Today's the day. I'm on my final 80's album from The Flirts. It was a journey that initially started out great, but by album three (of five) started to wear a bit thin. The "newness" wore off, and the overall lack of hits was definitely becoming a problem for me. It will be interesting to see if the girls close out the decade with something solid.
It's interesting to note that Miss You would peak in 1986 at number fifteen on the Billboard Dance Charts. However, the song doesn't appear to have been released on any studio album. Instead, it seems it was only released as a single in two different formats. The first is the twelve inch single, which features three different mixes, and the second, a seven-inch single which includes Voulez Vous from 1985's Blondes Brunettes & Redheads as the B-side.
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Well, this one took a unique turn. The opening track, All You Ever Think About Is (Sex)! brings with it a very mature theme. Additionally, the once new wave sound is overtaken with a more R&B, somewhat rap style. It's different. I don't know if it's in a good way, but different, nonetheless.
Another thing I noticed was the overall lack of singing. Several tracks were filled with standard line reading. That's a unique style in moderation but doesn't work when it's the whole schtick.
Everything became a giant joke with track three, Boys On The Beach. Here, let me give you a taste:
Save the dolphins
Down with people who wear dead animal furs
Free lunch, free dinner, free rent for everyone
Save the whales
Equal pay for equal (something incoherent)
Feed the starving muskrats of Beverly Hills
People unite against nuclear conflict
Outlaw dogcatchers
It then does a complete 180, with the girls singing about radios blasting, the sun shining, and boys on the beach. Further mind-numbing lyrics include the opening to Special Angel:
Is there really life on other planets?
No!
I'm just going to say what keeps crossing my mind. Questions Of The Heart is a really dumb album, and a real lame way to close out the decade, studio album wise.
While The Flirts wouldn't release another studio album until 1992's Take A Chance On Me, they did produce two additional twelve-inch singles. The first was 1988's A Thing Called Love, and the second, 1989's After School. Both would feature multiple mixes of their respective track, but both would also not find any chart success.
About the only noteworthy aspect I found was for After School, which featured Full Force. Though I've never heard any of their studio albums, I am familiar with them for working with Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam on their 1985 debut album.
As for The Flirts, Questions Of The Heart wraps up my trip through their 80's discography. Like I mentioned many times throughout the multiple albums, while there's nothing Earth shattering to be found here, it was still a fun time listening to all of that new wave goodness. I'd definitely like to find more albums like this. Not necessarily new wave, but 80's oriented, new to me, but also fun at the same time. That's good stuff.
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