Showing posts with label 1980. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1980. Show all posts

Thursday, March 31, 2022

Stevie Wonder - Master blaster (Jammin')

There are not a lot of true music legends, either in general or on ERV, but Stevie Wonder certainly qualifies.  Born as Stevland Hardaway Morris, and blind since shortly after birth, Wonder started in the music industry at 11 (!) and was given the name Little Stevie Wonder by Motown producer Clarence Paul.

While many acts count their top 40 songs or albums, one indication of Stevie Wonder's success is the amount of #1s.  Wonder has ten #1 songs and three #1 albums.  In the 1970s, his music - an upbeat fusion of soul, pop, and R&B - dominated the charts (and was critically acclaimed, to boot).  For example, Wonder has four albums in the Rolling Stone top 500, including three in the top 60. 

His 1980 LP, Hotter Than July may not quite reach the career peaks of his 1970s efforts, but it is still an extremely good record.  The album would peak at #3 and go platinum, while "Master Blaster (Jammin')" would reach #5 on the singles chart.  The song was heavily influenced by Wonder's friendship with reggae legend Bob Marley.  The title is a nod to Marley's 1977 song "Jamming" and the lyrics, envisioning a world at peace, were also likely influenced by Marley.

Wonder continued to have significant commercial success through the 1980s, albeit with a somewhat more commercial sound.  Although his production has decreased in the years since, he remains active in the industry as of this writing, and remains a true living legend.

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Split Enz - I Got You

Split Enz (the NZ is a reference to New Zealand, where the band originated) formed in 1973 in Auckland.  The founders - Tim Finn and Phil Judd - wanted to create an eclectic pop band; hence the name (which was originally spelled correctly).

During the 1970s, the group went through a myriad of changes, both in terms of style and personnel.  The most significant change was Judd's departure; he was replaced by Tim Finn's brother Neil in 1977. During much of this period, Split Enz was a flamboyant art rock band, but they had little success outside of New Zealand and Australia.

This changed with their 1980 release, True Colours, which was something of a coming out party for Neil as a songwriter.  The resulting material had a stronger pop sound, and this combined with more straight-forward visuals allowed Split Enz to ride the New Wave (see what we did there?)

True Colours became a #1 album in Australia and New Zealand, and broke into the charts in the U.S.  "I Got You" also charted, though it only reached #53 on the U.S. charts.  However, it was top 40 in several countries, and hit #1 in Australia and New Zealand.

While the group continued releasing records for the first half of the 1980s, there seemed to be a growing musical disconnect between Tim and Neil, and Tim Finn finally quit the group in 1984.  Shortly afterwards, Neil broke up Split Enz and went on to even greater success in Crowded House.  The Finn brothers did work together on Crowded House's 1991 LP, Woodface, and more recently as The Finn Brothers. 


Cool trivia fact:  As mentioned above, Split Enz is a no hit wonder in the U.S.; "I Got You" (#53) was their highest charting single.  However, Neil Finn did have two top 40 hits with Crowded House - "Don't Dream It's Over" (#2) and "Something So Strong" (#7).

Cool trivia fact #2: "I Got You" was the 81st video played on MTV's first day; interestingly, it was the third Split Enz video played on MTV, after "History Never Repeats" and "One Step Ahead."

Monday, November 30, 2020

Stephanie Mills - Never Knew Love Like This Before

"Never Knew Love Like This Before" was a catchy pop/R&B hit from Stephanie Mills that became her biggest hit.  The song reached #6 on the charts, while the Sweet Sensation LP peaked at #16 and went gold.

Mills grew up in Bedford–Stuyvesant (Brooklyn) and landed a recording contract at 16.  Her big break came a year later, when she was cast as the original Dorothy in the Broadway production of The Wiz, a role she held from 1974-79.  Known as "the little girl with the big voice," Mills transitioned to the music industry full time after The Wiz, and had 5 gold records and three top 40 singles during the late 1970s and 1980s. She also had 24 top 40 R&B singles, including five #1s.  We believe that she is still active in the industry as of this writing.

The video for "Never Knew Love Like This Before" is literally Mills happily dance-walking through a park.  Ah, for the simple days before MTV, when promotional videos were something of an afterthought for much of the industry ...


Cool trivia fact:  "Never Knew Love Like This Before" was co-written by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, who also co-produced the Sweet Sensation album. Hardcore Madonna fans will note that Reggie Lucas was the original producer on Madge's self-titled debut (he also wrote "Borderline.")  Unfortunately, he and Madonna did not see eye to eye, and she brought in John Jellybean Benitez to remix the album prior to its release. 

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Ultravox - Vienna

Huge in the UK and Europe and relatively unknown in the U.S., Ultravox were an influential band that helped lay the foundation for synth pop.  The group formed in London in 1973, and was originally called Tiger Lilly.  The name was changed to Ultravox! when the act signed with Island Records in 1976, and the ! was dropped a few years later.

For all practical purposes, there were two versions of the band.  From the early days until 1979, Ultravox was led by John Foxx, and had an artsy synth-rock sound (to my ear, the sound is in the same genre as Devo).  Foxx left in '79 to start a solo career, and was replaced by Midge Ure, who pushed the band's sound in a lush, artistic direction.

The revitalized Ultravox would go on the have significant success in the 1980s in the UK, with 5 top 10 LPs and 16 top 40 singles, led by "Vienna," which hit #2 on the UK charts.  However, they made barely a ripple in the U.S., where only one album broke the top 100, and no singles reached the top 40.

I don't recall seeing the video on my favorite video music channel, but it is quite strong, especially for an early clip. Influenced by the 1949 movie The Third Man (which takes place in Vienna),  it was mostly shot in London, primarily at Covent Garden.  Interestingly, the band paid for the video, as their label at the time (Chrysalis) didn't think it was worth it.  [How things would change a few years later.]

As previously mentioned, Ultravox was successful through the eighties in Europe - and Midge Ure even co-wrote "Do They Know It's Christmas."  However, artistic difference led the Ure leaving the band in 1988, and the group broke up a few years later.  They did re-form (with Ure) in 2008, and played until 2017, but appear to have disbanded for a second time as of this writing.


Cool trivia fact "Vienna" was the 135th video played on MTV's first day.

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Heart - Even It Up

The early 1980s were a difficult time in the music industry.  While the disco and punk movements had somewhat faded from prominence, New Wave was now in full swing, and the classic rock acts of the 1970s seemed outdated by many listeners.

For Heart, this transition was compounded by the changing personnel in the band.  While the Wilson sisters (Ann - vocals and Nancy - guitar) remained the constants, guitarist (and Nancy's longtime boyfriend) Roger Fisher left Heart in 1979.

Undeterred, Heart soldiered on, releasing the Bébé le Strange LP in 1980.  This is a fascinating album, as the band's music is all over the place - to my ear, this sounds like a group working to rediscover what their sound is.  In the midst of this experiment is a great straight-up rock song, "Even It Up," with a cool early video to boot.  Particularly noteworthy are sailor Nancy (who seems to really like her Stratocasters), and the sax trio.


Bébé le Strange went gold and peaked at #5, while "Even It Up" reached #33.  Heart's greatest hits album was released later in 1980, and marked the end of their first period of mainstream success.  We suspect that most listeners and critics at the time would have viewed this as the likely end of the band.  Improbably, Heart re-positioned themselves as a pop/hair band in the mid to late 1980s, ushering in a period of commercial success that was even greater than their 1970s heyday.

Heart has remained active for many years, but appears to be on hiatus as of this writing.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Peter Gabriel - I Don't Remember

For this years' slightly abbreviated All Hallows Even celebration, we are going with Peter Gabriel's excellent, creepy, and underrated video for "I Don't Remember."

As many readers will know, Peter Gabriel left Genesis in 1975, and released his first solo album in early 1977.  [As a side note, the first four Peter Gabriel solo albums are all untitled, and are often referred to by the cover art.]  While Gabriel's first two solo albums sold well, it was his third LP, 1980's 'Melt' that broke him as a solo artist.  The album was a sonic breakthrough with a modern, driving sound.  As one example, the album did not use any cymbals at all, which led to the innovation of the gated reverb drum sound.

'Melt' would go on to hit "1 in the U.K. and #22 in the U.S., led by "Games Without Frontiers," which reached #4 in the U.K. and #48 in the U.S.  The album also drew no small amount of critical acclaim; Rolling Stone ranked it as the 45th greatest album of the 1980s.  The LP is remarkably strong from cover to cover with lyrics that are creative and political, and a sound that was unlike anything on radio at the time.

In the All Hallows Even spirit, we opted for "I Don't Remember," which has a genuinely unnerving video.  The song only reached #107 in the U.S. and did not chart in the U.K., and we doubt that the video would have been played by most mainstream outlets back in the day.  However, it fits seamlessly into our theme of the season here.

Also note that previous All Hallows Even videos can be selected by choosing the Label to the right.


Cool trivia fact: Rolling Stone rates the Melt LP as the 46th greatest album of the 1980s.

Saturday, August 6, 2016

The Babys - Back On My Feet Again

The Babys were a British-American power pop act who by all rights should have become big stars in the 1970s.  Guitarist/keyboardist Mike Corby and manager Adrian Miller formed the band in 1974 and held auditions to fill out the roster.  Tony Brock (drums), John Waite (vocals/bass) and Wally Stocker (guitars) made up the original lineup.

The group were signed by Chrysalis and seemed to be building an audience, but a dispute with the record label resulted in Corby and Miller being fired in 1978.  Soon afterwards, Americans Jonathan Cain (keyboards) and Ricky Phillips (bass) joined; this lineup continued until the group broke up in 1980.

While The Babys has some modest successes (3 top 40 hits and 2 top 40 LPs), their hard work never really paid off, and this frustration eventually led to their breakup.  John Waite would go on to have some success in the 1980s as a solo artist, while Jonathan Cain would join Journey right as that band became megastars.  In 1989, Waite, Cain and Phillips would reunite in Bad English (with guitarist Neil Schon and drummer Deen Castronovo).

For the blog, we went with the group's last top 40 single, 1980's "Back on My Feet Again."  The song peaked at #33 on the charts while the Union Jacks album only hit #42.  However, it is a solid representation of the band's later material.



In 2013, original members Tony Brock and Wally Stocker reformed the band.  Additionally, John Waite has been know to perform Babys songs at concerts from time to time.

Monday, February 8, 2016

The B-52's - Private Idaho

New wave and surf rock might seem like an odd combination (ok, it is an odd combination), but somehow the B-52's hit on a sound that was pure campy fun.  Sounding simultaneously  modern and vintage, the band sported an odd look that included the high beehives that gave the band its name.  Combine that with some seriously catchy material, and it is not surprising that the group made a name for itself in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The B-52's emerged out of the growing Athens, Georgia music scene, and would soon be joined by fellow Athenians R.E.M.  However, the group's sound was more Devo or Talking Heads than southern rock.  After forming in 1976 with little musical training, the band had progressed enough to make a demo of "Rock Lobster" in 1978.  That song would go on to become an independent hit, and would lead to recording contracts with Warner Bros. and Island Records.

"Private Idaho" was off the B-52's second LP, 1980's Wild Planet.  The single hit #74 on the charts (the group's second charting single, after "Rock Lobster"), while the album hit #18.  From there, things became more challenging -- the next few albums did not do as well, and founding guitarist Ricky Wilson (whose sister Cindy was also in the band) died of an AIDS-related illness in 1985.

As many readers will know, that wasn't the end of the story.  The B-52's 1989 comeback album, Cosmic Thing, became a huge surprise hit and led to a second period of success.  The group remains active as of this writing, though there have been some personnel changes and periods of inactivity through the years.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

David Bowie - Ashes To Ashes

What better way to continue the Halloween celebration than with a song from the Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) album.  Many critics view Scary Monsters as the last great David Bowie record, and while that is somewhat debatable, it was a classic Bowie album; odd, artistic and interesting.  In addition, it had more than a bit of funk added to the mix.

A discussion of David Bowie could fill a blog, making it hard to do justice to him in a few sentences.  The lazy narrative is that he is a musical chameleon, shifting his style to capitalize on emerging trends in popular music.  While there is some truth to this, we have always thought of Bowie (especially in the 1970s through Scary Monsters period) as more of a restless artist, indulging in whichever tickles his fancy.  Although the results were inconsistent, there were more highs than lows.

"Ashes to Ashes" was the lead single off Scary Monsters, and plays like a requiem for the 1970s.  The video was rumored to be the most expensive music video made to that point (at £250,000; this was still a year before MTV).  Bowie wanders about in a Pierrot costume with strange color effects and odd characters (including many Blitz Kids).  The video is iconic in Britain, and some critics believe that it accelerated the New Romantic movement that would dominate the British charts for most of the early 1980s.

The song would go on to become a #1 hit in the U.K., but it barely dented the U.S. charts at #101.  Scary Monsters also did better in the U.K. (#1) though it did reach #12 on the U.S. album charts.

Bowie would of course go on to significant commercial success in the 1980s and would remain active in the industry until his untimely passing in January of 2016.


Cool trivia fact: Rolling Stone ranks Scary Monsters at 443 on its list of the 500 greatest albums ever.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Daryl Hall & John Oates - How Does It Feel To Be Back

Although they would go on to become the most successful duo of the rock era,  Daryl Hall & John Oates had a choppy career before becoming superstars for most of the first half of the 1980s.

Hall and Oates met in 1967 in Philadelphia, and began working together in 1970.  While their first three albums (for Atlantic) were unsuccessful, 1975's self-titled album (on RCA) made them pop stars.  Between 1975 and 1977, they had three top 10 hits with "Sara Smile," "She's Gone," and "Rich Girl."  This run of success ended with "Rich Girl" and they had no top 10 hits through the end of the 1970s.  In fact, 1979's X-Static was the duo's first non-Gold record on RCA.

Needless to say, this made 1980's Voices album a really important record for the group, and they opted to go with the John Oates track "How Does It Feel To Be Back" as the lead single.   Had the duo not gone on to become hugely successful, this would have become a forgotten track.  Perhaps it still is.  The strong pop song doesn't even really sound like a typical Hall & Oates single, mostly due to Oates' voice (Hall sang most of the big hits of the 1980s).

"How Does It Feel To Be Back" did not become the big hit the the band had hoped for -- it stalled at #30.  However, the next single, a cover of the 1964 Righteous Brothers hit, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" became a surprise success at #12, and "Kiss on My List" became the duo's second #1 hit (after "Rich Girl").  The rest of the story is history, as they say.


Note that Hall & Oates inexpensive but masterful video for "Private Eyes" was featured on ERV in September 2020.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

J. Geils Band - Come Back

ERV regulars will recall that we posted "Love Stinks" back in July 2012.  And our Facebook readers will note that we would have prefered to post "Just Can't Wait" here, but alas, no video appears to have been made for that song.  Fortunately, our second choice is still quite solid indeed.

"Come Back" is J. Geils at their danciest (not totally sure that this is a word, but let's go with it).  The song is clearly influenced by the popularity of Disco, and we suspect that means that lead singer Peter Wolf had a particularly large impact on the songwriting -- though officially virtually every song on the Love Stinks LP was co-written by Wolf and keyboardist Seth Justman.

"Come Back" ended up becoming the highest charting single off the Love Stinks album, reaching #32 (the title cut hit #38, while "Just Can't Wait" peaked at #78).  However, the video was not played as much as the insanity that is "Love Stinks," making this a bit of a rare one.

As many readers will know, the J. Geils Band story is a bit sad.  The band toiled as an overgrown bar band, gradually becoming a major act, before finally breaking out with 1982's Freeze Frame.  Success seemed to ruin the group, as Wolf left in 1983 to embark on a solo career.  The remaining member released one album (1984's You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd) before breaking up the following year.  However, there have been periodic reunions in recent years.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Fischer-Z - So Long

Fischer-Z (named after two of Ronald Fisher's statistical formulas) was a quirky British new wave act.  The group had the potential to be akin to Talking Heads, even if Americans didn't pronounce the name correctly (Fisher's Zed, not Fisher Zee).  Mixing new wave, reggae and rock with interesting lyrics, the act became somewhat successful in Europe, but never enjoyed more than cult status in the U.K. and U.S.

The band was formed in London in 1978 by John Watts (vocals, guitars) and Steve Skolnik (keyboards), but it was really Watts' band from the get go.  They quickly signed to United Artists and released their debut album in 1979.  Their second LP, the wonderfully named Going Deaf for a Living (1980) built on their success in Europe, and the "So Long" single even reached #72 on the U.K. charts.

Skolnik quit after Going Deaf for a Living, but Watts released a strong follow up (1981's Red Skies Over Paradise) before deciding that he did not want to be constrained within a band.  (Even if it was his band).  Watts released three solo records before resurrecting the Fischer-Z name in 1987; he seems to have used both names during most of the ensuing years.

The video for "So Long" is awesome, in a totally 1980 sort of way.  Shots of the band playing are mixed with vintage cars and a Humphrey Bogart look-alike private eye (no relation to Hall & Oates).  The results are ... well, see for yourself:



Cool trivia fact:  "So Long" was the 112th video ever played on MTV, and was played on the first day.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Prince - Uptown

"Uptown" is the answer to a great trivia question -- it was the first single released off Prince's classic Dirty Mind album.  The song was named after the bohemian uptown neighborhood of Prince's hometown (Minneapolis) and touches on themes of tolerance and bigotry, which would be recurring concepts for Prince.

Long time readers will recall that we have previously posted videos of "Dirty Mind" and "Controversy" on ERV, as these videos may also be less well-known to our readers.  Due to the fact that Prince was not an overnight success, his early material did not get the exposure that it deserved, in our humble opinion.  As an example, "Uptown" certainly qualifies as a rare video and I don't recall ever seeing it on MTV back in the day.

The "Uptown" video appears to have been shot at the same time as "Dirty Mind," using the same set and audience.  This was a common occurrence in the days before MTV, when videos were used as promotional tools.  From a sound perspective, "Uptown" is more of a straight up dance number, in contrast to the electric funk of "Dirty Mind."  Again, this is typical Prince, as his ability to write songs in different musical styles really differentiates him from most other artists.

Released in September, 1980, "Uptown" was not a huge hit, but did chart, reaching #101 on the singles charts.  This was also sadly typical of Prince in this period, as he only had one top 40 single (1979's "I Wanna Be Your Lover") prior to the 1999 album.  Of course, that LP changed everything, and catapulted Prince into superstardom for the remainder of the decade (and beyond).

Ladies and gentlemen, for your audio and video pleasure ... His Purpleness.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Billy Squier - The Big Beat

The previous time that we discussed Billy Squier was last August, when Squire's amazingly terrible video, "Rock Me Tonight" was featured on the blog.  "Rock Me Tonight" is sometimes viewed as the worst major video ever made, and one that may have contributed to the decline of Billy Squier's career and/or Western civilization as a whole.

While Squier continued recording through the mid-1990s, he did not have a top 40 single or album after "Rock Me Tonight," making it an interesting and somewhat sad anecdote.  And that would be the end of the Billy Squier story, except ...

Squier's trademark sound was punctuated by a driving beat, something that is particularly evident on his earlier work ("The Stroke," for instance).  Bolstered by the superb (and loud) Bobby Chouinard, this strong backbeat would differentiate Squier's songs from many of his contemporaries.  In fact, he led off his first solo album -- 1980's Tale of the Tape -- with a drum intro on "The Big Beat" (side 1, song 1).

Having a clean drum break proved to be irresistible to early rap acts, and the drum intro on "The Big Beat" was sampled as early as 1981.  Over time, the enthusiasm for the drum line has not waned, and it has been used by artists including:  Jay-Z ("99 Problems"), Run-D.M.C. ("Here We Go"), and Alicia Keys ("Girl on Fire').  As of this writing, "The Big Beat" has been sampled in nearly 200 songs, and is one of the 10 most popular samples of all time.  Other Squier songs, particularly "The Stroke" are also popular samples.

Unfortunately, this popularity has not translated to a resurgence in Squier's career, and in recent interviews he seems someone ambivalent about the sampling.  For readers who are interested, Squier's first two LPs -- Tale of the Tape and Don't Say No are particularly strong and well worth a listen.

We don't recall ever seeing the original video for "The Big Beat" on MTV back in the day, so it definitely qualifies are a rare (and cool) video.  We're not totally sure about the yellow pants, though.  Also worth checking out:  roller skates! (1:20) and an obscure Eraserhead marquee (2:30, but blink and you'll miss it).

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

The Knack - I Want Ya

Rock and roll's equivalent to a shooting star, the Knack burst onto the scene in 1979 with their massively successful debut, Get the Knack.  That album went to #1 for 5 weeks and reached double platinum status.  However, in spite of their success (or perhaps because of it), the band quickly fell out of favor with the listening public and broke up just two short years later.

The group formed in Los Angeles in 1978 and were led by singer/guitarist Doug Fieger.  Guitarist Berton Averre, bassist Prescott Niles, and drummer Bruce Gary rounded out the original lineup.  Although the Knack were lazily compared to the Beatles, they were a pure power pop group, closer to Badfinger.  There was nothing fancy about the Knack; they wrote straight up songs (mostly about sex), but they were really good pop rock tunes.  In retrospect, their immediate success meant that many listeners viewed them as a fad, but the Knack created a catalog of strong material, much of it after their debut record.  Unfortunately, egos, stress, and just bad luck torpedoed their career.

The Knack reunited for the first time in 1986, and worked together on and off through 2010.  They even released another solid album in 1991, Serious Fun.  Sadly, in 2006 Doug Fieger became disoriented during a show and it was eventually determined that he had brain cancer.  Fieger passed away in 2010, marking an official end to the band.

For the blog, we went with "I Want Ya" off 1980's ... But the Little Girls Understand (named after a line from Willie Dixon's "Backdoor Man.")  We don't believe that the song was released as a single, and the album reached #15 and went gold, which was considered a disappointment after Get the Knack.  "I Want Ya" is classic Knack; fun, well-crafted, and eminently listenable.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

The Tourists - Don't Say I Told You So

The Tourists formed in 1975 and were originally a three member band called The Catch.  By 1977, they had become a five piece act and renamed themselves as The Tourists.  Although the group would release three top 75 LPs in the U.K and have four top 40 hits between 1977 and 1980, they would never quite break through.

Part of the issue was the band's sound, as they were viewed by fans and critics alike as a 1960s-influenced  power pop band.  Additionally, there were significant artistic differences among the band's members that would lead to the act's demise after only a few short years.

In the U.S., The Tourists barely made a dent in the market -- although their 1979 cover of "I Only Want to Be with You" did chart at #83.

"Don't Say I Told You So" was off the group's 1980 album, Luminous Basement, and was the third (and last) album that the band recorded.  The song reached #40 on the U.K. singles chart (the last charting single by the band), while the album peaked at #75.  The album was clearly influenced by the emerging new wave scene, but the band's pop image was likely one reason for the breakup.

 


And in the interest of burying the lead, it should be pointed out that The Tourists were particularly noteworthy as the group that Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox were in before they formed Eurythmics.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

U2 - I Will Follow

Before U2 became one of the biggest bands in the world, they were just an earnest, post punk act from Ireland.  Note that in 1980, college rock not even in the lexicon -- in fact, U2 was one of the bands that helped to create this segment in the early 1980s.

U2 formed in Dublin in 1976, and consists of Bono (given name: Paul Hewson) on vocals, The Edge (given name: David Evans) on guitar, Adam Clayton on bass, and Larry Mullen, Jr. on drums.  Signed to Island Records, the band released their debut LP, Boy in 1980, and "I WIll Follow" was the first single.

While "I Will Follow" quickly became a staple at parties and on college radio, the song did not do terribly well in the charts.  It originally did not chart (in 1980), although a 1984 live version (from the Under a Blood Red Sky LP) reached #84.  On the other hand, Boy definitely attracted some attention and reached #63 on the album charts.

Similarly, the video for "I Will Follow" is relatively rare.  By the time MTV launched in 1981, U2's October album was out, and the fledgling music video channel focused on "Gloria,"  leaving "I Will Follow" as a forgotten classic.




Cool trivia fact:  The lyrical inspiration for "I Will Follow" came from the death of Bono's mother (she died when he was 14).

Cool trivia fact #2:  "I WIll Follow" is the only song that U2 has played on every tour.

Lastly, U2 fans and other interested parties may want to check out the video for the rare and controversial song "A Celebration," which was posted on ERV in May, 2015.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

The Brothers Johnson - Stomp!

"Stomp" is a real toe-tapper and a somewhat forgotten classic by the Brothers Johnson -- who really were brothers.  The song is also an excellent example of early 1980s dance/funk, sometimes called sophistifunk, for sophisticated funk.

The Brothers Johnson were centered around George and Louis Johnson and began as a backing band before signing with A&M Records in 1975.  The group immediately became successful, and had four consecutive platinum LPs between 1976 - 1980.  They also scored four top 40 hits (and had eleven top 40 singles in the R&B charts).

Part of their success was likely due to having the smarts or good fortune to work with Quincy Jones.  Mr. Jones produced the band's first four albums, co-wrote a few songs, and helped the group collaborate with songwriters such as Rod Temperton and Michael Jackson.  We should all be so lucky.

The video for "Stomp" is pretty standard pre-MTV stuff, and shows the brothers playing and driving in their car while people dance.  The song seems to be channeling old Kool & the Gang; we particularly dig the bass solo at 2:30.  "Stomp" ended up being the band's last big hit at #7, while the album Light Up the Night reached #5.  After a less successful album in 1981, the brothers split up, although they have reunited several times through the years.


Saturday, April 12, 2014

Huey Lewis and the News - Some of My Lies Are True (Sooner or Later)

This one goes out to long time reader Sam, who recommended it when we posted the last Huey Lewis and the News video, for "Workin' For A Livin'" in December 2013.  (We have also posted "Heart and Soul" in October 2011 as part of our first All Hallows Even celebration, and posted "Doing It All For My Baby" in October 2018 as part of a more recent All Hallows Even.)

"Some of My Lies Are True (Sooner or Later)" was off the 1980 self titled debut for Huey Lewis and the News.  The album was released just after the band changed its name (from Huey Lewis and the American Express) after Chrysalis Records expressed concern over the threat of lawsuits from the financial services company.  Sadly, neither the album nor the single charted, although we think that things turned out just fine for Huey and the band.

To our ear, this is the most new wave-influenced song from the band, and we're not sure that they had quite found their sound.  However, we still really like it.  Huey Lewis and the News always had a strong pop sensibility, but we especially enjoyed the songs where they showed their bar band roots and just rocked out a little.

The video is a classic and rare early clip, with the band playing on a beach (in Northern California, we presume).  [Note that and earlier version of the clip below was from MTV, and was mislabeled as "Don't Ever Tell Me That You Love Me," a different song off the same LP).



We also found an alternate version of the video (and song), for folks who are interested.


Cool trivia fact:  A remixed version of Some of My Lies Are True" was released in 1986 as the B side to the "Hip to Be Square" single, and generated a bit of airplay at that time.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

John Cougar Mellencamp - Ain't Even Done With The Night

Mr. Happy Go Lucky, John Mellencamp has built an impressive career through the years.  Mellencamp combined folk, roots rock and 1960s influenced pop into a catchy form of heartland rock that has earned him comparisons with Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty.  He has also sold more than 40 million albums and has hit the top 40 twenty two times (seventeen of which were in the 1980s).

Mellencamp got his start in the mid-1970s as Johnny Cougar (a name chosen by a former manager without Mellencamp's knowledge).  His first two albums were not successful, but 1979's John Cougar charted, helped by "I Need a Lover" which hit #28 (and received a further boost when Pat Benatar recorded a cover version on her debut album).

Nothin' Matters and What If It Did solidified Mellencamp's status as an artist in the rise and produced two top 40 hits -- "Ain't Even Done With The Night" (#17) and "This Time" (#27).  The album also became the first of nine consecutive LPs to go platinum.

To my ear, the songs off Nothing Matters are more influenced by 1960s pop and have less of an Americana feel than his later work, which may have been intentional.  Much ink has been spilled on Mellencamp's desire to be taken seriously as an artist; it seems likely that part of his musical shift may have been designed to show him in a more serious light.  However, it is worth pointing out that his early pop songs were extremely well-crafted, with unusually strong lyrics for the genre.  (See our Facebook page for an example.)

The video for "Ain't Even Done With The Night" underlines the 1960s pop influences, from the microphone, to the outfits, to the James Brown inspired coat.  It also contains one of the best 'man pretending to be a saxophone' scenes in an early 1980s video.  The whole thing looks like it was shot on the cheap (perhaps in one take), but we still find it enjoyable.

Of course, Mellencamp's career really took off with 1982's America Fool, which went to #1, helped by the ever present (also #1) "Jack and Diane." (As an interesting side note, those were the only #1's of Mellencamp's career.)  And as many readers will know, John Mellencamp remains active in the industry to the present day.