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had somewhat faded from prominence, New Wave was now in full swing, and the classic rock acts of the 1970s seemed outdated by many listeners.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.

Friday, October 26, 2018

Kool & the Gang - Misled

This is  Kool & the Gang's second appearance on ERV, as "Get Down On It" was posted back in 2013 (and has a solid if brief summary of the band).

Unlike the funk and R&B that characterized most of Kool & the Gang's work, "Misled" is a catchy pop gem with an excellent guitar hook.  Additionally, the video is the perfect stealthy Halloween type that we love at ERV.  From the creepy guys in robes to the Indiana Jones-inspired later scenes, the whole thing is steeped in pure 1984 awesomeness.  The ghostly white dancer and that amazing blue jacket round out the major characters in the video.

The song ended up being a big hit, and reached #10 on the charts, which surprised us.  To be fair, the 1984 Emergency LP also spawned "Fresh" and "Cherish," so it isn't as if there wasn't a lot of Kool on the radio back in the day.  However, we don't remember seeing the video on MTV, which is kind of a shame.

While Kool & the Gang did have a few hits after "Misled," they had mostly faded from view by the late 1980s.  However, they remain active in the industry as of this writing.

Friday, October 19, 2018

Huey Lewis And The News - Doing It All For My Baby

Although ERV has been mostly on hiatus of late, we could not miss the opportunity to celebrate All Hallows Even.  We've been posted rare-ish, Halloweeny (is that even a word) vids since soon after we opened up shop, 7 years ago, and it's become a tradition.  So, on to this years' festivities.

By 1986, Huey Lewis and the News had become big stars.  Fore! (the 1986 LP) was their second consecutive #1 album, and between Sports, Back to the Future, and Fore!, they scored 11 top 40 hits (and 3 #1s - "The Power of Love," "Stuck With You," and "Jacob's Ladder.")

"Doing It All For My Baby" was the last single off the Fore! album, and was released in June 1987.  The video has a prefect Halloween vibe, and is actually a tiny bit darker than we remember.  After the long intro, we're treated to a campy, monstery rendition of the song, with Huey and the band playing most of the major roles.

The song would go on to reach #6 on the charts, though we think this represented the end of the band's superstar period.  However, they have remained active in the industry (with some lineup changes through the years) until the present day.   


Cool trivia fact:  The model in the video is Tara Shannon, and there is an interview with her here.

We've previously posted videos for "Some of My Lies are True," "Workin' For A Livin'," and "Heart and Soul" (which was part of ERV's first All Hallows Even celebration in 2011.

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Pat Benatar - Promises In The Dark

Pat Benatar's Precious Time album showcases the singer at the height of her powers and to this day it remains your author's favorite Benatar album.  While the LP didn't break new ground, it did show a refinement in the songwriting.  This combination of sharp, straight up rock and that voice (certainly one of the strongest in 1980s rock) proved irresistible to fans and led to huge commercial success.

While "Promises in the Dark" only reached #38 on the charts, the album went to #1 and ended up going double platinum to boot.  Sales were likely helped by the performance video, which was prominently featured on MTV, as was the sister video for "Fire and Ice."

After Precious Time, Benatar's sound evolved in a more of a pop direction, and eventually she even got into jump blues (on the True Love album).

Long time readers will recall that we featured Benatar's "You Better Run" cover as the second post on ERV in August 2011 (not coincidentally it was also the second video ever played on MTV).  In addition, her cover of "All Fired Up" was on ERV in March of 2014



Cool trivia fact:  "Promises in the Dark" is one of only two top 40 singles entirely co-written by Benatar and Giraldo (out of 15 top 40 hits).  The other one: "Ooh Ooh Song" from 1984's Tropico.

Cool trivia fact #2:  "Take It Anyway You Want It," (from the Precious Time LP) was co-written by Neil Giraldo and Martin Briley. (Yes, that Martin Briley, featured on ERV in October 2011 for "Salt of My Tears.")

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Divinyls - Pleasure and Pain

"Pleasure and Pain" is the second Divinyls video to show up on ERV; "Boys in Town" was posted back in July 2012, shortly before the untimely death of lead singer Chrissy Amphlett.  We view Divinyls as a unique and underrated band who were likely hurt by their hard to categorize sound that managed to combine rock, new wave, and pop elements all at once.

Interestingly, "Pleasure and Pain" was not the lead single off their 1985 What a Life! LP.  It was actually the fourth single released - perhaps because it was not written by the band.  The song was actually co-written by producer Mike Chapman and 1980s songwriter extraordinaire Holly Knight.  (Knight has shown up on the blog before; click on her name in the labels section for more info.)

I remember "Pleasure and Pain" picking up a fair bit of airplay on Boston rock radio when it came out, but the song only reached #76 on the charts, while the What a Life! album peaked at #91.  To be fair, the band did become stars in their native Australia, but it did seem like they never really broke through in the U.S. in the 1980s. (Although "I Touch Myself" did become a big hit in 1991.)

The energetic video featuring Chrissy Amphlett was filmed in the closed Balmain power plant in Sydney, Australia.  In our view it suits the song pretty well:



In addition to the vid, we also found a cool making of video, showing the somewhat boring hard work that went in to making music videos during MTV's heyday.

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Neneh Cherry - Buffalo Stance

Although American readers may remember Neneh Cherry as a one hit wonder, she actually had two top 10 hits ("Kisses on the Wind" is the song that you forgot about).  And while her period of commercial success was brief in the U.S., she had a longer stretch in Europe.  For instance, in Britain Cherry had 10 top 40 singles, running through the late 1990s.

Interestingly, Neneh Cherry was born in Sweden, and is the stepdaughter of jazz musician Don Cherry (hence the surname).  After moving to London as a teenager in the late 1970s, she became active in the punk scene but soon expanded into other musical genres.  This would eventually lead to catching lightning in a bottle, as "Buffalo Stance" became a huge hit (reaching #3 in both the U.S. and U.K.)

The song refers to a photo shoot stance, and is named after the Ray Pretri's Buffalo group.  It also pays homage to Malcolm McLaren's 1983 song "Buffalo Gals" (which it samples from).  The catchy tune combines dance and hip hop elements, while the video is a perfect late 1980s timepiece:


However, the 1988 hit version of the song was actually a re-make (cover?) of a 1986 Morgan McVey B side, "Looking Good Diving With The Wild Bunch" that featured Neneh Cherry.  Morgan McVey were comprised of Jamie Morgan and Cameron McVey, and released one single ever - 1986's "Looking Good Diving."  Two years later, Cameron McVey and Neneh Cherry were an item (they married in 1990) and McVey was producing Cherry's solo album ... and well, you know the rest.

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Dio - Last in Line

After years of playing in bands, Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona) came into his own in the early 1980s, helped by his MTV-friendly videos.  Dio's band (cleverly named Dio) scored two platinum records and added a gold one to boot before their popularity declined in the later part of the decade.

Although Dio's career traces back to the early 1960s (!) he is best known for being the frontman of Elf (1967-75), Rainbow (1975-78) and Black Sabbath (1979-82).  After leaving Black Sabbath, Dio opted to form his own band with drummer Vinny Appice, guitarist Vivian Campbell, and bassist Jimmy Bain.

"Last in Line," from the 1984 album of the same name, suits our All Hallows Even theme perfectly, and has been on our list for some time.  From the elevator ride from (to?) hell, to the weird goings on in the basement, this is one odd and creepy video.  We particularly like that the band plays only supporting roles in the clip, though Dio is pretty visible towards the end.

Though Dio's popularity faded, Ronnie James remained active in the music industry until his death in 2010.

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Golden Earring - Twilight Zone

Welcome to ERV's 6th annual All Hallows Even celebration.  Yes, we've been doing our version of a Halloween party since we started -- way back in 2011.  Older videos can be found using the All Hallows Even tag to the right.

While "Twilight Zone" isn't the rarest of the rare, it is an excellent video and song that suits the seasonal theme to a T.  And it has become somewhat of a forgotten gem in the 35 years (can it really be that long) since it hit our favorite video music channel.

The song is by the Dutch group Golden Earring, who are not a one hit wonder by virtue of their 1973 hit "Radar Love."  That song hit #13 on the U.S. charts only to be topped by "Twilight Zone" 9 years laters, which peaked at #10 in the U.S.

"Twilight Zone" was written by George Kooymans (Golden Earring's guitarist), and was inspired by Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Identity (before it became a hit movie).  The band translated that inspiration to the excellent video, directed by Dick Maas, and it caught the eye of the folks at MTV for pretty obvious reasons.  The result was a video in heavy rotation for months, and a hit song.

While Golden Earring would not become huge stars in the U.S., they remained successful in Europe (especially their native Holland), and remain active in the industry to the present day.

Oh, and one word of caution -- this is the uncensored version of the song, which includes brief nudity and a drug injection.  (These scenes were removed from the U.S. version back in the day).

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Genesis - Land of Confusion

For the second video of our "confusion" double shot, we went with Genesis' "Land of Confusion" - one of the more overtly political songs of the 1980s.

By 1986 Genesis (and Phil Collins separately) were huge pop stars, and the band seemed far removed from their art rock roots with Peter Gabriel.  In fact, 1986's Invisible Touch would be the third of four top 10 LPs in the U.S., and the fourth of five consecutive #1 albums in the U.K.

"Land of Confusion" was one of five top five singles from Invisible Touch and hit #4 on the U.S. charts.  The video featured puppets from Spitting Image (a British TV show that was popular at the time).  Interestingly, Spitting Image often made fun of Genesis, which led to the idea of using them in the first place.  The political lyrics from Mike Rutherford suite the theme perfectly, and older readers will recall that "Land of Confusion" went into heavy rotation on MTV for a time.

 Eagle-eyed readers may want to try to identify the many politicians and celebrities caricatured in the video.


As many readers will know, Genesis remained major stars through the early 1990s, before fading from view.  In recent years, the band has sporadically re-formed for reunion tours.

Saturday, September 23, 2017

The Kinks - State of Confusion

We're back, and what better way than with a song that may be more apropo today than when it came out. 

The lyrics of "State of Confusion" touch on both personal and global stresses, and remind the listener that Ray Davies had been on the rock scene for a long time by 1983.  Musically, the strong pop rock sound fits in nicely with the Kinks' early 80s work.

Interestingly, "State of Confusion" was not released as a single in the U.S., although the song did hit #26 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart (based on airplay).  The album of the same name hit #12 on the charts, driven by the success of "Come Dancing" - the Kinks most successful song in decades.

The video seems a little bit more lighthearted than the song, but still conveys the intended message.  We particularly like how Davies singing is out of synch with the song at several points.

While State of Confusion (and "Come Dancing") were the last big successes of the Kinks storied career, long time readers may recall that we featured "Do It Again" on ERV in September 2012.  We encourage folks to check that one out, as well.