Little Feat - Let It Roll

This one goes out to D, the biggest Little Feat fan that we know.

For all intensive purposes, there were two Little Feats.  The first version came out of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, and formed in the late 1960s.  This group was led by singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Lowell George, and built a following in the 1970s.  They were the prototypical swamp rock act, best known for "Dixie Chicken."

Unfortunately, George's erratic behavior and drug use (and differing views as to the musical direction of the band) led to Little Feat's demise by 1979.  George made conflicting statements about whether he would re-form a new Little Feat or remain a solo act, but this was all rendered moot when he died of a heart attack later that year.  He was 34.

The remaining members of the group managed to release one last album (1979's Down on the Farm), at which point Little Feat officially broke up.  However, the now former bandmates remained in the industry, playing with other artists. In 1987, the surviving members re-formed the band, added a couple of new musicians, and set out to record an album.  This became the second version of Little Feat.

Their 1988 album, Let It Roll served to successfully relaunch the band and further grew their audience. While we don't recall seeing much of them on MTV, the songs were all over rock radio in 1988. For the blog, we went with the title cut off the LP.  Yes, the vintage hot rod is a little ZZ Top derivative, but the blending of cars and the band performing live mostly works, in our opinion. 

While Let It Roll was Little Feat's last top 40 album, the band retained their loyal fan base, and remains active (with a few lineup changes) to the present day.

Daryl Hall & John Oates - Private Eyes

Long time viewer(s) may recall that this is Hall & Oates second appearance on ERV; "How Does It Feel To Be Back" (a truly rare song and video) was posted back in September 2015.

"Private Eyes" highlights Hall & Oates in their prime, and shows the incredibly catchy pop craftsmanship that made them superstars.  The song was originally written by Warren Pash, and started as a Janna Allen solo project, before turning into a Hall & Oates song - with assists from Janna and Sara Allen and Daryl Hall. As an aside, Sara Allen was Daryl Hall's long term girlfriend ("Sara Smile" was written about her) and sisters Sara and Janna were heavily involved in Hall & Oates songwriting in the early 1980s.

The video was released at the dawn of the MTV era, but its low budget charm was likely evident even in 1981.  The backup band (with G.E. Smith), the trench coats and fedoras ... this represents a master class in how to make a fun, inexpensive video.  Still, we don't remember seeing the video much on MTV back in the day, though it did show up on other programs, such as HBO's Video Jukebox (now who remembers that).

And as many readers will know, the song went on to become a #1 smash, cementing Hall & Oates position in the industry.  In fact, between 1980-83, the duo released 3 LPs and had 11 top 40 singles and 4 #1s.  While their commercial success faded after their 1980s heyday, Hall & Oates have remained active in the industry (with some breaks) to the present day. 

Cool trivia fact: for some extra fun while watching the video, check out bass player Tom Wolk. (Trust us.)

Cool trivia fact #2: The song's title came from the 1980 movie of the same name.

Rush - Tom Sawyer

As many readers will know, sometimes The Universe calls out and makes a request.  Often times these are serendipitous events, but some of the time they are sad - and that's ok.  We've been processing the passing of Rush drummer Neil Peart, and were unsure at first whether to put a post up.  Then, we heard "Tom Sawyer" on the radio, reminding us of all that is great about Rush and rock and drummers.  Even better, the video is somewhat rare.

"Tom Sawyer" was the second single off Rush's breakout 1981 LP, Moving Pictures. ("Limelight" was the lead single.)  The song only reached #44 on the U.S. charts, but was a mainstay on FM rock radio in the 1980s.  The album rose to #3 and eventually went 4x platinum, making it Rush's best selling LP in the U.S.

The video was shot in Le Studio in Quebec, Canada during a cold Canadian winter.  With the exception of a quick outside intro shot, the rest of the clip is the band playing in the studio - note that these were the last few years before MTV, and we suspect the video was something of an afterthought.  As a plain vanilla video, we don't recall seeing it on MTV; perhaps it picked up a bit of airplay in the early days.

The song is particularly noteworthy in our book due to the front and center nature of the drum line.  This is the stuff that drum heroes are made of, and true to form, Rush drummer Neil Peart quickly established himself as rock's greatest living drummer.

Rush would go on to have significant success throughout the 1980s, and continued to record and tour through 2015. 

 
Cool trivia fact:  Rush is a one hit wonder, only 1982's "New World Man" broke the top 40 (at #21).

Cool trivia fact #2: Rolling Stone ranks Moving Pictures at #379 on their list of the greatest 500 albums ever.

The John Hall Band - You Sure Fooled Me

Long time readers may (or may not) recall that we posted The John Hall Band's "Crazy" video way back in January, 2012.  That song became a minor hit, and picked up some airplay in the early days of MTV.  While researching "Crazy," we discovered the video for "You Sure Fooled Me" and put it in the bullpen, where it remained until today.

"You Sure Fooled Me" is a totally solid rock song -- as an aside, why wasn't The John Hall Band bigger?  Sure, they aren't exactly breaking any new ground here, but the music is surprisingly good.

At any rate, this early video includes old cars and a girl, as the band brings the song to life, in a charming, yet low-budget sort of way.  In spite of their efforts, we don't recall ever seeing the vid or hearing the song, and it doesn't appear to have charted.  As we noted on the "Crazy" post, the group released a second LP before breaking up, though Hall would remain in the industry as a songwriter before embarking on a brief career in Congress (yes, really).

Oh, and as previously mentioned, John Hall is not related to Daryl Hall (or John Oates) and got his start in the 1970s band Orleans (of "Dance with Me" and "Still the One" fame).

300: The Beatles - I Feel Fine

In August of 2011, nearly 30 years to the day after MTV blasted off, we started Eighties Rare Videos.  This is our 300th post since then, and we have to tell you the truth: it has been a blast.  As long time readers will know, we try to do unusual posts on our round numbers (feel free to click through for the 50th (51st in actual fact), 150th and 200th posts).

For this post, we decided to look back on the history of rock and roll music videos.  It is actually a confusing and somewhat controversial topic, as artists have been filmed for nearly as long as there has been rock and roll.  However, for the purposes of ERV, we consider it a 'true' music video if it was a clip filmed solely for the purpose of promoting a song.  This excludes appearances on TV shows, concert footage, and scenes from movies -- which significantly reduces the number of clips.

As we were exploring the topic of music videos, it occurred to us that the most important band in creating the genre was the Beatles.  It's not that the Beatles made the first music video (they didn't) but they did use the form as a way of generating visibility when they couldn't possibly be on every TV show that wanted them.  This situation worsened after the band stopped touring and became ... well, the greatest rock band ever.

This led us to wonder ... what was the first Beatles music video?  Remember the rules: no concert or TV footage, and no clips from movies.  We went looking for the first promotional video, and we think that we found them.  We believe that the first clips were the 1965 videos of "I Feel Fine."  Interestingly, the band shot two videos, both directed by Joe McGrath:

So there you have it -- the first Beatles videos; the start of a path that led years later to MTV and eventually to ERV.  We hope that you like it.

Lastly, thanks again to our readers -- we truly enjoy sharing the music with you, and we're happy to hear from you.  Please feel free to leave comments, email us, or friend us on Facebook.  And don't just keep us to yourself -- share us with your friends.

We'll be back in a few days time with more rare eighties videos.  Until then, keep the faith.

The Smiths - How Soon Is Now?

The Smiths were an interesting band whose fortunes widely diverged on each side of the Atlantic.  In Britain, they had 3 #2 and 1 #1 LPs and 18 top 40 singles.  In the U.S., they did not have a top 50 album or a charting single.  Nevertheless, they were critically acclaimed in both countries and widely seen as perhaps the most important British alternative act of the decade.  In particular, their use of guitars and rejection of dance beats cut strongly against the grain, and laid the groundwork for the 1990s alternative scene in the U.K.

The band formed in Manchester in 1982 and consisted of Morrissey (Steven Patrick Morrissey, vocals), Johnny Marr (John Maher, guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (drums).  The Smiths was chosen as the most ordinary name they could think of, to contrast the band with the synth pop scene, where names such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Spandau Ballet were used.  After an indy single was picked up by John Peel, the influential BBC Radio 1 DJ, the band landed a recording contract which led to nearly immediate success in their home market.

"How Soon Is Now?" was originally the B side of "William, It Was Really Nothing." As the song gained momentum, it was released as a single in its own right, and was added to some versions of the Meat is Murder LP.  The single reached #24 on the U.K chart in 1985 (and re-charted at #16 in 1992).

Although "How Soon Is Now?" is not viewed as a typical Smiths song, it is a lush, atmospheric masterpiece.  The opening line was inspired by a quote from the George Eliot novel Middlemarch.  Johnny Marr's guitars were painstakingly crafted using multiple amps, which made the song difficult to play live in the 1980s.  (In fact, the band rarely played it live).  The video was put together by Sire Records; the band only found out about it after the fact (and by all accounts, was none too pleased).  Both the short and long versions of the video are below:

Cool trivia fact:  The 1990 Soho hit "Hippychick" starts with the famous guitar intro from "How Soon Is Now?"

Cool trivia fact #2:  A Love Spit Love cover was used in the movie The Craft, and as the theme to the U.S. TV Show Charmed.  (Love Spit Love was the Butler brothers' band after The Psychedelic Furs broke up).

Cool trivia fact #3:  Many critics believe that the intro was influenced by the Rolling Stones' 1964 cover of Bo Diddley's song, "Mona (I Need You Baby)."  Decide for yourself:

Lenny Kravitz - Let Love Rule

I think of Lenny Kravitz as a 1990s artist, but like Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, his first album came out in 1989.  Unlike Nine Inch Nails, Kravitz' music has a definite retro vibe; he has basically made a living with updated late 1960s/early 1970s rock and funk.  As a result, critics have panned his music as derivative.  While there is an element of truth to this, it is also unfair -- Kravitz' music has classic rock influences, but there are also modern touches, something that led to significant commercial success in the 1990s.

"Let Love Rule" was from Kravitz debut album of the same name, and it became his first charting single, at #89.  The album peaked at #61 and remains (as of this writing), Kravitz' only non-top 40 album of his entire career.  Interestingly, Kravitz has only had 4 top 40 singles, and "Are You Gonna Go My Way" was not one of them (it somehow failed to break the top 100 in the U.S.).

The video for "Let Love Rule" was directed by Lenny Kravitz' then-wife, Lisa Bonet (they divorced in 1993).  The home movie feel and use of kids was highly effective in my view and presented Kravitz as a modern hippie -- something that he didn't really shake until the success of 1993's "Are You Gonna Go My Way."

While "Let Love Rule" was a modest hit in the U.S., it really launched Kravitz in Europe, and he remains the rare artist who is probably more successful outside of his home country.

Cool trivia fact:  The video for "Let Love Rule" was nominated for MTV's best new artist award, but he didn't win -- Michael Penn did for "No Myth," which was featured on ERV in November 2012.

Motörhead - Ace of Spades

As subtle as artillery, Motörhead's punk-infused hard rock was way ahead of its time.  But while the band laid the groundwork for thrash and speed metal, they never really broke through commercially in the U.S.  Even today, when many critics sing the praises of the Ramones, the Sex Pistols and the Clash (deservedly so), Motörhead seems (sadly) to be a bit of a forgotten band.

Formed by  Lemmy (Ian Kilmister) in 1975 (!) after he was kicked out of Hawkwind, the new band (named after the last song that Lemmy wrote for Hawkwind) had a tough start.  In fact, by 1977, the trio including guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke and drummer "Philthy Animal" (Phil Taylor) were flat broke.  The band decided to do a farewell show before breaking up, which led to a one album contract with Chiswick Records.  The following year, they managed to sign a one single deal with Bronze Records, which was extended several times as the band's popularity grew in the U.K.

"Ace of Spades," from the 1980 album of the same name would go on to become the band's signature song.  The video is a simple performance piece and it fits well with the group's dark, rocking sound.  Motörhead is definitely a "let the music do the talking" sort of group, and it totally comes off in the video.  We also think that their sound has held up remarkably well (this is a 30 year old song!).

Lemmy continued to record and perform with Motörhead until his death in December 2015.  However, "Fast" Eddie Clarke left the group in 1982 to form Fastway, though he has played with Lemmy several times during the past few years. "Philthy Animal" (Phil Taylor) left Motörhead in 1984, rejoined the group in 1987 and left for good in 1992.

Motörhead recorded a cool, acoustic version of "Ace of Spades" for a Kronenbourg beer commercial in 2010; this version (well worth a listen) is below.

Cool trivia fact: Rolling Stone ranks the Ace of Spades LP at #408 on their list of the 500 greatest albums ever.

Tommy Tutone - 867-5309/Jenny

Tommy Tutone was a solid, straight-ahead rock band who came up with the killer single that most bands dream about.  That song, "867-5309/Jenny" shot to #4 on the charts and helped make Tommy Tutone 2 a #20 LP.  Interestingly, that was not Tommy Tutone's only top 40 hit (although they are often considered a one hit wonder) ... but more on that later.

The Northern California band was led by lead singer Tommy Heath and guitarist Jim Keller.  The group was originally called Tommy and the Tu-tones; this eventually was shortened to Tommy Tutone.  While there is some mythology around the song, it was simply a made-up story as there was no Jenny.  The song was co-written by Jim Keller (Tommy Tutone) and Alex Call (who also wrote "Perfect World" for Huey Lewis and the News and "Little Too Late" for Pat Benatar).

As alluded to before, Tommy Tutone had a minor hit in 1980 with "Angel Say No," which was our first choice for the blog.  However, it does not appear that a video was ever made for that song, so we put up an audio clip on the ERV Facebook page.  "Angel Say No," from Tommy Tutone's 1980 self-titled debut album, peaked at #38.

Unfortunately, the band's third album, 1983's National Emotion, barely broke the top 200 album charts and the group broke up.  Jim Keller remained in the industry, while Tommy Health apparently left the music business for a time.  They both have occasionally recorded and performed, and we believe that Tommy Heath has a version of Tommy Tutone together as of this writing.

Cool trivia fact:  The actress in "867-5390/Jenny" is Karen Morton, Playboy's Playmate of the month for July 1978.  For those who are interested, there is an interview with her on the Noblemania blog.

Jackson Browne - Somebody's Baby

While the video did not get much airplay on MTV, Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby" did become a big hit for him, hitting #7 on the charts.  In fact, this well-crafted song would end up becoming the highest charting hit of Browne's career.

"Somebody's Baby" was written for the Fast Times at Ridgemont High movie soundtrack.  The Cameron Crowe movie became an instant classic and gets ERV's highest recommendation (as does the later Crowe film, Almost Famous).  As a former Rolling Stone writer, Crowe is a true music aficionado, and his use of music in Fast Times is impeccable.

In some ways, Jackson Browne was a strange choice for the soundtrack.  While he remained successful as a singer/songwriter, his laid back folk style was somewhat out of favor by the early 1980s, as new wave and heavy metal were the next big things in popular music.  However, his haunting song fit right into the movie and retains a timeless feel to the present day.

While Browne continues to record, his releases have become less frequent over time.

Nazareth - Holiday

"Holiday" is a catchy tongue-in-cheek rock song that cleverly folds in several different musical styles (in particular, the chorus has a Caribbean feel that contrasts nicely with the rock verses).  It was released in 1980, and was off Nazareth's wonderfully named Malice in Wonderland LP, which goes on my "coolest album names ever" list, along with Thomas Dolby's Aliens Ate My Buick and the Hoodoo Gurus' Mars Needs Guitars.

Nazareth is an interesting band who never quite made it big, but managed to have a moderately successful career, while making some seriously good music.  The band started in Scotland in 1968 (!) and between 1975 and 1981, they had 7 consecutive albums break the U.S. top 100, although only 1975's Hair of the Dog broke the top 20.  We believe that they are an official one hit wonder, as only "Love Hurts" broke the top 40.  How "Hair of the Dog" didn't chart is beyond us.

"Holiday" did in fact chart, but it peaked at #87 in 1980.  The video combines the band performing with a young man playing a video game in a seemingly random way, but maybe it made more sense in 1980.  At any rate, it is a decent effort for an early video -- remember that MTV didn't even launch until August 1981. [As an aside, "Holiday" was played on MTV on the first day the channel was running -- it was video #138.]

Nazareth would continue to release albums on a regular basis through the 1980s, but without much success.  They continue to record and tour to this day -- the very definition of a hard working band.

Cool trivia fact that may interest only us:  The video game being played in the "Holiday" video is Super Road Champions, made by Model Racing in 1978.

The La's - There She Goes

Astute readers may look at this post and think, "Isn't this song from the early 1990s?"  And they would be half-right (but let's say wrong for the purpose of this blog).

The story of The La's centers around Lee Mavers, your garden-variety perfectionist/musical genius.  Creatively, Mavers was The La's, although there have been a succession of musicians who worked with him over the years.  The band formed in Liverpool in the mid 1980s, and signed their first recording contract in 1987.

The first version of "There She Goes" was released in 1988, and hit #59 on the UK charts, hence my assertion that this song belongs on the blog.  However, work on their self-titled first album took two additional years, before finally being released in 1990.  The remixed version of the song (from the LP) reappeared on the UK charts (#14) and hit the U.S. charts in 1991 (#49).  With the success of their first album, Mavers was given additional autonomy to record his second album.  This turned out to be a disastrous decision.  Work on the follow up LP started in 1991, but was never completed (the project was apparently abandoned in the mid-1990s).  Sadly, aside from an occasional appearance, Mavers has disappeared from view.

In terms of the song, it is a catchy 60s-influenced pop song with an unusual structure.  The song has no verses -- just a chorus (repeated 4 times) and a bridge.  And yet, the unusual structure only seems to add to the appeal.  There are unconfirmed rumors that "There She Goes" is about heroin use or is an allusion to "There She Goes Again" (Velvet Underground).  Or perhaps it is just a simple, honest love song.  Regardless, it has aged well and is now something of a rock standard.

As befits a song with a complex, interesting history, there are two videos.  And what kind of lame blog would this be if we didn't show our (few) loyal readers both versions?

The first version was shot in 1988:

And the second version came out in 1990:

Cool trivia fact:  the La's version of "There She Goes" has charted 4 separate times in the UK -- in 1988 (#59), 1990 (#14), 1999 (#65), and 2008 (#181).

The John Hall Band - Crazy

Here at ERV we are not above taking requests, even from (especially from) The Universe.  Tonight, on my way home from work, we were reflecting on which video to post next when this popped up on our local classic rock station.   Hence, we consider it a sign (or a request ... whatever), and as we have said at least once before, when The Universe makes a request, we listen.

You might not know John Hall's name (no, he was not in Hall & Oats) but you know his music.  He was a founder of Orleans, best know for their 1970s top 10 hits "Dance with Me" and "Still the One."  Hall left the band in 1977 (just after their two big hits) in search of a solo career, and as is often the case, it did not turn out that well.  The John Hall Band put out two albums (which did not break the top 100) and two singles, neither of which broke the top 40.

Hall's first solo single "Crazy" (sometimes with the added (Keep on Fallin')) from 1981's All of the Above is a typical early video -- it is just the band playing on a stage.  However, the catchy hook helped it go into heavy rotation for months in the early days of MTV.  We particularly enjoy the three lead vocals, with keyboardist Bob Leinbach challenging The Producers' Wayne Famous as the coolest 80s keyboard player.  The whole look, down to the matching blue glasses and jumpsuit is just ... Crazy, to coin a phrase.  Also, keep an eye out for the six guitar video effect (starting around 2:19).

Even with a solid song and the previously mentioned airplay on MTV, "Crazy" peaked at #42 in 1981, and the All of the Above album  was unable to break through at #158.  When 1983's Search Party LP did not fare much better (#147), EMI-America dropped the band.

During the 1980s Hall became increasingly involved in politics, eventually leading to two terms as a U.S. Representative from New York state.  Hence the Congressman John Hall Band on the video title (below).  Hall lost the 2010 election and has spent the time since with his family and performing at reunion shows with Orleans.

The extremely rare and surprisingly solid video for "You Sure Fooled Me" was posted on ERV in December, 2015, and is worth checking out.

Queen - Hammer to Fall

The first video for today is Queen's "Hammer to Fall," and is posted on what would have been Freddy Mercury's 65th birthday.  (Special shout out to Google Doodles and my friend Liz for pointing this out to me.)

We will point out that it was not easy finding a suitable 80s video for Queen -- most of their best work was recorded in the 1970s.  And much of their work in the 1980s was ... well, not great.

"Hammer to Fall" was the final single released from Queen's 1984 album, The Works.  The song did not chart in the U.S., and the video received limited airplay on MTV.  It some ways, the song is a throwback for Queen -- it reminds us of their earlier work, with a strong guitar riff, and of course, the wonderful overdubbed vocals.  For readers who have not explored Queen, they recorded some truly great songs.  Aside from "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Will Rock You," we particularly recommend "Tie Your Mother Down," "You're My Best Friend," "Fat Bottomed Girls," and "Don't Stop Me Now."

But we digress.  The video for "Hammer to Fall" was shot on The Works tour in Brussels and features Freddy Mercury in his typical understated outfit (yes, we are kidding).

Cool trivia fact:  Queen's guitarist, Brian May, does not use a pick to play guitar -- he uses a sixpence coin.