Sinéad O'Connor - Mandinka

Before her controversial antics turned her into a virtual pariah, Sinéad O'Connor was an important and interesting new artist.  Her debut album, 1987's The Lion and the Cobra is still viewed as a significant album for both alternative rock and female artists.  In fact, O'Connor's aggressive style set the stage for a host of female performers during the 1990s, including Liz Phair and Alanis Morissette.

For the blog, we have chosen "Mandinka," the song that really launched her career in the U.S.  The video was played on MTV a bit back in the day, including on 120 Minutes (now who remembers that show?), which helped to make it a college rock hit.  However, the song did not chart on the Billboard 100.

Of course, Sinéad O'Connor's follow up album, 1990's I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got became a huge hit (#1 just about everywhere), led by the Prince-penned "Nothing Compares 2 U" (also #1 just about everywhere).  From there, things went downhill in a hurry, as O'Connor's controversial political stands and erratic behavior hurt her popularity to the point that she was booed offstage at a Bob Dylan tribute concert.  She eventually "retired" from the music industry for a number of years, although she has released new material in recent years.

Cool trivia fact:  Sinéad O'Connor is a rare one hit wonder -- her only top 40 hit (the previously mentioned "Nothing Compares 2 U") was a #1 hit.  "The Emperor's New Clothes," O'Connor's only other charting hit in the U.S., peaked at #60.

The Kinks - Do It Again

One of the amazing things about music in the eighties was how diverse it was, something that we try to reflect at ERV.  In fact, along with all of the the new bands that came onto the scene, there were quite a few older bands that were still writing good songs -- Queen, Cheap Trick, Nazareth and Roxy Music are already up on the blog, for instance.  [Interestingly, it seems to us that many of these "classic rock" bands ran out of steam in the mid-1980s.]

"Do It Again," from the Kinks 1984 LP Word of Mouth was arguably the bands' last great song.  It was unarguably the last Kinks song to chart on the Billboard 100, peaking at #41.  This made it the 23rd top 100 U.S. single from the band, highlighting a career that spanned 20+ years.  While it would be hard to put the Kinks in the same category as the Beatles or the Stones, they have always seemed to be somewhat underrated to me.  The band has an extremely strong catalog of songs that should put them in the top tier of rock bands ever ... but somehow they seem to fly a bit under the radar.

At any rate, "Do It Again" is obviously autobiographical and both the song and video come off as nostalgic and perhaps a little bit weary.  Given the bands' long history and many ups and downs, it is easy to see where this comes from.  Even so, this does not take away from the song, and it remains a solid way to remember the band.

Cool trivia fact:  "Do It Again" is also the name of a wonderful documentary, about a newspaper reporter who decided to embark on a quest to convince the Kinks to reunite.  The doc gets ERV's highest review -- see it if you get the chance.

The S.O.S. Band - Take Your Time (Do It Right)

Long time reader(s) of ERV will know that we have a soft spot for early 80s funk, and "Take Your Time" is one catchy song.  We debated putting it up, since it is not a promotional video, but then we thought of all the positives:

1. It is a Soul Train clip ...
2. ... which means that Don Cornelius introduces the band.  Was there a cooler, more debonair dude ever?  (Maybe, but you have to think that Mr. Cornelius is in the discussion)
3. The song has a xylophone in it.  Funkiest xylophone ever?  (Maybe, but you have to think that this xylophone is in the discussion)
4. We totally love how much Bruno Speight (guitar) and John Alexander Simpson (bass) are grooving to the song (around 1:43 for the best example ... bopping in time)
5. The guitar line has to be on the short list of best funk guitar lines ever (see 2:55)
6. The band looks like they were some kind of funky navy ... or they had been watching too many Adam and the Ants videos

So there you go ... some readers may know that this was off the first (and self-titled) S.O.S. album, from 1980.  The album sold well, driven by "Take Your Time," which hit #3.  While the S.O.S. band did not have another top 40 hit on the main charts, they had a string of R&B hits, four of which showed up on the Billboard 100.  Most of these songs were produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis; the band worked with them starting in 1983.

Although there have been some personnel changes, the S.O.S. band continues to perform to the present day.

Cool trivia fact:  S.O.S. stands for Sound of Success.  The band was originally called Santa Monica (although they were from Atlanta, Georgia, as Mr. Cornelius points out), but they changed their name prior to their first album.

World Party - Ship of Fools

World Party are essentially a one-man band, formed by Welsh multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger in 1986.  Wallinger created World Party after leaving The Waterboys; he had been the keyboard player for that band from 1983 to 1986 (so he did play on the classic "The Whole of the Moon," which was previously featured on this blog.)

Wallinger recorded World Party's debut album, Private Revolution, at his home studio.  He also wrote and performed most of the instruments on the album, although he did use a few studio musicians, including a then-unknown Sinéad O'Connor.  Private Revolution was a psychedelic, retro-sounding pop album, and it did surprisingly well -- the LP hit #39 on the U.S. charts, while "Ship of Fools" clocked in at #27.

While World Party's 1990 follow-up, Goodbye Jumbo did not do as well (peaking at #73), it contains two great pop songs -- "Way Down Now" and "Put the Message in the Box" and it is recommended listening.  Wallinger continues to be active both as World Party, and with other musicians, although he did have a hiatus in the early 2000s due to a brain aneurysm (he has since fully recovered).  And for those keeping score at home, "Ship of Fools" was World Party's only top 40 U.S. hit.

Cool trivia fact:  While Wallinger did work with a few studio musicians on Private Revolution, he also listed multiple pseudonyms on the albums credits, including:  Delahaye, Rufus Dove, Will Towyn, Martin Finnucane, Ahmed Gottlieb and Millennium Mills.

Charlie Sexton - Beat's So Lonely

Part of the vibrant Austin, Texas blues scene, Charlie Sexton was taught guitar by W.C. Clark, the famed instructor of Stevie Ray and Jimmy Vaughan, among others.  By the mid-1980s, Sexton had developed a reputation as something of a guitar prodigy, which led to a recording contract.  Amazingly, his first album, 1985's Pictures for Pleasure, came out before Sexton's 17th birthday.

In an effort to make Sexton's sound more commercial, synthesizers and drum machines were added, which resulted in an inconsistent album.  However, this formula worked quite well on the lead single, "Beat's So Lonely," and the song became a hit, landing at #17, while the LP hit #15.  Unfortunately, none of Sexton's subsequent songs or albums did as well, leaving him as a one hit wonder.

Fortunately, Sexton remained in demand as a studio musician and collaborator with country, blues and rock artists including Bob Dylan, the Arc Angles, Lucinda Williams and  Edie Brickell.  He continues to write and perform to this day.

Planet P Project - Why Me?

Long time reader Krista requested this, and we have to say that it is an excellent pick, even if it did take us a minute to even remember the song.

Planet P Project (named after a planet from Robert A. Heinlein's book Starship Troopers) was an experimental band comprised of keyboardist Tony Carey and producer Peter Hauke.  Carey had previously played in Rainbow from 1976-77, and was working on his solo career in the early 1980s.  While Carey's solo work was relatively straight ahead rock, Planet P Project provided an outlet for his avant-garde side.

Amazingly, "Why Me?" caught somebody's eye at MTV and the video went into moderate rotation for a while.  It was definitely among the stranger things being played on the channel at the time, both musically and visually.  While "Why Me?" did not break the top 40, it did chart -- hitting #64, and helped the self-titled album reach #42 on the charts.  When the follow up album, 1984's Pink World only reached #121, Carey dropped Plant P, although he did reform the concept in 2005 and has released three albums in recent years.

Note that Tony Carey's 1982 single, "I Won't Be Home Tonight" was posted on ERV in July 2014.

The Call - Let the Day Begin

The Call are another in a long list of bands who were critically acclaimed, but never quite found their audience.  Other artists that would we would place in this category include Marshall Crenshaw and XTC.  Note that the Underrated label to the right captures a bunch of additional bands (or songs) that by all rights should have been bigger than they were.

The Call was led by singer-guitarist Michael Been, and formed in California in the early 1980s.  Critics liked their roots rock sound and sophisticated lyrics, with some referring to The Call as a kind of updated version of The Band.  These comparisons were likely helped by Robbie Robertson appearing on their 1985 album, Reconciled.  Peter Gabriel was also a fan, and guested on the same album.

"Let the Day Begin" from the 1989 LP of the same name was The Call's biggest hit -- it reached #51 on the charts, while the album peaked at #64.  Unfortunately, the band broke up in 1990, when Been left to pursue a solo career.  The Call then re-formed in 1997 but broke up for good in 2000.

Sadly, Michael Been died of a heart attack in 2010, while working as a sound tech for his son's band (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club).

Note that The Call's "When the Walls Came Down" was posted on ERV in June 2014.

Update [July 2021]: We found a cool behind the scenes video for the making of "Let the Day Begin," and have added it to the post.

Donnie Iris - Ah! Leah!

While the lyrics hint at a great story behind Donnie Iris' "Ah! Leah!," it turns out that there really isn't one.  In fact, the song originally had an anti-war concept before turning into a love / lust song, and the name came from a previous band mates' girlfriend.  Ah well.

"Ah! Leah!" was Donnie Iris' (given name:  Dominic Ierac) first solo hit, but he had an interesting career before that. He started as the lead singer of The Jaggerz, who had a huge hit in 1970 with "The Rapper."  After The Jaggerz broke up, Iris was asked to join Wild Cherry, who were popular based on their 1976 hit "Play That Funky Music."  And after Wild Cherry broke up, Iris went out on his own with Mark Avsec, the keyboard player for Wild Cherry.

Iris' first album, 1980's Back on the Streets, went to #57 on the charts, while "Ah! Leah!" hit #29.  Iris would go on to have 5 more charting singles, including two more top 40 hits through 1985, so there is no one hit wonder story here.  However, legal problems with his record label prevented any new material from being released from 1985 through 1992, which effectively ended Iris' mainstream popularity.  Even so, Iris (and Avsec) continue to record and perform to the present day.  

Cool trivia fact:  The actress in the "Ah! Leah!" video is rumored to be Joanna Lumley, who became famous as Patsy Stone in the BBC comedy Absolutely Fabulous.

Johnny Hates Jazz - Shattered Dreams

Named after a friend of the band (who really did hate jazz), Johnny Hates Jazz was one of a series of groups who shot to prominence, only to quickly fade away.  [Spandau Ballet, Cutting Crew, Level 42 and The Blow Monkeys all come to mind right away in this category.]

Johnny Hates Jazz formed in 1986 and were ironically signed by Virgin Records after performing at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London.  Seriously.  "Shattered Dreams" was their first single on Virgin, and it became a worldwide smash -- hitting #5 in the UK and #2 in the U.S. (where it was released in 1988).  Their follow up single, "I Don't Want to be a Hero," also from their debut LP Turn Back the Clock did reasonable well, peaking at #31 in the U.S.  For those keeping score at home, this means that Johnny Hates Jazz was not a one hit wonder.

While they did not appear on the U.S. charts after those two songs, the band had four additional top 100 songs in Britain, all but one from their Turn Back the Clock album.  The band (minus original lead signer Clark Datchler) did release a second album in 1991, but it did not chart, and they officially broke up soon afterwards.

The video shows the trio in fine form, and while it is a bit reminiscent of The Car's "You Might Think," it still gets a solid in my book. It was directed by David Fincher, who would go on to become a successful movie director (Seven, Fight Club, etc.)

Update [January 2021], as an added bonus, we are including the UK version of the video (below):

Glass Moon - On A Carousel

Glass Moon's "On A Carousel" is a perfect video for the blog because (1) it is rare and (2) it is a cover.  As many readers will know, ERV loves to highlight covers, especially of songs that are not commonly known to be remakes.  In this case, the cover was somewhat rare, so many folks may not know either the cover or the original version of this song.

Glass Moon was an early and brief MTV success story.  The band was from Raleigh, North Carolina and formed in the early 1970s.  They released three records in the early 1980s, and had three charting singles, with 1982's "On a Carousel" standing out as the only one that broke the top 100 -- it hit #50.  Unfortunately, the Growing in the Dark album did not chart, and the band broke up after their 1984 effort (Sympathetic Vibrations) did not do any better.

The video is a pretty typical early effort, mixing the band performing with some playground shots.  It is not the most polished video, but that just adds to the charm, in your author's opinion.  It did show up in moderate rotation for a time on MTV.

As to the song, "On a Carousel" is a cover of a Hollies song from 1967 that originally hit #11 on the U.S. charts (and #4 in the UK).  It is notable as the first Hollies song where Graham Nash was the lead vocalist (although it was only for the first few lines).  Nash would leave the Hollies in 1968 and go on to form Crosby, Stills and Nash.  (We think he ended up doing ok for himself.)

The 1982 Glass Moon version:

And the 1967 Hollies original -- the video filmed for a 1960s Granada TV program (or programme, if you are reading this in the UK):