The Toy Box: 80's Music

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Retro Spins: Stevie Wonder - Hotter Than July

Motown entered the 80's with the February release of Smokey Robinson's Warm Thoughts, but before the year would warp up, Michael Jackson, Rick James, Diana Ross, Teena Marie, DeBarge, Black Russian, and today's Retro Spin, Stevie Wonder. Now admittedly, I don't have all that much knowledge of this particular singer, nor his discography as a whole. In fact, I know so little about him, that I didn't even know about this album before stumbling upon his Top Forty hit, Master Blaster (Jammin'), while rummaging through said charts for tracks I had forgotten.

When I came across this one, I added the respective album, Hotter Than July, to my want list. However, something happened over the course of the next few days. It kept nagging on me that I needed this one sooner than later, and ended up purchasing much faster than I typically do most "new" albums added to my list.

The seller delivered it with little to no haste, and with it in hand, I jumped immediately into it. Also something I rarely do.

Well, if you've put two and two together, today I'm listening to Hotter Than July by Stevie Wonder.

While I wouldn't by any means call myself a fan of his music, something interesting happened when I fired up the disc. I found myself immediately invested, digging the title track, Did I Hear You Say You Love Me. This took off on a voyage of a lot of highs, and very little lows. I found myself enjoying, and adding quite a few tracks to my shuffle list.

If I had one complaint about the album, it was how several tracks just seemed to stop, and jump immediately into the next. Though intentional, it felt sloppy. Almost as if the CD was broken. It was jarringly abrupt.

Overall, this didn't impede my enjoyment, and like I said, I added quite a few new tracks to my shuffle. This lead me to one of my favorite things about Retro Spins, too look into other albums from the era from said artist. Doing so lead to another surprise. With this one now in my collection, I actually own Stevie Wonder's complete 80's discography. Neat!

And on that happy note, that wraps up this Retro Spins.

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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: Oingo Boingo - Only A Lad

My introduction to Oingo Boingo technically came in 1985 with the movie and title track, Weird Science. However, I neither knew, nor cared at the time who the band was. Fast forward to around 1998 when I was working at a local Toys R' Us that a guy there was playing the band's 1996 double live Farewell album. While he professed how much he loved the band, I still didn't pay much attention.

A little later on, I got a larger introduction via a long time buddy of mine, who introduced me to the 1985 album, Dead Man's Party. From there, I took notice. This lead me to borrowing my sister's 1991 cassette of Best O' Boingo, which I proceeded to play to death.

When I switched jobs, and found myself traveling throughout the day quite a bit, Oingo Boingo became my go to source for entertainment. It was during this time that I started accumulating their complete discography, making frequent trips to Tower Records to do so. At the time, I had no intentions of collecting every Oingo Boingo album. It was just something that happened over a period of several years, and multiple trips.

Oingo Boingo would ultimately overshadow Queen as my most played band of that time, something I never thought would be possible, but which has balanced out over the years. But, in that moment, I lived, breathed, and slept their unique sounds and different approach to the 80's (and 90's).

Though I've heard it many times, today, I'm going back to their 1981 debut, Only A Lad.

It's been several years since I'd played this one from start to finish, and I must say, I'm glad that I did today. I know there are quite a few songs from this album that I loved, but every time I hear it, it feels like the first. I seem to always forget how much I like several songs, and in turn, needed to add them to my shuffle list; where they should have already have been.

For me, it was like sitting back and simply having a wonderful visit with an old friend. The memories associated with hearing these songs for the first time may be long gone, but it's easy to pick up where we left off, as if no time had passed at all. I suppose in a way, it took me back to a time of my life that was so different. A period where I was just starting to branch off into a career, taking my first true steps into adulthood and independence. There were good times, bad times, but always the music.

An interesting factor for me with the band is that if I was being one hundred percent honest, which I will, I actually prefer the 1990's re-recorded versions of many of their songs from their Alive and Best O' Boingo released compilations. This is because these were the first iterations of several of these songs that I was introduced to. As a result, it's weird to hear the original versions. They feel like demos when compared to the refined re-recordings.

With that said, I have grown to appreciate the originals more in retrospect, but I will probably always favor the updated versions.

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Retro Spins: The Vapors - New Clear Days

Would a band be able to release a song called, Turning Japanese, in today's hyper sensitive culture?

The Vapors released two albums in the 80's, with their first being 1980's New Clear Days, and 1981's Magnets. They would then seemingly disappear into thin air. While many would forget about them entirely, the band would come back in 2020 for an all new album entitled, Together, which many critics call a brilliant pop album.

Their 1980's hit, the above noted, Turning Japanese, would be the only hit for the band. This unfortunately earned them the tried and true "One Hit Wonder" label. It's this song which lead me to the album several decades later, and I was not surprised to find out that it had never initially been released on CD during its 1980's heydays.

Though a compilation of tracks from New Clear Days and Magnets was released on CD in 1995 as, The Vapors: Anthology, it wouldn't be until 2000 that both albums would get a true CD release from Captain Mod Records, a sub-label of Captain Oi! Each album contained all the original tracks, as well as several B-sides. However, both albums are currently out of print, and rather pricey.

Had I not received this album as a birthday gift in 2021, I honestly would not own this one just yet. The price always deterred me from picking it up. I knew I'd get around to it eventually, but it was certainly not a priority.

When I sat down to listen to it, I immediately got a sense of "The Police". Somehow, they just seemed to have that certain sound about them. This is probably because both groups have a foothold in the pre-punk era of the late seventies / early eighties. This helped to make it a bit catchy, and enjoyable.

I need to state that it is my intentions to listen to this one again before ultimately making a definitive decision. While I did hear songs that I thought were decent, Turning Japanese was really the only keeper for me during my first play through. As such, I think I need to give this one another chance.

It's because of this that I can't really give a thumbs up or down on New Clear Days just yet. This may turn out to be my first "re-review" post. What I will say is that I didn't hate it. I may even be intrigued enough to track down Magnets.

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Retro Spins: John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy

I'm by no means a giant Beatles fan. Never really got into the individual member's solo albums, but with that said, own quite a bit of it all. While I never really gave John Lennon any much space in my mind to roam, I knew about his highly praised Double Fantasy album for quite some time.

The album is definitely a love letter between Lennon and Ono, with each one rotating the lead vocals on every other track. A personal album, for sure, but not one that (at the time) critics were fond of.

Upon its initial release, the album didn't have the impact many expected it to have. In fact, many reviews were quite harsh. It was following Lennon's murder a few weeks after the album was released that the album started to gain traction. This was most likely aided by many negative reviews being held back due to the singer's death.

Double Fantasy would eventually reach the number one spot, and stay there for eight weeks. It would go on to win a Grammy Award the following year, and even be ranked number twenty-nine on Rolling Stone's 1989 list of one hundred greatest 80's albums. Interest, considering that at the time of its release, writer Tom Carson of Rolling Stone wrote a not so favorable review of the album. Granted, it was among the ones withheld from publication, as noted above.

It wouldn't be until recently that I would focus my attention on getting Double Fantasy. This was during a period when I was putting together a compilation of every number one hit from 1980 to 1989, which caused me to have to do a little "clean up" work of missing albums. While this one was among those missing, on a side note, I was a little surprised to see that I only needed about nine albums in total to achieve my goal.

Though I'm still incredibly far behind on listening to everything, I'm trying more and more to spin discs relatively close to the time I purchase them. Mainly because I have such a massive backlog, and I need to catch up so that I can keep up. Which admittedly won't be anytime soon.

But, today, I'm firing up Double Fantasy, and having my own little listening party.

It starts out with the number one hit, (Just Like) Starting Over, which is of course the song I got the album for. From there, I got my first introduction to Yoko Ono's singing, and while I was initially enjoying Kiss Kiss Kiss, it quickly turned annoying when she started making some yodeling dolphin sounds. I thought to myself, "Oh boy, if this is how this is going to go, I'm not going to enjoy this at all." Fortunately, I caught on rather quickly about the above noted rotating lead vocals, so this helped to ease the matter.

While she would continue to make weird sounds here and there, it was thankfully not consistent. However, as a whole, the album felt a bit odd to be listening to. As I said initially, this album is a love letter between a husband and wife, and not one that I think most people would care to hear. In hindsight, I can understand why critics felt the way they did about Double Fantasy. It isn't relatable to the common listener. Further, because it doesn't hide the fact of how personal it is, it doesn't leave much room for songs which are just "good".

Don't get me wrong, Double Fantasy isn't bad. It's just not commercial enough. I just don't see anyone saying, "Gee, let me throw that album on and listen to John and Yoko profess their love to each other for forty-five minutes. I think it's great that they loved each other so much. I just don't think the entire world needed to hear about it.

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Retro Spins: Mary Jane Girls - Only For You

Take Rick James, Sprinkle in Motown Records, and put four girls at the front line, and you have Mary Jane Girls. JoJo, Candi, Corvette, and Maxi.

James founded the group utilizing several female background singers, and released their first self titled album in 1983. It had mild success with the lead single, All Night Long, not to be confused with the more successful Lionel Richie song.

This would lead to their second album, 1985's Only For You, and the success of their second single, In My House. While you would think a top twenty album would poise the girls for only bigger and better things to come, their third album, Conversation, was completed, then shelved.

Morris Day would end up recruiting Cheri Wells to front his upcoming group, Day Zs, but their 1990 debut would fail, and that group disband shortly thereafter. However, fans of MJG would eventually get to hear their third album when it was released in 2014 as part of a larger retrospective for Rick James.

Beyond that, there's not much to really say about the group.

Today, I'm jumping into their second album, Only For You, mainly as a result of the powerhouse hit, In My House.

Only For You starts with the chart topper, and in retrospect of also becoming more familiar with Rick James, definitely sounds like his style of music. It's heavily driven by his bass riffs, and overall is reminiscent of his past work. I dare say he could have easily taken the lead vocals himself, and just called it another solo album.

Though the tracks are full of groove and dance-able beats, nothing really stood out until I made my way to track seven, Girlfriend, which I vaguely remembered from the era it was released. Still, it's always fun during these listening sessions to stumble across a tune and say, "I forgot about that one!"

Overall though, a fan I am not. Listening to this didn't make me wish that the group had stuck around for the long term, no want to go back and listen to their prior released debut. Regardless, I'm happy to have this one in my 80's collection.

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Retro Spins: Randy & The Gypsys - Randy & The Gypsys

Randy & The Gypsys, AKA Randy Jackson's solo album debut, and single album credited to the youngest Jackson brother came and went during an era where all eyes were on older brother Michael, and younger sister, Janet. If you didn't know this album existed, I'm not surprised.

Randy Jackson is the second to youngest Jackson sibling, eldest only to Janet, and was never officially part of the original Jackson 5 lineup. He was, however, on tour with the group as of 1972 playing multiple instruments. An honorary member, if you will.

When the Jackson 5 left Motown Records, Randy would finally join his brothers as a credited member of The Jacksons, and would record with them from their 1976 self titled album through 1989's 2300 Jackson Street.

It was in October of 1989 that Randy would create his own band, The Gypsys, and set out for a short lived solo career. Though the album is peppy, and definitely has a beat you can dance to, it fails to deliver any noteworthy tracks that stand out as singles. As a whole, it's seemingly forgettable.

In fact, more interesting than the album itself was reading up on the man's destructive past, littered among convictions of domestic violence, getting shot at by Tina Turner for trying to break into her house, child custody battles that he never appeared in court for, and a woman who he had two children with, who would then go on to marry and divorce his brother Jermaine.

It appears that the often forgotten Jackson brother inherited a lot of demons from his father. Though he may have gone on to be a lucrative partner with his sister Janet as joint owner of the Rhythm Nation Records, doesn't have a past that screams, "Likeable guy!"

I wish I could talk more on the album itself, but it truly was forgettable. By track five, I didn't even care about it.

While I'm happy to have the album, it's more so to check that "Jackson" box I've been ticking away at. I don't know why I feel inclined to own every Jackson sibling album. Especially in light of the majority of them not being good. It's just something I "need" to have, so I have it.

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Retro Spins: Boys Don't Cry - Boys Don't Cry

Boys Don't Cry is one of those unique groups that many people don't remember at this point. They only released two albums in the 80's, and out of nowhere, a third in 2014. However, for those who do recall the band, they probably do so for their one hit wonder status for the song, "I Wanna Be A Cowboy." It's an obscure 80's song at best, and not very good, if I'm being honest.

I added this album to my list of 80's albums I wanted to obtain relatively late on in the game. It was probably during one of those many sessions of digging into forgotten 80's tracks on Youtube, or via various Google searches that this one came back onto my radar. However, it remained a very low priority.

The album became even more of a lower priority when I started wrapping up my want list, which seems to continue to grow every time I turn around, a story for another time. It was non-existent on ebay, and in broadening my search, I was finally able to come across it at a whopping €100.00. That equates to $113.91 US dollars for those of you wondering.

Though I left it be for the longest time, I eventually came back to the listing, and during a period of having a bit of extra money I wanted to spend on CD's, I offered the seller €75.00, which he politely declined. I told him if he ever changed his mind to please let me know, as I would probably still be interested.

Fast forward several months later when the seller randomly reached out to me and said he would accept my offer if I was still interested. While considerable time had passed, as well as my overall desire to spend even €75.00 on the album, I was impressed that the seller had held on to my contact information for so long, and reached out. I honestly felt obligated at that point to complete the deal, so I did.

With the album in hand, I found myself intrigued enough to dive right into it, something I normally don't do. In the back of my mind I was saying to myself, "Well, this ought to be interesting." I was expecting something as obscure as their hit song, and as such was not prepared for what was about to happen.

Everything starts up with a building drum beat and piano, which ultimately becomes Cities On Fire. It grabbed me, hooked me, and pulled me down the street on a journey I didn't expect to be on. I really enjoyed the opener. From there, things went a little up and down, but overall, were enjoyable. I actually ended up grabbing four tracks in total from the album for my shuffle list.

What was also interesting to find out was that I Wanna Be A Cowboy is actually very different from the the rest of the tracks. Lead vocalist, Nick Richards has a great voice, and the rest of the band are no slouches either. Brian Chatton, Jeff Seopardi, Nico Ramsden, and Mark Smith all bring their "A" game.

The most exciting thing about the whole experience was that it left me asking, "Where can I get their 1987 follow up?" Man, I love when that happens! That's really what these Retro Spins are about. Sure, it's great to hear tracks I already know and love. But, my goal is to dig deeper. Discover tracks I didn't know, and find more and more music to expand my collection with.

Well played, Boys Don't Cry. I tip my hat to you...but I haven't got a hat.

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Retro Spins: Paula Abdul - Forever Your Girl

I feel like the coming of Paula Abdul was my clue in that music was changing, and not necessarily for the better.

How to explain. I'll use an analogy I gave George of G.I. Jigsaw years ago. 80's music is like the vintage G.I. Joe figures. Music, much like G.I. Joe hit many radars in 1982, and it was different, but kind of cool. Between 1983 - 1986, it took off, and was in its prime with tons of amazing stuff being released. 1987 things started to taper off a bit. It was the year where things were a little different, a little unique, but still very enjoyable. But 1988 - 1989, things were very different, and while somewhat enjoyable, there were clear signs that only worse things were on the horizon. Then the 90's hit, and it was clear that the end was neigh. By 1994, forget it. It was just pure garbage.

With that said, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that Paula Abdul is horrible by any means. She had a few Billboard hits, and they were all deservedly earned. What I found truly odd was that the first among them was Knocked Out. Even after hearing it for today's Retro Spin, I feel like I only vaguely remember it. The song charted in June of 1988, reaching number forty-one before being joined on the charts by (It's Just) The Way That You Love Me, and Straight Up, the latter which would become her first number one hit by February of 1989.

Forever Your Girl would follow by entering the charts in March. Straight Up and Forever Your Girl would cross each other in the 30's in April, with the latter reaching number one by May. Though it stayed there for two consecutive weeks, it dropped down to number eight immediately thereafter.

Cold Heated followed, and fired its way up to the number one spot by September. However, as it began it drop back down the charts, (It's Just) The Way That You Love Me would re-enter the charts, going to number three by December.

Paula wasn't done there. Opposites Attract landed on the charts shortly thereafter, and it too went straight up (now tell me) to the number one spot by February of 1990. It stayed in the spot for three weeks before Janet Jackson's Escapade took its place.

All of this success was achieved with her debut album, which as a whole reached number one on Billboard by July of 1988. Boy, talk about setting the bar high for a follow up album.

I've never necessarily "liked" Paula Abdul, but I do respect her for her contribution to the 80's. If your radio was on between 1988 and 1990 then you undoubtedly would hear any number of her songs in rotation throughout the day. She certainly earned her accolades as the mouthpiece for the above songs. I say mouthpiece, because she didn't actually write any of them.

As I fired up the album, I was immediately transported back to my Jr. High years in Bend, Oregon. Specifically when I picked up the album at a local K-Mart for a girl in my class by the name of Amber Tillinghast. The odd part of this story is that this wasn't one of those childhood crush things. I just felt like doing something nice for her since she said she wanted the cassette. I haven't even thought about that until just now. Truth be told, I'd be surprised if she even remembered who I was or how she got the tape...Or that she even had it.

Listening to the album, it's not as bad as I seem to want to remember it being. It has good songs on the album, most of which were noted above. No, I take that back. All of which were noted above. Again, I respect it for the contributions to the 80's it served as, and the hits are worth hearing. However, I wouldn't call myself a fan by any means.

My true childish guilty pleasure of this album is giggling like a four year old when I hear her say, "Do do you love me." Ha! Gross! I also giggle that same way when I hear Aerosmith say they love you, "Because your deuces are wild." I'm such a child...

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Retro Spins: Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet

It's that lightning in a bottle that strikes once in a lifetime. Sure, some bands (or solo artists) go on to have equally successful albums, but it's always that one. That breakthrough album that stands out as, "That was that moment in history when..." For Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet was that moment.

Despite releasing two albums prior to Slippery, Bon Jovi remained totally off my radar until the latter part of 1986. In my defense, this was the case for most, as the band had yet to really make an impact. However, just a month after its release, the band entered the charts with, You Give Love A Bad Name. The song would fly to the number one spot by November 28th, but be dethroned the following week by Peter Cetera's duet with Amy Grant, The Next Time I Fall In Love.

But, Bon Jovi was far from done. Living On A Prayer entered the charts in the final weeks of December. It would become the band's second number one hit by February 1987, and also their signature track. A fun story behind the tune was that singer Jon Bon Jovi didn't initially think it was a strong song, and didn't want to include it on the album. It was guitarist Richie Sambora who convinced him otherwise. Living On A Prayer spent four weeks at number one before being overtaken by Jacob's Ladder from Huey Lewis And The News.

Wanted Dead Or Alive entered the charts as their third hit in April of 1987, but would peak at number seven, a slot it held for three consecutive weeks. It would be the final track from the album to chart.

Ultimately, Bon Jovi would be one of those bands that my brother was more interested in than I was. He would play both Slippery When Wet and New Jersey frequently, which resulted in the majority of my exposure to them. It wasn't that I hated them. I just didn't feel the need, at the time, to own their albums. Then again, of my siblings, I was for the longest time the one who owned the least albums.

This all changed of course when I started putting together my carefully, soon to be out of control, curated collection in my adult years. There was no doubt that Bon Jovi needed to be among my albums. In fact, they're one of the few artists who I dabble in the 90's and beyond eras.

To this day, Slippery When Wet stands out as a solid album. It features iconic tracks from Bon Jovi, and is easily one of the greatest of all time. Well, for my generation anyway. This is an album that every music collector should own.

The hits are obviously the hits for a reason, but the album as a whole is not to be shunned. It's one of the few I would label as "perfect", and worth owning on vinyl, since there's no reason to skip any tracks.

If you haven't heard this album, you're missing out. If you have, listen to it again.

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Retro Spins: Metallica - Master Of Puppets

When I first heard Metallica, it was by way of a friend who introduced to me, and also gave me, Kill 'Em All on CD when we were in high school. Granted, this was the 90's, and that album had been out for quite some time at this point. Firing it up, I quickly discovered the band that would usurp Guns 'N Roses as my favorite metal group, a decision which has since been reversed, and a whole new era of metal was born to me.

Things ramped up considerably with my first listening to Master Of Puppets, an album at the time I considered to be perfect from front to back. Tracks like Battery, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Orion, and of course, the album titled track stood out among the best. However, I also enjoyed what would become the obscure fillers, I.E. all the rest.

As things often happen, I grew older, grew out of metal, and really started to dislike Metallica. Like many, this was shortly after the introduction of their black album. Mind you, I don't hate them for what others say was, "selling out". Instead, for me, I moved on because they just got overplayed from there. Metallica was everywhere, and over saturation of their "hits" dulled my desire to want to listen to them.

Don't get me wrong, I still "like" the band, despite not being a fan of their 90's and beyond era. They're one of the few who I've even gone and seen a live show of. But, overall, I've just moved on from their music.

Even in retrospect, for today's Retro Spin, I simply couldn't get into it. Ultimately, I didn't even want to hear it.

It was a little disappointing that this happened, because as someone who is nostalgic, I really was hoping this would be a fun trip down memory lane. You know, spark some great memories from my past.

I don't want to be too harsh on the album, because I would be lying if I said I didn't like it. It was in constant rotation throughout my teen years, and looking back on that, I know that it entertained me for numerous albums. Through the now tinted eyes of a once teenage boy, the album was, at the time, very important to me.

Master Of Puppets will forever be an album I have in my collection, but I think more so now as a completion piece to my ever growing CD bevy. I don't know that I'll ever look back on it again with the same fondness I once had.

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Retro Spins: Extreme - Extreme

Though it was unknown at the time, Extreme hit my radar in 1989 during the film, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Specifically with the song, Play With Me, which can be heard during the chaos that ensues at the mall just before all our historic figures are arrested. However, I didn't know the name of the song, the band, and had no interest (at the time) in the soundtrack.

Fast forward to the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert where Extreme takes the stage to perform a fantastic medley of Queen hits...And I still had no clue who they were.

Advance further to 2009 where the song Play With Me comes back around to my radar, but this time for a goofy animation project I decided to slap together one day using Microsoft Paint and a simplistic video editor program. If you look hard enough, you can find it on Youtube. Still, beyond my little project, there was no lasting impression.

Fast track to 2018 where I finally get around to grabbing the soundtrack for Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, as well as Extreme's self titled debut album. The song finally becomes a part of my library.

I remember playing it shortly after obtaining it, but it made no lasting impression at all. Which brings me to today's Retro Spins, where I'm giving it another shot.

The stand out to the album is definitely the lead guitarist work of Nuno Bettencourt. His thrashing licks, fast fingers and polished solos will definitely please any 80's hair band rocker. His work is slick, and reminded me somewhat of Steve Vai. Specifically, Vai's work from his 1990 album, Passion And Warfare. Check it out if you haven't heard that one.

As I listened to the tunes and read up on Steve Vai's 80's career with David Lee Roth and Whitesnake, this only served to push the subpar Extreme album to background noise which relatively got ignored. Which to be honest was no surprise. With exception of the guitar work here and there, nothing really stood out. It was pretty average at best.

By the time the album reached the halfway point, I pretty much didn't care, and had fully checked out. I ended up skipping through the remaining tracks, giving them less than five minutes to impress, which they didn't, and then shut it off.

Play With Me is a solid track, and I know the band went on to release the highly popular More Than Words in 1990, but for me, Extreme is just not that good.

Retro Spins: Europe - The Final Countdown

I've heard it called one of the worst rock 'n roll songs of all time, but for me, The Final Countdown is a classic that will always have a place in my music collection. With that said, I've never strayed beyond or before this album, despite Europe having a catalog that spans 1983 - 2017.

The Final Countdown, the 1986 album, was the breakthrough Europe needed, and propelled the band to superstar status around the world, going triple platinum in the USA alone. With its powerhouse of singles: The Final Countdown, Rock The Night, Love Chaser and Cherokee, it's surprising to note that they never had a number one hit. Of the tracks noted, Cherokee never charted, and while the other three did, The Final Countdown went the highest at number eighteen. I suppose this is no surprise considering the competition they were up against in January of 1987 when songs began charting - Janet Jackson, Bangles, Duran Duran and Madonna, just to name a few.

Despite this, Europe hit my radar in a big way, becoming an album I needed to have on cassette tape, which I eventually got my hands on. I played the heck out of that tape, adding even more than the above to my constant rotation via Walkman, which included Danger On The Track, Ninja and Love Chaser, songs I still really enjoy to this day.

For me, The Final Countdown still holds up as a solid record. It's a slew of great songs that unfortunately get forgotten by an era of so much great music. In fact, it's often laughed at if you dare say it could stand toe to toe with the likes of your Prince's, Michael Jackson's and Madonna's. Obviously not in musical style, but in the overall enjoyment factor.

John Norum has some of the slickest guitar work you'll ever hear from the 80's, and to this day Mic Michaeli is only one of the two keyboardists I appreciate, the other being Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran. Then there's the instantly recognizable vocals of lead singer, Joey Tempest. Mind you, that's not to scoff at the remaining band members who equally provide some great work to round out the sound.

Dare I say it? I think I'd rather listen to Europe's The Final Countdown over Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet or Def Leppard's Hysteria. It's not a perfect album. It has its hits and misses, but it's still pretty amazing.

Retro Spins: Taylor Dayne - Tell It To My Heart

As the 80's were headed towards the finish lines, some great artists were still emerging, impacting hard with debut albums which would launch them into the stratosphere. Among them was twenty-five year old, Leslie Wunderman. AKA, Taylor Dayne.

Before emerging as her alter ego, Wunderman first took on the persona, Les Lee, and under that name released the dance singles, I'm The One You Want (1985) and Tell Me Can You Love Me (1986). In a retrospective review, they're not bad, but definitely not her best work.

When Taylor Dayne's debut album, Tell It To My Heart, was released in 1988, it was already making waves with it's lead single released in 1987, coincidentally of the same name. Of the ten tracks, four would go on to crack the top ten.

It's interesting to note that when Tell It To My Heart was first released that it featured a very colorful and almost provocative album cover, featuring Dayne in a tight black dress, decked out in makeup against a pink background. So basically, the cover to the left.

While it's unknown why Arista ultimately changed the cover, many speculate it was a result of the track, I'll Always Love You, which reached number two in the adult contemporary charts, and became the biggest success for the album. The more toned down, and I suppose, "mature", cover purportedly replaced the original so as to draw in an older audience (alternate cover shown below).

Whatever the reason, Taylor Dayne impacted in a big way with a broad age ranged audience, and this helped to propel her debut album to double platinum status in the US.

For me, the stand out tracks are easily, Tell It To My Heart, Don't Rush Me, and my favorite, Prove Your Love. These three songs alone make the album a must buy. It's a staple of the 80's as far as I'm concerned. With that said, the remainder of the album is pretty hit or miss. Some songs definitely feel like filler material, such as the three minute Want Ads. While others, such as The Darkness, almost resonate, but just don't punch as hard as the hits. Overall though, if you're an 80's fan, this one definitely belongs in your music collection.

Retro Spins: Elton John - Sleeping With The Past

When I first started planning out my 2024 Retro Spins posts, I only had two 80's albums from Elton John. However, by the time I actually got around to listening to 1989's Sleeping With The Past, that had grown to five. I also plan on hunting down a few of his 70's albums, with the intentions of eventually getting rid of the greatest hits albums I have.

As I fired up the album, I was somewhat intrigued, but at the same time kind of disappointed with the opening track, Durban Deep. It felt like a song I could add to my shuffle list, but at the same time, I kind of felt like, "Is this really the best this CD is going to offer?"

Fortunately, when it got on with track two, Healing Hands, I was into it. It was once again one of those, "I remember that song," moments, and as I've said in other posts before, I love when that happens. What was great was that it didn't happen once, but twice, when Club At The End Of The Street started up.

However, with exception of Sacrifice, which is the song I initially bought the album for, I didn't really hear anything all the worth while. Overall, it was a pretty bland experience, and one that leaves me worried that investing in more Elton John may have been a mistake.

In a prior post, I made mention that I have a lot of CD's to listen to, and that I hoped I would reach a point where I could keep up, versus catch up. However, listening to the three albums I did today, put into perspective why that probably won't happen. Not only is there just isn't enough time in a day. But, much like any marathon, fatigue sets in when it's back to back to back, and this ultimately contributes to your overall enjoyment. I don't think I have it in me to listen to another album today. Plus, I really don't want to.

Retro Spins: Billy Joel - Glass Houses

I'm trying to verse myself more on Billy Joel as I work my way through the wheel barrel full of studio albums I have from him. Today's picking was Glass Houses, and album which has a handful of songs I know from the radio back in the 80's.

As I made my way through it, I was actually pleasantly surprised by Don't Ask Me Why. It's always fun to stumble across a song that you find yourself saying, "Hey, I know that," but you had forgotten about it. I love those moments, and it's one of my favorites while doing these Retro Spins posts.

I think what surprised me most about this album was how quickly it ended. I felt like I had only just started listening to it when it was suddenly over. What was equally surprising about this was that I honestly wasn't hearing stuff that was mind blowing. You May Be Right, Don't Ask Me, It's Still Rock And Roll To Me, and a new song (to me), All For Leyna, were all I really heard that I liked. I suppose this was still 40% of the album, which isn't a bad average.

I've never been a massive fan of Billy Joel, and I don't suspect that's going to change anytime soon. However, it's still nice to play a song here and there from him every once and a while, and I'm glad to have four more to add to that shuffle.

In addition to playing some tunes, I also took the time to straighten up my long neglected shelf of music related VHS and DVD's. I got hooked on these when I was interested in rekindling the prime life of MTV. However, it quickly dawned on me that this was probably not worth pursing. There are so many VHS and DVD's out there, which is ironic because at the same time, the amount of music videos unavailable on any home release far outweighs what is. It would never be enough because something would always be missing. It's just not feasible to run down this rabbit hole.

Retro Spins: Bruce Springsteen - The River

Before Bruce Springsteen officially went mainstream, his 1980 album, The River, was long considered one of his greatest works of all time. However, despite this, I'd never heard it myself. Today, I decided this would be rectified.

First impressions are everything, and mine revolved around the sheer length of it. Being a double album, I don't know that I was necessarily ready to strap in for an hour and twenty-four minutes of music. I mean, that's the length of a movie. Even if it turned out mediocre, that's a long time to be subjected to mediocrity.

The River comes out strong with The Ties That Bind, and admittedly, I like it enough to add it to my shuffle list. This continued into the second track, Sherry Darling. Okay, this bar is getting set awfully high, Mr. Bruce. I hope you can deliver.

Things mellowed out for a bit, and though the track was far from upbeat, I did take a liking to Independence Day. If I was listening to the LP version of The River, this would have wrapped up side 1A, and I have to say, it would be a spectacular finish. This is the type of stuff I'm talking about when I say that good artists really thought out how they wanted to craft their albums. Each side of a record was supposed to be its own chapter, so to speak, and Bruce Springsteen did this perfectly on this album.

Side two of the album fires up with Hungry Heart, and this is the song I ultimately purchased The River for. However, at this point, I was pleasantly pleased with all the additional tunes I was adding to my shuffle. The next song, Out On The Street, wasn't resonating with me at first, then it got to the chorus, and I said, "Hey, I know that song!" From there, I remembered how great it was, and was hooked.

Though the middle of side 2A didn't hit any high notes with me, the final two tracks, I Wanna Marry You and The River got added to my shuffle list. Much like the first side, side two flowed nicely, ending at just the right moment with just the right song. Again, this speaks to Springsteen's ability to craft a story within his work.

I was also happy to note that no fatigue had set in either. I was thoroughly enjoying listening to The River, and quite excited to dive into the second half. This is unfortunately where things took a turn in the opposite direction. Despite my desire to hear more, it became too much. So much so that I found myself tuning it out. By track three, I wanted to start skipping things that didn't appeal, but I forced myself to push through it.

Though I heard stuff that got added to my shuffle list, I would say the biggest reason I was glad I plowed through the remainder of side 1B was for the track, Fade Away, another song I had forgotten from Bruce Springsteen. This helped to reinvigorate me to take on the remaining back half, and for me, it was well worth it.

Overall, I can understand why The River has been considered one of Bruce Springsteen's greatest albums of all time. Despite it's length, it packs a lot of good stuff into. I personally walked away with an entire album's worth of new songs just based on what I pulled from it.

Retro Spins: John Mellencamp - Scarecrow

Whoa, what have I been denying myself and missing as a result of not getting around to listening to a lot of the music I have in my collection? Today I fired up John Mellencamp's 1985 album, Scarecrow, and was blasted in the face with the starting track, Rain On The Scarecrow. Holy crap, this song was fantastic! With a slight interlude of Grandma's Theme, the album jumped into Small Town, one of the tracks I purchased this for.

With a bar set that high, how could this album not deliver?

Minutes To Memories was a decent track, but somewhat started me coming down from the Mellencamp high I was currently on. While I fully anticipated this would be the case until I reached the second track I bought the album for, R.O.C.K. In The USA (A Salute To 60's Rock), I was quickly reminded of the rock I had apparently been living under when Lonely Ol' Night sprung into action. How on Earth did I forget this song? It wasn't even on my shuffle list.

From there, the album did taper down a bit. Mind you, I didn't hear anything bad. I just didn't hear anything that blew me away and had to be added to my shuffle list.

John Mellencamp was an artist I shied away from in the 80's, and I'm kind of kicking myself for it. I feel like I missed something special that I could have been a part of, versus checking out after the impact and aftermath. I'd like to get to a point where I'm listening to the albums I get as they arrive, as opposed to catching up with piles of CD's. I don't honestly know if I'll ever reach that point.

Regardless, listening to this album did one important thing. It invigorated me mentally to want to plow through as many albums as I could for the day.

Retro Spins: DeBarge - Rhythm Of The Night

DeBarge was another one of those family members groups promoted and released by Motown's Gordy Records. However, unlike their most famous quintet, The Jackson 5, DeBarge suffered from a lack of hits, rotating family members and substance abuse.

After releasing three albums under the label, The DeBarges (1981), All This Love (1982) and In A Special Way (1983), turmoil began. With many of the members addicted to drugs, Motown turned their attention to brother El, who they sensed was emerging as the star of the group. The relied on him heavily to record the groups follow up album, Rhythm Of The Night.

Not only would the album become their most successful, but it would see El and sister Bunny departed from the group to pursue solo careers with their record label. Despite this, additional family members would step into the vacant slots from the group to continue unsuccessfully under Striped Horse Records label (1987) and Truth Ministries Records (1991) for their final album to date.

Though Motown invested in solo careers for El, Bunny and Chico, the label would soon thereafter fire them, and brother El would go on to Warner Brothers to continue his relatively lackluster solo career. However, for that one moment in time in 1985, DeBarge was one of the hottest groups of all time with their number three and six hits, Rhythm Of The Night and Who's Holding Donna Now, respectively. Mind you, this wasn't the only Billboard hits from the group. However, it is their most commonly known.

Rhythm Of The Night, the album, is far from impactful. It has its hits, and it gets a nod of approval for them. However, beyond that, there's not much to be found here. Since I didn't have any sense of high expectations for it, it's not like it necessarily disappointed me. I didn't suspect it would blow my mind by any means.

Well...Wait. I take that back. It was disappointing that this CD was kind of expensive. For the price it runs on secondary markets, it should have delivered more than it did.

Retro Spins: Stacey Q - Better Than Heaven

Early 80's albums on CD can be both a blessing and a curse. They're a blessing to have nice digital copies of music that for the most part was mass distributed on vinyl and cassette, with CD's being a somewhat low production in comparison. However, this comes at sometimes inflated costs due to their rarer nature, or the problem I discovered today. What am I talking about? Keep reading.

Cinnamon, I mean, Stacey Q (leave a comment if you caught that reference) didn't necessarily ignite the world of pop music in the 80's. She's had a handful of Billboard charters, but of those four songs, Two Of Hearts was the only one to crack the top ten. This was the song that lead me to tracking down her 1986 album, Better Than Heaven, a very over exaggerated title based on the music enclosed within.

Better Than Heaven, for the most part, is your typical 80's throw away fodder. It has that one noteworthy track, that is by no means a song worth racing out there to find the album for. It's more so one of those, "Yeah, I'll get to it," kind of things.

Which leads me to wrapping up my first paragraph. Some artists of the 80's really took advantage of the extended space on CD's. This led to them not releasing the original album version of songs found on the cassettes or LP's, but instead, extended plays or even remixes.

Such is the case with Two Of Hearts, a song which originally runs for three minutes fifty-nine seconds, but has been extended to a whopping seven minutes fourteen seconds. Sometimes less is more, and this is typically the case when people buy an album, only to be blindsided by an unwanted seven or twelve inch version

At the end of the day, it's disappointing because I didn't get the song I wanted, and after listening to the album, I also didn't hear anything all that impressive. Basically, it was a waste of money to get this album on CD. Rather than spending twenty bucks, I could have just spent three on the cassette and ripped it to MP3 format.

Retro Spins: Buster Poindexter - Buster Poindexter

I had no expectations for Buster Poindexter's self titled debut album. I bought it for Hot, Hot, Hot, a simply party song that was played at every 80's party in 1987, but nothing I would call a serious song. I thought the singer was going to be a novelty at best, with songs geared more towards goofing off and being part of the scene.

I was wrong.

Buster Poindexter, the album, digs deep into the roots of rhythm and blues, and delivers a unique listening experience. Not only that, but the vocals amplify with passion. I quickly found tracks stood far superior to the likes of his 80's party anthem, and quickly became some of my favorites. Are You Lonely For Me Baby and Oh Me Oh My (I'm A Fool For You Baby) are amazing, and I recommend people looking for some good tunes to listen to should check them out. Especially if you're a fan of rhythm and blues.

Buster even does a fair rendition of classic, The House Of The Rising Sun. The original 1964 version from The Animals is of course far superior, but his isn't the worst remake I've heard...cough cough, American Pie...cough...Madonna.

Hearing this album made me immediately seek out Buster's 1989 follow up album, Buster Goes Berserk. While I have it in my collection currently, I haven't gotten around to giving it a spin, but definitely need to in the near future.

I definitely think this one is worth checking out by those of you who like some good new music that won't be the typical cut and paste of the era. I thoroughly enjoyed my play session.