Belinda Carlisle - Mad About You

We don't dislike Belinda Carlisle -- really, we don't.  While her solo work was a bit slick and commercial for our taste it was also pretty inoffensive.  And truth be told, there is nothing wrong with a good pop song.  In fact, we tend to be somewhat deferential here at ERV, recognizing the tremendous amount of skill and work that goes into writing and recording any song.

Having said that, we found Carlisle's solo career somewhat disappointing.  The Go-Go's brand of new wave and surf influenced pop rock was creative and interesting -- even at the end, they were still churning out solid material, such as "Turn to You" (featured on ERV in November 2012).  In contrast, Carlisle seemed to take the safe route, recording well-crafted but less interesting pop songs.  We wonder if part of the issue was losing the songwriting influence of Jane Wiedlin, who co-wrote many of The Go-Go's strongest songs (often with Charlotte Caffey who continued to work with Carlisle).

Anyhow, "Mad About You" was the lead single off Belinda Carlisle's 1986 solo album, and it did quite well, hitting #3 on the charts, while the Belinda LP peaked at #13.  Carlisle would go on to have five additional top 40 singles and two additional top 40 albums before her success waned.

The video for "Mad About You" was directed by Leslie Libman, who would go on to become a successful TV director.  The video features Morgan Mason, Belinda Carlisle's husband (in fact, they married in 1986) and Andy Taylor (of Duran Duran fame) playing the guitar solo, just as he did on the record.

Cool trivia fact:  "Mad About You" was originally intended to be a Go-Go's song when the band briefly considered recording an album without Jane Wiedlin.

The Faith Brothers - A Stranger On Home Ground

The Faith Brothers were a British pop/rock band who recorded two strong albums in the mid-1980s.  Led by their passionate and political frontman, Billy Franks, their sound contained elements of rock, pop and soul.  The band was also known for their thoughtful lyrics, which often addressed social or political issues.

The group formed in Fulham, London and released their first album, Eventide (A Hymn For Change) in 1985.  "A Stranger On Home Ground" comes from this LP (it was the second single, we believe).  A second album (A Human Sound) following in 1987, but neither record broke through commercially, and the group broke up by the end of the decade.

We don't recall hearing this back in the day, but came across it while researching the blog and enjoyed it.  This is a true rare video, from a unique band who never quite found their audience.

Cool trivia fact:  In 2009, Billy Franks was the subject of a documentary called Tribute This! where he and three friends tried to recruit 10 famous artists to do a tribute album to ... Billy Franks.  (Yes, really).

Queensrÿche - I Don't Believe In Love

Although they were often categorized as a heavy metal band, Queensrÿche was actually more of an alternative hard rock band.  Their music combined a guitar-driven sound and Geoff Tate's screaming vocals with elements of progressive rock and Pink Floyd.  The result was some of the most unique and interesting rock music of the decade.

The band formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington and they released their self titled debut EP in 1983.  Two successful LPs followed in 1984 and 1986 before the group released the audacious concept album Operation: Mindcrime in 1988.

Mindcrime tells the story of a drug addict who gets involved with a revolutionary group, with disastrous results.  The story begins and ends in the same place -- with the lead character, in a psychiatric hospital.  A great review is on Something Else Reviews, which goes into more detail.  Many critics consider the LP to be one of the best concept albums of all time and one of the best hard rock albums of the 1980s.

For the blog, we went with "I Don't Believe In Love."  Interestingly, none of the singles from Mindcrime charted, although the album went platinum and reached #50 on the charts.

After Mindcrime, Queensrÿche released several strong albums, including 1990's Empire, which included the group's only top 40 single, "Silent Lucidity" (#9), making the band an official one hit wonder.

Original guitarist (and songwriter) Chris DeGarmo left the group in 1997.  In 2012, lead singer Geoff Tate was fired, which led to a court battle.  As a result, there are currently two versions of Queensrÿche using the name.

Blotto - I Wanna Be A Lifeguard

The 36th video played on MTV's first day was the humorous and slightly bizarre "I Wanna Be a Lifeguard" by Blotto.  The video music channel continued to play the video for some time, and it became something of a trendsetter -- in its early years, MTV played a small number of eccentric videos mixed in with more traditional counterparts.  This gradually ended by the late 1980s.

Blotto was an unlikely success story.  The band formed in 1978 in Albany, New York and built a small following over the next couple of years.  Named after a dog in the 1931 Thorne Smith novel The Night Life of the Gods, the group used pseudonyms -- all with the last name Blotto (a nod to the Ramones).  Their comedy-infused new wave was not totally out of place with acts like the B-52s and The Tubes leading to gigs in metro New York (coincidentally, the headquarters of MTV).

In 1980, the band cut an EP - Hello, My Name Is Blotto, What's Yours and worked with some students at SUNY Albany to make a video of "I Wanna Be A Lifeguard."  The result is below.  In retrospect, videos with any kind of story were rare in the early days of MTV, giving the band a leg up.

Unfortunately, this early exposure did not lead to a huge amount of success as MTV was just starting its meteoric rise.  Blotto did release some additional work including an LP (1983's Combo Akimbo) before breaking up in 1984.  The surviving members of the group (bassist "Cheese Blotto" (Keith Stephenson) passed away in 1999) continue to perform periodically as of this writing.

Santana - Winning

It is nearly impossible to summarize Carlos Santana's long and storied career in a few sentences, so we'll direct readers to Allmusic instead.  (how's that for a cop out?)  Suffice to say that his brand of Latin-influenced rock has been influential since the late 1960s.  It is also worth noting that the band's commercial success has ebbed and flowed through the years.

In general, the 1980s and 1990s (prior to 1999's Supernatural) were not terribly kind to the group, although they did have a few hits here and there.  One such hit was 1981's "Winning" from the Zeebop! album.  The song reached #17 on the charts, while the album hit #9.

I don't recall ever seeing the video on MTV which makes sense as Santana was seen as an older band in the early 1980s.  Additionally, the video itself is a basic performance piece that would not have stood out at the time. However, it is a solid song, highlighted by Santana's signature guitar sound and the strong vocals of Alex Ligertwood (lead singer of Santana from 1979 through 1994, with a bunch of breaks).

One cool aspect of "Winning" is that it is a cover of a song by Russ Ballard.  Ballard is an interesting figure who wrote several great rock songs, but never hit it big on his own.  His songwriting credits include:  "Free Me" (for Roger Daltrey),"You Can Do Magic," (America), "I Know There's Something Going On," (Frida), "New York Groove," (covered by Ace Frehley), and "I Surrender" and "Since You Been Gone" (both covered by Rainbow).

The Santana video:

The original version by Russ Ballard:

Jody Watley - Still A Thrill

The Queen of Cool, Jody Watley, was a major star for a few years in the late 1980s.  Between 1987 and 1989, she scored two top 20 albums and six top 10 hits.  While her pop success has faded since then, she remains active and continues to have dance hits to the present day.

Watley got her start as a Soul Train dancer, and then was invited to join Shalamar in 1977.  Frustrated by the group's lack of interest in her songs, she left the group in 1982 and moved to London, where she worked with Musical Youth and Art of Noise (she was also part of the 1984 Band Aid project).  She later returned to the U.S. and released her eponymous (and hugely successful) solo album in 1987.

For the blog, we went with "Still A Thrill," a lesser-known single from her debut album.  The song only reached #56 on the charts, and we do not think that the video was widely played at all.  This is a shame, because it is a great late 1980s funk song, with a definite Minneapolis feel to it.  It turns out the Watley's co-writer was none other than André Cymone, who had been Prince's bass player (pre-Revolution).  Cymone and Watley were also married until 1995.

Cool trivia fact: Watley's dance partner (and choreographer) was Tyrone “The Bone” Proctor, a fellow Soul Train dancer from back in the day.

Bob Mould - See A Little Light

Best known for his work in the influential alternative band Hüsker Dü, guitarist Bob Mould continued recording and performing after Hüsker Dü's demise in 1988.  His work as a solo artist and in the band Sugar showed that his artistic growth, which began in Hüsker Dü, continued long after that group broke up.

For readers who  are unfamiliar with Hüsker Dü, they are simply one of the most important alternative artists of the 1980s.  Specifically, their migration from hardcore punk to a more melodic punk/rock sound laid the groundwork for the 1990s and influenced bands as varied as Nirvana, The Replacements and The Pixies.

"See A Little Light" is off Mould's first solo album, 1989's Workbook, which is a well-crafted and surprising record.  While Hüsker Dü's punk/rock songs had a definite pop sensibility, many listeners were probably still unprepared for the indie approach taken here.  The pop sound is front and center, with some strong folk influences added in.  Sadly, the song and album deserved better results than they achieved -- the song did not break the top 100, and the album peaked at #127.

After two softer solo records, Mould founded Sugar in 1992 and returned to a more alternative rock sound.  Sugar broke up in 1995, but Mould has remained active in the industry (with some extended breaks) to the present day.

By the by, Hüsker Dü's "Makes No Sense At All" was posted on ERV in March 2014.

Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes - New Romeo

Some bands are just better live.  Case in point:  Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes.  While their live shows were the stuff of legend, this never seemed to translate to vinyl.  As a result, they were local heroes at the Jersey Shore, but never became household names.

Southside Johnny (John Lyon) began playing in bars in the early 1970s, and was part of the dynamic Asbury Park, NJ music scene, which also included Bruce Springsteen and musicians who eventually became the E Street Band.  By 1975, the Jukes lineup had more or less solidified, and included Steven Van Zandt.  A recording contract followed, as did a bunch of records, but Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes were never able to really establish themselves, hurt by the long shadow of Springsteen and a lack of standout original material.  In fact, many of the group's best-known songs were covers, which bring us to ...

"New Romeo" which was a modest hit for the band in 1984.  The song was off their In the Heat album and did generate a bit of radio play at the time, but was not a major success.  The album reached #164 on the charts, while the song peaked at #103.

It turns out that "New Romeo" was a cover of an Alex Call song.  Who is Alex Call? (glad that you asked).  Call was a founding member of the California country rock band Clover, who are best known as the backing band for Elvis Costello's spectacular debut album, My Aim is True.  Huey Lewis was also a member of the band for a time.  But Call is probably best known for co-writing "867-5309/Jenny" for Tommy Tutone, which was featured on ERV back in June.

The Southside Johnny video is not half bad, and features early appearances by actors Willem Dafoe and Vince Spano:

And the original Alex Call version of the song:

Aztec Camera - Oblivious

Aztec Camera is another in a long line of interesting pop bands who never broke through.  While they were generally well-regarded by critics, their acoustic pop sound may have been seen as out of step with the musical trends of the time.  This resulted in very little success in the U.S., where none of their singles charted on the main charts, and none of their albums broke the top 100.  Fortunately, they did better in their native Britain, where they had 15 charting songs, including six that broke the top 40.

The band was led by Scottish singer-songwriter Roddy Frame; in fact, for all practical purposes he was Aztec Camera.  He began recording indy demos at the age of 16, and caught the ear of legendary BBC DJ John Peel, which led to radio play and a recording contract.

"Oblivious" comes off the group's first album, 1983's High Land, Hard Rain.  This album is now generally regarded as the group's best effort, made all the more amazing by the fact that Roddy Frame was all of 19 when it was released.  It is a great example of their work -- a well-crafted pop song with catchy hooks and clever lyrics.

It appears that Aztec Camera made two videos for the song, so we will include both here.

By the by, Aztec Camera did a very cool cover of Van Halen's "Jump" (yes, really) that is up on the ERV Facebook page.

The Pursuit of Happiness - I'm An Adult Now

Many years ago, when I was in college, I had a really cool friend -- Catherine Alice, though she went by Ali.  Ali's two favorite expressions were: "Bodacious ta-tas" (originally from the movie An Officer and a Gentleman) and "Cheese-eating high school boy" from The Pursuit of Happiness song, "I'm An Adult Now."  It is slightly amazing that hearing this song recently (while working on the blog) reminded my of Ali and her expressions, 25 years later.

At any rate, The Pursuit of Happiness (TPOH) was a Canadian independent band fronted by Moe Berg.  Although Berg was from Edmonton, the group formed in 1985, when he moved to Toronto.  TPOH released a few independent singles (including "I'm An Adult Now") before signing with Chrysalis Records.  Their first LP, Love Junk was produced by Todd Rundgren (who appeared on ERV back in March), and was released in 1988.

TPOH crafted some clever college rock material, but they never broke through in the U.S.  Love Junk peaked at #93 on the album charts, and "I'm An Adult Now" did not chart, although it did generate a little bit of airplay on MTV and college radio.

While The Pursuit of Happiness never officially broke up, they more or less stopped recording after 1996, though they did record two new tracks for a 2005 greatest hits collection.  Moe Berg remains in the music industry as of this writing, working primarily as a producer.

Note that we have two videos for the song -- the 1986 original independent video:

And the 1988 version: