MFD Random Five #39

In which I click the shuffle icon on the iTunes app and listen to the first five songs that pop up from the years 1976-85.

---

1. "Celebration" by Kool & The Gang (1980, De-Lite)
   Yes, this former #1 smash has been overplayed from the get-go, but when you're at a wedding reception and the DJ starts playing this one (and the DJ will definitely play this one at some point), you can't help but immediately jump up and find your way to the dance floor because it just fits perfectly. This one's got undeniable staying power. 


2. "Knife Slits Water" by A Certain Ratio (1982, Factory)
   Experimental post-punk. I'm not a fan of Martha Tilson's vocals or the disturbing lyrics but that bass line sure is funky, if not over-repetitive. At almost 8 minutes, the novelty wears off rather quickly.


3. "Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me" by Juice Newton (1982, Capitol)
   A top ten country-pop hit. One of those tunes I can take or leave yet I know all the words. Today, what strikes me most is the guitar solo - much better than I remember it being.
   


4. "Starry Eyes" by The Records (1979, Virgin)
   Good ol' power pop produced by some guy named Mutt Lange. I dig it. I found this on the Rhino compilation Poptopia! Power Pop Classics Of The '70s which I'll now play through today at least once.


5. "In My Room" by Yaz  (1982, Sire)
   Another experimental cut, this time from a great pop album where I never thought this one fit. This was the last cut on side one of the Upstairs at Eric's album, so I usually just cut that side short and flipped to side two. Pass.

AT40, February 16, 1980 [Part 2 of 4]

 

I'm breaking down the AT40 show of February 16, 1980 track by track.  For a look at #40-31, click here.

#30:  "Don't Let Go" by Isaac Hayes. In the dying days of disco (before it was rebranded as "dance music"), this fun single was unleashed. I loved it then as much as I like it now even though back in 1980, I was clueless to Hayes' extraordinary history in the music business. Written by Jesse Stone, this tune was originally a hit for Roy Hamilton in 1958. None of that mattered to me, I just dug the low vocals and would try to imitate them even though my voice hadn't changed yet.

#29:  "Déjà Vu" by Dionne Warwick.  An Isaac Hayes two-fer! Hayes wrote this tune, Barry Manilow produced it, and it won a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Strange bedfellows, but they recorded a smooth, soulful ballad nonetheless.

AT40 Extra: Out of left field, Casey interrupts the countdown with this non sequitur. "The biggest chart hit The Rolling Stones ever had." "Honky Tonk Women" 1969. It's a classic, to be sure, but why play it here?

#28:  "Him" by Rupert Holmes. In the first of two songs by Holmes in the Top 40 this week. This one had debuted the previous week and was on its way to a peak of #6. Here's what I previously wrote about this tune over on The CD Project: "There's nothing special about it, just a solid 3½ minutes of soft rock if you ignore the strange vocal solo.  As an 8th grader, my gym classmates and I would mockingly sing this song (with slightly altered lyrics) to our first year teacher/coach, weakly trying to imply that he was gay.  I'll chalk that up to 13 year old ignorance, but its embarrassing now to think I ever acted that way.  Belated apologies to that coach as well as Mr. Holmes."

Before a commercial break, Casey teases a story about Tom Petty's contract troubles with Shelter Records and MCA.

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:

• WIZM - La Crosse, Wisconsin
• WJET - Erie , Pennsylvania
• WDRC - Hartford, Connecticut

#27:  "Wonderland" by The Commordores. This is an odd tune that can't decide if it wants to be a ballad or funk tune. Lionel Richie sings it but didn't write it. I like the synth solo, though. It peaked at #25, unusually low for the group at the time.

Casey shares the troubles of Tom Petty, his contract, and his lawsuit against MCA. Long story short, Petty was treated like a piece of meat, with the label giving few concessions. In Casey's revisionist, more wholesome version, however, "everybody won!" Hooray for capitalism!

#26:  "Refugee" by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. I like it now, but I didn't much care for this one back in 1980. It was a minor-key rocker and I was more into major key soft-rock and disco. Now I dig the thing.

#25:  "When I Wanted You" by Barry Manilow. I'm a Fanilow (heck, I saw him in concert not 2 months ago), but this overwrought ballad doesn't do much for me. It peaked a #20 but held the top spot on the Adult Contemporary chart for a week. I'm thinking it's the material, because the Addrisi Bros. and songwriter Gino Cunico couldn't do much with it, either.

#24:  "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" by Rupert Holmes. Here's Holmes again, this time with his former #1. I liked it at the time, not so much now although the hipster generation has embraced it for whatever reasons.  It reminds me of playing basketball after lunch in 8th grade.  At that age, just singing a song that included lyrics about an alcoholic drink made us feel more grown up.

AT40 Archives: "I'm Your Boogie Man" by KC & The Sunshine Band.  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 in June 1977.

--end of hour two--

#23:  "How Do I Make You" by Linda Ronstadt. Admittedly, I'm in a small minority, but Ronstadt's Mad Love album is my favorite release from her. This was the first single released from that album. This was Ronstadt's 14th Top 40 hit; it peaked at #10. But seriously, check out that album.

Casey teases a story about a group that had nine different albums enter theBillboard Lp chart within a seven week period. Details, and their latest hit, are coming up.

#22:  "Too Hot" by Kool & The Gang. Always liked this bit of smooth goodness; 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. Bonus points for the muted guitar throughout and a decent soft-rock sax solo. It would peak at #5 and deservedly so.

The group mentioned above with nine different albums on the chart is Led Zeppelin and their current hit...

#21: "Fool in the Rain" by Led Zeppelin.  One of those bands I'm told I should like, but I just don't. These days when I hear a LZ song, my first thought is usually "who did they steal that from?" In this case, it's Sly Stone. Don't worry, boys, Genesis also lifted that bassline later the same year for "Misunderstanding."

Billboard, February 16, 1980, p. 94

More to come...

MFD Not-So-Random Five #1

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, another exercise in arbitrariness). Today's theme: Song titles that are girls' names.

---

1. "Sara" by Starship (1985, Grunt/RCA)
   Starship's mid-80's oeuvre has been widely criticized, but with three #1 hits over the span of three years, somebody must have liked the tunes at the time. I think "Sara" is the best of Starship's output. I don't like the way the over-echoed drums are pushed to the front of the mix and there's not much to the verse, but the guitar solo is pretty good and there's something about the flatted chord in the chorus that gets me every time. Bonus points for featuring Rebecca De Mornay in the otherwise poor video.


2. "Joanna" by Kool & The Gang (1983, Polygram)
   In the late fall/early winter of 1983, I was briefly interested a girl named JoAnn. She was a couple of years younger than me and, in her father's opinion, too young to go on a "car date" so that relationship never got off the ground. Other than the similar names, the girl and the song have nothing to do with each other. However, I'm always reminded of JoAnn when I hear this tune. (A few years later DeBarge did something similar with "Who's Holding Donna Now"). I can't think of any K&TG song I dislike. The trombone solo, the sappy lyrics, the constant eight note electric piano motif - it all works for me.


3. "Alison" by Elvis Costello (1977, Stiff)
   If this isn't the best tune Costello ever penned, it's certainly in the discussion. I didn't hear it until about 5 years after its original release and that was perfect timing for me as I wouldn't have understood it at age 11 but the angst certainly was on the mark for me as a 16 year old in love with anything in a skirt. I love the noodling guitar, the classic chorus melody, and the fade out for the last minute of the cut. My aim is true.


4. "Angela" by Bob James (1978, Tappan Zee)
   To my knowledge, this was my introduction to Bob James as this tune was used as the theme music to the TV sitcom Taxi. It's a nice enough melody but the good stuff didn't even make the TV theme version. I could do without the recorder, but there's a tasty electric piano solo by James and a sublime guitar solo by Eric Gale that's the highlight of the cut for me.


5. "Jeanette" by The English Beat (1982, I.R.S.)
   The second single release from the Special Beat Service album, this peaked at #45 in the UK and didn't make any mark here in the US. But as a young boy growing up on the coastal plains of Texas, the whole album was just what I needed. Love the accordion parts over the ska beat, then they throw in Saxa on the saxophone over some background vocals and I can't resist some chair dancing. Good stuff. I can easily listen to Special Beat Service all the way through then hit the repeat button. In fact, it placed at #7 on my list of the Top 82 Albums of 1982.