The Toy Box

Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 313

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 313
Release Date: March 1989

Highlights

Todd McFarlane hid two spiders on the cover, can you find them?
Peter and Mary Jane are in a cab headed out of town to go check on Aunt May

As the cab drives through a tunnel, a flying shark comes at them, taking its roof off

Mary Jane pushes the cab driver's head down, while Peter webs the creature, and gives it a solid debilitating punch

In the ESU lab of Dr. Curt Connors, though he's resisting, the Lizard is taking control, and he changes into the villain
Reference is made to "current issues" of X-Men, New Mutants, and X-Factor
The two make it to Aunt May's, and find out that May left ten minutes ago to maker her way to their place

Spider-Man heads out to find her
While he's out looking, May returns, turned back to her home by a police officer who informed her all public transportation had been shut down

Despite separating initially, Martha Connors has started talking to her estranged husband since he informed her he can now control the Lizard, and she's on her way to see him with their son, Billy
After talking to the doorman at their apartment, Spider-Man learns that May has not been there, and decides that his next place to search should be his school, ESU
The school security guard, Officer Murphy has been possessed, and leads Martha and Billy into a demon trap

Lizard intervenes, telling the demons that the two are his, but is that a good or bad thing?

Meanwhile, two kids sneak into a warehouse where the floats for an upcoming parade are stored, and come across a giant Spider-Man balloon

Possessed, it comes to life and chases after them, but Spider-Man breaks the spike off of the Chrysler Building, and runs it through the balloon, popping it

It turns out to be a bad thing, and Lizard wants to kill his wife and kid

Spider-Man incapacitates him with a kick, and tells them he can cure him, but they need to get to his lab

Conveniently, this happens in seconds, and Spidey manages to easily get the formula down Lizard's throat, but it doesn't work

Spider-Man deduces that the chemicals need to be jump started with an electrical current, and when he attempts to juice Lizard with an electrical line is stopped by Billy

The Lizard takes the opportunity to knock Spider-Man away, and tell Billy he'll give him a quick death for the assistance, but being part human, Lizard's left hand begins to reist, and instead reaches for the electrical line

Lizard decides he will gnaw his own arm off, since he can simply grow it back later, but Spider-Man springs back into action, giving him a singe with a bunsen burner

The distraction is all his left arm needed to grab the electrical line, and give himself a solid shock, turning Curt Connors human again

Billy tries to go to his father, but his dad tells him to stay away

Connors tells his wife and kid to go somewhere he doesn't know, and that he'll send money through his wife's lawyer, but that he can't be with them

Mary Jane arrives at the school, and informs Peter that Aunt May is safely at home
In a cliffhanger ending, Jonathan Caesar is meeting with his lawyer, and vows to himself that since Mary Jane rejected to allow him to make her life heaven on Earth that he'll make it a nightmare that she'll never wake from
Did you find the hidden spiders?

Number one is on Lizard's right arm, just above Spider-Man's fingerless glove
Number two is on the ring finger of Lizard's right hand

Felix the Cat is hidden on the paper cup of the cab driver on the first page of the issue

Low Points

From the battle with Lizard to a sudden cure, everything just feels too convenient

Oddities

None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Retro Spins: Martha And The Muffins (M + M) - Danseparc

Though I didn't want to continue on with my listening sessions of Martha And The Muffins, I worried that if I stopped that I would never go back to them. It's not been an enjoyable series of albums to get through, and I am definitely not a fan at this point.

Canada on the other hand was still all in on them. When Danseparc was released in February of 1983, it somehow managed to peak at number thirty-six, the exact same chart position of their previously released This Is The Ice Age (1981). It even garnered a little attention in the USA, where it peaked on the Billboard 200 at 184. Overall, it was only their second album to chart in the US, with the first being their 1980 debut, Metro Music.

The landscape of Martha And The Muffins shifted considerably between 1981 and 1982. This began with the departure Carl Finkle just prior to the recording sessions for their previous album and was followed after its release by Nick Gane calling it quits. Shortly after the tour for the album, Andy Haas would also say his farewells. To fill the void, the band would bring in Jocelyne Lanois, and Nick Kent.

Now reduced to a four piece, the lineup of Martha Johnson, Mark Gane, Lanoise, and Kent headed to the studio in the spring of 1982 to lay down the tracks that would become 1983's Danseparc. Though it would continue their new wave style of music, the album would also adopt a dance sound.

In addition to changing their overall sound, at the bequest of Gane, the band would start to adopt the new name, M + M. However, not wanting to do so right away, the album would sport both Martha And The Muffins, as well as M + M on the cover. While subsequent albums would simply use M + M, Johnson would state in later interviews that the new name never stuck because their legacy was Martha And The Muffins.

For as much as I was dreading getting into yet another release from them, I have to admit that Danseparc started out pretty solid with Obedience, World Without Borders, and Walking Into Walls. The added layer of dance music really helped to elevate these tracks, which in turn made it a bit disappointing when the songs that followed returned to form of their previous material.

I don't know why, but their new wave dance combination gave off an almost Prince vibe. It's probably what helped me to get into it. However, by the end of it, and with the shift back, I was once again finding myself tuning it out, kind of bored. That was kind of disappointing because the band showed potential.

As I shifted my attention to their next album, 1984's Mystery Walk, I was immediately taken aback. I'm not sure what happened, because there's not much information there to fill in the gaps, but somehow, we went from four members of a band to an album where seventeen people are credited. Meanwhile, members Jocelyne Lanois and Nick Kent are nowhere to be found on it.

It turns out that at the end of the Danseparc tour on August 15, 1983, founding members Martha Johnson and Mark Gane had grown exhausted of the efforts of keeping a band together, and decided they wanted full creative control over the music. This resulted in them disbanding the group. Immediately following this, they began working strictly as M + M. This would come with a pivot in sound to that of electronic and dance. So, hey, maybe there's hope for them after all. I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I jump into M + M's pseudo debut, 1984's Mystery Walk.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 48

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 48
Release Date: March 1989

Highlights

Reference is made to The Spectacular Spider-Man 147, and The Amazing Spider-Man 313
Spider-Man remains knocked out after the fight with demons inside the Daily Bugle city room
J. Jonah Jameson admits that without Spider-Man's help that the city room would be a morgue, but follows this by stating that Spider-Man is probably behind all the troubles with the demons
Spider-Man comes to, but is hallucinating that everyone in the Bugle is a demon

After webbing Jameson's mouth, he jumps through a window, and swings away

Eduardo Lobo and Gloria Grant make their way through the carnage of the city

Eduardo saves her life from a machine that comes to life, and as they kiss, she tells herself she loves him

The demons attack Kingpin's tower, and learn quickly the mistake they've made as he makes short order of them with his bare hands

Kingpin sees it more of a failure on the Arranger's part to handle day to day affairs, and not interrupt his mission against the demise of Daredevil

He threatens to terminate the Arranger's employment

Possessed by the Demogoblin, Hobgoblin quickly realizes the mistake he's made trying to barter with N'Astirh

He only wanted the powers of a demon, not to be deformed

As he reflects on this, he sees a giant lizard man running through the brush, and think's he's going insane

But it really is the Lizard, AKA Dr. Curt Connors

Hobgoblin also see's Spider-Man swinging by, and blames him for what's happening to him

Spider-Man makes his way to the photo shoot where he looks for Mary Jane, and tracks her down to the sewers

The demons are there too, and they attack her and the photography crew

In Forest Hills, Norman Osborn checks on Aunt May
Back in the sewers, Spider-Man is attacked by Hobgoblin, and realizes he's faster and stronger

Hobgoblin shows him his demonic face and explains as they fight what happened

Meanwhile, Mary Jane and the crew with her realize that light frightens the demons away

Mary Jane decides that breaking the gas pipes and blowing the tunnel up is what they need to escape, but just as she's about to toss the flame, Spider-Man and Hobgoblin burst through a wall

She throws the fire on Hobgoblin, and Spider-Man in turn, and unintentionally kicks him down the tunnel, igniting the gas

In an epilogue ending, Aunt May decides to go to the city and look for her nephew

Low Points

None

Oddities

Editor's Day Off: Several panels with Spider-Man's eye lenses colored red

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Retro Spins: Martha And The Muffins - This Is The Ice Age

At $200.00, Martha And The Muffin's This Is The Ice Age, is their most expensive album in their discography to collect on CD. In general, none of them have been reasonably priced, and this is mainly because they didn't exist on anything other than vinyl and cassette for the longest time. They were slowly released by various labels between 2003 and 2017, a period when the world had seemingly shifted to digital formats. Meaning when CD's were produced, it was in by no means any form of volume. As such, funding pressed discs from that musical wasteland period does tend to get costly. So, to that regard, I understand what's driving the price, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Leading up to the recording sessions that would ultimately churn out their third record, bassist Carl Finkle would depart for undisclosed reasons and be replaced by Jocelyne Lanois. She'd introduce them to her brother, Daniel, who the band felt would be the best choice as producer for their next album. However, this would come with a caveat from Virgina Records, who informed the band that selecting an unknown producer would also mean they'd work with a lower budget.

The end result would be a more experimental album, one which would become a hit in their native Canada. It peaked at number thirty-six, and spawned two dance chart singles, Women Around The World At Work, and Swimming.

That's a perfect segue into today's Retro Spin, as the latter kicks the album off. While I'm not necessarily a fan of the vocals of Mark Gane on the track, he shines through with his fantastic guitar work, which makes the song quite enjoyable.

The second aforementioned single would follow but really didn't impress me all that much. In fact, that's pretty much the territory I once again find myself with Martha And The Muffins. Just not really impressive.

What I did notice, was that in the absence of Martha Ladly as co-vocalist, Gane was stepping in more as more to sing tracks. The problem here is that his style is very monotone, and candidly, quite boring. It doesn't add anything to any of the songs he takes the lead on.

As if to decide things weren't monotonous enough, the band shove a two-and-a-half-minute instrumental track in the middle of the album. It's very drab, serves as more atmospheric than a display of solid musicianship, and feels like its only purpose is to fill space. It misses the mark of everything that makes an instrumental track good. If I had to choose any additional standout tracks, I suppose Casualties Of Glass was decent, but as a whole, the album is pretty unsatisfying.

Needless to say, the "investment" on the albums is not paying off at all. But at least I wasn't the only one at this point who wanted to quit. Not wanting to tour anymore, Nick Gane would leave the band after the release of This Is The Ice Age. He'd be replaced by Nick Kent. Following the supporting tour, Andy Haas would also depart, citing creative differences. However, the band would not replace him and instead carry on as a four piece.

Unfortunately for me, I'm only at the halfway point of the band's 80's discography. With three more to go, I'm not looking forward to any of it. I don't know if I'll jump into their next album tomorrow, or if I'll tap out for a while. I'm really not enjoying their music.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Comics Corner: The Spectacular Spider-Man 147

Title: The Spectacular Spider-Man
Issue Number: 147
Release Date: February 1989

Highlights

First appearance of Mr. Wexler
Hobgoblin flies through the city, fresh off his defeat against Harry Osborn and Spider-Man, and acting like a baby about it

While he mopes, a group of demons attack him, but he's able to defeat them

The though of becoming a demon, as he's already dressed as one makes him ponder

Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 312, Web Of Spider-Man 47, and "current issues" of X-Men
Spider-Man gets knocked from the sky by a massive wind, and when he's slammed across a building façade is bitten by a gargoyle demon, and sent hurtling to the ground

After awakening from being knocked out, Spidey slowly makes his way to the Daily Bugle

Inside, led by J. Jonah Jameson, the staff are barricading the city room, and arming themselves for battle against the demons

Spider-Man enters the room, and passes out in Jameson's arms

At her now derailed photo shoot, Mary Jane and the crew are battling against their own series of attacking demons
As Green Goblin leaves the city, he's attacked by a water demon who tells him to stay within the barrier of the city to be a meal for his master, N'Astirh

Harry deduces he made it through the barrier before it closed, and decides he should check on Aunt May for Peter's sake

We see that several demons have gotten out of the barrier as well, and are swarming Queens

Hobgoblin makes his way to the Empire State Building, the source of the demons, and demands to see their master

Hobgoblin offers his sould to N'Astirh for demonic powers, and this makes the demon laugh, who then takes his soul before zapping him away

Back at the Bugle, the demons attack again

Spider-Man comes to, and fights side by side with Jonah

After the battle, Spider-Man's side begins to bleed again, causing him to also pass out again

The deal is done, and Hobgoblin becomes possessed by Demogoblin

Low Points

None

Oddities

In a moment of clarity, Robbie Robertson says he's been running from his issue with Tombstone too long, and it's time for him to take a stand

He's talking about the horde of frightened people preparing to attack him with handheld blunt objects

So he's afraid of Tombstone, but is brave now to take on a group of people in a physical fight?

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Retro Spins: Martha And The Muffins - Trance And Dance

When one thinks of the countries associated with major musical acts, the USA and UK top the list. Not often does Canada get brought up, though they do have a fair share of noteworthy acts, such as Ruch, Bryan Adams, Corey Hart, Men Without Hats, and Loverboy, to name ~~a few~~ most of them.

Among that crowd were guitarists David Millar and Mark Gane, who formed Martha And The Muffins in 1977. Of course, the name wouldn't come about until they brought lead singer and keyboardist Martha Johnson into the fold, who in turn invited her friend, bassist Carl Finkle. The lineup would be completed by Gane's brother, Tim, who took up the drums. Ironically, the name was only intended to be used temporarily until the band could come up with another that they all agreed on. They never expected to use it for their entire career.

By1978, Andy Haas joined the band as a saxophonist, but this was followed by Millar opting to step out of the spotlight, instead preferring to work on the band's sound engineer. He would be replaced by Martha Ladly, who stepped in as co-singer, and second keyboardist.

The band released the independent single, Insect Love, and a demo that same year, quickly garnering the attention of Dindisc, an offshoot of Virgin Records. The label would send them over to the UK in 1979, where they'd record the tracks for what would become their 1980 debut, Metro Music. The album would be met fairly well, peaking at number sixteen in their native Canada, as well as reaching the top fifty in Australia and the United Kingdom. Propelled by the lead single, Echo Beach, the album would also hit the Billboard 200 in the USA, with the album reaching gold certification. The single itself would perform well on multiple dance charts across the country.

Prior to the year ending, their second album, Trance And Dance would hit store shelves. Initial copies featured an additional four tracks of bonus live EP material. However, as a whole, it would perform poorly, spawning no hits, and failing to chart outside of Canada, where it also performed significantly worse than its predecessor.

For me, the only thing that Trance And Dance lacks over Metro Music is a single. Overall, it's more or less the same as the previous album, mediocre, but listenable punk / new wave. It's not awful by any means. It just doesn't have anything that stands out.

So far, the juice hasn't been worth the squeeze in my new endeavor of Martha and her Muffins. With an average buy in price of $70.00 per album, while I'm getting a unique listening experience, I'm not getting anything worth raving about. Meaning I'm also not getting any value out of my purchases. This is disappointing.

I will give credit to the instrumentation across it. There's no doubt that the members know how to play. Where they falter is with catchy choruses. Songs that stick in your head and have you humming along with them. Basically, they're talented musicians, but not hit makers. Maybe that's what makes them work for the fans that follow them, but for me, it's just not hitting the mark.

I'm not going to give up on them just yet, but I'm definitely reaching a point where boredom is setting in. We'll see how tomorrow goes when I jump into their most expensive album of them all, 1981's This Is The Ice Age.

Shortly after its release, Martha Ladly would depart, opting to follow an art scholarship. She would not be replaced by anyone, and instead, Martha And The Muffins would continue on with the reduced lineup. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be the last to depart, as leading up to the recording sessions for what would become This Is The Ice Age, Carl Finkle would also quit the band. That's where I pick up tomorrow.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 312

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 312
Release Date: February 1989

Highlights

Todd McFarlane hid one spider on the cover, can you find it?
First appearance of Eddie
Harry Osborn has once again become the Green Goblin, and he's out for vengeance against Hobgoblin for endangering his family

This time, Harry doesn't want to be the Goblin, but he knows that it's the only way he can protect his family

Reference is made to Web Of Spider-Man 47
At their apartment, Mary Jane and Peter want to Aunt May's together, but neither swallows their pride enough to say it

Mary Jane heads to her photo shoot, and Peter to the Bugle

Norman (the Green Goblin) arrives at his Manhattan office to find the place covered in ice, but knowing Hobgoblin couldn't possible have done this

Inside, an angry Hobgoblin shouts that Norman lied to him about the formula being there

The entire city is in utter chaos, including the Daily Bugle where the presses are printing pornography, and override controls aren't responding

This is all a result of the demons running amuck in the Inferno crossover story

After getting shouted at by Jameson, Peter heads to ESU, only to be told only staff are being admitted

Back at Osborn's office, the two Goblin's fight, but Harry admits to himself that he's frightened by what he's gotten himself into
At Empire State University, though he thinks that he can control his transformation, the Lizard suddenly takes control of doctor Curt Connors
Upon returning home, the door man gives Peter a note from Liz, informing him that Harry is missing, and worried he's gone after Hobgoblin
Meanwhile, at her photo shoot, Mary Jane's serpent jewelry comes to life, causing a panic
Spider-Man intervenes in the fight between the Goblins, but Harry yells at him to let him handle it, and protect his family

Spider-Man suggests he go stay with his friend Peter, but Harry tells him no, leading Spidey to conclude that at least he doesn't remember his secret identity

Spider-Man follows Hobgoblin and Green Goblin out into the city, but gets knocked into a water tower
Green Goblin manages to get the drop on Hobgoblin, nailing him with his entire satchel full of pumpkin bombs, causing him to crash his glider
Green Goblin tells Hobgoblin that the formula was destroyed, and if it hadn't been, he'd have used it himself to kill Hobgoblin

He then gives him a final warning to never come near his family again

Hobgoblin retreats after one final attack

Spider-Man tells Green Goblin the city could use another hero, but he declines, stating he has a family to take care of
The story ends with a cliffhanger of Lizard emerging from Curt Connor's office
Did you find the hidden spider? It's hidden in the smoke below Spider-Man's raised left hand

Felix the Cat is sitting in Norman Osborn's attic, seen on the very first splash page of the issue

Low Points

None

Oddities

None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Retro Spins: Martha And The Muffins - Metro Music

I was on Youtube one day, sifting through the plethora of 80's related music videos, hoping to find something new, but not really expecting it. Then this came on.

What the heck was a Marth And The Muffins? I'd never heard of it. The song was kind of catchy. Nothing amazing from the decade, but definitely something I could see myself playing again. Then the hunt began. Whoo, that was a downer. Not only are their six albums of the decade incredibly rare on CD, but man are they expensive. The average cost was about $70.00 per disc, with one album almost peaking at $200.00.

That was a heck of a lot of money for a band I'd never heard of. so why did I keep coming back to them, pondering the prospect of buying them? I think it all came down to uniqueness and rarity. Something to add to the trove that wasn't common in your average music collection.

Well, unfortunately, average seems to be the takeaway with their 1980 debut, Metro Music. Things kick off with Echo Beach, which sets the bar a bit high, perhaps too high for Martha and her Muffins. What follows is decent punk, dance, and new wave music, but sadly, no hits to really drive it home.

That stated, I did dig the Sinking Land. The instrumentation laid down on that one is so different from the rest of the album, and overall, it's just a cool tune. It gave me hope that across their remaining albums that there were more hidden gems to be uncovered.

Stylistically, it reminds me of older material from The Police, as well as Bow Wow Wow, XTC, and The Waitresses. Metro Music was a decent starting point into new territory, and I'm definitely down with hearing more. I just hope that the value starts to show itself because as of now, the cost outweighs that in spades.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 47
Release Date: February 1989

Highlights

The story picks up with Spider-Man catching up to Hobgoblin later that night, who's returned to Harry Osborn's plant
Reference is made to The Spectacular Spider-Man 146, and the Inferno crossover story arc
Though fighting, Hobgoblin informs him he had nothing to do with the destruction of the plant earlier that day
A creature comes up from the ground, grabbing Spider-Man, who makes short order of it

In the interim, Hobgoblin makes a hasty retreat

Spider-Man ponders why all these strange events as of late are not altering his spider senses

Glory Grant is once again out and about with Eduardo Lobo, the man who bumped into her at the Bugle

Ben Urich is in the same place with Joy Mercado, and when he see's Glory with Eduardo, he attempts to tell Joy who the man is, but this is interrupted by the escalator coming to life, and causing a ruckuss

Eduardo grabs Glory, and with ease leaps from the top floor of the mall to the lower level, telling her something bad is going down

Peter and Mary Jane, take cousin Kristy, and stay the weekend at Aunt May's house

While there, they pawn Kristy off on May, who is over the moon about the idea, and even says it's been a long time since she's had a child in the house, which doesn't sit well with Kristy who seems unhappy with being ditched

As Peter and Mary Jane leave later that morning, Kristy makes a comment to herself that one day Peter will be hers
Peter stops by Harry Osborn's house, and perched on the roof, unseen, is Hobgoblin

Liz is outside, and tells Peter she's worried about her husband, who's been in the attic all day

Peter makes his way to the attic, and is not warmly welcomed

As Harry yells at him to go away, his family screaming outside pushes him into action

Outside, Hobgoblin is attacking

Hobgoblin demand's Norman Osborn's formula from Harry

Spider-Man intervenes, but the battle ends with Hobgoblin spraying him in the face with tear gas

Harry bluffs, telling Hobgoblin the formula is in the safe in his office, causing the villain to depart with a warning that he'll be back if it's a lie

Ben Urich bursts into J. Jonah Jameson's office to inform him of fires breaking out everywhere, and demons running rampant around the city

Jameson tells him when he was younger that the bomb was the impending doomsday when he was younger, and he used to practice writing articles based on the end of the world, referring to it as "very funny"

After leaving his family with the neighbors, Harry returns to the attic, determined that his father would have done something to protect his family, and continuing his search finally finds what he's looking for, the costume and accessories of the Green Goblin

Low Points

None

Oddities

None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Retro Spins: Difford & Tilbrook - Difford & Tilbrook

One more Squeeze related album before we move on to other things. When the group initially broke up in 1982, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook decided to continue writing together, and eventually released their one and only album under the name Difford & Tilbrook in 1984.

Despite being released by the duo, since the two were the main songwriters for the band, their "solo" effort has often been regarded as a Squeeze album. In fact, remastered tracks have been included on the band's compilation albums, Piccadilly Collection and Excess Moderation, both released in 1996.

Unfortunately, it continues the trend of Squeeze, wherein the album really doesn't make many waves in the sea of 80's music. While it produced three singles, only one, Love's Crashing Waves, would be a minor hit, peaking at fifty-seven in the UK. It does, however, introduce us to bassist, Keith Wilkinson, who would join Squeeze when formally reform in 1985.

With the opening track, Action Speaks Louder, my mind immediately went to the territory of Queen's Hot Space. It's that kind of system shock, in terms of abrupt musical style change. It even sounds like it belongs in an 80's dance club.

Things then shift without warning to a string and bass disco type sound for Love Comes Crashing Down. So far, this album felt like it was going to be all over the place, unfocused, and incohesive. Ironically, the first two tracks also weren't bad. They just didn't really fit together.

Depending on your view, for better or worse, the disco sounds continued. For me, it worked out just fine. I am, after all, a fan of ABBA, Kool & The Gang, and Bee-Gees. Despite this, I soon found myself only mildly paying attention. At this point, the whole aspect of Squeeze had run its course with me. It was growing monotonous, and my brain needed something else. It didn't help that when I did tune in mentally, things were mediocre at best. I did notice though that at some point in all of this, things did shift back to a more new wave and pop sound.

About the only other standout among the ten tracks was Picking Up The Pieces, but with that noted, I can't honestly say I'd ever find myself stating, "I need to hear that again." In fact, that's pretty much how I feel about the whole album. As I sit here and reflect on that statement, I ponder I would be happier if I actually learned to let go, and purged my CD collection down to the albums I would actually play again. It will probably never happen, but I image if I did that my collection would deflate to two or three shelves, versus the seven it's currently at.

I digress though.

As noted above, Difford and Tilbrook eventually reformed Squeeze, and from their, the history of the band has remained ongoing, albeit with another brief breakup in 1999. If you want to read all about that, please dive into the last series of posts for my listening session of their entire 80's discography. Until then, I'm off to find my next Retro Spin adventure.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Comics Corner: The Spectacular Spider-Man 146

Title: The Spectacular Spider-Man
Issue Number: 146
Release Date: January 1989

Highlights

As Spider-Man swings home, happy with his day, he's suddenly attached by a robotic monster air vent, and worse, his spidey sense doesn't warn him

He makes short order of it, but finds no clues as to who was behind the attack

Mary Jane and her cousin, Kristy, walk home with groceries, and we learn from Kristy thinking to herself that her parents don't actually know she's there

As the two enter the Bedford Towers building, a lamp post above seemingly comes to life

A still recovering Joe Robertson returns home from a walk, letting his wife know he managed to make it around the block
Joe and his wife still disagree with him pleading guilty as an accessory to Tombstone's murders
Harry Osborne is once again woken up by nightmares

His wife convinces him that moving back to the old Osborne house wasn't a good idea, and Harry agrees to move back to Jersey over the weekend

Meanwhile, outside, Hobgoblin once again watches the house

Cousin Kristy sneaks into the bathroom while Peter is showering, and gives him a towel

Mary Jane tells her not to flirt with her man

Harry calls Peter and asks him to meet him at his chemical plant in Manhattan

Peter immediately worries if the Green Goblin has something to do with it

Ben Urich is on the scene of a crime where twenty local mob lieutenants have been murdered

There's blood spelling out a threat to Kingpin on one of the tables

The Arrangers arrives, but plays dumb, saying that the location is merely one of Wilson Fisk's assets, and he has no knowledge of what happened

At the Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson goes ballistic over a headline on the front page about poltergeists
Eduardo Lobo bumps into Glory Grant, and to apologize, takes her to lunch, swooning her every step of the way
At the chemical plant, Peter tells Harry to sell his dad's old house, and move back to Jersey, but just as he says this, his spider senses kick in

The pipes around the plant come to life, and start attacking, but just as they do, Peter's spidey senses stop working

A quick change to Spider-Man, and our hero is thrust into the job of saving his friend's life

As he does, he ponders if the timing of Harry's nightmares, and the sudden inanimate objects coming to life are somehow connected

As the plant burns, Harry gets angry, telling Peter it's all he had left of his dad, and rebuilding it would mean it would never be the same again

Spider-Man catches a glimpse of Hobgoblin flying away from the scene

That night, Harry awakens again from a nightmare, but this time when he goes to the bathroom to get a drink of water, the face of Green Goblin stares at him in the mirror, telling him the he, Harry, belongs to him

Low Points

None

Oddities

None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Retro Spins: Squeeze - Frank

When I was deciding if I was going to focus in on Squeeze and grab their remaining albums for my collection, I came across the song, If It's Love. This instantly cemented that decision, with me stating to myself, "I really like the vocals of Glenn Tilbrook."

Frank serves as the last release from Squeeze for the decade, and unfortunately, it would fail to produce any successful singles for the band. This, for me, is particularly disappointing based on how much I dug the above noted tune. However, in retrospect, there's no doubt that the landscape of music was changing by 1989. Hair metal had come and gone, and in its wake was the evolving grunge scene. The world had seemingly moved on from pop rock, at the time, myself included.

Things started out great with If Its Love, and provided additional standouts such asPeyton Place, Rose I Said, and (This Could Be) The Last Time. However, it was around the latter, that I suddenly found myself uninterested. The remaining tracks to come simply weren't resonating, and I actually found myself saying by track eleven (of twelve), "Isn't this thing done yet?"

While Squeeze still had a solid layer of instrumentation across all the songs on Frank, it did feel like a more straightforward rock and roll album versus the new wave and pop sounds that filled the majority of their 80's discography. I suppose I don't fault the band for evolving with the times, but on the same hand, when you listen to albums back to back, these shifts can feel out of place. I suppose had I listened to it in 1989, it would have felt like a more natural transition.

Ironically, the album ends with the track, Is It Too Late, which picks things up a bit with its New Orleans vintage club sound. While I initially wasn't paying that much attention, it was the lyrics, "(Is it too late) To kick me in the teeth? (Is it too late) Knock them down my throat? (Is it too late?)" that my mind jolted back with a, "Wait, what'd he just say?"

Despite this sudden new investment, the album ended after the song faded, leaving me to sit here thinking, "Eh, it was just okay." Based on its reception at the time of it original release, I don't appear to be alone in this mindset.

The end result of Franks lackluster response would be A&E dropping Squeeze, the band which they had supported since their 1978 debut, and across eight studio albums. Undeterred, Squeeze made a deal with I.R.S. to release the live album, A Round And A Bout, while also adding new keyboardist, Matt Irving.

By this time, the television career of Jool Holland was booming, and he opted to leave the band to pursue not only that, but a solo career. It would be his second departure from the band, and he would not be immediately replaced.

Still undeterred, the band signed with Reprise, and released 1991's Play. Unfortunately, this would prove to be another failure, and ironically, A&E would sign them again, releasing 1993's Some Fantastic Place, and 1995's Ridiculous. Despite both albums making the top fifty in the UK, Squeeze would continue to experience difficulties with major labels, and depart in 1997 to release albums independently.

During this entire period, lineup changes would continue to occur. This included Gilson Lavis being fired in 1992 after relapsing into alcoholism, and Keith Wilkinson, who departed after 1995's Some Fantastic Place for undocumented reasons. With that said, it was surprising to see that Paul Carrack would make a brief return to the band, his first since singing the lead on Tempted back in 1982 for East Side Story. However, his return would be very brief.

Squeeze would break up again in 1999, with both Tilbrook and Difford going on to solo careers. An attempt at reuniting Difford, Tilbrook, Holland, Wilkinson and Lavis seemed to start positively in 2004 when spearheaded by the VH1 series, Bands Reunited. Unfortunately, it ultimately didn't happen, Holland would state he was too busy, Lavis would only express mild interest, and Tilbrook completely decided against it.

In 2007 it was announced by Difford and Tilbrook that they were going to reform Squeeze. While they'd release four albums between 2010 and 2026 the two would be the only reoccurring classic lineup members. With an ever rotating lineup, the band continues to actively tour, and who knows, maybe they have some more studio album in them that will come down the pike.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 311

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 311
Release Date: January 1989

Highlights

McFarlane's hidden four spiders on this issue's cover, can you find them all?
First appearance of "Peanuts" Mulroney
Spider-Man swings over the New York library, and sees the lion statues outside have come to life

He makes short order of them, but starts to feel nausea coming over him, and quickly sings away

No sooner than he's on his way, Spider-Man comes across "Peanuts" Mulroney robbing a couple, and makes short work of him too

As soon as that's done, the building he's attached to feels like it's moving, and a façade shaped giant bursts from it

Though Spidey destroys it by chucking a car at it, it's not before the creature smashes and kills the man who Spider-Man just saved

Peter returns home, and confides in his wife what just happened, stating he doesn't know how to deal with someone dying because of him (see oddities)
The next day at school, Peter runs into Doctor Connors, and says the two should work together, but as he leaves, Connors admits to himself that he's been feeling strange as of late
That evening, Peter and Mary Jane go to a sponsored party for a client who's hired her

While there, a man enters, and causes a scene, but instinctively, Peter jumps in and stops him

Seeing this Mary Jane gives him the pep talk he needs to keep going as Spider-Man

Spider-Man returns to the alley and retrieves his camera, and while there, he starts to put things together

There's no wreckage, no sign of a fight, and no fog like the other evening

Spider-Man tracks down "Peanuts" Mulroney, and convinces him rather quickly to tell him where he can find the man who paid him

Spider-Man gets led to Mysterio

Spider-Man is quick to deduce that Mysterio is drawing power from the building to provide energy to his props and robots

Spidey destroy the main source, causing Mysterio's suit to automatically compensate for the sudden drop in power, overloading it with energy

In an epilogue ending, Harry Osborne wakes up from a nightmare about Green Goblin, and when he goes to check on his son, it cuts to the outside of his house where Hobgoblin is grinning ear to ear
Did you find the hidden spiders?

One is located on Mysterio's gauntlet on the left, and the other three on the gauntlet on the right

There are two hidden Felix the Cats in this issue

One is being held by a sleeping child, and the other hidden in the mist of Mysterio

Low Points

The battle with Mysterio is short, and warps up with no real satisfactory ending beyond him being back in custody
Though it's not hindered by it (yet), this is the first Spider-Man issue sandwiched in yet another Marvel crossover event called, Inferno, which spreads across thirty-nine issues of varying titles

Oddities

Peter says he doesn't know how to go on with someone dying, and him being responsible for it, um...Gwen Stacy, Captain Stacy, Ben Parker? Any of these names ring a bell with Spidey?

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.