Eurythmics - Revenge - 1986

 

I must apologize for not posting last night.  Yesterday, I had to drive about 12 hours round trip to pick up my new company car from our corporate headquarters.  It made for a very long drive, and by the time I got home, it's all I could do to check the blog and answer a few comments made.  I do have note, though, that for about 2 hours yesterday, my blog was hit about 4,000 times from mainly Italy, but some Russia (who never has any visitors.)  I find it funny that someone would be trying to hack this blog, as I've put no personal information about myself in the blog or in my profile, shy of a shadow e-mail address.  Hilarious.

I've never been a HUGE fan of Eurythmics, but I DO love Missionary Man.  Not one of their most known or popular, even though it was a single, I don't know why I love it so much.  Maybe because it's so strong and fast, and the melody is catchy.  Maybe because it reminds me a bit of INXS and Midnight Oil and Big Pig, who all released albums about the same time.  It's the harmonica, dude.  Plus, that video for it kicks ass.

As for the rest of the album, it is a quality, well written and performed album.  I'm just not huge on the melodies.  They're good, don't get me wrong.  They just don't capture me like MM, and the album tends to start sounding a little too Adult Contemporary for me.  Maybe if I had been ten years older when I started listening to it, it may have grabbed me more.  But, if that was the case, I may not have liked the rest of the music released at that time as much, due to age.  Isn't it weird how your age can determine how much you like specific types of music regardless of how well they are?

Anyway, this may or may not be the only Eurythmics album I post, not counting the Tourists.  I might post 1984 or one of their first three albums, but we'll have to wait and see.  More than likely, as I mentioned in my housekeeping post, I'll get to them eventually.

Eurythmics - Revenge - 1986     Eurythmics - Revenge MIXES - 1986

Huey Lewis & the News - Fore! - 1986

So, the third album I ever got was Sports by HL&tN.  I got it for my 14th birthday, because I sorta liked it, and my dad liked and approved of it, so we were all good with it.  Mind you, had I REALLY had a choice in it, I probably wouldn't have gotten it.  But, you take what you can when you have controlling parents.  But, I ended up loving the album.  It brings back so much of my youth whenever I listen to it.  Pure Rock and Roll.

When HL&tN released Fore!, I was rather interested, but that was when my parents had put the kibosh on secular music, and I was wading through Petra and Steve Taylor and Servant.  The secular music was hidden and discreet, and with limited funds, I couldn't afford much.  Especially when I was spending most of it on comic books (I obviously was a geek.)  I saw the videos, heard the singles, saw Back To the Future, and that was my extent with Fore!

Over the years I was able to come back around to HL&tN and Fore!  Another nostalgic album, it takes me back to simpler times, and the times in the eighties when the economy was good, youth was adventurous, and I was loving and living Chicago to the fullest.

At times I sometimes feel as if HL&tN is too American sounding, if you know what I mean.  But Huey just has a way with melodies and delivery that truly expresses his feelings and shows a side of Americana that most people take for granted.  He truly comes across as a auto mechanic with a microphone.  A hard-working, rough and dirty man with passion and drive.  He's a guy that you could see living down on the blue-collar side of town with a small house, crummy yard in a run-down neighborhood.  The everyman.  And, he's happy.  He's got a positive outlook, and he's motivated.  He feels GOOD.  That's what this album feels like to me.

I know the cover looks better with all of them spread across the image, but I wanted to get the single sleeves in there, as they are diverse and entertaining.  So, you get the original front, and the patchwork back that I so love.  I also have said that I don't care for individual live tracks, but I took exception with I Knew The Bride, because it's really fucking good.

Huey Lewis & the News - Fore! - Part 1       Huey Lewis & the News - Fore! - Part 2

PS - How many albums have I posted so far?  I'm too damn lazy to count.  A selection of choice for "deluxing" for the first person to tell me how many.  I should be close to the 500 mark by now......

Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill - 1986

I truly have to admit that I didn't get into this album enough to actually purchase it until after I moved from Chicago to Nebraska.  In Chicago, with such a wide variety of styles and cultures, I was able to explore many different genres of music unfettered and choose the ones that I liked most, and find like-minded people with whom to associate.  That's why I settled in firmly to Post Punk.  But, once I moved to Nebraska in 1988, I was faced with a dramatically different scenario.  In Nebraska in the late 80s you were only allowed to listen to four different genres of music - Classic Rock, Hair bands/Glam Rock, Country or Rap.  That was it.  If you listened to anything else, you were ostracized and sent to the wood shed.  There was no tolerance or yielding at all.  Those very few that I knew who liked the music that I did kept it very hush-hush, like we were living in Nazi Germany hiding from the SS.

So, if I went out with the guys in Nebraska to cruise the local strip, I was forced to listen to these genres repeatedly.  Now, I don't have a problem with any of those genres...  well, yes, I do.  I hate Rap and Country.  So, it wasn't all that fun.

When one of the guys put this album on, I rolled my eyes and tolerated it silently, as I didn't want to rock the boat.  I was new in town, and I was trying to find new friends, and the last thing I wanted to do was be overbearing about what music we listened to, especially when all the rest of the guys loved it.

Over the course of the next year, year and a half, I heard this album about 25-30 times.  And it grew on me.  Really grew.  I started to truly enjoy it, despite it's sexist overtones and drug references.  Not that I condoned that sort of talk or behavior (even though today's Rap music - dominated by truly liberal or left-thinking people - is chock full of sexism and drug reference.  They treat women like dogs and exploit them horrendously.  I don't know why Democrats/Leftists/Liberals tolerate it.  Heaven's to Betsy if I talk about my faith in Jesus it's a mortal sin)

This album really sees the boys starting off at their best and at their worst simultaneously.  They are raw, inexperienced and performing without thought or consideration.  They were all about the parties and the girls and the Brass Monkey.

But, this album opened up a new aspect of music that previously had been relegated to niche stations and not at all mainstream.  It explored the newly developing Rap genre in ways that hadn't been done so far.  And I feel it led to a different, more substantial take on the controversial genre.

From here on out, the Boys would only get better.  Each album progressively found them breaking new territory and sound.  It's just hard to believe they started like this.

I added their first mainstream single, some bonus cuts, and all of the remixes (I think).  And it still comes in under 80 minutes!  One disc!

Last but not least, this is one of my favorite and most iconic album covers that I know of.  Even when I didn't care for these guys, I still loved the cover and it was instantly recognizable.  It's difficult to find a good scan of it on the internet, though.  Hopefully this one meets your standards.

SO, it's Friday night.  Load this on your music format of choice and go out for a drive shortly after sunset.  Turn it up, and have a little fun like you did when you were young.....

Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill - 1986

This last week has been a week from hell for me.  I had my wife's car break down in Oklahoma City, my car got hit in OKC while I was there trying to help my wife (completely ripped off the back bumper) and the driver speeds off before the cops can get there.  Then, when we finally get back home, two days later, I find that my dog's health had declined so much that we had to take her in to get put down.  And the washer broke.  I mean, my wife still is out of work, so we are operating on half of an income, and we have to dump almost 2K in four days on shit that we weren't expecting.  What the hell am I supposed to do?!  Fortunately, we both have families that are always there to help, and they gave us some assistance, but it didn't cover everything.  So, we are still in the red and trying to find a way to make it back up.  Anyone got an extra 10 large laying around, feel free to send it my way....

Descendents - I Don't Want To Grow Up + Enjoy - 1985-86

I'm posting this one a day early, as I have to go back on the road tomorrow and I won't be back until Thursday night.  Work isn't so bad, I think I'm enjoying it.  But, time away from the family is never good in my book.  I'll miss my boys.

These two albums were the Descendents in their prime.  IDWTGU is by far my favorite of the two, as every song is a pop masterpiece (to my ever-so-sensitive ears.)  But, Enjoy is great in it's own right, as well.  I just don't like it as much.

I first heard IDWTGU in the car on the way to school, one fall morning in Downers Grove, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.  I was in the back seat of Carey's camaro, sitting to a skinhead with short, stubbly red hair fuzzing his scalp.  Sharon was in the front seat next to Carey, and we were driving over the commuter tracks next to the station on Main Street.  The Tivoli Theater was on my right, and I can't remember what was on my left.  The sun was coming out, and the air was crisp with a chill.  No clouds in the sky, and the leaves on the trees were brown.  Sharon turns around and begins singing along with In Love This Way, right at me, tossing her hair back and forth.  I had nothing for her, but it seemed rather pleasing to have that happen.  I felt one with the group, I felt some adoration to a degree, it made me blush.

I had a tape of a tape of a tape the first time I "got" this album, and I wore that sucker out.  I didn't actually buy the tape until my senior year, and then got the CD in about 1993.  By then, I had that album memorized forward and back.

Enjoy was another story.  I never had any real personal connection with it.  I simply got the tape about the same time I got the actual tape of IDWTGU, and listened to that in tandem with the other.  Sour Grapes, Cheer, 80s Girl and, of course, Wendy were among my favorites.  Although somewhat humorous, I never understood the necessity of the Orgofart track.  Was that how they wanted to be portrayed for the rest of forever?  Probably a precursor to Van. 

I found some bootleg demos of some unreleased tracks that fell somewhere between the two albums.  They aren't too bad, but you can tell why they weren't ever used.  Some may say that there were other tracks out there that I didn't include.  Don't worry, I have them all.  There ARE some other tracks out there with different names, but if you listen to them, they are all the same as the ones I included in this set.  As for which names were the correct names, I don't know.....

Descendents - I Don't Want To Grow Up + Enjoy - 1985-86

Duran Duran - Notorious - 1986

A little more than a year ago, I posted my best mixes from Duran2's Notorious album.  I had hoped to post this one shortly after.  But, here it is, 14 months later.  Better than never, I guess.

Nothing too personally spectacular about this one.  I was living in Chicago at the time, and was in my transition from Christian Rock and Hard Rock into Post Punk.  Duran2 was still at the top of my list, but I wasn't overwhelmingly drawn to them at the time.  This one came as a shock to me, as it was a complete departure from the Duran I was used to.  I was hoping that Arcadia + John Taylor would have come up with something a little more spectacular.  I didn't come to fully appreciate this album until well into the 90s.

On this disc, the track selection is a little tricky.  Of course, I have the regular album right up front, and the We Need You b-side shortly following.  But, there was a host of demos that could be included, but should they?

First, I have Rope and Berlin, which are definitely different songs than the rest of the album, and also are at a high recording quality, so they were a definite requirement.

Then, you have Anything For You and Take It To Me.  Both of them are unique melodies to the album sessions, so they are definitely additional songs.  But, their recording quality is for shit.  I played with them for a bit on my mixer, and couldn't get them to sound any better than what you hear in the Mp3s that I've included here.  Also, the Duran Wiki claims that Take It To Me is an instrumental.  Well, yeah, for the first 2 minutes I guess you could call it that, but then it opens into a chorus and then verses, so I don't know where they get this instrumental idea.  Do I have a version that is different than any other one out there?  Please, any Duran2 aficionados out there, please help me figure this one out!!!!!!

Lastly, there are a bunch of demos out there for this album.  But, they are all demos of existing tracks, they barely sound any different than the originals, and the recording quality is horrible.  I left these off.  So, anyone looking for One Of the Faithful, you will not find it here!

I really had a tough time finding a decent cover of this album on the internet.  This one that I've used really isn't that good, and I could probably update it if anyone has a better scan of it.  Just a thought.  I do like Simon's hat from the pics on the back.  I think that he might be the only person able to pull that one off, and he may not have pulled it off either.  Matter of opinion, I guess.

Duran Duran - Notorious - 1986 

Prince & the Revolution - Parade - 1986

Have to admit, although this was really fun compiling, it was also extremely difficult.  As most of you know, Prince's work during the 80s was voluminous, and a lot of it was unreleased, or released on different collections throughout the decades.  It wasn't so much of finding the music as it was identifying the proper era/session that it belonged to.  Of all of his releases, this one is probably the toughest.  Probably because you had to contend with the bootleg Black Album as well as all of the material for Sign O the Times (which is almost as bad.)  That being said, does the Black Album belong on it's own, or should the material be absorbed into the releases around it?  I still haven't figured that one out, yet.

After my love of Around the World In A Day, I had to get this album, and also see the accompanying film Under the Cherry Moon.  Well, yes, the movie sucked IMO, but the music was some of his best.  Along with the obvious singles, which were all some of his best, we also have Venus De Milo and Sometimes It Snows In April and Anotherloverholeinyohead and the list goes on.  At this time in my life, my love for this brand of Pop music was a secret hidden love (as my skater punk friends of the time wouldn't have approved) so I listened to this one mostly in my room, doing homework or reading comic books.  So, it is still an album that I listen to when I'm alone, or want some solace or during quiet times around our house.  To me, that's how it's meant to be, that's how I remember it.

So, there are two discs worth of material for this one, plus a "bonus" disc of demos (of differing quality) that were mixed differently than the other tracks so they didn't sound right being on the album proper.  So, three discs total from what I think is the majority of the Parade recording sessions.  PLEASE, if there are any additional tracks for these sessions that I may have missed... tell me!  And, if you feel some of the tracks belong on other albums, then we can make adjustments that way, too.  But, I think I got them right.  We'll see....

 

Disc One

Disc Two

Under the Cherry Moon...

 

 

Smiths - Live in Irvine California - 1986

I've talked previously about seeing Morrissey live in Lawrence, KS during his Maladjusted tour.  A small little venue where you could feel the heat of the stage lights and see the sweat on Morrissey's brow and wonder if you could just reach out and maybe you could touch him...  Great, great show.  I'd love to have seen the group together, back in the day, during their Shoplifters tour (if they had one called that...)

Not a show that's easily found, this is a great soundboard recording that really brings the band to life.  Moz is at the top of his game, and the track selection is impeccable.  I often feel sorry for Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, and wonder if maybe they should have hooked up with Stephen and Gillian from New Order and created their own foursome called "Star-crossed and Forelorn" or something like that.  Andy and Mike were their own little "other two" and neither did much after the split...

Found that swell picture one day, and knew I had to use it for a Smiths album....  Wouldn't you agree?

Smiths - Live in Irvine California - 1986

Bryan Ferry - Boys & Girls - 1986

I really haven't been the hugest Bryan Ferry fan, I would have to admit.  I like most of his solo material, and everything Roxy Music has done since about 1977.  But, I haven't gone out and scoured the internet trying to learn his favorite color or how many times he's brushed his teeth.  I just know him, and listen to him, and like his voice.

Boys & Girls was just another slab of vinyl that I picked up at the used record store in the early 1990s.  It took me a couple listens, but I grew to love it, and I did go out looking for his singles from this album.  I think that I liked it so much because of the Legend song IYLSE?  I had liked that ever since it came out and in the movie.  I found, and still find his voice and songs to be somewhat other-worldly or other-timely, or other-dimensionally.  Do you understand what I mean?  He seems to step outside of the norm and write and perform music that seems almost contrary to public taste, while still being very attractive and melodic.  Even the work of Roxy Music made me feel that way, too.

Anyway, here's the album and bonus tracks from that era, and also a disc of mixes.  You will find a nice batch of Dreamtime mixes in here, too.  Oh, oh my beloved Dreamtime.  Simple Minds on Wednesday and BF today.  More than a coincidence, I've been listening to a lot of his mixes of late...

With that, a message......

Oh, my beloved Dreamtime.  You are most definitely missed and I wish that you would come back and make us some more masterpieces.  Your work has always been outstanding, and I know that you're return would be heralded as one of the greatest comebacks ever.  PLEASE oh please oh please.....

That being said, enjoy Bryan's album tonight....

Bryan Ferry - Boys & Girls - 1986

Bryan Ferry - Boys & Girls Remixes - 1986 

Eleven Pond - Bas Relief - 1986

Here is the second entry in the "I try it, you try it" post series.  I don't know how I found these guys, or even heard them, but up until about mid-December I had no idea.  I had never heard of them.  Musically, I'd put them somewhere around as a very weak "Head On the Door" era Cure. Throw in some synth-pop, and some passive vocals....  I don't know.  Melody-wise, things sound pretty good.  The more I listen to it, the more I like it.  It's something new to try out from an era past that you just might enjoy.  Or, you can delete it if it insults your delicate senses and pollutes your refined ear drums.  I'm going to hang on to it as just another little Post Punk album from the 80s.

Eleven Pond - Bas Relief - 1986

Depeche Mode - Black Celebration Remixes - 1986

The first Depeche Mode album I ever bought was Music For the Masses.  Then I bought Martin Gore's first Counterfeit EP.  Then it was A Broken Frame, then Some Great Reward, THEN Black Celebration... followed a very short time later by the Personal Jesus single right before Violator came out.  So, that's the order I heard their music.  When you do it that way, you start to compare their progression as a band, and it's easier to see where they were then, and where they are now.  A Black Celebration was a unique one for me, and it's one I really think was a turning point for their sound. Was it Martin's turmoiled relationship that affected it?  Who knows.  But I feel that starting with this album, their music took a dramatic turn darker than their previous albums.

It's unfortunate that the two "unreleased tracks" Violence and I Feel No Guilt weren't actually DM songs, as the b-sides for the actual album were minimal.  The best of the additional material for this album was the remixes, which is what I've compiled here.  I know that I've left a couple mixes out (didn't I say that with INXS yesterday?) but I think the ones I've put on here are the best.  With the exception of the exceptional Dreamtime Mix of But Not Tonight, these are all official remixes.  Flood's mixes are obviously the best, but all of them really hit the mark.  This is a wonderful companion disc to the original album...  Good stuff!

Depeche Mode - Black Celebration Remixes - 1986

Electric Light Orchestra - Balance Of Power - 1986

I was never a real fan of ELO until I started listening to the Beatles on a regular basis.  When I heard that Jeff Lynne wanted "to pick up rock music where the Beatles left off", I thought I'd give them a listen....

Electric Light Orchestra is actually a very good band.  They wrote a lot of really good music.  But, I really haven't been a avid collector of their 70s material.  But, starting with Xanadu, Time, Secret Messages, and finally Balance Of Power, I really took a liking to their sound.  Basically, because it sounds like great 80s music.

Balance Of Power is my favorite album probably because they stripped all of their classical instrumentation out, and replaced it with keyboards and synths.  It, along with George Harrison's Cloud Nine, The Traveling Wilburys and Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever really captured what was left of that Classic Rock sound from the 70s and turned it into something relevant and in great quality.  I know that the Moody Blues and the Grateful Dead also released more material during that time, but I wasn't to fond of any of it.

I know that ELO officially released this collection nearly 10 years ago.  But, they left off one of the b-sides A Matter Of Fact.  I also didn't care for how they arranged the bonus material, as they had alternates and demos intermixed before and with the b-sides and unreleased tracks.  That's a no-no in my book.  I always include the b-sides in with the album proper before I start including demos and remixes.  So, with the inclusion of the one extra track and rearranging, that's all I did.

I would like to point out that the melody of the songs Caught In A Trap and In For the Kill are EXACTLY the same.  No difference AT ALL.  But, the lyrics are completely different, and the subject matter is different as well.  It's cool how they were trying to find the best lyrics, and then settled for Caught In A Trap as the official b-side.  Listen to the two and compare....

Electric Light Orchestra - Balance Of Power - 1986

The Bolshoi - Friends - 1986

Never heard of the Bolshoi until the internet arrived.  I don't know how I missed them.  They were a mysterious obscure band that was new to me, but harkened back to that 80s sound that I'm so in love with.  They sound like James, Simple Minds, Echo & the Bunnymen, sort of that Post Punk, borderline Jangle Pop sound from the mid 80s.

I have no personal attachment to the album, other than I really like it, wished there was more, and a fine addition to my Post Punk catalog.  The original version of A Way is great, but they redid it a year later, and it was horrible.  They took out the purity and rawness of the song and tried to accentuate the vocals, glossing the music, and turning it more into a commercial Pop song, but they failed.  It was a pathetic try.  BUT, the version here is great.

I loved the original cover, but thought I could make it a little more professional looking, give it a little more depth.  Maybe I failed, maybe not.  Up to you to decide, I guess....

The Bolshoi - Friends - 1986

Smiths - The Queen Is Dead - 1986

SO, my second favorite Smiths album, with several of my favorite Smiths songs.  Big Mouth, Ask, Boy with a Thorn, and Some Girls Are Bigger.  ALL are classic, CLASSIC Post Punk and classic Smiths.  For me, this was their break out/breakthrough album right before they went huge, and then imploded.  I was never a huge Smiths fan, but I really got into this album in late 96 and early 97.  I was working in Ames, Iowa for a restaurant chain as management trouble shooter.  I'd travel from Ames to Des Moines to Nebraska and back working for this chain in their stores, staying in hotels and racking miles up on my vehicle.  I was living in Nebraska at the time, working far from home, and had plenty of alone time in the car to listen to music.  I played this album time after time after time after time, memorizing it from the first note to the last breath.

Don't get me wrong, I think - by FAR - that Strangeways is a much better album.  But this one was an album that touched me when I was alone at a time when I needed people close to me.  My wife and I had only been married for 4 or 5 months, and then I was on the road for 5 months straight.  I think that it affected us in ways that still stay with us today. And this album was there for me (along with Monaco's first album, Radiohead's Ok Computer and D2's Medazzland.)

Of course, I've added all the time period appropriate singles with their b-sides, so we have a more complete picture of the year this came out.  The single sleeve images are fantastic, and I wouldn't mind using them elsewhere, but that's for other posts and collections.  I slightly augmented the color of the original cover image to give it a little more definition, not so dark.

But, you should like the arrangement here.  It flows naturally, and you won't have to change your disc for a full hour!  I don't know if I can handle an hour of the Smiths in one sitting.  I guess unless I'm at their concert, and that sure as hell ain't happening...

Smiths - The Queen Is Dead - 1986

Howard Jones - One to One - 1986

By this time, Howard had started to wind down.  His popularity was flagging, and his writing on this album was less than impressive.  Mind you, it's still a great album, it just doesn't carry the clout that his earlier releases did.  He'd gotten rid of the huge hairdo, which is a plus.  But the album showcases something specific about him, he's maturing.  No longer is he concerned with writing songs for teeny-boppers, and he's writing songs his own age.  The singles are good, the album tracks aren't bad, but the album as a whole is solid.  It is a solid piece of work that really reflects a lot of time and effort to make it as best as he could.  A true artist.

We didn't hear from HJ again until 89 with Everlasting Love off the Cross That Line album, another HJ essential. 

If we strip out all of the unnecessary crap from the 80s and only kept the artists and albums that expressed the true heart and soul of humanity, I'm sure that Howard Jones would be among that crowd.  It's a small crowd, and guys like HJ don't come along that often.  Take the time and appreciate this man who is in tune with his soul.  You may learn something....

Howard Jones - One to One - 1986 

Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time - 1986

Take a look at that GLORIOUS cover.  Just look at it.  It's freekin' brilliant.  Eddie is the BEST metal mascot ever.  I have this t-shirt also, and I wear the shit out of it.  When I made this cover, I didn't even put the Iron Maiden logo on it, because I didn't want to destroy it.  It's perfect as it is.  And, if you don't know who this group is, and a logo is going to make the difference, don't even bother.  Go home.

Every IM cover is a masterpiece, though.  Aces High, Powerslave, Purgatory, The Trooper...  just to name a few.  (I'm wearing a Live After Death t-shirt right now, as I type this.)

My first IM album, I sorta knew what to expect.  I knew who they were and what they sounded like, but was never really interested until I saw the cover for this album.  I was reading Frank Herbert's Chapterhouse: Dune at the time, and although I loved the cover already, seeing Herbert Ails (along with Bradbury Towers) really took it over the top for me.  What a grand slam.

AS FAR AS THE MUSIC IS CONCERNED...

It's not their best album, but I would probably rank it as their third best.  Nice and heavy, yet melodic and catchy.  The songs will stick in your head and you'll be humming them all day long.  I love the singles off the album, but my favorite track is Sea Of Madness.  And, their cover of Juanita is terrific.  Nice to see them do something less...  serious?

So, listen up and enjoy.  ONE MORE DAY of "Heavy Metal Week", and the single post I'll make tomorrow is pretty good.  I know you'll like it...

Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time - 1986

David Lee Roth - Eat Em & Smile - 1986

DLR's first real solo album, Eat Em And Smile, is better than his Crazy From the Heat EP and harder than his Skyscraper album.  Yankee Rose is a stadium rocker.  Shyboy, Goin' Crazy and Elephant Gun are powerful pieces, and the rest of the album is pretty...  cool.

Yes, he's nuckin' futs, but his voice is great and his stage performance is second to none (for his style of music).  I hate the fact that he couldn't work with the VH brothers any more, because I think that had they stayed together, they would've been much bigger than either of them were apart.  Don't get me wrong, I think Hagar is really freekin' cool, happy, good singer and songwriter.  I just don't think he had the magic to carry VH through to the heights they COULD'VE been.  And DLR SHOULD'VE kept his fucking huge-ass ego in check.  In the end, THAT is what destroyed him.  In fact, I think the reason why DLR's first two solo albums did so well is because of Steve Vai (see yesterday).  Notice that once Vai left, DLR suddenly sucked mega-dick.  His songwriting skills are for shit.

Regardless, this is a great album, but as I found with most of my "Metal & Hard Rock" artists, there really aren't any b-sides or remixes or even demos out there.  All I have is a few Spanish versions of his two hits from this one, and a single demo.

Play this one loud and relish in DLR's notorious howl.  It's going to be a great chilly Autumn evening, and I plan to enjoy every minute of it!

David Lee Roth - Eat Em & Smile - 1986

Cyndi Lauper - True Colors - 1986

When I was a kid, Cyndi Lauper was just another artist whose songs fell in between the songs I liked to hear on the radio...  Slam.  I considered something of a joke, and for girls only.  Her first two hits, GJWHF and She-Bop sorta set that stage, you know?  Her dad comes out as some sorta wrestler guy for the WWF and what ever credibility she may have had for me was really not there any more at all...  Okay, okay.  I did enjoy her ballads.  All Through the Night, Time After Time, True Colors, and I Drove All Night were pretty good songs and I didn't turn them off when they came on the radio.

In 1996 she officially released her first GH compilation, and my girlfriend (now wife) wanted it for her birthday.  Jeez-a-loo.  Okay, I guess.  If that's what you want, I'm not going to deny you that.  It's not my CD.  So, we start listening to it, and I start remembering the tunes from my youth and I'm not hating it.  The CD became a regular staple of road trips and that was that....

Once the internet broke out big, somewhere along the line I downloaded her albums, I think, just to fill out my "Ultimate 80s Albums Collection."  I started burning discs at a rate unknown to man, with no real regard to exactly who or what.  This album (in it's proto-expanded form) was the first of her's that I burnt.  What a nugget!

I'm not going to recite her history, training, expertise and talent, as I'm not a Wiki.  I will recommend that you do go back and read a little about her, and her professional training, and you'll gain some respect and admiration for her.  Her weirdness and eccentricities add to her talent and creativity and the results are unique and spectacular.  Yes, the music does have that novel 80s sound, but the song writing is spot on, and her execution is commendable.

She's a talented lady, and I'll never doubt her again! 

This one, is for my lovely wife.  Just for you, sweetie!

Cyndi Lauper - True Colors - 1986

Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark - The Extended Versions - 1979-88

So, several months ago, I posted my "Singles Collection" of every OMD single, b-side and remix up through Dreaming.  I know, though, that listening to 6 discs straight through can be a daunting task.  I know because it's tough for me, even on a road trip.  So, I also made myself an extended/remix collection with one mix from each of their singles, if a mix exists.

It's hard to say which disc I prefer, as I have favorites on both of them.  Regardless, it's a good set, and playing through a 2-disc set doesn't take long.  Favorite tracks would include Never Turn Away, So In Love,
Messages, Souvenir, and of course the Martin Hannett mix of Electricity.

I've said before that I don't care for greatest hits collections.  I don't.  But, when it comes to OMD, and Art of Noise, a lot of times, that's the only way you can listen to them.  Don't know why.  But, as far as albums go, neither of them can really pull together a cohesive group of songs that I can like.  I guess I'm too picky.

Anyway, I thought the font and cover graphic was fitting for this collection.  I hadn't made the cover for myself before, but once I got these two, I printed them off.  Looks good on my CD wall.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark - The Extended Versions - 1979-88 - Disc One

Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark - The Extended Versions - 1979-88 - Disc Two 

Howard Jones - Dream Into Action & Action Replay - 1985-86

My favorite of Howard Jones albums, this one reminds me of my youth in Chicago.  It came out when I was in Junior High, and I had the cassette of Action Replay.  At the time it wasn't one of my favorites, but it was always a go-to when I was looking for something "normal" to listen to.

As I've aged, I have grown to respect the work that Howard did in the 80s.  Yes, it was Psuedo-New Wave Radio Pop, but it was all well written.  He worked with a number of talented producers and musicians, including Phil Collins, that helped to give true heart and life to his work.  Although some of the songs aren't too interesting, I can't say anything bad about them lyrically, their melodies aren't that bad, and the production was always tight.  He is a true artist and master at what he does.

I saw him live in 1999 in Chicago with Human League and Culture Club.  All three bands were great, but Howard was the only one who went out there without pretense, and just to have a good time.  He didn't dress up flashy, he didn't have the wild hair, and he was smiling the entire time.  He even brought his teenage son out on stage for a couple of songs.

I don't know how else to put it other than the guy is simply GENUINE. And I love that about him.

Howard Jones - Dream Into Action - 1985

Howard Jones - Action Replay - 1986

Cutting Crew - Broadcast - 1986

When this album came out, it was my little sister who purchased it.  I looked on with disdain and disgust and razzed her for listening to such a bunch of wimpy girly-men.  I watched the guys on MTV and listened to them when my sister played their tape.  But, I didn't pay them much mind.

In college I was at the record store shoveling through the used CDs, and came across this one.  It was only 1.99, and I had already heard it, so I didn't think it could be so bad if I got it and gave it a listen to again, just for nostalgia, if anything.  Listening to it once again, I realized that I truly did like this album, quite a lot.  The song writing is pure, the melodies are catchy, the vocals are strong, and its not as obnoxious as I used to think.  It's just solid 80s rock, good listening and well worth owning.

The first six songs back to back are really impressive.  It's almost one solid piece.  If I didn't know better, I would almost say there's a hint of AOR in there.  "Side Two" is sort of sketchy, but it still pulls out sounding fulfilled.  It's too bad their follow up albums didn't stack up to this first one, because it was great and I have always wanted more.

I have the b-side on there at the end, as well as four mixes.  The cover is the US release, and the better of the two covers issued.  So many single sleeves!  I only kept the best and we still have 7 of them.

Anyway, have a great night, and don't make fun of me.  ;)

Cutting Crew - Broadcast - 1986