Radio Daze (Revisited) Volume 4 by Hambonian Entertainment

Here's my take on yet another Radio Daze mix from Dirk over at Hambonian Entertainment.

Tracks:

• Fame - Irene Cara, Pop #4, Dance #1.  This one hasn't aged well, but it's so iconic I don't think that matters.  I loved the movie, soundtrack, TV show, etc.  This song won both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song in 1980.
• Hey There Lonely Girl - Robert John, Pop #31, AC #10.  I prefer the more soulful original, but the material is so strong it's hard to mess up.  John had hella falsetto, didn't he?
• First Time Love - Livingston Taylor, Pop #38, AC #13.  Don't remember this one from 1980.  It's got a simple, country feel to it but nothing that grabs me.
• Don't Ask Me Why- Billy Joel, Pop #19, AC #1.  A guitar song from the Piano Man and it works.  Great melody and background vocals.  By the time Glass Houses was released, I was a huge Joel fan and knew all the lyrics to this song within days of buying the album.
• Late in the Evening - Paul Simon, Pop #6, AC#7, Dance #63.  Back-to-back tracks produced by Phil Ramone - I approve!  Great groove with sublime drum work by the incomparable Steve Gadd.  Then the horns kick in and take it all to another level.
• Give Me the Night - George Benson, Pop #4, R&B #1, AC #26, Dance #2.  Written by Rod Temperton, performed by Benson, produced by Quincy Jones.  How this didn't hit #1 is beyond me.  Back in 1980 when I would record songs directly from radio, Give Me The Night was one that would get recorded every time I heard it.  This meant it might appear 4-5 times on a single cassette tape.
• All Over the World - Electric Light Orchestra, Pop #13, AC #46. Dirk knows I can't resist music from Xanadu.  By naming five of the cities mentioned in the song, I won a KIOX radio contest.  I think I won a station t-shirt, which means I "won" the opportunity to provide the station with free advertising.
• That Girl Could Sing - Jackson Browne, Pop #22.  Meh.  Not much of a Jackson Browne fan.
• I'm Coming Out - Diana Ross, Pop #1, R&B #1, Dance #1. Now we're cookin'!  Ain't no song like a Chic song, no matter who is singing.  And to make it even better, we're treated to a wild trombone solo by Meco Monardo, the guy responsible for the disco versions of Star Wars music.
• Dreaming - Cliff Richard, Pop #10, AC #21.  Written by Leo Sayer, there's something about the chorus of this song that will stick with me for days.  I enjoy it as much these days as I did back in '80.  Good stuff.
• Deep Inside My Heart - Randy Meisner, Pop #22.  I have no memory of this one.  Mesiner, a former member of Poco and the Eagles, probably should have stuck with one of those groups.  Not much to this one; not even Kim Carnes can save it.
• Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen, Pop #5.  It sounds like late '50s doo-wop music produced by late '60s Phil Spector and performed by a late '70s Springsteen.   Pure rock 'n' roll.  Not my favorite Springsteen tune, but a strong way to finish this mix.

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The Benson, Richard, Simon, ELO, Ross, and Joel tracks are good enough to earn the seal:

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The Radio Daze series of posts:

Original Rhino series reviewed at The CD Project
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
Volume 5

Radio Daze Revisited by Hambonian Entertainment
Volume 1 
Volume 2
Volume 3

Herc's Hideaway series
Volume ½	Volume 11
Volume 6	Volume 12
Volume 7	Volume
Volume 8	Volume 14
Volume 9	Volume 15
Volume 10

Radio Daze (Revisited) Volume 3 by Hambonian Entertainment

Man, am I feelin' Radio Dazed today.  Here's my take on the latest Radio Daze mix from Dirk over at Hambonian Entertainment.

Tracks:

• Ride Like the Wind - Christopher Cross, Pop #2, AC #24. The relentless groove more than makes up for Cross' mushmouth.  Bonus points for having backing vocals from soft rock stalwart Michael McDonald.  More on the album here.
• Heart Hotels - Dan Fogelberg, Pop #2, AC #1.  I'm not much of a Fogelberg fan, but this song is much better than his insipid ballads. Saved by a Tom Scott solo on Lyricon.
• Hurt So Bad - Linda Ronstadt, Pop #8, AC #25.  I've recently become infatuated with Ronstadt's Mad Love album and this gem isn't even the best song on the thing.  It's everything a cover should be: Ronstadt turns a fantastic '60s soul ballad and makes it completely her own.  ♥
• Brass in Pocket (I'm Special) - The Pretenders, Pop #14, Dance #28. I never thought of this as a soft rock cut, but it fits perfectly in this mix.  Chrissie Hynde's voice isn't that great and I absolutely love it.
• New Romance (It's a Mystery) - Spider, Pop #39. Oh wow.  I've never heard this one before.  It's a fantastic pop song and now I'm ticked off that I haven't heard it before.  And then I find out that these guys wrote John Waite's song, "Change"?!?  "Change" is a cover?!?  Mind blown.  Searching for Spider albums now.
• Theme from New York, New York - Frank Sinatra, Pop #32, AC #10.  Not my favorite Sinatra but I love it because Sinatra.
• Answering Machine - Rupert Holmes, Pop #32, AC #12.  Well played, Dirk, well played.  I bet I haven't heard this one since 1980, but I could easily sing along with it.  The catchy melodies are accompanied by lyrics every bit as clever as those in Holmes' "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)".  In fact, I'm not sure this song isn't better than Escape.
• Shining Star - The Manhattans, Pop #5, AC #21, R&B #4. Ahhhhh...I loves me some smooth soul ballad. Not as good as "Kiss And Say Goodbye", but a big hit for them. This song reminds me of going to swim meets in the summer of '80.
• Little Jeannie - Elton John, Pop #3, AC #1.  Harmless enough (I like the electric piano part), but I prefer '70s Elton John.  The kind of song that doesn't make me change the radio station, but it doesn't make me yearn for a copy.
• Magic - Olivia Newton-John, Pop #1, AC #1. ThankyousirmayIhaveanother.  Makes me wish Mixcloud had a song repeat function.  This song is so good it makes me want to watch Xanadu (again).  Could this possibly be my favorite ONJ song?  Ima hafta think bout that.  This one has already made two previous appearances on this blog: here and here.
• More Love - Kim Carnes, Pop #10, AC #6.  An easy pick? Sure, but it fits so well in the sequencing here.  This song has already been graded at A- on this blog.  Click here for a full review.
• JoJo - Boz Scaggs, Pop #17, AC #29. Nice choice for a closer.  When Scaggs left the blues for Westcoast pop with Toto as his backing band, he gained a fan in me.

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While New York, New York seems strangely out of place, I'm going to give this mix my seal of approval.

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The Radio Daze series of posts:

Original Rhino series reviewed at The CD Project
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
Volume 5

Radio Daze Revisited by Hambonian Entertainment
Volume 1 
Volume 2

Herc's Hideaway series
Volume ½	Volume 11
Volume 6	Volume 12
Volume 7	Volume
Volume 8	Volume 14
Volume 9	Volume 15
Volume 10

Radio Daze (Revisited) Volume 2 by Hambonian Entertainment

Another outstanding volume in what we hope will be a continued series of Radio Daze-inspired posts from Dirk.  This playlist is equal parts Westcoast/AOR and soul ballads.  Dirk provides the mix, I provide the inane commentary.

Tracks:

• Rock with You - Michael Jackson, Pop #1, AC #21, R&B #1. Typical Quincy Jones/MJ sweetness. In 8th grade, I had a crush on a brunette that loved this song so of course I had to love it as well.  Don't know what happened to the girl, but I still like the song.
• Better Love Next Time - Dr. Hook, Pop #12, AC #3, Country #91.  A country-tinged song atop a slow disco groove, complete with disco strings.  And I'll be damned if it doesn't work, particularly the turn around on the chorus when the horn section kicks in.
• Cruisin' - Smokey Robinson, Pop #4, AC #34, R&B #4. So smooth, so soulful, so good. As disco began to fade away, we were treated to quite a few soul ballads in the early '70s tradition.  This might be the best of them.  Maybe Smokey's strongest vocal ever?
• Déjà Vu - Dionne Warwick, Pop #15, AC #1, R&B #25.  So let me get this straight: Isaac Hayes wrote it, Barry Manilow produced it, and it won a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance? Works for me.  Yet another smooth, soulful ballad.
• This is It - Kenny Loggins, Pop #11, AC #17, R&B #19.  A beautiful, uplifting yacht rock classic.  Loggins gets more than a little help from Michael McDonald.
• Let Me Go, Love - Nicolette Larson, Pop #35, AC #9, R&B #96.  More Michael McDonald polished goodness.  I don't remember this one from the radio of my youth, which is a shame.  Produced by Ted Templeman; maybe this album is worth a listen?
• Wonderland - Commodores, Pop #25, AC #43, R&B #21.  Another early seventies-ish soul ballad, expertly handled by Lionel Richie.  At a slower tempo and with a little less funk at the end, this might have been a junior high slow dance standard.
• 99 - Toto, Pop #26, AC #19.  I remember liking this smooth soft rock blend of R&B and pop as a kid and would sing along although I had no idea what the song was about (still don't, not that it matters a bit).  Great keyboard work throughout by the song's writer, David Paich.  It brings back memories of a school field trip to Colorado during spring break of my 8th grade year.  Good times.  Dirk has treated us with the long version in his mix. 
• Give It All You Got - Chuck Mangione, Pop #18, AC #1, R&B #32. Talking about riding some coattails: this piece isn't nearly as good as Mangione's earlier single, Feels So Good.  Bad melody, poor phrasing, unimaginative solos, but at least it's got a funk-lite groove underneath that holds it all together.  Of course, none of this mattered to me at the time - I ran right out and bought the album immediately upon release and wore out the grooves.
• Too Hot - Kool & the Gang, Pop #5, AC #11, Dance #5, R&B #3. Always liked this one; it fits perfectly within my vocal range which meant that unsuspecting ladies were often subjected to this song as a part of my failed, feeble attempts at flirting.  Maybe I shouldn't have given the ladies the classic finger point/wink/tongue click while I was singing to them.  You remember that move:
  
• Special Lady - Ray, Goodman & Brown, Pop #5, AC #17, R&B # 1.  A soulful favorite.  Bought the 45.  Can sing all the different parts.  Love the a cappella part at the end.  Maybe this is what I should have been singing to the ladies (sans finger point).  It deserves a close listen as there's a lot of good stuff going on in the arrangement.
• I Can't Tell You Why - The Eagles, Pop #8, AC #3.  The Eagles best ballad, maybe because it sounds more like Hall & Oates.

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Once again, Dirk has provided us with a playlist I heartily endorse.

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The Radio Daze series of posts:

Original Rhino series reviewed at The CD Project
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
Volume 5

Radio Daze Revisited by Hambonian Entertainment
Volume 1

Herc's Hideaway series
Volume ½	Volume 11
Volume 6	Volume 12
Volume 7	Volume
Volume 8	Volume 14
Volume 9	Volume 15
Volume 10

Radio Daze (Revisited) Volume 1 by Hambonian Entertainment

About a year ago, loyal blog reader and twitter follower (@dirkdigglinator), recognizing my love for soft rock music, recommended Rhino Records' Radio Daze series to me.  I quickly purchased all five volumes and wrote about them over on The CD Project blog.  Inspired by those posts, fellow blogger Herc put together an additional 11 volumes of Radio Daze mixes.  I wrote about those 11 volumes for his blog, Herc's Hideaway.  That's a total of 199 tracks of soft rock goodness! Somehow during the process I was given the nickname "Soft Rock Kid" which I wear as a literal badge of honor (below).  But even at 16 volumes, we ain't finished yet!

Not to be outdone, Dirk (who started this whole thing) has started to put together his own Radio Daze-inspired playlists using Mixcloud.  So now it's my pleasure to breakdown his first playlist.  Because of great playlists like this, Dirk has an open invitation to come to my place and be the house DJ/pool boy.

Tracks:

• Good Times - Chic, Pop #1, AC #26, Dance #3, R&B #1. A great way to start off any playlist.  This song contains the most important, most sampled, most imitated bass lines of all time (see Bowie's Let's Dance, Queen's Another One Bites The Dust, and, of course, Rapper's Delight).  Hopefully, one of these days the Rock Hall will pull their collective heads out and induct Chic.  Nile Rodgers is a musical genius and hella guitar player.
• Morning Dance - Spyro Gyra, Pop #24, AC #1, R&B #60. Dirk knows my love for Spyro Gyra and is shamelessly catering to me with this selection, but I don't care because its a great song and was my introduction to SG.  To my middle-aged ears, this song hasn't aged a bit.
• Mama Can't Buy You Love - Elton John, Pop #9, AC #1, R&B #36. In which a green-eyed English bloke attempts to sing blue-eyed Philly soul.  Great material, poor performance.  Meh.
• Suspicions - Eddie Rabbitt, Pop #13, AC #9, Country #1.  This really topped the country chart?  There isn't much country about it (when was the last time you heard a country song with a flute solo?).  With a solid Fender Rhodes part over strings pads and a smooth groove, this is all soft rock.  Reminds me of something Little River Band was putting out at the time.  I had forgotten about this gem, but not surprisingly, I remembered all the words once I started singing along with Eddie.
• After the Love has Gone - Earth, Wind & Fire, Pop #2, AC #3, R&B #2.  Earth, Wind & Fire goes Westcoast with Jay Graydon and David Foster.  One of the best ballads of the '70s, bar none.  Taken from my favorite EWF album, I Am. 
• Different Worlds - Maureen McGovern, Pop #18, AC #1. a.k.a. theme song from the short lived TV series Angie.  Love the disco beat, but there's something awkward about the phrasing that's off-putting to me.  The moral of this story: don't mix meters in a disco song.
• Dependin' on You - The Doobie Brothers, Pop #25, AC #37. This is an interesting song because most of it sounds like an early Doobies boogie before Michael McDonald joined the group.  But then McDonald kicks in on the bridge and takes the song in a completely different direction, making it more soft rock.  Probably should have charted higher.
• Where Were You when I was Falling in Love - Lobo, Pop #23, AC #1.  This one doesn't float my boat.  I find it boring, but it's harmless enough.
• So Good, So Right - Brenda Russell, Pop #30, AC #8.  I don't think I had ever heard this one until this playlist.  I didn't discover Russell until the 1988 soft rock classic, Piano in the Dark.  This is excellent R&B: I'm loving the chord progressions, background vocals, and Russell's beautiful voice.  Put this in the "better late than never" category.
• Street Life - The Crusaders, Pop #36, Dance #75, R&B #17. With Randy Crawford on vocals, this shoulda topped all the charts. 
• Half the Way - Crystal Gayle, Pop #15, AC #9, Country #2.  Is it me or are those some disturbing no-so-subtle lyrics?  Musically, I dig it, though.
• Take the Long Way Home - Supertramp, Pop #10, AC #28. And the playlist finishes strong with this track.  I always liked the way the piano played against the strings and organ.  Then the solo trade off between the soprano sax and harmonica is the cherry on top.

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Thanks for the trip back to junior high. That particular school campus is now closed, but songs like this keep it alive for me.

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