MFD Random Five #47

In which I shuffle through some music files and listen to the first five songs from the years 1976-85 that randomly pop up.

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1. "Miss Me Blind" by Culture Club (1984, Epic)
   The song that made me a Culture Club fan and still my favorite CC tune. Tasty vocal harmonies, easy to dance to, fuzzy guitar solo that has a nice shape followed by that hooky break about 3:15 in. 


2. "Soft Touch" by Doc Severinsen (1977, Columbia)
   I wrote about Severinsen's 1977 Brand New Thing album back in 2014. Here's what I wrote about this tune then: "A beautiful ballad played flawlessly by Severinsen.  Richard Tee's accompaniment is perfect: adding stuff where he should, laying back when he should.  Doc's solos focus on melody over technique and that's just what is called for here."


3. "Carrie" by Cliff Richard (1980, EMI)
   A minor US hit for Richard (it peaked at #34 on the Billboard Hot 100). This minor key pop-rocker doesn't do much for me.


4. "I Told U So" by David Sanborn (1982, Warner Bros.)
   And my day just got better tenfold. This lead track from the excellent Backstreet album immediately relaxes me and puts me in a better mood. How good is it? Well, after this shuffle is finished, I'll probably spin the whole album at least once (well, maybe not track 3). 


5. "Windpower" by Thomas Dolby (1982, EMI)
   Great song from a favorite album. Released as a single in Europe, this thing is definitely unique synthpop - Morse code intro, relentless synth toms, atypical song structure, out-of-place horn licks, flute obligato, and hooks a'plenty. The album mix shuffled around today, but there's also a 6 minute "Extended Play" version which is wonderful jumble to the above song elements.