Greg Smaha (1979)

Greg Smaha

Released: 1979 (RCA, France) Produced by: Misha Segal

Side One	Side Two
Mirror of Love Never Before But I Love You Angel Adele  No One Knows	Money You Springtime in Boston Sunshine Lady L.A.

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click photos to enlarge

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I had never heard of Greg Smaha until I came across this Mixcloud show from Professor Eddy:

I loved the tune the Prof included ("Sunshine") enough to seek out the album. Even though it was recorded in California, the album was never released in the US, so finding a copy was difficult and I spent more on the vinyl than I should have (shhh, don't tell the wife). I could find very little about Smaha online and emails to the producer Misha Segal went unanswered, but there's a discogs entry: https://www.discogs.com/Greg-Smaha-Greg-Smaha/release/3463147

Now you know as much about this adult-oriented yacht disco album as I do. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this discovery as much as I have.

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Sunshine Never Before Mirror of Love Lady LA Springtime in Boston You Angel Adele Money No One Knows But I Love You

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Bonnie Hayes & The Wild Combo - Brave New Girl (1984)

Released: 1984 (Bondage Records) Produced by: Steve Savage and the band

Side One	Side Two
Brave New Girl Incommunicado After Hours	Wild Heart Maria Nigh Baseball

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Here's a rare, out of print EP release from an obscure label (possibly it was self-released??). This thing never had a chance and that's a shame. The group's first album, Good Clean Fun (from which two songs were selected for inclusion in the 1983 Valley Girl movie), is a New Wave masterpiece and they were primed for stardom beyond their native California. Alas, it was not to be and they deserved more fame than what they got.

Here's what Robert Christgau wrote about the EP: Her climactic love song is called "Night Baseball," so obviously her tomboy credentials are in excellent order. Which come to think of it could be why the compassionate, catchy cool of her debut album has succumbed to the schlocky pop her (male, natch) musicians have a yen for. B-

I like it slightly better than Mr. Christgau:

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My vinyl copy of the EP was apparently originally owned by WPEA, a prep school radio station out of New Hampshire. In addition to my comments below, I'll add what the teenage program director wrote about each track. You can see said comments in the image of the back album cover below:

• Brave New Girl: Fantastic New Wave cut. As with most Hayes tunes, I'm hooked from the first note - in this case, a syncopated guitar arpeggio. You don't often hear harmony vocals on the verse of a pop song, but they're here and they're perfect. Too bad the overdrive guitar solo is too far back in the mix. [WPEA notes: "great! Play."]
• Incommunicado: with a hooks lifted straight from Steely Dan's "FM" and Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," this reggae-lite tune doesn't have much of a chorus and the piano solo is weak, but the groove sure is fun. [WPEA notes: "nice calypso"]
• After Hours: a gorgeous piano-based ballad. Hayes is such a strong songwriter, that you hardly notice the atypical song structure and meter changes. [WPEA notes: "bad"]

• Wild Heart: not much to the verse and even though there's a great build-up to the chorus, there's not much to that either. It's almost as if Hayes was told by a record exec to write a hit single using the typical New Wave tropes. [WPEA notes: "bad lyrics & sound"]
• Maria: Love the chorus and bridge on this one. [WPEA notes: "mellow, nice"]
• Night Baseball: a high-energy album closer full of euphemisms. The Wild combo obviously had a good time with this one - hard driving drums and great guitar work over a bouncing bass line. Gets me up and dancing. [WPEA notes; "combo: Who + Police worthless!!!]

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Brave New Girl After Hours Night Baseball Maria Wild Heart Incommunicado

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The Maxell Jazz Sampler (1979)

Found this album in the $1 bin while vinyl hunting earlier this week. Not a classic, but good enough to share. Easily worth a buck.

Maxell Jazz Sampler

Released: 1979 (RCA) Produced by: Various

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George Harrison - Blow Away (1979)

Blow Away
b/w Soft-Hearted Hana

Released: February, 1979 (Dark Horse) Written by: George Harrison Produced by: George Harrison and Russ Titleman Album: George Harrison

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Note: when I label a song a "Lost AT40 Single," I'm only speaking for myself. Your mileage may vary.

So I'm listening to a rerun of an American Top 40 broadcast from May 5, 1979 and after backselling the Bee Gees' "Love You Inside Out," Casey Kasem introduced this song thus:

Well, in a recent interview in Rolling Stone, former Beatle George Harrison said he thought Beatle parodies, like the Rutles, were a great idea. He said the Beatles needed to be deflated. Maybe that's what he had in mind when he wrote his latest hit, titled "Blow Away." This week, up a notch to number 16. George Harrison.

Fortunately, the song is better than that intro. Harrison's guitar is immediately identifiable and there's a so-so verse, but when it gets to the chorus, things get real good fast:

All I got to do is to love you
All I got to be is, be happy
All it's got to take is some warmth to make it
Blow away, blow away, blow away.

Positive lyrics and hook-filled chorus? Count me in! Just the kind of message a kid dealing with adolescent angst at a new school needs (speaking about myself, of course). I've often written that I'm not much of a lyrics guy, but I couldn't miss these. Harrison simply speading the gospel of love. Preach on, George.

Unfortunately, #16 was as high as this single rose in its 8 short weeks in the Top 40. Its chart arc was as follows, beginning on 3/31/79: 32, 26, 24, 22, 17, 16, 16, 37. Shame. The question remains: why don't I ever hear this on the oldies stations?

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Go West - We Close Our Eyes (1985)

We Close Our Eyes
b/w Missing Persons

Released: 1985 (Chrysalis) Written by: Peter Cox & Richard Drummie Produced by: Gary Stevenson Album: Go West

U. S. Billboard Charts:
Hot 100	41
Dance	5

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Narrowly missing the Top 40, I never heard this one on the Dallas radio stations I listened to at the time. However, this wonderfully fun Godley & Creme video was on the MTV (and the dorms had cable!):

I never understood the pipe wrench or the lyrics, but what a synth hook! That thing hits you in the face about 7 seconds in. Lots of over-produced synth hits, pads, and effects throughout - the producer was having fun. All this over a driving, danceable, eighth note beat. And then we get a nice bridge that goes right back into that sweet synth hook.

Sure, the synths really date this thing, but I think it's aged fairly well. Maybe that's just because I didn't hear it enough back in '85. And I still don't hear it on the radio (XM or "'80s Flashback Weekends"). Never heard the rest of the album. Why I didn't buy it on the strength of this single, I'll never know. Shrug.

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George Winston - Autumn (1980)

Released: 1980 (Windham Hill) Produced by: William Ackerman Peak on the US Billboard 200: 139

Side One	Side Two
Colors/Dance Woods Longing/Love	Road Moon Sea Stars

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"Every song I've ever heard, that has gone in and stayed in me, has always reminded me of a season. A picture and a place, maybe, but always a season." -George Winston

It finally got below 50° around these parts so it's time to pull out this album, New Age music's version of the Fall Classic. These piano solos successfully walk the line between relaxing, sophisticated folk compositions and self-indulgent noodling. Mellifluous but not frivolous.

I was unfamiliar with this album until about 1984, when I began to discover all of Winston's existing Windham Hill albums. I hadn't heard of it when it was released, but I don't think I was alone in that late discovery. I think most people found this album after hearing Winston's 1981 breakthrough album, December. Even though Autumn was released in late 1980, it didn't debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart until June 1984, where it had a 44 week run. It debuted on the Billboard Jazz LP chart in April 1983, peaked at #7, and enjoyed a protracted 168 week run, finally leaving the chart in June 1986. When you consider the Jazz LP chart had only forty spots, those 3+ years become even more impressive.

The basic premise remains the same throughout: an ostinato bass line or other repetitive theme is established onto which additional layers are gradually added and sometimes reduced. No overdubs, yet Winston is so technically accomplished that when he really gets going, you'd think he had a spare hand or two. By the end of the album, the formula starts to get stale so you're not looking for more, but the album length is such that when it ends, your cup is full and you don't need more. Perfect length.

For me, this music is perfect for those cool, dark evenings after an afternoon spent raking leaves. Pour yourself a hot beverage, sit back, close your eyes, and enjoy. Then rouse yourself, have some dinner, and go on about your evening, completely refreshed.

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Barbra Streisand ‎– The Main Event/Fight (1979)

The Main Event/Fight
b/w The Main Event/Fight (Instrumental)

Released: 1979 (Columbia) Written by: P. Jabara & B. Roberts/P. Jabara & B. Etsy Produced by: Bob Etsy Album: The Main Event Soundtrack

U. S. Billboard Charts:
Hot 100	3
Dance	13
Adult Contemporary	2

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Because I haven't seen it since 1979, I won't comment on the movie from which this single originated.  As a disco single, though, I haven't been able to get this thing out of my mind all week.  This song stands out because it's Streisand, ever the musical chameleon, singing disco.  I wonder if she includes this one in concert sets.

Written by actor and musician Paul Jabara, this song bears more than a passing resemblance to another one of Babs' hits written by Jabara: No More Tears (Enough is Enough), a duet with Donna Summer.  Jabara is also responsible for disco classics Last Dance and It's Raining Men. 

Like most disco songs, the lyrics are secondary to the tempo of the music, the disco string arrangement, guitar scratching, and the incessant hi-hat. And with lyrics like "We make love the main event," it's a good thing they're secondary.  In the second part of this medley, the lyrics turn to empowerment ("fight for what you want") but they serve their purpose of extending the boxing metaphor needed for movie tie-in.

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