Charting the Charts: David Bowie - Tonight (1984)

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Here's a look at how David Bowie's 1984 album fared in various publications:

1984
Date	Billboard 200	Cashbox 200	Rolling Stone 50
Oct 13		55
Oct 20	35	19
Oct 27	24	9
Nov 3	21	7
Nov 10	17	6
Nov 17	17	6	12
Nov 24	11	9
Dec 1	11	12	5
Dec 8	24	21
Dec 15	35	26
Dec 22	31	30
Dec 29		40

1985
Date	Billboard 200	Cashbox 200	Rolling Stone 50
Jan 5	40	40
Jan 12	41	49	24
Jan 19	43	58
Jan 26	51	61	41
Feb 2	70	71
Feb 9	78	83	40
Feb 16	86	83
Feb 23	105	83
Mar 2	110	87
Mar 9	143	94
Mar 16	164	97
Mar 23	182	114
Mar 30	195	128
Apr 6		151
Apr 13		178
Apr 20		189
Apr 27		191
May 4		196
May 11		198
May 18		200
May 25		200

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(click any photo to enlarge)

Rolling Stone, November 8, 1984, pp. 71 & 73

Smash Hits, September 27, 1984, p. 25

Robert Christgau

The Great Rock Discography, 7th ed.:	4/10

The Record World Singles Chart - November 28, 1981

Promo posters as seen on "WKRP in Cincinnati" #20

Albums: Electric Light Orchestra - Out of the Blue (Jet, 1977), Dan Fogelberg and Tim Weisberg - Twin Sons of Different Mothers (Full Moon, 1978)
Episode:  Season 1, Episode 7, "Turkeys Away"
Original air date: Monday, October 30, 1978

CD Longbox #16

Mötley Crüe - Theatre of Pain (1985)

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Exclusive photo courtesy of Dirk Digglinator of the Hambonian Archives.

For more information on the brief life of the CD longbox, go visit The Legend of the Longbox.

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MFD Random Five #16

In which I click the shuffle icon on the increasingly frustrating iTunes app (do we really need an update every week?) and listen to the first five songs that pop up from the years 1976-85.

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1. "(It's Time to) Boogie Down" by Rhythm Heritage (1976, ABC)
   Three and a half minutes of generic midtempo disco/funk with lots of hi-hat and strings. I like it fine but I won't remember it by the middle of the next song.


2. "On My Mind Tonight" by Difford & Tilbrook (1984, A&M)
   One of the better songs on the self-titled album from the leaders of Squeeze, about which I've written: "Compared to the duo's usual fantastic writing, the songwriting on this release isn't that great, but even the best material couldn't hold up to the slick, flat production given here."


3. "Dress Me Up as a Robber" by Paul McCartney (1982, Columbia)
   Proving that even McCartney album filler is pretty dang good and the lyrics just don't matter. Slightly out of time in '82; this sounds like mid-'70s McCartney with falsetto vocals over a slightly Latin-disco groove.


4. "It's for You" by Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays (1981, ECM)
   And the shuffle just took a left turn, but it's a turn for the better. This is a beautiful track from the second side of the As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls album, which my then-girlfriend gave me for a Christmas gift in 1984. (Side note: even giving me great vinyl couldn't save that relationship). This peaceful cut with its many overdubs is perfect for a cool, rainy day which is what we happen to have around here today. Featured in the 1985 movie Fandango and, more recently, in Dr. Smooth's Flashback #7 on Mixcloud. I love it when Pat kicks it up a notch with his solo at about the 4:40 mark.


5. "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)" by Instant Funk (1978, Salsoul)
   Say whaaaaat? Man-oh-man I haven't heard this jam in a long time and I'm overdue. This disco/funk tune blows away the earlier Rhythm Heritage offering. I'll be back in a few after I'm done dancing.
   
   <dance break>
   
   Just realized this is the only single release in today's Random Five: #20 on the pop chart while topping the R&B and Disco chart. Great way to end this shuffle. I've got this on the 54: Music From The Miramax Motion Picture album from 1998 and I'll go ahead and let the rest of that compilation play now.

Yacht Rock Album of the Month: Robbie Dupree (1980)

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What is yacht rock? Click here for a pretty good definition and song suggestions. But, with apologies to Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart, I know it when I hear it. So my definition might not meet yours. In fact, it probably won't meet yours. I'd argue the sub-genre of yacht rock started in 1975 with Steely Dan's Katy Lied, but for purposes of this series of posts, I'm going to stick to the years 1976-82. If you're okay with all this arbitrariness, here's the Yacht Rock Album of the Month for November, 2016:

Released: 1980 (Elektra) Produced by: Rick Chudcoff & Peter Bunetta Peak on the US Billboard 200: 51 Peak on the Cash Box 200: 56

Side One	Side Two
Steal Away I'm No Stranger Thin Line It's a Feeling Hot Rod Hearts	Nobody Else We Both Tried Love is a Mystery Lonely Runner

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Billboard, June 14, 1980, p.66

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Wikipedia
Allmusic
Discogs
Rate Your Music

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Billboard Chart Scrapers: Jan Akkerman (1977)

Fourth in a series.  To be considered a "chart scraper" album, an artist must have had only one album make the Billboard 200 album chart during the years 1976-85.  Said album spent no more than two weeks on the chart, placing no higher than 196.  They're all new to me.

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Jan Akkerman

Released: 1977 (Atlantic) Produced by: Richard DeBois

Side One	Side Two
Crackers Angel Watch Pavane	Streetwalker Skydancer Floatin' Gate to Europe

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Week	Position
April 8, 1978	199
April 15, 1978	198

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click photos to enlarge

Jan Akkerman, Guitars
Joachim Kühn, Keyboards
Cees van der Laarse, Bass
Bruno Castelucci, Drums
Pierre van der Linden, Drums on "Floatin"
Neppie Noya, Percussion

Recorded at the Soundpush Studios - Blaricum - Holland
Recording Engineer : Jan Schuurman
Strings Recorded at the Morgan Studios - London
Strings Conducted by Roger Webb
Mixed by Richard DeBois, Jan Schuurman ("Angel Watch", "Pavane" and "Gate to Europe") and Jay Denson
Mastered at the EMI Studios - Heemstede - Holland
Mastered by Henk Horden and André Leenders
Cover Design : Rens Benerink
Photography : Joost Noordhoek
Retouch : Four Colors - Amsterdam
Jan Akkerman logo : Wim Ballendux
Art-Direction : Rens Benerink & Hans Tonino
Guitars customised by Anno Galema
Executive producer : Hans Tonino

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Billboard, February 11, 1978, p. 62

Rolling Stone, May 18, 1978, p. 95

RateYourMusic.com
Get Ready to Rock

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Akkerman's roots are in the prog-rock band Focus, and here he switches from prog-rock to jazz fusion. And, given that turnaround, this album is better than it deserves to be. It's no Jeff Beck from the same time period, but good nonetheless. The weaknesses are listed in the above Rolling Stone review: no hooks and no structure. In other words, the focus (see what I did there?) is dazzling artistry and technical skills, not writing. I enjoy this music while listening, but immediately forget it afterwards. For my money, the best cut here is the gentle closer, "Gate to Europe." Bonus points for a sweet album cover.

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Allmusic
Discogs

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Random album ad #40

Queen - Jazz (1978)

Smash Hits Album Ratings - 1979 [part 2 of 2]

Smash Hits was a British teen music magazine that was (mostly) issued fortnightly. On a scale of 1-10, here's how the magazine's reviewers rate albums released in the latter half of 1979. Hope you find something new that you missed back in '79.

July 12 issue
Teena Marie	Wild and Peaceful	6
Patti Boulaye	You Stepped Into My Life	4
The Cars	Candy-O	8
Nick Lowe	Labour of Lust	7
Dave Edmunds	Repeat When Necessary	7
Metro	New Love	6
The Records	Shades in Bed	6
Queen	Live Killers	3½
Swell Maps	A Trip to Marineville	9½

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July 26 issue
(No numerical ratings given)
Buddy Holly	The Complete Buddy Holly
Richie Valens	Richie Valens
Gene Vincent	Greatest, Vol. 2
Earth, Wind & Fire	I Am
The Isley Brothers	Winner Takes All
Edwin Starr	Happy Radio
Fischer-Z	Word Salad

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Aug 9 issue
Atlantic Starr	Straight to the Point	5
Deniece Williams	When Love Comes Calling	5
The B-52's	The B-52's	5
Rickie Lee Jones	Rickie Lee Jones	8
Neil Young	Rust Never Sleeps	8
The Knack	Get The Knack	5
The Korgis	The Korgis	6½
Nina Hagen Band	Nina Hagen Band	8
Sex Pistols	Some Product	9

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Aug 23 issue
The Commodores	Midnight Magic	5
Parlet	Invasion of the Booty Snatchers	5
Starjets	Starjets	6
Sinceros	The Sound of Sunbathing	5
Chas 'n' Dave	Don't Give a Monkeys	5
Tarney-Spencer Band	Run for Your Life	5
Mike Oldfield	Exposed	6
AC/DC	Highway to Hell	3
Gibson Brothers	Cuba	7½
XTC	Drums and Wires	9

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Sept 6 issue
James Brown	The Original Disco Man	8
Smokey Robinson	Where There's Smoke	6
Yellow Magic Orchestra	Yellow Magic Orchestra	3
Rootboy Slim & The Sex Change Band	Zoom	6½
Talking Heads	Fear of Music	7½
Joy Division	Unknown Pleasures	8
Tubeway Army	Tubeway Army	7
Chic	Risqué	8½

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Sept 20 issue
Bootsy's Rubber Band	This Boot is Made for Fonk'n	6
Rose Royce	Rainbow Collection IV	8
Cliff Richard	Rock 'n' Roll Juvenile	3
Gary Numan	The Pleasure Principle	7
Alan Parsons Project	Eve	8
Led Zeppelin	In through the Out Door	7
Siouxsie & The Banshees	John Hands	6
The Slits	Cut	9

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Oct 4 issue
(No numerical ratings given)
Boney M	Oceans of Fantasy
Sham 69	Hersham Boys
The Ritchie Family	The Ritchie Family
Darts	Dart Attack
Punishment of Luxury	Laughing Academy
Penetration	Coming Up for Air
Michael Jackson	Off the Wall
The Pointer Sisters	Priority
John Hiatt	Slug Line
Various Bands	Mods Mayday
Jane Aire & The Belvederes	Jane Aire & The Belvederes
Cheap Trick	Dream Police
The Police	Reggatta De Blanc
Blondie	Eat to the Beat

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Oct 18 issue
Olympic Runners	It's a Bitch	6
The O'Jays	Identify Yourself	6
Joe Jackson	I'm the Man	7½
Wire	154	7½
Gang of Four	Entertainment!	7½
The Stranglers	The Raven	6½
Buzzcocks	A Different Kind of Tension	7
Human League	Reproduction	8
The Skids	Days in Europa	8

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Nov 1 issue
Three Degrees	3D	4
David Bendeth	Adrenalin	2
Bob Marley & The Wailers	Survival	5
Boomtown Rats	The Fine Art of Surfacing	3
Steve Harley	The Candidate	5
Status Quo	Whatever You Want	7½
Eagles	The Long Run	4
Fleetwood Mac	Tusk	9
The Specials	The Specials	9

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Nov 15 issue
Gloria Gaynor	I Have a Right	4
Herb Alpert	Rise	6
Stevie Wonder	The Secret Life of Plants	6
Cabaret Voltaire	Mix Up	5
Madness	One Step Beyond	6
Tourists	Reality Effect	6
The Headboys	The Headboys	7
The Shoes	Present Tense	8
Marianne Faithful	Broken English	8

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Nov 29 issue
Revanche	Music Man	3
Millie Jackson & Isaac Hayes	Royal Rappin's	5
The Dickies	Dawn of The Dickies	4
The Buzzards	Jellied Eels to Record Deals	5
Matchbox	Matchbox	7½
Suzi Quatro	Suzi...And Other Four Letter Words	7½
Genya Ravan	And I Mean It	5
Dr. Hook	Sometimes You Win	5
The Jam	Setting Sons	9

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Dec 13 issue
Fern Kinney	Groove Me	6
Sly & The Family Stone	Back on the Right Track	2
The Mekons	The Quality of Mercy is Not Strnen	8
Ian Gomm	Gomm With the Wind	6
Charlie Dore	Where to Now	6
Mike Oldfield	Platinum	7
Public Image	The Metal Box	6
Simple Minds	Real to Real Cacophony	8
Pink Floyd	The Wall	8

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Dec 27 issue
No album reviews in this issue

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h/t to Brian McCloskey over at Like Punk Never Happened

Smash Hits Album Ratings - 1979 [part 1 of 2]

Smash Hits was a British teen music magazine that was (mostly) issued fortnightly. On a scale of 1-10, here's how the magazine's reviewers rate albums released in the first half of 1979. Hope you find something new that you missed back in '79.

Feb 8 issue
Village People	Crusin'	7
Barbara Dickson	Sweet Oasis	6
Public Image	First Edition	5
Elvis Costello	Armed Forces	8
Nazareth	No Mean City	3
The Police	Outlandos D'Amour	7
Siouxsie & The Banshees	The Scream	7
Kiki Dee	Stay With Me	2

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Feb 22 issue
Pointer Sisters	Energy	6
Alicia Bridges	Alicia Bridges	5
The Bee Gees	Spirits Having Flown	3
Various Artists	20 of Another Kind	5
Generation X	Valley of the Dolls	5
Horslips	The Man Who Built America	8
Herbie Hancock	Feets Don't Fail Me Now	5

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Mar 8 issue
Marvin Gaye	Here My Dear	6
Ian Matthews	Stealin' Home	8
The Skids	Scared to Dance	9
Joe Jackson	Look Sharp	7
Odyssey	Hollywood Party Tonight	5
Phoebe Snow	Against the Grain	6
UFO	Strangers in the Night	3

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Mar 22 issue
Roger Chapman	Chappo	4
The Real Thing	The Force	6
Gene Chandler	Get Down	4
Gloria Gaynor	Love Tracks	4
Chris Redding	Guitar Graffiti	6
George Harrison	George Harrison	6
The Stranglers	Live	4
Squeeze	Cool for Cats	9

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Apr 5 issue
La Dusseldorf	Viva	7
Lynsey De Paul	Tigers and Fireflies	5
Valerie Carter	Wild Child	7
Jerry Butler	Nothing Says I Love You Like I Love You	6
Godley and Creme	Music from Consequences	4
Tom Robinson Band	TRB Two	8
The Rumour	Frogs, Sprouts, Clogs and Krauts	8

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Apr 19 issue
Gonzalez	Haven't Stopped Dancin'	3
Gloria Jones	Windstorm	3
Isley Brothers	Timeless	5
Inner Circle	Everything is Great	6
George Benson	Livin' Inside Your Love	4
Frankie Miller	Falling in Love	6
The Members	At The Chelsea Nightclub	7
Graham Parker & The Rumour	Squeezing Out Sparks	8
Supertramp	Breakfast in America	8

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May 3 issue
Cher	Take Me Home	4
Sister Sledge	We Are Family	7
Magazine	Second Hand Daylight	6
Jonathan Richman	Back in Your Life	6
Blue	Fool's Party	3
The Babys	Head First	5
Roxy Music	Manifesto	8
Brian Eno	Music for Airports	5

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May 17 issue
Village People	Go West	5
Fatback Band	Brite Lites/Big City	5
Sleepy La Beef	Beefy Rockabilly	5
Freddie 'Fingers' Lee	Freddie 'Fingers' Lee	5
The Fall	Live at the Witch Trials	7
Doll by Doll	Remember	7
Thin Lizzy	Black Rose	6
The Tubes	Remote Control	8
Simple Minds	Life in a Day	8

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May 31 issue
Crown Heights Affair	Dance Lady Dance	4
Amii Stewart	Amii Stewart	5
ABBA	Voulez Vous	6
The Rezillos	Mission Accomplished but the Beat Goes On	8
The Undertones	The Undertones	7
Mac Curtis	Rockin' Mother	6
Golden Earring	Grab It for a Second	7
David Bowie	Lodger	6
Ian Dury	Do It Yourself	9

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June 14 issue
Patrick Juvet	Lady Night	4
Eruption	Leave a Light	5
T Rex	Solid Gold	5
Patti Smith Group	Wave	5
Status Quo	Just for the Record	6
Violinski	No Cause for Alarm	5
Rick Wakeman	Rhapsodies	4
Judy Tzuke	Welcome to the Cruise	8
Electric Light Orchestra	Discovery	8
Tubeway Army	Replicas	8

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June 28 issue
Linda Clifford	Let Me Be Your Woman	7
Heatwave	Hot Property	7
Telex	Looking for San Tropez	6
Devo	Duty Now for the Future	6
Wings	Back to the Egg	6
Gerry Rafferty	Night Owl	7
Joe Egan	Out of Nowhere	7
The Cure	Three Imaginary Boys	8
The Ramones	It's Alive	8

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h/t to Brian McCloskey over at Like Punk Never Happened

Fall 1979: Braces, 8th Grade, Football, and Album Charts

In the fall of 1979, I was a brace-faced, underachieving geek in 8th grade.

Your humble blogger's photo in the 1979-80 school annual,
sporting a seventieslicious terrycloth shirt.
Hello, ladies.

I don't know if I can remember what classes I was taking during 8th grade, but I'll take a stab at it:

English
Physical Science
Algebra
US History
P.E.
Band
Theatre

Band and theatre - my geek credentials are bona fide, baby! That schedule sounds about right, but it didn't really matter because my life in the fall of 1979 revolved around watching football:

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Sunday/Monday: Houston Oilers

While I lived in a small town on the gulf coast, most all of our media (TV, radio, newspapers) came from nearby Houston. As a result, I couldn't help but be an Oilers fan, especially in the days of Earl Campbell and "Luv Ya Blue!"

Luv Ya Blue! flash card (from the MFD archives)

Under the direction of head coach Bum Phillips, the team finished the regular season with a record of 11-5, good enough for a wild card berth in the playoffs.They would win two playoff games before losing to the Steelers in the AFC Championship game. Campbell was named NFL MVP that season. I didn't attend any games - tickets were hard to come by as the team was winning and the Astrodome's seating capacity was only 45,000.

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Saturday: Texas A&M game

In 1979, I was convinced I would attend Texas A&M and major in architecture. Even though neither of my parents had attended A&M, they humored me. In 1977 and '78, we even attended the football game between A&M and Texas Tech. We were unable to make that happen in 1979, but I kept up with the Aggies (usually through the radio). Back then, I remember only one or two college football games being broadcast on television each Saturday and we were lucky to get a Southwest Conference game as ABC tended to favor the Big Ten and the Big 8 conferences. The '79 Aggie team ended the season with a 6-5 record and did not attend a bowl game.

Postcard of the Texas A&M architecture building (from the MFD Archives)
I kept the postcard on my bulletin board as a motivational tool.
My architecture plans left me my freshman year in high school
when I realized the mathematics involved in the profession. 

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Friday: local high school game

Team name: Black Cats
Team colors: Blue & Gold
Go figure.

I can't tell you much about the local high school team that year because, as an 8th grader, I attended games as a social activity, not to watch the game. At home games, there was a special, isolated section in the east endzone where the jr high kids sat and did everything but watch the game. For away games, the local Baptist church would take jr high kids to the games in their bus for $1, which I did once or twice. All this mainly because I had a crush on a cute little blonde we'll call Beth because that was her name. In stereotypical fashion, this junior high romance was doomed when Beth suddenly disappeared from school one Monday as her father had been transferred. And young Mark didn't rate so much as a goodbye. There's gonna be a heartache tonight.

Turns out the high school team did very well that year, racing through the playoffs before losing the state championship game held at the Astrodome, a game I attended with my parents and spent the whole game wandering around the domed stadium looking for my friends.

If you're wondering why I haven't mentioned my own exploits on the 8th grade football team in the fall of '79, did you read the earlier part where I mentioned my geekness? The closest I got to playing football was on one of these bad boys:

I would go on and be the star on the school tennis team the following spring, but that's another story for another time.

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But enough about football, this is allegedly a music blog, so let's see what was topping the Billboard charts on November 10, 1979.

	Top LP The Long Run Eagles
	Hot 100 "Heartache Tonight" Eagles
	Soul Album Off the Wall Michael Jackson
	Soul Single "Ladies Night" Kool & The Gang
	Disco Single "Harmony/Ooh La La" Suzi Lane
	Country Album Kenny Kenny Rogers
	Country Single "You Decorated My Life" Kenny Rogers
	Adult Contemporary  "Broken Hearted Me" Anne Murray
	Jazz Album Street Life The Crusaders
	Spiritual Album Love Alive II Walter Hawkins and The Love Center Choir

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Here's the top albums from Rolling Stone magazine, November 15, 1979.

Being a young teen with no money, no transportation, and no prospects, I only owned three of the above 100 albums at the time.

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Take a close look at that R&R Top Ten because it has a little bit of everything: soul ballad, disco, country, fifties doo-wop throwback, jazz instrumental, and rock both hard and soft. And even though all three charts agree that the #1 song that week was "Heartache Tonight," the best song on that whole wonderful list is "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" which was on its way down the chart at this point.