The Toy Box: 80's Music

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Retro Spins: Wendy & Lisa - Fruit At The Bottom

Today I'm jumping into the second studio album from Wendy & Lisa, following their unceremonious dismissal from The Revolution. Admittedly, their self-titled 1987 debut (as featured in yesterday's Retro Spin) wasn't as impactful as I had hoped, and this left me a little unexcited about playing through their 1989 follow-up, Fruit At The Bottom.

While it would land on the Billboard 200, peaking at number one hundred and seven, and despite having two singles released, Are You My Baby, and Lolly Lolly neither would chart in the USA. They did, however, fair better in the UK where they peaked at seventy, and sixty-four, respectively.

Three music videos were also produced to support the album. These included the two aforementioned singles, as well as Satisfaction. Which is a perfect segue into today's Retro Spin.

Though there are no credits, and Google denies it left and right, I swear that's Prince singing backing vocals on Satisfaction. I would bet money on it. Despite this, the album credits swear his only involvement was with remixing Lolly Lolly.

Overall, what ultimately hurts Fruit At The Bottom is the same thing that hindered their debut. It just doesn't have anything going for it that makes it a must hear album. The hits are decent, but forgettable, and beyond that, there's nothing that makes you say, "Let me hear that again!"

It's actually quite a downer. I was really hoping that playing through their two 80's due contributions would have led to a slew of unheard gems. Instead, it just left me wishing there was still a Prince And The Revolution. With that said, if I had to pick a standout track, I suppose that would be Someday I, or Satisfaction. I'm not really sold on either of these and I doubt I'll ever come back to them.

Failing to be a commercial success, Columbia Records dropped Wendy and Lisa from their label. Undeterred, they promptly signed with Virgin Records, who was already distributing their music in Europe.

Following the release of 1992's Erotic, the two disappeared from the pop rock scene, and instead focused on other projects, such as music for films and television. It wouldn't be until 1998 that they self-released their fourth studio album, Girl Bros. A decade later, their fifth self-released album, White Flags Of Winter Chimneys (2008) was released.

Though they tried multiple times, the two could never coordinate schedules with Prince to reunite The Revolution. However, the two did appear occasionally, but typically not together with him, such as when Wendy made an appearance with him in 2004 on the Tavis Smiley Show to perform Reflection. They are both also credits on his 2007 album, Planet Earth. But if you want a truly amazing sight, you have to check out the 2006 Brit Awards, where he performed multiple songs alongside Wendy, Lisa, and Sheil E., including Purple Rain, and Let's Go Crazy.

As for Wendy and Lisa, the remain active, but not really releasing any new music. They did reunite themselves with The Revolution, but unfortunately, this was in honor of Prince following his death in 2016. These days, I mainly see them on camera simply talking about the past alongside other members of Prince's once great backing band.

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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.

Retro Spins: Wendy & Lisa - Wendy And Lisa

When Prince unceremonious announced he was disbanding The Revolution in October of 1986, Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman were sad but not surprised. The two had noted multiple times since that the writing was relatively on the wall at that point. Mounting tensions and artistic frustrations between everyone, coupled with Prince's desire for direct control meant something would inevitably have to give.

With the forthcoming Dream Factory completed, their dismissal led Prince to rework and remove all of their contributions, culminating in his 1987 opus, Sign "☮" the Times. However, that wouldn't mean that Wendy and Lisa would just disappear as forgotten backing musicians. Instead, they took it as an opportunity to sign with Columbia Records, performing as a duo.

Though they would write the majority of the tracks that would become their self-titled 1987 debut, Revolution alum, Bobby Z. would be called upon and contribute to five of the songs. However, he would not perform on the album itself. Instead, for this, they would turn mostly to family, including Lisa's father, Gary, who provided conga, and brother David who performed percussion. From the Melvoin camp was sisters Susannah, and Cole (Ynda) who provided backing vocals, and brother Jonathan on drums. Other musicians included Tom Scott (of L.A. Express), and Carla Azar (of Autolux).

Wendy And Lisa, the album, would peak on the Billboard 200, and with it come their only Billboard Hot 100 single, Waterfall, which landed at number fifty-six. As part of the promotion, the two filmed and released three music videos; Waterfall, Honeymoon Express, and Sideshow.

Things sound very much like Prince B-sides. There's no doubt that the duo influenced and inspired the artist, so it's unsurprising to hear the similarities. It's these tracks that initially intrigued on the first half of the album. However, for me, the ultimate standout was Everything But You. I think this one definitely should have been a single.

Regrettably, the album as a whole is just okay, and actually kind of boring at times. While I don't want to say it's because the two can't stand on their own, the very obvious elephant in the room is that you can feel Prince's fingertips on the album, despite him not being involved at all with it. You keep waiting for him to take over the microphone, and at times you wish he would. But that never happens.

Candidly, the singles, and subsequent music videos that the two released aren't all that amazing. They're kind of just throw away pop songs. Forgettable ones at that. Ultimately, I guess I just expected more, or perhaps more accurately stated, better. Instead, what I got was a relatively dismissible album.

I am hoping that their 1989 released Fruit At The Bottom fairs better. However, considering it performed worse on the Billboard, and produced no hit singles, I'm not holding my breath.

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Retro Spins: L.A. Guns - Cocked & Loaded

After releasing their self-titled debut in January 1988, L.A. Guns turned around relatively quickly, returning to the studio in April of 1989 to begin work on the tracks that would become their sophomore released Cocked & Loaded. Recording would wrap up in June, and by August of that same year, the album was on store shelves.

Cocked & Loaded would peak on the Billboard 200 at number thirty-eight, performing better overall than its predecessor which peaked at number fifty. Much like their debut, the album would also be RIAA certified gold for selling over 500,000 units in the USA. With it would also come their first (of two) Billboard Hot 100 hit singles, The Ballad Of Jayne, which landed at number thirty-three on the charts.

Ironically, though it was their most successful song, it was actually the third (of five) from the album to receive a music video in 1990. The first two videos were for the tunes, Rip And Tear, and Never Enough.

Jayne's music video was followed by ones for I Wanna Be Your Man, and Malaria. More on these two below.

L.A. Guns undoubtedly embraced the MTV generation, utilizing the channel to its fullest potential for aided promotion.

The album kicks off with the minute and a half long Letting Go. It almost serves as an intro to the whole thing, and candidly, just as I was getting into it, it ended. From there, the Guns deliver a solid rock / metal experience, once again showing that if nothing else, they know how to play their instruments.

This time around, they even manage to crank out a few noteworthy tracks, such as Never Enough, Malaria, Magdalaine, and 17 Crash which are pretty decent songs. Unfortunately, while notable, I don't think these are songs I'll necessarily come back around to.

As a whole, L.A. Guns has been kind of boring to get through. I think what it ultimately comes down to is that I expected more from the band the ultimately birthed Guns N' Roses. There's not a whole lot of hits, and the memorable tracks are non-existent, even those noted above.

While I don't personally see the longevity in the band, it's just my opinion, and clearly not one which impacted the band. Their career spans seventeen studio albums between 1988 and 2025, among a combined slew of EP's, live albums, compilations and video albums. So, someone out there must like them. They remain active to this day, though the lineup has changed since the 80's core members, and apparently, at one point there were even two different bands running around as the L.A. Guns.

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Retro Spins: L.A. Guns - L.A. Guns

Lead guitarist Tracii Gun and drummer Rob Gardner formed the first iteration of L.A. Guns with singer Mike Jagosz, and bassist Ole Beich in 1983. This same year, Gardner would introduce Chris Weber to Izzy Stradlin, and along with childhood friend Bill "Axl" Rose, would form the band AXL, which Rose would adopt as his first name. That trio would ultimately go on to become Hollywood Rose, after a brief stint of just going by Rose. Hollywood Rose would ultimately break up in 1984.

Meanwhile, the lineup of L.A. Guns would record their debut EP, Collector's Edition No. 1, releasing it in 1985. Shortly after, Jagosz would be replaced by Axl Rose as lead singer for the band. However, this would be short lived, as Hollywood Rose would briefly reunite with Rose, Stradlin, Weber and Steve Darrow. At this time, Gardner would also join them. Following this, Weber would leave and be replaced by Gun. Guns N' Roses would formally come to fruition, taking and combining the names of Axl Rose and Tracii Gun. This first iteration would feature Rose, Gun, Stradlin, Beich, and Gardner.

Beich would leave the band, replaced by Duff McKagan, and Gun would have a falling out with Axl that caused him to depart as well. Slash would replace Gun, and following Gardner's departure, Steven Adler would join, completing the classic lineup of Guns N' Roses.

Gun would form Faster Pussycat with Mick Cripps, Paul Black, Nickey Alexander and Robert Stoddard would join gun for this new iteration and eventually readopt the name of L.A. Guns. Faster Pussycat, of course, would also continue on, but with a completely different lineup releasing their debut album. They would sign to Polygram, but prior to recording their debut, Black would be replaced by Phil Lewis, and additionally, Killy Nickels would be added to the lineup.

Tracii Gun, Phil Lewis, Mick Cripps, Kelly Nickels, and Nickey Alexander would enter the studio in June of 1987, and by August, hammered out what would become their January 1988 self-titled debut. However, after its recording, Alexander would be replaced by former W.A.S.P. drummer, Steve Riley. Though Alexander would be credited with drum work in the liner notes of the album, it would be Riley who was noted as the band's actual drummer.

Their debut would perform fairly well, peaking at number fifty on the Billboard 200, though it would not produce any Billboard Hot 100 hits. In fact, the band wouldn't produce any hit singles until 1990's The Ballad Of Jayne, which peaked on both the rock and Billboard charts, at number twenty-five and thirty-three, respectively. However, now I'm in their follow-up album's territory. So, for now, leave us pause, and jump into today's Retro Spin.

It's interesting how Guns N' Roses can come from the roots of L.A. Guns and yet be far superior to them in every aspect. Everything that Axl, Izzy, Slash, Duff, and Steven delivered on their debut, 1987's Appetite For Destruction, is absent from what Tracii, Phil, Mick, Kelly, and Nickey bring to the table. In fact, I'll go so far as to say I ended this one still hungry for something good to hear.

Effort wise, everyone's bringing their "A" game. Quality wise, it just doesn't hit. There are no standout tracks, nothing memorable, and nothing that would lead me to need to hear this album again. Candidly, I'm not even all that interested in jumping into their 1989 follow-up, Cocked & Loaded. I mean, I will, tomorrow, but I'm not necessarily excited about it.

That's really all I have to say about it, and since the band headed right back into the studio to record said follow-up, there's not a lot to say about what happen in between their debut and second album. So, I guess we call it a day on this one.

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Retro Spins: Morris Day - Daydreaming

After successfully launching his solo career with 1985's Color Of Success, Morris Day hit the road for a support tour which wrapped up in September 1986. From there, he returned to the studio to record and release his follow-up album, 1987's Daydreaming.

With it would come his greatest hit single, Fishnet, which shot up to the number one spot on the R&B charts that same year. It would also land at number twenty-three on the Billboard Hot 100. As a whole, the album would mirror the success of its predecessor, reaching number seven on the R&B charts, but falter a bit on the Billboard 200, where it would fall a couple steps behind, reaching number forty-one (in comparison to Color Of Success clocking in at number thirty-seven).

Despite its success, Spin Magazine would provide a harsh critique of the album, calling it "musical Chinese food without the fortune cookie. As soon as they're finished, you don't remember if you heard 'em or not." Ouchie! That's mean! But is it accurate?

Kind of. It's a decent album. I wouldn't say I heard anything bad, and I did manage to hear two standout, Are You Ready, and Standing On The Line. However, the remainder was relatively forgettable. Truthfully, I wasn't even all that intrigued with the number one single, Fishnets. In fact, as I type this, I couldn't even tell you how that song goes.

As I said above, it's decent, but forgettable. Beyond that, there's not much to say about it. Truthfully, I doubt I'll remember the two standouts noted above past today.

While Morris hoped to launch a consecutive film career alongside his musical one, this didn't translate to well for him. He would appear in small roles, such as for Richard Prior's Moving (1988), as well as Andrew Dice Clay's The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990), the latter which will always invoke Booty Time in my head!

Um...where was I? Oh, right, Morris Day's acting career.

He would later reprise his role in Prince's Graffiti Bridge and show up with The Time in Kevin Smith's Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back. Mind you, these are just the noteworthy ones for me. In total, he's appeared in nine movies, including Purple Rain. He's also played roles in half a dozen television shows, which included main casting for 1990's New Attitude, and 2004's Da Boom Crew.

Day also reunited with the time several times and continued to perform with them as Morris Day And The Time until the 2022 dispute from Prince's estate. Purportedly, upon his death, Prince's estate issued notice to Day that if he wished to continue using the name that he would be required to pay them a fee for said use. There's no record that shows he agreed to do so, but as of this writing, they do have shows scheduled throughout the year.

On a totally unrelated note, my 80's movie collection has filled out quite nicely.

Watching John Carpenter's The Thing for the first time.
Great movie!

A few years ago, I gave up streaming and went back to physical media. But in doing so, I made sure that I stuck closely to a strict criteria. For the most part, I stick to movies from the 80's. These consist of either ones which meant a lot to me growing up, or which I never got the chance to see but are considered iconic to the era.

Admittedly, this has been a mixed bag of movies I have and have not enjoyed. However, when a disc costs you between a dollar or two, it's not tragic when it doesn't pan out for the better.

While I will buy movies from prior to or after the 80's, these are very specific and have to be films I have not only seen and enjoyed, but which I would watch again. These don't get incorporated into my 80's collection, unless they're part of a multi-disc or box set, where separating them isn't a feasible option. A good example of this is the Die Hard box set below.

That said, if a film series includes predecessors or sequels that came before or fell after the 80's, but were in their own package, they don't get to be on the shelf. Such as the case with Star Trek.

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Retro Spins: Morris Day - Color Of Success

What time is it?!?!

Well, not time for The Time. I've already gone through all of their albums of the 80's. In fact, the title track of Morris Day's first solo outing, Color Of Success has a vocal narration that not only informs the listeners The Time has disbanded, but that he won't be saying "What time is it" anymore. It further goes on to state that he's now a solo artist who will produce his own albums and films. Basically, don't come around here looking for The Time. This is a new era, and it's all about Morris Day.

The album would hit both the Billboard 200 and R&B charts, peaking at number thirty-seven, and seven, respectively. As a whole, singles would fare better on the R&B singles charts, where The Oak Tree (peaking at number 15), The Character (34), and The Color Of Success (the song, landing at 15) would all chart. Only The Oak Tree would cross over to the Billboard Hot 100, but in doing so, would only reach number sixty-five.

Diving in, it somewhat picks up where The Time's Ice Cream Castle left off. It features the same musical style, and even caps out at six tracks, mirroring the now defunct band's previous song limit. To further push the similarities home, Color Of Success also takes a page from the hit, The Bird for Day's new hit dance, The Oak Tree. Unfortunately, it's not as catchy as The Bird.

While Prince isn't involved with this record, Day seems to have retained poor habits from his mentor. By this, I mean that while songs are limited in number, they have excessive runtimes. All but one are under the five-minute mark, with half of them pushing six plus minutes. One would expect this would be particularly painful when said song is a ballad, such as the case with the seven minute, thirteen second, Don't Wait For Me. However, it's actually one of the best on the album.

Fortunately, as a whole, the album is enjoyable, and while it does feel drawn out at times because of each song's length, it still manages to provide a solid listening session. Ultimately though, it's just more of Morris, and depending on how you feel about him or The Time, that could be a good or bad thing. For me, it was good.

Morris produced one final album for the decade, that being 1987's Daydreaming. From it would come his most successful solo single, Fishnet. However, from there, he'd return briefly to The Time before going back to his solo career. But more on all of that tomorrow.

Before I go though, check out my awesome Fallout collection!

Most of this is from my girl, who has masterfully selected every piece.

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Retro Spins: The Family - The Family

As my birthday approached this year, an item I set my sights on was the rare CD release of The Family. It was one I had on my radar for quite some time, but never really got around to pulling the trigger on. Being only released on disc format in the UK and Europe, it's not one you're going to come across every day, which contributed to my sporadic searching for it. The one I ended up with ultimately came from the UK, and at rocket speed, I might ad.

The Family was built from the remnants of The Time. While the departure of Morris Day in 1984 left Jesse Johnson the de facto leader, Prince would recommend restructuring with new lead singer Paul Pertson, which Johnson opposed. This would lead to him leaving as well, taking a few Time members with him.

As a result, when they released their one and only self-titled debut, the band consisted of St. Paul Peterson on lead vocals, Eric Leads on saxophone, Clare Fischer on string instrumentation, and Revolution alum Wendy and Susanah Melvoin providing rhythm guitars and backing vocals, respectfully. Prince would oversee all other instrumentation.

The album would be a relative success, and cross over three different charts, peaking at number sixty-two on the Billboard 200, seventeen on the US R&B charts, and twenty-three on the US gospel charts.

The overall package delivers a mixture of sung and instrumental tracks. While most of it focuses on R&B jazz infusion, there are also sprinklings of the pop sound Prince made popular in that particular period of time. This is most prevalent in songs that utilize the Fairlight CMI digital workstation, which creates that all too familiar drum sound from the Revolution's prime.

While it's a decent album from start to finish, I will say that I don't particularly care for the instrumental tunes. This is mainly because they tend to lean the heaviest into jazz, which isn't among my favorite genres.

I will also say that Peterson has been given the same hand that Morris Day had previously been dealt. By that, I mean that he really only serves as Prince's mouthpiece, most likely being picked because he could produce a sound similar to his own and hit all the required keys. Nothing on the album sounds like it was written for anyone other than Prince, and frankly, I would have rather he sung the songs himself anyway.

Though it does contain the original release of Nothing Compares 2 U, I'd be lying if I said this was among my favorites. In fact, only one song really made the cut for my shuffle list, that being River Run Dry. I enjoyed it so much that I actually went looking to see if there was a version that had Prince on vocals. Well, if there is, I couldn't find it.

Peterson left The Family following the album's release to pursue a solo career and released five albums between 1987 and 2022. He's also reunited with The Family for a few one-off events and even worked with four of the five Family members to release the studio albums Gaslight (2011), Relit (2012), and AM Static (2014). However, these would be under the name fDeluxe to avoid issues with Prince's estate. As such, The Family is still technically around, and active.

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Retro Spins: Faster Pussycat - Wake Me When It's Over

Two years after bursting on the scene with their self-titled debut album, Faster Pussycat returned to the studio to release their more successful follow-up, 1989's Wake Me When It's Over. The record would go gold, and chart in both the USA and UK within the top fifty, driven primarily by the hit single, House Of Pain.

This was followed by a music video for the single, Poison Ivy.

While on tour in support of the album, drummer Mark Michaels would make the brilliant decision to not only order a package of heroin, but have it sent directly to himself, and sign for the package. As you would expect, this led to his arrest, and firing from the band. Frankie Banali of Quiet Riot would fill in for the remainder of the shows, after which Brett Bradshaw took over duties. This was followed by a second series of tours with Kiss and Mötley Crüe.

The energy is back with their second album. The Pussycats are here to rock, and there's no room for Josie or her bubblegum pop.

Once again, while it's a solid album from start to finish, there aren't necessarily any standout tracks per se. However, Little Dove certainly stands out for its unique use of a talk box. It's an "instrument" I've only heard utilized twice before. The first, of course, was Peter Frampton's Do You Feel Like We Do, and Aerosmith's Sweet Emotion.

Unlike their previous album, they do drop a ballad, and if you clicked the videos above, you already know that was House Of Pain. It's not my favorite from the record, but long-time readers know, I'm not a major fan of the genre.

Overall, it's another solid entry from the band, and as a whole, it's been an unexpected treat to listen to their two 80's releases. If you're a fan of late 80's rock and metal, then I would highly recommend checking them out. It further got me to keep digging into the previous list I was going through of hair bands, and I finally pulled the trigger on the two L.A. Guns albums from the era. So those Spins will be coming soon.

As for Faster Pussycat, they recorded a cover version of Carley Simon's You're So Vain for the 1990 compilation record, Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary, which was followed by a music video. However, it wouldn't be until 1992 that they would release their third studio album, Whipped!

Though it doesn't appear to be documented as to what happens, Eric Stacy would be let go from the band in 1993, ironically going on to join L.A. Guns. He would be replaced by Aaron Abellira, and from there, the band headed out on tour again. However, after completing their shows in the US, they opted to break up, ultimately losing popularity to the ever-booming grunge scene.

Taime Downe would move on to industrial music, briefly joining Pigface before forming his own group, The Newlydeads. Though this wouldn't be the end for the Pussycats, who reformed in 2001 for a series of reunion shows with Downe joining original members Brent Muscat and Greg Steele. To round things out, Downe's former Newlydeads bandmates Xristian Simon, Danny Nordahl and Chad Stewart filled out the remaining spots in the band.

In 2001, industrial remixes of the Pussycats music were released on Between The Valley Of The Ultra Pussy, and this was followed by a new studio album fronted by Downe, but featuring Simon, Nordahl, and Stewart, instead of any other original members of the band. Threats of litigation came from original members of the band who panned Downe and stated he'd become nothing more than a cover band of himself.

Brent Muscat, Eric Stacy and Brett Bradshaw reformed Faster Pussycat, teaming up with new vocalist, Kurt Frohlich and guitarist Todd Kerns in 2006. Their intensions were very clear, to perform the music the way it was intended to be heard, and not in the fashion of the new industrial mixes. Ultimately, there are now two versions of the band.

Downe and Steele would be invited by the other original member to reunite, but word would have it that no response was ever received. Instead, Downe would, in poor taste, make reference on stage to recent word (at the time) of Muscat's cancer diagnosis, stating he wished the man would just die. This was not met well by the crowd nor journalists, and he'd end up walking off stage after cutting the set short.

Cooler heads would eventually prevail with Muscat, Stacy, and Steele from the classic lineup joining Downe and his then-current incarnation of the band on stage to perform Bathroom Wall and Babylon in 2015. The last word from them was in 2022 when they posted a photo online of them in the studio purportedly working on new material. Sadly, it did not include Bradshaw, who died unexpectedly in 2021.

As to what happened to that album, if there even was one intended, who knows. Nothing was ever released.

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Retro Spins: Faster Pussycat - Faster Pussycat

What did I know about Faster Pusscat until today? Nothing. I came across them while digging through online lists of 80's hair and glam bands. That same list that led me to Warlock and Hanoi Rocks. Those Retro Spins turned out to be worthwhile, so hopefully I can keep that trend going.

Formed in 1985 by Taime Downe, they'd come up in the Hollywood, California scene among the likes of Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, L.A. Guns, and Vinnie Vincent Invasion, to name a few. Initially, the lineup consisted of Downe on vocals, and both Greg Steele, and Brent Muscat on guitars. Several members would fill in on bass and drums before eventually Kelly Nickels and Mark Michals came along.

The L.A. strip was a feeding frenzy for record labels, who were eagerly signing glam and metal bands as the next big thing. As a result, Faster Pussycat quickly got an offer of their own, joining Elektra Records. Unfortunately, leading up to the recording of their debut album, Nickels would be severely injured in a motorcycle accident, resulting in Eric Stacy taking his place. Nickels would later go on to join L.A. Guns.

With the aid of their music videos for Bathroom Wall, and Don't Change That Song, the band quickly made a name for themselves among the heavy metal, glam rock, and sleaze rock scene. Their popularity would only be further boosted as the opening act for Alice Cooper, David Lee Roth and Motörhead in support of their 1987 self-titled debut. This was followed by an appearance in the cult classic rockumentary, The Decline of Western Civilization part 2 – The Metal Years.

While I had no expectations for the album, I was pleased to come away with it feeling it was quite good. Though there weren't necessarily any standout tracks, as a whole, it flows nicely, and each track holds its own, delivering something worth listening to.

It does wear many hats. At times it's straight up rock, but then slides nicely into rhythm and blues, only to end up being metal. What it doesn't do is ever slow down, nor provide any ballads. Mind you, I don't hate that at all.

Downes vocals are unique, to be sure. He's not here to necessarily carry a tune but rather belt it out in your face. Think Axel Rose, if he stubbed his toe, and then got something stuck in his throat. At times, he even reminds me of the Beastie Boys. Loud, raspy, but kind of whiny. Does that make any sense?

But again, it all somehow comes together, and works. It's not a bad record by any means, and I am intrigued to jump into their second, and final album for the decade, 1989's Wake Me When It's Over. That's where I'll be at tomorrow, and hopefully, you'll stop by too to check it out.

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Retro Spins: Rick Springfield - Rock Of Life

After finishing his series of tours in 1986 for the album Tao, known as the Cathode Ray Tour, Rick Springfield did something unexpected. He took a break. It wouldn't be until 1988 that he'd return to the studio to record his final album of the decade, Rock Of Life.

Commercially, it would not be a success for him, failing to sell enough units for any certifications. Additionally, it would end his success of top forty albums on the Billboard 200, peaking at number fifty-five. It did, however, produce the number twenty-two Billboard Hot 100 hit, Rock Of Life (the song). This was followed by the single, Honeymoon In Beirut. The single would fail, becoming his first in the 80's to not chart.

In terms of what he released throughout the 80's it's definitely a week album. The title track, Rock Of Life, as well as World Starts Turning, and Hold On To Your Dream, are decent tunes, but nothing that really feels memorable in the long run.

It does capture that late 80's rock vibe, but at the same time doesn't feel superior to what else was available, such as Roxette, Living Colour, and even harder stuff like Metallica and Guns N' Roses.

Beyond that, I've not much more to say.

Though Springfield intended on launching a support tour, also intended to be a comeback for him, plans were cut short when he was involved in a near fatal motorcycle accident. Physically unable to perform, and mentally suffering severe writer's block, he instead returned to his hiatus with his family. It wouldn't be until 1991 that he'd return to the stage, and a whopping eleven years before he'd release another studio album.

During this time, he instead focused on his family, raised his children, and returned to acting. Regarding the latter, his roles generally consisted of made for television films, or appearances in existing series. My favorite being his voice work on the Johnny Bravo episode, Beach Blanket Bravo, playing Andy.

But that about wraps up my Rick Springfield listening sessions. It's on to something else tomorrow.

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Retro Spins: Rick Springfield - Tao

Though his album sales steadily declined since 1982's Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet, Rick Springfield was an artist that still delivered multiple hits from each of his albums, peaking multiple times on the Billboard Hot 100, and producing albums which consecutively charted in the top forty on the Billboard 200. Though this streak would be broken by Mercury Records and the album Beautiful Feelings, a record full of aborted 1978 tracks remixed and recorded by the label, and released without Springfield's knowledge or input, his 1985 released Tao would return him to form.

Granted, his overall popularity and sales continued to decline. However, this was more so driven by the artist aging out of his teeny bopper status, as well as the previously flopped 1984 film, Hard To Hold. Tao would peak at number twenty-one on the Billboard 200, and with it come the Billboard Hot 100 hit singles, State Of The Heart (22), and Celebrate Youth (26).

It's odd how the liner notes for the album:

"I was going through a major depression back then, and had been for a few years. I was spiritually lost, and finding it hard to cope with everything that was going on. Even my success was causing me pain. I couldn't come to terms with earning so much money while others were struggling to find small change even to eat. It seemed so wrong, but what could I do about it? On top of that, I had real problems dealing with my father's death. It all meant that I was in such a mess, which is why the lyrics on the "Tao" album are definitely the darkest of my career."

I say this because out of the starting gate, I found nothing edgy or dark about any of the music. It starts off with Dance This World Away, and then goes into Celebrate Youth, both of which just come off as catchy rock tracks.

As a whole, it's a pretty decent album, and another solid rock entry from Springfield. Naturally, there were standout tracks that shined brighter than others. For me, those were the two noted above, The Tao Of Heaven, Stranger In The House, and Walking On The Edge. The latter is probably my favorite from Tao.

Following the album's release, Rick appeared on the Philadelphia side of Live Aid, performing Love Somebody, State Of The Heart, and Human Touch. From there, he finished his own support tour in 1986 and opted to take a hiatus.

While he'd return in 1988 for his final album of the 80's, Rock Of Life, the Cathode Ray Tour, which was the tour name for Tao would be his final for the decade. He wouldn't return to the stage until 1991, but now we're just getting too far ahead. First, I need to listen to his '88 release, which I'll do tomorrow.

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Retro Spins: Rick Springfield - Hard To Hold

After releasing his third consecutive Billboard 200 top forty album, rather than return to the studio, Rick Springfield instead stepped back in front of the camera to film the movie, Hard To Hold. Though it would ultimately become a box office flop, the subsequent studio album / soundtrack which followed would become another smash success for him.

Hard To Hold, the album, would become his fifth top forty album, and fourth consecutive. With it would come the Billboard Hot 100 hit singles, Love Somebody (peaking at number five), Bop 'Til You Drop (twenty), Don't Walk Away (twenty-six), and Taxi Dancing (fifty-nine).

Disappointing for me was that I saw the awesome music video for the song, Bop 'Til You Drop before seeing the film, which set an unrealistic expectation for me.

When I saw that video, I was like, "Wow, is that the movie? That looks awesome!" Yeah, no, that's not even close to how the movie is. The film itself is a love story / drama. No sci-fi, no aliens, no laser blasts. Lame...but still my favorite song from the album.

Which is the perfect segue for today's Retro Spin. Things start out with the classic Love Somebody, before jumping into the next single, Don't Walk Away, and then Bop 'Til You Drop. Then it goes right into Taxi Dancing, basically blowing through all the hit singles right out of the gate, even if the latter isn't one really wasn't for me. The other three, however, are awesome tunes.

Things take a pretty steep nosedive from there, with the only real standout being the instrumental, S.F.O. Basically, if I were to sum this one up, which I will, listen to side A, and then turn it off. This is by far my least favorite of the albums over the past three days. I'm hoping things pick back up, but I'm also admittedly doubtful.

Wanting to capitalize on Springfield's success, Mercury Records would dig up tracks from a previously aborted album in 1978, remix and record them without the artist's input, and release Beautiful Feelings, and album which I've already done a Retro Spin on. Though he'd make no comments publicly about the label's move, its release would break the streak of his consecutive top forty Billboard 200 releases.

As for me, tomorrow I'm heading into his 1985 album, Tao. Like I said above, I'm hoping for things to pick up again, but I'm not expecting they will. Tao would be his final album to receive any sales certifications and begin a steady decline in overall popularity for him, possibly aided in part by the above Mercury Records release. That all unfolds tomorrow.

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Retro Spins: Rick Springfield - Living In Oz

After two successful albums back-to-back, Rick Springfield left the role of Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital and focused strictly on his music career. Returning to the studio, he recorded what would become the tracks for his next album, Living In Oz (1983).

The album would prove to be another success, providing his fourth Billboard 200 top forty record, and his third consecutively. With it came the hit singles, Affair Of The Heart, which peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, Human Touch, which landed at number eighteen., and Souls which followed at twenty-three. Affair Of The Heart would also garner him a nomination, but not a win, for a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.

I'm finding it difficult to write Retro Spins on Rick Springfeild because honestly, there's not much to say about them. His records are straight up rock and roll albums. They have great instrumentation, and his vocals are superb. Beyond that, what is there to say?

I suppose I could note that as a result of the album being another solid one, there were standout tracks. For me, those were Human Touch, Alyson, Affair Of The Heart, Living In Oz (the song), Motel Eyes, Souls, I Can't Stop Hurting You. but from there, I'd just be typing words for the sake of filling space.

Point being, check this one out. Check out the previous two too. Then listen to the next one. I mean, maybe, I don't know. I haven't heard that one yet. Well, I take that back. By the time you read this, I will have, but you'll have to check back tomorrow for that. See, that's what happens when you type words to fill space. Rambling.

Before moving on to his next album, Rick returned to the screen, starring in the film Hard To Hold. Though it would be a box office flop, it would lead to his next studio / soundtrack album of the same name, and his fifth top forty album. Leave us not get too far ahead though and instead pick up there tomorrow.

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Retro Spins: Rick Springfield - Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet

I often go back and read prior Retro Spins, only to be mortified by how terribly they were written. Such is the case with my very first Rick Springfield post for his 1981 album, Working Class Dog, and I'm sure that one day I'll do the very same thing with this one.

Australian born Richard Lewis Springthorpe was thirteen when he learned guitar and began joining various bands. Being the child of an army officer saw him travelling the world, living on various bases, and it was in doing so that he met Pete Watson, and joined his group, Rockhouse, which changed its name to MPD Ltd. They would spend the summer of 1969 touring around Vietnam to entertain the troops, and upon returning to Australia, Watson and Springthorpe formed Wickedy Wak with MPD Ltd. alum Danny Finley, and new members, Phil Blackmore, and Dick Howard.

Prior to the end of that year, Richard would take over as lead guitarist for the band Zoot. With him would come the motto, "Think Pink – Think Zoot", which had him and fellow members, Beeb Birtles, Darryl Cotton, and Rick Brewer wearing head to toe pink satin.

Zoot circa 1969

While the change brought about public notice, ushering in a slew of female fans, it came at the loss of the band not being taken seriously as a musical act. Though they would release numerous singles, including the popular hard rock cover of The Beatles Eleanor Rigby, which peaked at number four on Go-Set's Top 40, the band would ultimately break up in 1971.

Sparmac Records would sign him to a solo deal, and in doing so, Springthorpe officially became Rick Springfield. His 1972 debut, Beginnings, would be a solid starting point, peaking at number fifteen in Australia, while also charting in Canada and the USA. It would further become his first of seven top forty albums on the Billboard 200.

Despite this solid start, his success would be hampered by rumors that Capitol Records paid people to purchase Springfield's albums, which led to some radio stations boycotting his music. These rumors were never substantiated, but the impact to his career was negative regardless.

Rick shifted to Columbia Records for his second album and released 1973's Comic Book Heroes. While it wouldn't fare well commercially, a subsequent article in Circus Magazine boosted his popularity among the teeny bopper crowd, putting him in the category with the likes of David Cassidy and Donny Osmond.

By the end of the year, an interesting twist had happened. Springfield found himself staring as himself in the animated series, Mission: Magic. The show would run for sixteen episodes and follow a group of kids who were part of The Adventure Club through a basic premise of solving mysteries, fixing problems, or helping people in need, all alongside Rick himself.

The Australian exclusive album, Mission: Magic, on the label, Wizard, would serve as both his third studio release, and a soundtrack to the series. It's been re-released multiple times since under a slew of different titles, and sometimes not including every track. This was followed by the album, Wait For Night, which provided the top fifty hit, Take A Hand.

In February of 1981, Rick dropped his album, Working Class Dog, and then promptly went to work as Dr. Noah Drake in March on General Hospital. Five months later, Jesse's Girl reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, catapulting him into stardom. This was followed by the Sammy Hagar penned, I've Done Everything For You, which landed at number eight, and in early 1982 by, Love Is Alright Tonight, which reached number twenty. As a whole, the album became his next top forty Billboard 200 hit, and his biggest seller in his career.

Though he clearly had a music career ahead of him, Rick continued to work on General Hospital until 1983. In between this, he released two more albums, 1982's Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet, and 1983's Living In Oz. Before we get to the latter, let's pause at '82.

Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet provided Springfield with his third top forty Billboard 200 album. It further spawned the Billboard Hot 100 hits, Don't Talk To Strangers, What Kind Of Fool Am I, and I Get Excited.

This is a rock and roll album through and through, and with it comes some satisfying tunes, such as Calling All Girls, What Kind Of Fool Am I, and Don't Talk To Strangers. But as a whole, it's enjoyable.

At least I think it was. Truthfully, with how much history I was hammering through, and typing all of the above, my focus was a bit taken away from it. I was a little caught off guard when it ended because I hadn't really noticed how much time had passed, let alone most of the songs.

Regardless, I'm standing by what I said. It was enjoyable, and I'm down with continuing forward to his next album. As noted above, that's 1983's Living In Oz. At the risk of getting too far ahead, and having written so much already, we'll call this one done.

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Retro Spins: Tom Tom Club - Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom

Today is my last Tom Tom Club Retro Spin, and I'm a bit relieved about that. It's not that their music has necessarily been bad. Rather, it's too hit or miss. Songs are either decent, but never really great, but most of the time, they're just hollow, and annoying. This is mainly driven by the co-vocals of the Weymouth sisters, which sound like you're stuck in a car with a group of girls who won't stop singing. If that's your thing, more power to you, but it's not for me.

If you thought the twelve "man" lineup from 1983's Close To The Bone was impressive, 1988's Boom Chi Boom Boom boasts a whopping sixteen, and among them was a guest appearance from Talking Heads bandmate, David Byrne. Tina Weymouth, and Chris Frantz once again lead the charge, but are joined by Mark Roule, Gary Pozner, Laura Weymouth, Wally Badarou, Steve Scales, Jerry Harrison, Eddie Martinez, Jay Berliner, Glenn Rosenstein, Heidi Berg, and Tiny Valentine, with guest appearances by Lou Reed, and as noted, David Byrne.

The album would come on the tail end of the 80's, 1988 or 1989, depending on your country of origin. Your location would also dictate the tracks included, with the USA and Canada versions, released in 1989, being severely edited from the original European and UK releases (1988). Further, those songs which did make the cut were altered from their original order.

Songs, Born for Love, Broken Promises, and Mighty Teardrop, which were originally on the 1988 released albums were removed, with Call of the Wild, Kiss Me When I Get Back, Wa Wa Dance, and I Confess being added in the USA and Canada. In turn, those four were not included on the European and UK releases. Lastly, the Bob Dylan penned, She Belongs To Me, which was on the 1988 release was only included on the CD versions in 1989. That's a lot, and hopefully I wrote it coherently.

Am I looking forward to this one? No, I am not, but as Lando said before diving into the belly of the Death Star II, "Here goes nothing."

Tom Tom Club seems to pull out all the stops on this one. The goofiness is back, the gibberish lyrics, but mixing it all together is a vast variety of sound. Rock, rap, dance, pop, it's all here, and somehow, for the most part, it strangely seems to work.

It does feature some good stuff worth adding to the shuffle list, with Kiss Me When I Get Back being my favorite. However, this was more so for the instrumentation than the vocals. Additionally, I enjoyed Wa Wa Dance, I Confess, Suboceana, Shock The World, and Little Eva. It's worth noting that Subcoceana appears to be the title track for the album, featuring the words, boom boom chi boom boom throughout it.

Beyond that, there's not much more to say. It was decent, and I wouldn't call myself a fan of Tom Tom Club when it's all said and done.

When Talking Heads broke up in 1991, Weymouth and Frantz returned to Tom Tom to record 1992's Dark Sneak Love Action. However, after doing so, they shifted their attention to building a private recording studio, and forming a new band, The Heads. They released No Talking, Just Head in 1996, and were promptly met with a lawsuit by David Byrne. The case would be settled out of court, but this would effectively cut short any future plans for the group.

Four years later, Tom Tom Club released The Good, The Bad, And The Funky (2000), but then shifted to releasing live albums, EP's, and singles, until 2012's Downtown Rockers. Though they remain active, they don't seem focused on releasing any new albums.

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Retro Spins: Tom Tom Club - Close To The Bone

Today, I'm continuing my journey through Tom Tom Club. I left off yesterday reserving my judgement of the band, not sure if their music was genius or gibberish. I'm hoping today to answer that question.

The massive lineup of musicians present on the last album shifted a bit with members departing, but in doing so, all the more joined. 1983's Close To The Bone boasts a whopping twelve bandmates, which include founding members Tina Weymouth, and Chris Frantz, along with Alex Weir, Wally Badarou, Tyrone Downie, Raymond Jones, Rupert Hine, Steve Scales, Lani Weymouth, Laura Weymouth, Steven Stanley, and Roddy Frantz.

Unlike its platinum selling predecessor, the self-titled Tom Tom Club, their second album would not perform as well. Not only did it not receive any sales certifications, but as a whole didn't chart as well.

What's interesting about this particular album is that for the longest time it wasn't available on CD. It was made briefly available in Europe and the UK as a two-disc deluxe release packaged with their debut in 2009 from Island Records. This, however, quickly went out of print, and not being available in the USA made it difficult, and expensive to come by. It was only just recently released in the USA by Rhino Records, July 24, 2026, to be exact, and only as part of a box set which includes the entire discography of Tom Tom Club, entitled Let There Be Love.

Opening track, Pleasure Of Love starts out seems to want to be a sequel to their hit, Genius Of Love. Musically, it sounds almost like the same song, tweaked just enough through the vocals to stand on its own.

Things then shift to a funkier sound, and from there, the album kind of comes into its own, for a bit. On The Line Again clearly serves as the album's intended title track, with its chorus of close to the bone repeated throughout. This is followed by the equally fine tune, This Is A Foxy World. Though it comes later in the album, The Man With The 4-Way Hips stands out for its unique vocal sound effects.

It's when the Weymouth sisters unite their vocals that things stop working for me. It sounds almost like a seance, or a group of high schoolers singing together in a car. It sounds like Bananarama almost, but not in a good way.

Further, while they get away from the gibberish that plagued their debut, once again they put forth very basic lyrics that sound almost childish. This is where things really baffle me because instrumental wise, everyone knows what they're doing. Most of it comes crashing down from the poorly written word things strung together.

Overall, I'm not seeing myself becoming a fan of Tom Tom Club, and truthfully, I'm glad tomorrow's Retro Spin is the last from them. That may sound harsher than intended. It's not like they're Martha And The Muffins terrible, they're just not really resonating as much as I hoped.

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Retro Spins: Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club

When Talking Heads bassist Tina Weymouth, and drummer Chris Frantz initially launched the band Tom Tom Club, it was only meant to be a side project. One which served as a creative outlet for the two as they dealt with David Byrne who had taken full creative control of the Heads. However, as their self-titled debut took off in dance clubs, and peaked at number twenty-three on the Billboard 200, it became clear that they were here to stay.

For the adventure Weymouth would bring along sisters Lani, Laura, and Loric, but in addition several other members of the Compass Point All Stars family would join. This included Adrian Belew, Monte Brown, Tyrone Downie, and Uziah Thompson.

Depending on what format you buy will dictate not only the tracks you get, but subsequently the runtime. Using the original vinyl as the definitive version, if you bought the cassette version, the final track, Booming And Zooming would be replaced by a cover of Under The Boardwalk. However, the CD version would include both of these tracks, plus three bonus tracks. However, the bonuses would just be a remix and extended version of already included songs.

Wordy Rappinghood pretty much sums up the 80's. Pure nonsense gibberish, all set to a beat and synthesizer. It was stupidly fantastic in its own way. This is followed by the equally goofy lyrical Genius Of Love. The irony of this is that I never cared for either of these songs, but yet they were the reason I bought the album.

As a whole, the album approaches the music with a very nursery rhyme and childish style. Candidly, it can be annoying at times because it doesn't feel like the band itself is taking things seriously, but rather just goofing off in the studio, yet somehow producing a full record in the process. Of course, you could also go to the opposite spectrum, embrace it, and find pure joyful bliss in the simplicity of pop music.

For me, it's a relative miss. While I got into the first two tracks, as things continued in this manner, it wore thin fast. Sorry, but I need more substance to my music than just goofy sounds and rambling. It's perhaps clear why David Byrne took control of Talking Heads. If he left Weymouth and Frantz to their own devices, their music and legacy may have crumbled fast.

With that harshness stated, I will say that As Above, So Below, Lorelei, and On, On, On, On... were a pretty decent tune, and I admittedly will add Wordy Rappinghood and Genius Of Love to my shuffle. Again, those two are what I bought the album for.

I don't know. I'm on the fence with Tom Tom Club right now. On one hand, I want to say their musical geniuses for taking basic lyrics, gibberish, and solid musicianship to create a unique listening experience. However, on the other, I want to say it's so basic that it's dumb. Maybe it's both, and perhaps it depends on what your own mood is when you play through it. I'll reserve judgement until I hear their follow-up, 1983's Close To The Bone.

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Retro Spins: Talking Heads - True Stories

Today I'm wrapping up Talking Heads with the part soundtrack, part studio album, True Stories. Conceived by David Byrne as a film, which starred not only the band, but a young John Goodman, among other cast members.

Upon its release, the musical film would flop. Though critics would praise its vignettes style storytelling, it simply didn't produce the box office return needed to be a success. Since then, it's become far more popular on home video releases, even reaching cult classic status.

As for the album, it began a rapid decline for the band. While it sold what most would consider reasonably well, reaching gold status, it far underperformed expectations. It did, however, produce their biggest Billboard hit, Wild Wild Life, which peaked at number twenty-five.

Things start out with Love For Sale, which is a decent song, but even at four and a half minutes felt like it was much longer than it needed to be. This is followed by the overly produced Puzzlin' Evidence. It's with the latter that I started to feel like I was listening to a B-52's album, which wasn't necessarily a compliment.

Over production seemed like the name of the game for the entire first side of the record. But more so out in left field was the inclusion of the St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary School Choir on Hey Now. What was happening? Where were the quirky songs that made the band what they were?

When side two comes around, it kicks off with the track I bought the album for, Wild Wild Life. It's probably my favorite from Talking Heads. Things also finally start to finally sound like a Heads record with the hit being followed by Radio Head. Fortunately, things stay relatively in familiar territory from there, and the second side is far superior to the first. In fact, I'll go ahead and call the entire second half good.

With that said, this is definitely not my favorite album from the band. Somewhere along the line, they seem to have lost their way, and as a result the music suffered for it. I don't know if they were trying too hard to be part of mainstream rock, or if internal issues were ripping them apart creatively. Whatever it was, for sure there was a steady decline.

As I noted yesterday, when Talking Heads released their critically acclaimed concert video, Stop Making Sense, fans of the band had no reason to suspect that 1984 would be the last year they'd tour together. Though they remained intact, and released 1985's Little Creatures, 1986's True Stories, and 1988's Naked, rifts had long since grown between members.

This all began as early as 1978, when Brynes essentially took creative control of the band, alienated Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth, and Jerry Harrison, and then began bringing in other musicians between 1983 and 1984. Things got so bad that Weymouth and Frantz would launch their own band, Tom Tom Club as a creative outlet, while Harrison explored his own solo career.

By 1991, Byrne announced he was leaving the band in an interview with The Times, leaving his bandmates to find out via reading about it. There was no discussion, no follow-up, leaving the members furious with him. Byrne would then sue the three when he learned they were touring as The Heads in the mid-90's. This would be the final nail in the coffin between them all, and they wouldn't reunite or play together again until their 2022 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Watching the induction is a little tough because you can clearly see the rift between Bryne and his prior bandmates. They seemingly stand away from him as he gives his speech, and when they're all giving their own, he's off in the distance by himself. Honestly, I'm surprised that they played together that night.

Though it's been stated they have since reconciled their personal issues with each other and even appeared together again in 2023 for a brief interview. However, they've ruled out any future reunions or tours. But, as Sean Connery said, never say never.

As for me, having already listened to 1988's Naked, I'm off to find something "new" to listen to.

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