an 80sphile like me, the rest of the album probably won't interest you very much. Yes, Scandal are in that category of one-hit wonders (or two hits if you count "Goodbye to You," which first appeared on the band's self-titled 1982 EP, and was later included on the expanded and remastered edition of Warrior in 2014.  

Flashback #2: Scandal, Warrior (August 21, 1984)

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Let's Get Professional – Our third flashback might have slipped by your radar. Although it was released in 1984, I did not catch it until 1987, or maybe 1988. And now I forever associate part of my college years with this album. I'm talking about Let's Get Professional by The 012, released August 19, 1984. Why do I associate this record with college? Well, aside from the fact that I discovered the record during my years at Penn State, there's something about its ethos of good musicians trying to be bad musicians that reeks of the adaptation and experimentation of college students. It's punk. It's avant-garde. It's me, sitting in an empty classroom late at night, and questioning why I'm studying physics. 

Flashback #3: The 012, Let's Get Professional (August 19, 1984)

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Time Exposure – And last, but not least, our fourth flashback this week is another change of pace. On August 28, 1984, jazz fusion bassist Stanley Clarke released his thirteenth studio album: Time Exposure. It was one of the top jazz albums for that year, and Richard S. Ginell of AllMusic wrote (in a retro-review) that the "sheer speed and power of Clarke's electric and piccolo bass work is astonishing throughout the album." He also picks "Time Exposure" as the prize of the album as well as "one of the best funk numbers of Clarke's career."

Flashback #4: Stanley Clarke, Time Exposure (August 28, 1984)

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And 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.

I'll see you in seven! 

Friday 80s Flashback for August 16, 2024

[Oo-ee-diddley-bop!] -- Peter Wolf's career as a solo artist was kicked off 40 years ago last month, in July 1984. That's when Wolf released his debut solo album, Lights Out. Now, why would Wolf end a long and successful career as the lead vocalist of The J. Geils Band (1967 to 1983)? Well, it was apparently all due to the co-leader of The J. Geils Band, keyboardist Seth Justman, rejecting a bunch of then-new songs that Wolf had co-written outside the band. 

Yup, he took (some of) those songs and released them on his own. 

The title track of Lights Out turned out to be a big hit for Wolf, peaking at #12, #6, and #11 on the US Billboard Hot 100, Mainstream Rock Tracks, and Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts respectively. His second single, "I Need You Tonight," was also a top 40 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. And the album itself reached the #24 position on the Billboard 200 chart. 

Besides the singles, this album is fairly evenly balanced between some dated 80s dance-pop and other tracks that are wacky and, in the words of music critic Tim Sendra, "so corny that they are almost good." He also calls this album "soul music for a soulless time," and I think that is a far better descriptor. 

Other stand out tracks: "Mars Needs Women," "Here Comes That Hurt Again," and "Baby, Please Don't Let Me Go."  

Flashback: Lights Out (July 1, 1984)

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And 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.

I'll see you in seven!

Friday 80s Flashback for August 9, 2024

[Signs of 40] -- Forty years ago last month (sorry, the best we can get for a release date is either "July 1984" or simply "1984"), Billy Squier released his fourth studio album: Signs of Life. He was coming off of two successful albums, Emotions in Motion (July 23, 1982) and Don't Say No (April 13, 1981), both of which had peaked at #5 in the Billboard 200.

For this new album, Squier still had some his usual guitar work front and center, but the disc was also sprinkled with synthesizers and production effects. Listen to the opening of the lead track, "All Night Long," and you'll hear sound effects, a tape loop from part of the chorus, and swirling synths for about 35 seconds. And then, finally, the guitar lick really kicks off the tune, helping you to identify it as a Billy Squier song. Whereas on "Eye On You," the synth effects are combined with the opening guitar lick. And the almost obligatory ballad, "Fall For Love," also marries keyboards and slick production such that they pretty much dominate the token guitar in this song.  

And then there's the hit single: "Rock Me Tonite." Again, keyboards and synths dominate the opening such that we have to wait until the 30 second mark for drums and guitar to join the mix. And we have to discuss the official music video for "Rock Me Tonite." For much of this video, the erstwhile guitar hero of "The Stroke" and "Everybody Wants You" dances and preens around a set that is meant to be studio apartment, or at least the hint of one. He finally picks up a guitar and joins a band (in the adjoining room?) around the 3:30 mark, well over halfway through the song. Much has been written about the video for "Rock Me Tonite," most of critical and declaring it as one of the very worst videos in MTV's history. In fact, there is a whole chapter dedicated to "Rock Me Tonite" in the 2011 book, I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution.

Still, the song was very popular. "Rock Me Tonite" peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100, #10 on the Cash Box singles chart, and even #1 on the Top Rock Tracks chart. And the album reached #11 on the Billboard 200 while becoming Squier's third platinum-selling record. 

There are standouts on this record. Songs that, in my opinion, are more straight-ahead rockers with minimal production schlock. They include "Take a Look Behind Ya," "Can't Get Next to You," and "Hand-Me-Downs." 

Flashback: Signs of Life (July, 1984)

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And 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.

I'll see you in seven!

Friday 80s Flashback for August 2, 2024

[Vital At Forty] -- 40 years ago*, Survivor released their fifth studio album, Vital Signs. While it was the band's fifth release, it was their first with new vocalist Jimi Jamison. Survivor's original vocalist, Dave Bickler, the one who had recorded Survivor's only previous hit (1982's "Eye of the Tiger" for Rocky III); he had left the band after having surgery to treat polyps on his vocal cords.

And switching out vocalists turned out in Survivor's favor, as Jamison's higher register worked well with the band's style. I mean, they had been slowly sliding more toward the pop end of the (AOR) rock spectrum anyway. So, Vital Signs ended up as the band's second most successful album (it's hard to top an album driven by a successful Rocky film). It peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200, and it also launched three top 20 singles: "I Can't Hold Back", "High on You", and "The Search Is Over" which peaked at #13, #8, and #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively. A fourth single, "First Night" didn't dent Billboard's top 40, but still managed to climb to #53.

In hindsight, I might consider Vital Signs  somewhat saccharine. But it is also energetic, sincere, and a touchpoint in my own record collection. Now, you might not get energetic and sincere from the singles. So, I direct you to "Broken Promises", "Popular Girl" (I'm still not sure how this did not become a TV or film theme song), "It's the Singer, Not the Song", and maybe even "I See You in Everyone" – that's almost the entirety of Side B, which I do recall spinning on repeat back in the day, and the last song on Side A. Make of that what you will. 

*AOTY cites August 1, 1984, as the release date. Other sources, such as Wikipedia, cite September 1984. Still others simply list 1984.  

Flashback: Vital Signs. (August 1, 1984)

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And 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.

I'll see you in seven!