Retro Spins: The Psychedelic Furs - The Psychedelic Furs

I don't remember which came first for me. The Pretty In Pink soundtrack or randomly picking up a handful of their albums at a used CD store. Then there's the aspect of when I actually started hearing music from them that interested me. If I'm remembering correctly, I bought the soundtrack, then got a couple albums, then started hearing songs from them while perusing the 10,000 80's songs playlist, I found online.

The band initially consisted of Richard Butler (vocals), Tim Butler (bass guitar), Duncan Kilburn (saxophone), Paul Wilson (drums), and Roger Morris (guitars). By 1979, this line-up had expanded to a sextet with Vince Ely replacing Wilson on drums and John Ashton joining as a second guitarist.

Signing with Columbia Records, the Furs released their self-titled debut. However, depending on whether you bought the original UK or US release would not only dictate the cover you got, but the songs. While the UK pressing had nine tracks, the US release was expanded to ten. Additionally, the US version included the tracks, Susan's Strange, and Soap Commercial, which were not on the UK pressing. Further, the US release omitted Black Radio.

The album established the band on European radio stations, and became a hit in the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Australia. Success in the USA wouldn't come until their follow-up release, 1981's Talk Talk Talk.

Well, uh-oh. This is why I need to stop buying albums I know nothing about, filling in gaps for bands I'm fairly unfamiliar with. The Fur's debut, while okay, wasn't what I hoped it would be.

Though I don't normally have comments on the technical aspects of records, I do here. The music, while well balanced, overshadows the vocals of Richard Butler, who frankly sounds like he's either whispering, shy, or miles away from the microphone. It's hard to understand him, and it's not helped by his raspy mumbling voice.

Because of this aspect, even when the music is catchy, it's hard to get into the tune because I can't understand most of the words being sung. Which is a real shame since the guitar work of John Ashton hooks often.

With my introduction to The Psychedelic Furs being their bigger hits from later years, my ears were more so hoping to hear that mixture of post-punk and new wave. However, the latter aspect is missing from their debut, granted intentionally, but still catches me off guard with my expectation. Overall, I'd call it a solid punk release, but ultimately not what I was hoping to get from it.

If you told me I had to pick something standout, I'd opt for The Wedding Song. It's the only track which not only sounds great but seems balanced, mixing wise, across music and vocals. I also enjoyed the back-and-forth fades of the guitar towards the end.

While I'm not jumping up and down at the end of it, and ready to zoom into another Furs album, I'm not deterred either. I'm definitely going to push forward through their 80's discography and make my way to the end. I know that better stuff is to come, and that unto itself is worth staying the course.

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Comics Corner: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 107

   

Title: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man
Issue Number: 107
Release Date: October 1985

Highlights

• The first issue of Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man to adopt the tagline, "The all new, all daring" above the title
• The events of this issue, plus 108, 109, and 110, which continue after each other, take place at come point during the events of Web Of Spider-Man 11
• Origin and Death of Captain Jean DeWolff
• First appearance of Sin-Eater, AKA Stanley Carter, Celia (DeWolff) Weatherby, Carl Weatherby, Russ, Sandy, Reverend Bernard Finn, Reverend Jackson Tolliver, Judge Horace Rosenthal, and Ernie Popchik
• The police find Captain DeWolff dead in her apartment
• Peter runs into Ernie Popchik downtown, one of Aunt May's new boarders
• A trio of thugs grabs Ernie, mugs him, and beats him up, but Spider-Man is quickly on the scene to mop them up
• When the cops arrive, they inform Spider-Man of Captain DeWolff's death, but that they have no suspects
• While talking to Robbie Robertson about DeWolff's murder, J. Jonah Jameson admits that even people like Spider-Man don't deserve to be murdered, but not to quote him on that
• Spider-Man meets up with Sergeant Stan Carter, who's been put in charge of the investigation for DeWolff's murder case
• Carter explains that DeWolff was shot at close range with a double barrel shotgun, and that her badge is missing
• As Daredevil swings across the city, he hears someone refer to him as the man without fear, and laughing to himself thinks that if he could see what he was doing, he'd be scared
• Matt Murdock heads into Judge Horace's chambers sensing someone is in there, and gets confronted by Sin-Eater, who takes a shot at him
• Judge Horace hears the gunfire, and enters the room, only to be shot by Sin-Eater
• Finally, we're back to the good stories in Spider-Man

Low Points

• Matt Murdock is representing the trio of thugs who beat up and robbed Ernie, and he gets them released on $500 bail each - What happened to not taking the case for people who aren't innocent?

Oddities

• None

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

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Retro Spins: Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - Like A Rock

 

Popularity had waned drastically for Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band over the past few years. Sales for his 1982 released, The Distance, drastically decreased from previous albums. While he remained a platinum selling artist, records such as Night Moves (1976), Stranger In Town (1978), and Against The Wind (1980), far surpassed it with their five- and six-times platinum certifications.

Returning to the mic, the band released Like A Rock. Like its predecessor, it fared well, reaching platinum status, but again failed to reach the status of previous releases. Despite this, the album peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 200, producing two hit singles for the Billboard Hot 100, Like A Rock (12), and American Storm (13).

Embracing the MTV generation, Seger would record music videos for both. However, the latter would prove to be the more popular, mainly for its inclusion of actors, Lesley Ann Warren, James Woods, Randy Quaid and Scott Glenn.

Things started out fairly strong with American Storm, Like A Rock, and Miami, but then quickly drifted off to mediocrity, and candidly, forgettable. I honestly found myself more entertained with reading about the remainder of the decade for the band. Things did course correct, and I can't believe I'm saying this, with the ballad, Somewhere Tonight.

I think the biggest aspect missing from the album is that traditional storytelling that Seger is known for. Rather than painting vivid pictures through his lyrics, things seem pretty generic. It's as if he's trying to embrace a more mainstream sound but failing in the process.

What makes no sense is the band's cover of Creedence Clear Water Revival's Fortunate Son. Mind you, the cover itself is serviceable. Seger definitely has the voice to do justice to John Fogerty. Where it fails is that it's a live track tacked on at the end and completely comes out of nowhere. Basically, it's out of place.

Prior to closing out 1986, Seger contributed the song, Living Inside My Heart for the film soundtrack About Last Night... Then in 1987, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Seger would have one final hit in the decade, but it wouldn't come about from normal circumstances.

Based on his hit single, The Heat Is On for the film Beverly Hills Cop, Glenn Frey was asked to take the reins on the sequels lead track, Shakedown. However, the singer not only disliked the lyrics, but came down with laryngitis leading up to recording sessions. He would ask his buddy Bob to take over, which in hindsight may have been a mistake by Frey. The song became Seger's one and only number one hit and garnered him an Oscar nomination as co-writer in the Best Original Song category the following year.

I already touched on where he went from there in my post about 1980's Against The Wind, so rather than rinse and repeat, we'll call it a day.

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