Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 118

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 118
Release Date: June 1982

Highlights

  • First appearance of Matthew Power
  • First appearance of the Scarsdale location
  • Hot on the heels of the last issue, Wolverine invites Spider-Man back to Xavier's Mansion to "relax" in the Danger Room
  • Reference is made to Micronauts 25, Captain America 286, and The Defenders 106
  • Anthony Power's plan backfires, and he ends up destroying his fragile son's mind
Low Points
  • Professor Xavier disciplines Wolverine verbally in front of Spider-Man, and Wolverine pulls his claws on the Professor, and tells him to basically watch what he says
Oddities
  • Editor's Day Off: Wolverine says, "Keep on yer toes in here - or ya ya might lose 'em!"

  • Web copter...'nuff said

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



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Retro Spins: Charlie Sexton - Pictures For Pleasure

 

He's had many names in the industry, Little Charlie, Guitar Charlie Sexton, that Guitarist From Bob Dylan's Band, or simply just Charlie Sexton. Whatever you call him, Sexton was no noob to the world of music when he released his debut solo album, Pictures For Pleasure in 1985.

The album was released when the singer / songwriter / guitarist was just sixteen years old. This came with the label of teen idol, with comparisons to David Bowie. Perhaps because of this, or on the merit of the music itself, this resulted in steady rotation and promotion on MTV, and his debut spending thirty-four weeks on the Billboard 200 album charts, peaking at number fifteen.

The lead single, Beats So Lonely, which is coincidentally the song I picked up the album for, peaked at number seventeen on the Billboard Hot 100. Additionally, it was featured in the film, Some Kind Of Wonderful, but was not included on the soundtrack.

Playing through it, you can hear a combination of blues rock with new wave, which works well for Sexton's voice. For example, with Beats So Lonely, his gruff voice lends to the heavy rock sound. Whereas the follow-up track, Restless, with its new wave synthesizer, brings almost a Robert Tepper, No Easy Way Out, vibe. Coincidence on the latter? I don't know. They were both released in 1985, so, maybe.

What's unfortunate for Charlie Sexton was that my reference to Tepper above led me down a rabbit hole that found me discovering the Rocky IV soundtrack contributor's solo albums, reading up on them, and then getting enraptured with an article on a lawsuit over the film's script. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that Sexton became background noise, with my attention focused on anything other than him.

As the album played through, I checked in mentally periodically, but never really heard anything that grabbed my attention. Because of this, I went back to other things, content to let Pictures For Pleasure play out as nothing more than background noise. Overall, it wasn't really for me. I'm hopping off the train, and won't be grabbing his latter 80's release.

Rather than immediately go on with his solo career, Sexton would instead become a popular studio musician, as well as occasionally filling in as the opening act for David Bowie. It wouldn't be until 1989 that he would release his second studio album, the self titled, Charlie Sexton. Since then, he's released a handful of additional studio albums, but appears to prefer working as a part of other established acts instead.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 14, 1982

 

Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 117

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 117
Release Date: May 1982

Highlights

  • First appearance of Professor Power, AKA Anthony Power
  • Wolverine hones his sneak skills by tracking a deer, and when he gets right up next to it undetected...he taps it on the butt and watches it run away, simply pleased with himself for being so stealthy that he could sneak up on it unnoticed
  • An army of centurion armor clad soldiers approaches Wolverine, and tell him he's trespassing, and will be brought to their master to punish him - He dispatches many of them until he's gassed and knocked out
  • Reference is made to Captain America 286, and The Defenders 106
  • The centurions attack Spider-Man in the city, hoping to capture him too, but he escapes, hitting their jet sleds with a spider tracer
  • Powers has a giant robot that tells the two heroes that a plan loaded with gas is headed to a prison, and army headed to a town, alternatively, he also gives them the route to his master, and tells them to choose
  • Wolverine tells Spider-Man to go to the town, while he heads after the master, telling Spider-Man to forget about the prison
  • Spider-Man says he's heading for the prison, forcing Wolverine to head for the town
Low Points
  • None
Oddities
  • None
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Retro Spins: The Outfield - Voices Of Babylon


Unlike The Outfield's sophomore album, Bangin', their third album, Voices Of Babylon was already one in my discography for the title track. However, to date, I have yet to get around to hearing the whole thing from start to finish. Well, today is the day to rectify that.

Babylon saw the band working with a new producer, and adopting a new sound. The end result was the album title track reaching number two on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts. Additionally, it's follow-up single, My Paradise, reached number thirty-four.

Playing through it, there is a definite sound change. In particular, to that of the vocals of Tony Lewis. They seem more reserved. Not as loud. Smoother, almost. Additionally, the guitars seem to have been pulled back. Gone are the wailing solos, and overall wall of sound that dominated prior albums. None of this is a bad thing.

Voices Of Babylon opens with the title track, and while it's certainly my favorite, it wasn't the last good song to be found. However, with that said, there was nothing I pulled for my shuffle list beyond the opener. This was because, like their prior albums, there's good stuff, but it's not memorable. Ultimately, the goal is to not bog down my shuffle with filler. Rather, get back to music that I won't constantly skip over when it comes around.

Overall, it was a decent listening experience, but not one that left me saying, "I need to hear that again," to the majority of the tracks. Frankly, it's albums like this, where I have one song from it that garners rotation on my playlist, that makes me wonder if it's time to consolidate my CD collection. You know, start doing away with albums that are taking up space, but don't offer much "value" to them. Would I really be distraught if I didn't hear the song Voices Of Babylon again? Probably not. Do I really need to own the whole album for just that one song? Again, probably not.

See, now I'm angry at The Outfield. Their lackluster albums are now making me question owning them. Stop making me regret my life choices! Music is supposed to bring joy, not make you ponder what you've done wrong.

Sales would continue to decline for The Outfield, and the band would leave Columbia Records as a result. They would also part ways with founding member, Alan Jackman. However, what I can't find is the reason as to why he left the band. Was he fired? Did he quit? Don't know.

Tony Lewis and John Spinks would label hop over the next several years, continuing to release albums as The Outfield throughout the 90's and 2000's. Simon Dawson would also join the band as their new drummer on 1998's It Ain't Over..., but depart after the release of 1999's Extra Innings. 2011 saw the return of Jackman, and the original lineup releasing their final album to date, Replay. However, throughout this entire period they would never recapture that moment from the 80's where they had chart topping hits.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 13, 1983
 
THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 13, 1988


Comics Corner: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 67

   

Title: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man
Issue Number: 67
Release Date: June 1982

Highlights

  • First appearance and, and death, of Willie the Goat
  • Peter sleeps in and misses a scheduled lab at school, gets yelled at by Marcy Kane for running out on her, and told that if he can't immediately make it to get photos for the Bugle that the assignment will be given to Lance Bannon
  • In 24 hours it'll be the anniversary of Uncle Ben's death
  • Boomerang tells Kingpin that he killed Willie the Goat to prove himself to the head of crime, unfortunately, this is not well received by Kingpin who gave Willie false information that he was hoping would be given to the feds
  • Reference is made to Daredevil 181
  • Kingpin sends Boomerang on a task to kill Spider-Man, but it's all just to get rid of him - Kingpin already knows he won't be able to defeat Spider-Man
  • Marcy tells Peter that he's a good photographer, but that she wants to be a scientist, and can't waste her time tutoring someone who doesn't have that same passion
Low Points
  • Willie the Goat isn't actually a farm animal, he's just some snitch
  • Spider-Man throws Lance Bannon's camera out of a window just to stop him from taking photographs
Oddities
  • None
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Retro Spins: The Outfield - Bangin'


I didn't have much to say about The Outfield's debut, Play Deep, beyond acknowledging that it was a good album. While I hope to have more to say about their sophomore release, Bangin', I suppose I'd suffice to also just get another good album.

It's interesting to me that unlike a lot of bands out there, the history of The Outfield seems to be summed up in tight paragraphs on their Wiki page. It basically just cuts to the chase, "This album was released, it had these hits, that is all." It adds a layer of mystery to the band that I want to know about. Who were they? Was there turmoil, or was it all roses? Alas, I can't find anything to that regard.

As such, and unfortunately, I can only state what I've come to learn, which is that their 1987 follow-up was not as popular as its predecessor. While it spawned the top forty hit, Since You've Been Gone, sales were much lower than anticipated, with Bangin' only reaching gold status.

As I listened to it, I was admittedly a bit disappointed. Nothing was really resonating, and frankly, the songs were coming off as boring, resulting in them becoming background noise quickly. However, things shifted when Moving Target fired up, and immediately had me bobbing my head.

From there, I seemed a bit more invested, and found myself enjoying Long Way Home, and Playground. Despite this, I would be remiss to say that overall Bangin' was still missing something. That being an actual hit that hooks you.

Unfortunately, from there things get boring once again. Personally, I didn't even find the purported hit, Since You've Been Gone, to be all that interesting. Overall, the biggest flaw with everything was the lack of a hit, and a series of songs that were instantaneously forgettable.

Like I mentioned above, the history of The Outfield is pretty sparse, so there's not much to say leading up to their third, and final studio album of the 80's. We'll hit that one tomorrow.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 12, 1989

 

Big Lick NOVA 2025, Part III - Chandler Riggs, Lou Ferrigno, And Billy West


After obtaining my signatures from Rick Leonardi, the next person I was hoping to get things signed from still wasn't there. As such, I made my way across the convention hall to the "celebrity" guest side.

The person my girl was there for, and who she hit first before wandering around the place to get photos, was Chandler Riggs, Carl of The Walking Dead. Though she has a signed Funko Pop from him, she wanted to get her other three signed by him.

Well, let me rephrase. She took all three with her, said she was probably only going to get one, but then got all three. Seems I'm rubbing off on her.

I guess that's what he calls a signature...

As for me, my next stop was the table of Lou Ferrigno, TV's The Incredible Hulk. I was really surprised that I literally just walked right up to his table. There was no line at all. Sandy told me later that was just by chance, as his line was at least a hundred people deep when the show first opened.

I got him to sign my complete DVD set of the show...


...and decided to grab a few prints while there.


I'm honestly baffled by why he signed his name over Stan Lee.


Did I need three prints from Lou? Nah. I didn't. However, I'm a firm believer in taking full advantage of what could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. I mean, is Mr. Ferrigno honestly going to come around year after year? I don't know.


Though I wanted to get Billy West's autograph next, he hadn't arrived just yet. As such, I went back across the convention hall, did a bit more shopping, got my other signatures, and came back later.

My main goal was to get my complete Ren And Stimpy Show series signed, which I did...


...But I also knew I wasn't leaving that table without getting some signed prints...Which I did.




Billy not only personalized each one with catch phrases from the show, but also entertained everyone in line with the voices of the characters. It was a fantastic experience.

With all my signatures acquired, I went back to wandering the floor, buying several more books, and returning back to one table to get a few more signatures a result of said purchases.

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Retro Spins: The Outfield - Play Deep


Tony Lewis, John Spinks, and Alan Jackman originally played together in the band Sirius B in the late 70's. However, they quickly found that their style of music wasn't jiving with the up and coming punk scene, resulting in the three parting ways. Years later, and adopting the name, The Baseball Boys, taken from the gang The Baseball Furies from The Warriors, the three would once again start playing together. This time, they garnered the attention of Columbia / CBS Records, who signed them in 1984.

Their manager made the recommendation that they change their name, suggesting The Outfield. While the band was keen on the change, the irony was that baseball was all new to them as England natives. "I didn't even know what an outfield was," stated Sprinks.

Their debut, Play Deep, was released in 1985, and to promote it, the first single selected was, Say It Isn't So. The song quickly became a regional number one hit, and peeked at number eighteen on the Billboard Hot 100. However, it would be their follow-up single, Your Love, which would kick their sales into high gear. Your Love would become their most popular song to date, peeking at number six on the Hot 100. As a whole, the album reached number nine on the charts, and became 2X certified platinum.

As I played through it, I was surprised to find how much I was enjoying track after track. Lead singer, Tony Lewis, has a distinct voice. This can be haunting at times, while other times, he can inadvertently sound like he's yelling at you. It's the latter where songs became less desirable to hear, but still not necessarily bad.

My three favorites from Play Deep would be the two aforementioned hits, as well as All The Love. However, with that said, I didn't hear anything I would say I didn't like. I'm just trying to be a bit more selective with what ends up on my shuffle these days.

Hearing this definitely made me feel like there was more to The Outfield, and this in turn intrigued me to want to continue on my listening journey. While I already had their 1989 Voices Of Babylon, I would need to fill in the gap in between with 1987's Bangin'. But, we'll have to wait until tomorrow to get into that one.

For now, this one is pretty short and sweet. Play Deep was an overall enjoyable listening experience.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 11, 1984

Comics Corner: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 66

   

Title: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man
Issue Number: 181
Release Date: May 1982

Highlights

  • Really unique cover that incorporates the title and even the comics code into the artwork
  • I also like the nod to Epic Illustrated on the cover, the sister publishing company to Marvel Comics which launched in the spring of 1980
  • Electro is able to free himself from prison when the guard controlling a metal food canister gets it too close to imprisoned man
  • Reference is made to Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, and Fantastic Four 218
  • Peter makes an unwanted move on Marcy, and she quickly puts him back in line, reminding him she's only inviting him over to help him study
  • Peter abruptly leaves Marcy's apartment, without telling her, when he sees a live broadcast of Electro running rampant through the city, which Marcy doesn't take well, saying out loud that Peter can flunk out of college without her
  • Electro stands atop a movie theater marque which showcases the movie, Heavy Mental, an obvious nod to the animated film Heavy Metal
  • Another Marque a bit later in the story showcases the film, Tame Bandits, a nod to Time Bandits
  • Spider-Man makes a suit out of rubber to help him in his fight against Electro
  • J. Jonah Jameson prints a story that Spider-Man is dead, and becomes the center of news for printing the erroneous story
Low Points
  • It's horrible the way that Max Dillion (Electro) is being held in prison - Wrapped head to toe in non-conductive bandages like some kind of mummy, with tubes stuck in him from all directions to serve his every need
  • Geez whiz, Debra Whitman is pathetic always pining over Peter Parker - Seriously, Biff Rifkin deserves better than her
Oddities
  • If the prison knows that nothing metal should ever get close to Electro, why is the food they feed him in metal canisters? Plastic not available?
  • When did Electro gain the ability to create slides of electricity that he can physically travel on?

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

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Retro Spins: Cutting Crew - The Scattering

 

It sets expectations high when your debut album essentially serves as your immediate breakthrough, and you've already got a number one hit under your belt. This was the predicament that Cutting Crew found themselves in as they set out to record their sophomore album, The Scattering. However, hardships soon set in as disputes with management ensued.

These problems served to halt the recording process, stalling their momentum, and causing them to not be able to ride the waves of popularity their previous album created. While The Scattering eventually got released in 1989, too much time had passed. New music had come and gone, and Cutting Crew were relatively forgotten at the end of the decade.

Lead single, (Between a) Rock And A Hard Place, did manage to hit the charts in the UK, USA, and Canada, but couldn't crack the top fifty. Its follow-up, Everything But My Pride, fared better on the adult contemporary charts, hitting number four. However, overall, sales were far below expected, and the album as a whole failed to chart.

Upon starting it up and noticing the run time of almost one hour, I immediately felt like this one had suffered from the curse of the CD era. Bloated, for the sake of filling an entire disc, vs. just focusing on a normal length album that had solid tracks.

Year In The Wilderness, and Big Noise turned out to be decent tracks. However, I wouldn't go so far as to say they were shuffle worthy. Truthfully, I don't even remember how the went at this point.

Overall, that was the biggest problem with The Scattering. It was just forgettable. Not bad...just not memorable. There weren't any songs I heard that left me saying, "I need to hear that again." Frankly, by the time it was over, I was just glad to be done with it.

In 1991, both Colin Farley and Martin  Beedle left the group, leaving only Nick Van Eede, and Kevin MacMichael to record their 1992 released Compus Mentus. Lost in the shuffle of grunge, it failed to provide any hits, and sales declined even further.

Cutting Crew disbanded in 1993, and MacMichael would sadly pass away in 2002. A year later, Van Eede would form the band, Grinning Souls, and release Capture in 2005. He would decide to re-release the album in 2006 under the Cutting Crew name.

Grinning Souls would essentially become the new lineup of Cutting Crew, and they would release their final album to date, 2015's Add to Favourites. Since then, the band continues to tour, and release compilation albums.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 10, 1985


Comics Corner: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 65

   

Title: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man
Issue Number: 65
Release Date: April 1982

Highlights

  • Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 209
  • Dr. Sloan tells Peter that with how bad his grades are that he should consider giving up his teachers assistant position
  • Marcy Kane invited Peter to study with her to help him with his grades
  • Calypso's beating drum beat drowns out Spider-Man's ability to use his spider sense
  • Spider-Man tells Kraven that he, Kraven, keeps starting fights with him, gets beat, and then comes back whining about revenge - It's an eye opening foreshadowing of the classic Kraven's Last Hunt story
  • Calypso shoots Spider-Man in the leg with a hallucinogenic dart, but when Kraven finds out, he turns his rage from Spider-Man to her for shaming his victory
  • Spider-Man falls over the edge of the building from being drugged, and Kraven leaps after him to save him, less he, Kraven, be dishonored by Spider-Man's death from Calypso's interference
  • Kraven tells Calypso he can't love her because she doesn't understand the meaning of honor and dignity
Low Points
  • Debra Whitman continues to pine after Peter instead of being happy with the man she's already got
Oddities
  • From the rooftop, of what appears to be a four story (or more) building, Kraven can hear what the people on the street are saying about Spider-Man
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Retro Spins: Cutting Crew - Broadcast


Gotta love a band who took their name from inspiration by Queen!

Both Nick Van Eede, and Kevin MacMichael were working with separate bands when they first met. Despite Van Eede asking MacMichael if he wanted to form a group together, the latter opted to keep touring with Fast Forward. Meanwhile, The Drivers, which Van Eede was with, broke up.

In 1985, the two's path would cross again when MacMichael survived a tour bus accident, resulting in him relocating to London. The two worked on demos together before Colin Farley and Martin "Frosty" Beedle would join the lineup.

Cutting Crew took their band name from a quote by Queen. The legacy band was asked why they were not touring during an interview, to which the response was, "We're a cutting crew." As to which member of the band said it, that I can't find.

Upon signing with Siren Records, an offshoot label of Virgin, they would record and release their debut in the USA, while subsequently flying to Australia to record music videos. Their first single, (I Just) Died In Your Arms shot up the charts, giving the relatively unknown band their first number one hit right out of the starting gate. However, follow-up singles, I've Been In Love Before, and One For The Mocking Bird didn't fare as well, with the latter not even charting.

Playing through Broadcast, I can definitely feel all the energy of 80's goodness. It kicks off with Any Colour, a solid pop rock track, and one sets the stage for good things to follow.

Indeed they do with One For The Mocking-Bird, and I've Been In Love Before. I'm not usually one for ballads, but Been In Love is delivered solidly, making it a nice addition to the slower end of my shuffle. I say all of this like I've never heard these songs before, when I have...many times.

With that said, with the exception of (I Just) Died In Your Arms, everything else ahead of me was all new territory. Sadly, the two songs leading up to that hit didn't really impress. Frankly, if it weren't for Died In Your Arms, the remainder of the album would have been a flat dud.

I enjoyed four of the ten songs on Cutting Crew's debut, and I won't say that's a terrible ratio. However, I will admit that based on the ones I liked, I expected better from the rest. Maybe that's my fault. Maybe I expected to much. It doesn't necessarily leave me interested in hearing their 1989 follow-up, The Scattering, but I suppose I will. Maybe it will be amazing. Only one way to find out.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 9, 1980
 
THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 9, 1986


Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 116

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 116
Release Date: April 1982

Highlights

  • First appearance of E-Street Jukes gang
  • Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 227, Marvel Team-Up 111, Defenders 68, Mighty Thor 296 - 300, and Journey Into Mystery 120
  • Mind-Bender, and Dalia the Shape Changer inhabit the sword of Valkyrie, and through her seek out revenge against Spider-Man and Thor - mostly Spider-Man
  • Thor tries to tell Valkyrie that he and her used to be together on Asgard
Low Points
  • A story continued from the previous issue, which feels equally as nonessential as the previous one
Oddities
  • None
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Retro Spins: a-ha - Stay On These Roads


Today, I'm wrapping up my 80's adventures with a-ha. They were a band that hit hard in 1985 with their iconic tune, Take On Me, but then quickly fell off my radar. Up until now, I hadn't heard anything beyond that respective album and their James Bond contribution. Now that I am, I feel like I may have missed out the first time around.

1988's Stay On These Roads matched the charts of its two predecessors, really solidifying the staying power of the band. This only makes it all the more weirder how foreign anything beyond their debut is to me. What happened that they completely disappeared in the USA?

Coming off my high from their hard rocking Manhattan Skyline track from their previous Scoundrel Days album, I was still wanting something punchier from the band. As such, I was a little bummed by the title track album starter, which was very slow paced, almost a slog to get through. 

The tempo picked up a bit with The Blood That Moves The Body, which was an enjoyable track to hear, but we were still very much in synth pop land. The string style arrangements reminiscent of The Living Daylights intertwined in the tune definitely made this one stick out as a positive.

Speaking of that Bond song. While the film version was recorded with producer / composer John Barry, and considered a masterpiece as far as I'm concerned, a-ha opted to do something rather odd. When it came time to release their album, the band included their own version on the album, which is so far inferior from the film adaptation that it's like listening to a completely different song. a-ha's "solo" effort is awful. Just awful. It has nothing that made its predecessor superior.

There's apparently a lot of drama and contention between the group and Barry, suffice to say they don't appear to have gotten along. Allegedly, Duran Duran voiced the same concerns with Barry that a-ha did when recording their Bond hit, A View To A Kill.

Sales for the album would be the beginning of a steady decline in a-ha's popularity, which continued with 1990 released East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon. I can certainly see why. With the exception of a couple tracks at the beginning, it was just a very bland and blah experience. By 1993's Memorial Beach, the world had seemingly moved on from the band. Fun fact though, their '93 album was recorded at Prince's Paisley Park.

a-ha went on hiatus in 1994, but would return in 1998 to perform at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert. This kicked off a series of comeback tours, and culminated in the 2000 released Minor Earth Major Sky studio album. They would continue to release new albums through 2009, but then shocked their fans by announcing they would be disbanding. Coinciding with this announcement was the release of the compilation, The Singles: 1984–2004.

In hindsight, this could have just been a ploy to garner attention towards the greatest hits release, as a-ha would come back together in 2015 to release yet another studio album. This was followed in 2022 with their latest to date, True North. Since then, a-ha continues to tour.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 8, 1981
 
THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 8, 1987


Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 115

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 115
Release Date: March 1982

Highlights

  • First appearance of Abner Abernathy, and Rossi, Dalia the Shape-Changer, Haif-Nas, and Haifs
  • First appearance of the location Cherron
  • Reference is made to Mighty Thor 313
  • We learn about the planet Cherron, its inhabitants, the Haifs, and Haif-Nas, and the planets destructive fate to war
  • Dalia and Mind-Bender seem to kill each other, but instead, something bigger is brewing in the cliffhanger ending
Low Points
  • Not a very interesting story
Oddities
  • None
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Retro Spins: a-ha Scoundrel Days


It's funny. For how popular a-ha's Take On Me was, I've never heard anything else from them beyond that  respective album, and their James Bond theme, The Living Daylights. I felt it was high time to rectify that.

The group formed in 1982 with founding members, Morten Harket, Paul (Pål) Waaktaar, and Magne Furuholmen. Together, they left their native land of Norway, heading for London to pursue a recording deal. On the way, they considered name's for the group, ultiamtely settling on a-ha from a song title Waaktaar had written.

Upon arriving in London, the trio opted to go with the studio belonging to musician, producer, and soon-to-be-manager John Ratcliff. The reasoning behind the decision; he had a Space Invaders arcade cabinet.

Though a-ha would become the first Norwegian band to have a number one hit in the USA, the road to Take On Me was not paved in gold. The song originally began as Miss Eerie, by The Bridges.

This would turn into Lesson One under the a-ha banner, with vocals from Harket.

The band continued to work on it, ultimately coming up with new lyrics, and changing the song's name to Take On Me. While a music video was created to promote the track, this original version failed to garner much attention.

Seeing the potential in the song, it was once again remixed, and a new video shot. This version would become the breakthrough hit, a legendary 80's song, and iconic music video.

Sales for their album, Hunting High And Low, skyrocketed, sending it platinum certified in Norway, the UK, and USA. It would also go gold in Germany, Australia, and other Dutch speaking countries. The downside to this was that the pressure was now on. a-ha had to return to the studio, and create a worthy successor. The end result of their efforts was Scoundrel Days.

Knowing nothing about this release, I fired it up, eager for what I would hear, but not expecting much. Boy, was I taken by surprise. Things kick off with the title track, and the energy continues through The Swing Of Things, and I've Been Losing You.

While things took a bit of a dive with the ballad, October, things went to a whole new level with the edgy guitar intro to Manhattan Skyline. I'd never would have expected to have a-ha to have such a hard rocking song, but the tone really suites the vocal styles of Harket, honestly making me wish they had done more like this.

It is, however, because of this song that it's follow up, the synth pop Cry Wolf, feels out of place. It's a decent song. It just doesn't follow on the heels of Skyline (at all). The problem that ensued from here was that I had gotten a taste of the edgier side of a-ha, I liked it, and I wanted more. As such, the remainder of the tracks that followed with their bubblegum synth sound stopped resonating. This decline honestly made me lose interest, but I would be remiss to say I still didn't enjoy the album overall.

Scoundrel Days performed well for a-ha, bringing with it further international success, as well as platinum status in Norway, Switzerland, Germany, and the UK. Though their singles performed well in other countries, only Cry Wolf would make it to the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number fifty. This is probably why I didn't know anything from the album. Rick Dee's Weekly Top 40 is where I heard most of my music in 1986.

a-ha would return one more time in the 80's for their final entry, Stay On These Roads (1988). But, we'll have to pick that one up tomorrow.

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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.

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 7, 1982

Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 227

   

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 227
Release Date: April 1982

Highlights

  • First appearance of Sam Galvagno
  • Felicia is torn between wanting to have a relationship with Spider-Man, and wanting to be a cat burglar
  • Spider-Man takes a bullet in the leg
  • Black Cat simply can't leave her life of crime, driving a wedge between her and Spider-Man
  • In a climactic showdown, Spider-Man webs her up, but she refuses to go to jail, rolling off the dock and into the water, where she disappears, presumably dead from downing - She's not
  • Jean DeWolff arrives on scene, handing Spider-Man what would have been a full pardon from the DA for Felicia Hardy - Presumably too late, Spider-Man tosses the papers into the water
Low Points
  • None
Oddities
  • Editor's Day Off: Jean DeWolff says to Spider-Man, "If you got out on a limb..."
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Retro Spins: Asia - Astra


Third times the charm? No...Not for Asia.

With Welton back in, Howe out, and Meyer taking the latter's place, Asia returned to the studio to begin work on their third album, initially entitled, Arcadia. However, upon hearing of Duran Duran forming a subgroup of the same name, that title was changed to Astra.

Despite lead single Go peaking at number forty-six on the Hot 100, and music video being in steady rotation on MTV, Astra failed to impress. It was not only a critical flop, but under performed in sales, not receiving any certifications for sales. This was not helped by Geffen pulling promotional support from the band upon its release.

The group was ultimately dropped by their label, who also cancelled their upcoming tour. The end result was Asia disbanding. With things not getting any better for the guys, I dive into their last 80's album to see just how good (or bad) it will be.

Firing it, I will admit that the opening track, which happens to be their single, Go, isn't bad. If nothing else, it floored me that I'd never heard it, or had forgotten it completely over time. I also dug, Hard On Me, which was surprising considering how poorly the album was smacked by critics, and how bad their prior album was. I really didn't expect to hear anything good.

A fun aspect of Countdown To Zero, was how the song starts up with that all too familiar THX Deep Note. It was actually more of an interesting aspect to read about when this was created, who created it, and when it debuted. To cut to that chase, it was former Lucasfilm employee Dr. James "Andy" Moorer, who developed the sound in 1982. It was first used in 1983 at the premiere of Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi. 1985 Austrian Rock Singer Fal...No...It was then used at the beginning of Asia's 1985 song.

However, it was after this seventh song that I also reached a point of fatigue with Asia. I gave the remaining four tracks a few seconds to impress, and when they didn't, I simply skipped them in the spirit of just getting through Astra. Maybe this was because I had listened to three of their albums back to back. Maybe I was just tired of mediocrity. Maybe it was both.

As I noted above, Asia disbanded after this album. However, Welton would reemerge in 1987 with the album Welton-Manzanera, which he recorded with Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera. Purportedly, a lot of the material used for this release came from concepts which Welton was working on for a fourth Asia album. He further tried to reform Asia with original member Geoff Downes, Scott Gorham (of Thin Lizzy), and Michael Sturgis (of a-ha). However, this didn't come to fruition because the group couldn't get a worldwide recording deal.

Downes would form his own iteration of Asia in the 90's, with new frontman John Payne. The new singer would stay with the group through 2004, releasing six albums in total with them. However, Downes would split at this point, returning to the original lineup of the band for a series of reunion shows. This would lead to Welton officially rejoining, where he would continue to front the band through their most current studio album, 2014's Gravitas. Meanwhile, Payne would go on to form Asia Featuring John Payne. Great...So now there are two crappy bands called Asia...

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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.

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 6, 1983
 
THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 6, 1988