MFD Random Five #54

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. "Say Say Say" by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson (1983, Columbia)
   A smash that spent 6 weeks atop the Billboard charts, most likely because Jackson had the Midas touch at the time. It's not a bad tune, but I've heard it enough for one lifetime.  Also, when I was a high school senior, my jazz band played a cheesy arrangement of Say Say Say which the world could have done without.


2. "Happy Music" by Linda Williams (1979, Arista)
   A fun little disco tune. It would be totally generic if it weren't for the outstanding synth soling all over the thing.


3. "Love's a Heartache" by Leslie Smith (1982, Elektra)
   Smooth ballad with spot on vocals from Smith. The album from which this comes is fantastic and has already been given a turn on this blog, where it earned a grade of A-.


4. "Come to Me" by Bobby Caldwell (1978, Clouds)
   Another smooth ballad. This one from Caldwell's debut album featuring his stellar vocals atop soaring orchestration. Reminds me a lot of what Boz was doing at the time.


5. "The Lone Ranger" by Dan Siegel (1982, Elektra)
   A straight-up Dave Grusin smooth-jazz-meets-movie-soundtrack knock-off, complete with orchestration. However, Larry Carlton gets the spotlight, so it's not half-bad. (I hope blogger doesn't fine me for overuse of hyphens)

MFD Random Five #49

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. "Prime Time" by The Tubes (1979, A&M)
   A single released from the Remote Control album. Said album was produced by Todd Rundgren and his hand is all over this disco tune, especially apparent in the vocal harmonies, the synth solo and (even without a writing credit) it sounds like he wrote the entire bridge. It peaked at #34 in the UK singles chart, but didn't see any action stateside.


2. "I'm On the Outside Looking In" by Leslie Smith (1982, Elektra)
   "I'm on the Outside (Looking In)" is a 1964 hit song by Little Anthony and the Imperials and if I've ever heard their version, I've forgotten it, but I can't imagine it being any smoother than this. Side A, track 2 on the wonderful Heartache album which was spotlighted on this very blog back in February 2019.


3. "Jump Street" by Boz Scaggs (1976, Columbia)
   A minor-key blues piece that harkens back to Boz's days in the late '60s - Boz gets to play some blues guitar, if only for a short bit. Not bad on its own or in a shuffle, it doesn't really fit into the rest of the Silk Degrees album. I dig the urgency to the track and when the tempo picks up at the end.


4. "Believe in Magic" by Maurice White (1985, Columbia)
   The answer to the question "what would Earth, Wind & Fire sound like if synths replaced all the instruments?" Good material wasted on poor arrangement and production. If you lived through 1985, you could easily pick the year this was released just by the sound of the thing. 


5. "I Learnt How to Pray" by Squeeze (1985, A&M)
   Speaking of characteristic 1985 production, here's more for ya. Squeeze was smart enough to include some "real" instruments in addition to the synths and LinnDrum, though. Typical Squeeze hooks aplenty throughout and a tasty organ solo from Jools Holland. Been awhile since I heard the Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti album, think I'll throw a copy into the truck's CD player today.

Leslie Smith - Heartache (1982)

Released: June, 1982 (Elektra) Produced by: Peter Bunetta & Rick Chudacoff Peak on the US Billboard 200: Did not chart Peak on the Cash Box 200: Did not chart

Side One	Side Two
It's Something I'm on the Outside Looking In Before the Night is Over Don't Shut the Door (On My Love) Dream On	Nothin' You Can Do About It Love's a Heartache Do You Still Remember Me If You're in Love

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Billboard, June 5, 1982, p. 62

Billboard, June 12, 1982, p. 86

Note: a CD version was released in Japan in 2012 with the following cover:

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Just when I thought I've heard all the great releases of 1982, I'm hipped to yet another one. And I'm thankful for that. I can't remember exactly how I came across this gem, but I'm betting it had something to do with social media.

Popped collars and skinny ties! I confess to wearing similar fashions in the early '80s (and, yes, there's photographic evidence).

I couldn't find much about Leslie Smith from online sources; as of this writing, Smith doesn't have a Wikipedia page (he's briefly mentioned on the page of Lester Abrams).  However, when I recently bought a copy of this LP, it included a press kit, click the thumbnail below to view a PDF scan of said kit.

So Smith was in a group called Crackin' in the mid-'70s - if you'll excuse me, I'll be venturing down that rabbit hole now. In the meantime, enjoy this excellent album:

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