Rock Short Takes, June 1981

Click on the image below to open a pdf file of the "Rock Short Takes" album reviews from Musician magazine's June 1981 issue. Artists include The Jam, ABBA, and Joe Ely.

AT40, August 4, 1979 [Part 2 of 4]

 

I'm breaking down the AT40 show of August 4, 1979 track by track.  For a look at #40-31, click here.

Casey introduces the next song by stating that ABBA's net income makes them the most profitable business enterprise in Sweden, clearing $12 million.

#30:  "Does Your Mother Know" by ABBA. I'm an ABBA fan and I don't care who knows it.  Those Swedes could write some hooks.  This song would spend 10 weeks in the top 40, peaking at #19. I have considered doing an ABBA bracketology series, but we all know that "Dancing Queen" would be the winner, so what's the point?

#29:  "I'll Never Love This Way Again" by Dionne Warwick.  The 25th (of an eventual 31) Top 40 record for Warwick. Produced by Barry Manilow and written by his songwriting team of Richard Kerr and Will Jennings, this sounds just like a Manilow record, right down to the key change at the end. (I'm not sure Manilow has the vocal chops to pull off the octave leaps in the chorus, so maybe that's why it was given to Warwick). This single was on its very slow ascent on this chart; it would peak at #5 on October 20th, more than two months later.

#28:  "She Believes in Me" by Kenny Rogers. What should have been a Bread song (and maybe it was originally?) recorded by The Gambler. This tune had all sorts of crossover appeal: #1 Country, #1 Adult Contemporary, and would peak at #5 on the pop chart.

Before a commercial break, Casey teases a story about Arthur Fiedler by playing a snippet of his only pop chart appearance, an arrangement of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," which peaked at #55 in 1964. "Special tribute" coming up.

#27:  "Suspicions" by Eddie Rabbitt. Like the earlier Kenny Rogers tune, here's another smooth rock tune marketed as a country tune. Good stuff, right down to the flute solo. And like, Kenny, this did well on multiple charts: #1 country, #9 Adult Contemporary, and #13 pop.

Casey offers up a very brief tribute to Arthur Fiedler, who had passed away on July 10, 1979. I can't think of Fiedler and the Boston Pops without thinking of my father, who may be their biggest fan. The number one artist in his CD collection is the Boston Pops and its not even close. Sadly, Dad doesn't have the last album Fiedler recorded with the orchestra, Saturday Night Fiedler.

Now, on with the countdown...

#26:  "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by Charlie Daniels Band. Three country tunes in a row, such was Top 40 music in 1979. Loved this tune much more in '79 than I do now. I always thought the devil was the winner of the contest and enjoy the "band of demons" guitar riff that leads into his solo, which is butchered in this AT40 edit. #1 country, #30 Adult Contemporary, and would peak on the Hot 100 in the #3 spot on September 15.

Listener question: "A listener in Idaho wants to know if any number one song has ever fallen right off the chart from the number one position. Well, that did happen - once - to a singing cowboy who owns the pennant-chasing California Angels baseball team. Details coming up."

#25:  "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" by Joe Jackson. "One of eight British acts in the countdown." I love this tune and have absolutely no memory of hearing it on the radio in 1979, so a hearty "screw you" to the Houston station program director of 1979. Shame. This song only spent 8 weeks in the Top 40, peaking at #21.

Answer to listener question: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by Gene Autry in December, 1949.

#24:  "One Way or Another" by Blondie. Tomorrow may be different, but today, this is my favorite Blondie tune. I'm sure 13 year old me would listen to these lyrics and think, "Please come and get me, use me, and lose me, Debbie." This single would peak here at #24.

Casey returns from the break by telling us that American Top 40 is heard in the 50 states and around the world every week on great radio stations like:

• WENK - Union City, Tennessee
• WFJA - Sanford, North Carolina
• DYXI - Iloilo, Philippines

#23:  "People of the Southwind" by Kansas. This song has already been featured here on MFD. It spent 8 weeks on AT40, peaking here at #23.

AT40 Archives: "Angie Baby" by Helen Reddy.  Casey's counting down the #1 songs of the 1970's, this is the second of three in this show. This tune was #1 for one week, December 28, 1974.

--end of hour two--

#22: "After the Love Has Gone" by Earth, Wind & Fire. ♥ EWF is one of my all-time favorite groups and this is my fifth favorite song by the group. Of course I've given that some thought, why do you ask? What are the other four, you say?

My top 5 EWF songs:

1. September
2. Got To Get You Into My Life
3. Shining Star
4. Fantasy
5. After The Love Has Gone

Anyway, this smooth tune written by David Foster, Jay Graydon, and Bill Champlin won two Grammy awards: Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group & Best R&B Song. This single spent 13 weeks on the chart, spending two weeks in the #2 spot behind "My Sharona."

Casey mentions that seven different countries are represented in this week's countdown: England, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Japan, France, and the U.S. He goes on to say that's the most since July, 1978.

#21: "I Can't Stand It No More" by Peter Frampton. While I like the chorus, the rest of the song doesn't do much for me.  The verse chord progression reminds me of AC/DC's "Big Balls" (a favorite of mine as a teenager).  This isn't a song I'd seek out to listen to.  Frampton's final Top 40 single, it had peaked at #14 in late July.

"There's a drummer in our survey who says he never wanted to be anything but a musician, but his father didn't approve. So in order to play his first professional gigs, he had to sneak out of his bedroom window four nights a week for two years. That story, and his band's latest single, are coming up."

Billboard, August 4, 1979, p. 56

More to come...

MFD Not-So-Random Five #3

In which I select five songs from 1976-1985 based on an arbitrary theme. (Not to be confused with this blog's Random Five feature, a different exercise in arbitrariness). Today's theme: Songs that begin with the chorus instead of a verse.

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1. "If You Want My Love" by Cheap Trick (1982, Epic)
   I have to believe that, deep down, every band wants to be The Beatles. Bands like Cheap Trick never hid that fact and this may be their most Beatlesque tune apart from their "Magical Mystery Tour" cover. (Heck, the middle eight cribs "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" almost verbatim). The melody doesn't do vocalist Robin Zander any favors, showing his limited range, but that chorus is so filled with hooks, I'll still be humming this one a week from now.


2. "Good Times" by Chic (1979, Atlantic)
   One of the top songs of 1979, it's immediately recognizable and features Nile Rodgers' guitar scratching over what may be the most famous/duplicated bass lick of all-time from Bernard Edwards. I've heard it hundreds of times (if not thousands) and it's still as fresh to these old ears as it was when I was a thirteen year-old knucklehead.


3. "We Built This City" by Starship (1985, Grunt/RCA)
   It's been increasingly hip to mock this song as one of the worst songs ever, but I can think of much worse. And that's all revisionist history BS anyway. Hell, yeah, we liked this rock anthem in 1985 - it was #1 for two weeks ferchrissakes. It was nominated for Grammy's Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group (losing to the homophobic "Money for Nothing"). I don't love it, but I can still tolerate it in the right playlist/mix (or in GTA V). I still hear it on the radio occasionally, so someone still likes it (or thinks we still like it, or a combination of the two).


4. "Brick House" by Commodores (1977, Motown)
   I'm not sure if it would still work today, but this was a sure-fire dance floor filler during my favorite decade. Even over 40 years later, it's got me moving. Are the lyrics complimentary or misogynistic or both? It didn't matter to me back in '77 when I was eleven. Back then, I thought the lyrics were "she's my tomato" instead of "she's mighty, mighty" so what do I know about lyrics, anyway? But man-oh-man that opening bass line is the stuff.


5. "Dancing Queen" by ABBA (1976, Atlantic)
   I've already written about this one in this post. Here's what I wrote then:

   I can say with absolute certainty this song was my favorite tune for several months in 1977 (probably the four months it was in the Top 40, if not longer). To this day, I still get up and dance at the sound of the initial piano glissando. When I saw Mamma Mia! on Broadway, the cast came out and sung this song as an encore and I was up grinning and dancing with a few hundred of my new closest friends. I'm told there are people that don't care for this disco classic, but I wouldn't want to know them.

   Last year. I ranked this single the #2 song of the year for 1977.

ABBA: The Movie (1977)

Never heard of it? Neither had I until this book recently arrived here at blog headquarters:

1994, HarperPerennial

Yes, it's compiled by that Marshall Crenshaw. An interesting read that appeals to me as a music and cinematic snob. The book briefly gives info about different movies and rates each on a five star scale for music, attitude, and fun. The first movie listed is this ABBA movie. Here's Crenshaw's take:

Sounds horrible and cheesy so of course I immediately checked its availability on Netflix. It wasn't available streaming, but was available on DVD, which I immediately put at the top of my queue. Here's how Netflix describes this cinematic endeavor:

You should probably know that in an interview with The New York Times in 2002, the director admitted that the script was "conceived on the plane on the way to Australia." And, other than the music, it's as bad as you would imagine. What follows is my brief synopsis with screen captures. But first, here's links to more info about the movie at IMDb and Wikipedia. As of this writing, the movie is currently on YouTube.

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Movie opens as a late-night country DJ is finishing his shift. He is called into the boss's office and assigned the task of getting an interview with ABBA for a two hour radio special. And it's got to be ready to air in one week. No interview appointment, no backstage passes, not even a press pass. You can see where this is going.

He first attempts to meet ABBA at the airport as they arrive in Australia.

No luck. Then it's time rent a car and try to make the band's press conference at a local hotel. Unfortunately, DJ Ashley doesn't know which hotel.

As luck would have it, DJ Ashley arrives just as the press conference is ending. Off to a rainy Sydney concert.

Songs performed: "The Tiger," "S.O.S." and "Money Money Money," DJ Ashley can't get into the show because he doesn't have a press pass and the scalpers want $50 for a ticket, which he doesn't have. The next day, we're off to the famous opera house for a promo photo shoot.

At the opera house, DJ Ashley is denied an interview by the group's manager. Then we get more concert footage, featuring the song "He Is Your Brother" and a portion of "Waterloo." Then we're off to Perth! The concert there includes "Mamma Mia," "Rock Me" and "I've Been Waiting for You." Ashley cons his way into the concert and backstage, but is again thwarted by the manager. Later, Ashley finds the band's hotel rooms, but is denied access by a pushy security guard. Falling asleep at his hotel, Ashley dreams of hanging out with the group. Yes, a dream sequence set to "The Name of the Game."

Then we're off to the next tour stop in Adelaide. Ashley interviews some young fans who sing and dance to "Ring Ring."

The Adelaide concert features "Why Did It Have to Be Me," "When I Kissed the Teacher" and "Get on the Carousel." And on to Melbourne. Ashley finally makes an appointment to meet with the band at 10 AM the morning following the concert. The Melbourne concert: "I'm a Marionette," "Fernando," "Dancing Queen" and "So Long."

Of course, the hapless Ashley oversleeps and misses his appointment, but fate intervenes and he happens upon the group members (with no entourage) in the hotel elevator.

We see a promotional video of "Eagle" while the interview takes place.  Armed with his new interview, Ashley makes it to the studio just in time to edit and air the program.  And they lived happily ever after. We see the group performing "Thank You for the Music" before going to credits.

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The Hollywood Rock book rated this as:

Music  ★★★★★
Attitude ★★★★
Fun ★★★★

I'd give it:
Music  ★★★★★
Attitude ★★
Fun ★★

Others seem to like it more than I do.  You'll have to judge for yourself, but consider yourself warned.

rottentomatoes.com

Olivia (1978)

Last night, I received the following text message:

Ever see the Olivia Newton-John TV Special with Abba and Andy Gibb?  I don't remember ever seeing it but I just watched the ever loving crap out of it on YT.

And now you can watch the ever loving crap out of it, too.  And you should:

This is the original feed, not what actually aired.  More information about this clip is available over at the YouTube site. Other than the sweet tunes and gorgeous Olivia, what strikes me is that this is filmed one-take with a live orchestra and the medley lasts almost 19 minutes.  Impressive.  Sure, there's some clunkers (the most obvious is at 12:10), but it's more entertaining than any lip-synching performance.

The best I can determine, the Olivia special was aired Wednesday, May 17, 1978 on ABC.  Here's the running order for this medley:

• If You Love Me (Let Me Know)
• Dancing Queen
• Fernando
• I Just Want To Be Your Everything
• Have You Never Been Mellow
• Please Mr. Please
• Take A Chance On Me
• (Love Is) Thicker Than Water
• Shadow Dancing
• Hopelessly Devoted To You
• If You Love Me (Let Me Know)
• Thank You For The Music

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H/T to Herc over at Herc's Hideaway for hipping me to this video and to YouTube user ArgoWho for uploading and sharing this clip.  Many thanks.