Category: 1985

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1985 2009 B Film Soundtracks Soundtracks by Title

Back To The Future – music by Alan Silvestri

5 min read

Back To The Future is back! It’s not that there’s never been a Back To The Future soundtrack before; on the contrary, it was quite a hit, leaning heavily on the popular songs by Huey Lewis and the News. It featured a couple of snippets of the orchestral score by Alan Silvestri, and the rest has remained unreleased until now. That’s why this is a big deal. Fans of ’80s movie music speak in glowing terms of such things as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies, Excalibur, the Conan movies, songtracks such as The Breakfast Club (and just about anything else John Hughes produced or directed), and the increasingly synth-dominated scoring of movies like Blade Runner. I’m not sure that Alan Silvestri’s music for this movie and its sequels have ever really gotten their due. This 2-CD set should rewrite that particular bit of history nicely – Doc Brown would be proud.

Soundtrack specialty label Intrada felt it was a big deal too – big enough to merit a 2-CD deluxe release, and big enough to take the very unusual step of not limiting Back To The Future‘s print run to 3,000 copies, the typical allocation for a soundtrack release, especially a “vintage” release like this. Very much like this year’s expanded re-release of the soundtrack from Star Trek II, Intrada was aware of – and is banking on – wider interest in this soundtrack than an older score would normally see.

Already having more than a passing familiarity with Back To The Future and its sequels, I was amazed with how many surprises awaited me in this package. I learned quite a few things from the booklet that I didn’t know before, and the music itself was a real revelation in places. How the theme from Back To The Future has managed to escape being enshrined among the movie themes that the general public considers “hummable” is beyond me – it’s very memorable, and Silvestri proves – as he does in much of his other work – that it’s infinitely adaptable: fast, slow, major keys, minor keys, it’s carefully crafted to fit any of those needs.

But there’s much more here that’s memorable: Silvestri’s playful three-note mysterioso “stingers” practically put you right back in the movie, and with action setpieces like “Skateboard Chase” and especially the amazing feat of wall-to-wall action music that is “Clocktower”, this isn’t music that’ll put you to sleep. I was reminded of how dramatic some of the scoring is for a movie that most viewers remember as a comedy. Silvestri does a lot of the legwork in selling some of the movie’s most serious, high-jeopardy moments.

The entire score from Back To The Future fits on the first disc, so what’s on the second disc? It’s an early version of key moments of the movie score. The early version is still recorded with a full orchestra; it’s not an early enough draft to be rough synth sketches or anything less evolved. But there are changes in timing (sometimes sections of the music were replaced to accomodate editing changes) and changes in emphasis: the “’55 Town Square” cue is presented in two early versions, one with trumpets and French horns at full blast, and one with muted brass, and the difference in feel is remarkable. Some of the rescored sections are actually significantly different; Silvestri “lightened” the music in some places for the final version, with the original cues sometimes being a little too dramatic and dark. For the most part, it’s the same music, with changes in the emotional tone – a treat for listeners who are students in how films are scored.

4 out of 4The pop music used in Back To The Future has been more than adequately released, so this presentation of the orchestral score is long overdue – and with the early drafts and extensive liner notes, Intrada has made the wait worthwhile. We can’t really go back in time to give this soundtrack its just recognition down through the years, but this is more than good enough.

Order this CDDisc One

  1. Logo (0:23)
  2. DeLorean Reveal (0:49)
  3. Einstein Disintegrated (1:25)
  4. ’85 Twin Pines Mall (4:45)
  5. Peabody Barn / Marty Ditches DeLorean (3:13)
  6. ’55 Town Square (1:20)
  7. Lorraine’s Bedroom (0:49)
  8. Retrieve DeLorean (1:17)
  9. 1.21 Jigowatts (1.39)
  10. The Picture (1:08)
  11. Picture Fades (0:20)
  12. Skateboard Chase (1:41)
  13. Marty’s Letter (1:21)
  14. George To The Rescue, Part 1 (0:53)
  15. Marvin Be-Bop (source cue) (2:27)
  16. George To The Rescue, Part 2 (2:37)
  17. Tension / The Kiss (1:35)
  18. Goodnight Marty (source cue) (1:33)
  19. It’s Been Educational / Clocktower (10:33)
  20. Helicopter (0:21)
  21. ’85 Lone Pine Mall (3:49)
  22. 4 x 4 (0:43)
  23. Doc Returns (1:16)
  24. Back to the Future (End Credits) (3:18)

Disc Two

  1. DeLorean Reveal (0:43)
  2. Einstein Disintegrated (1:26)
  3. Peabody Barn (2:08)
  4. Marty Ditches DeLorean (1:58)
  5. ’55 Town Square #1 (Trumpet Open) (1:37)
  6. ’55 Town Square #2 (Trumpet Mute) (1:38)
  7. Retrieve DeLorean (1:17)
  8. 1.21 Jigowatts (1:38)
  9. The Picture (1:09)
  10. Skateboard Chase (1:42)
  11. George To The Rescue (4:16)
  12. Tension / The Kiss (1:43)
  13. Clocktower (10:57)
  14. ’85 Lone Pine Mall (3:49)
  15. Doc Returns (1:22)
  16. Ling Ting Ring (unused source cue) (2:01)

Released by: Intrada
Release date: 2009
Disc one total running time: 49:15
Disc two total running time: 39:24

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1985 2008 A Alan Parsons Project Non-Soundtrack Music

Alan Parsons Project – Stereotomy (remastered)

4 min read

Order this CDReleased in 1985, and carefully crafted to fit in snugly with the post-new-wave synth-rock sound of the day, I’ll confess up front that the Alan Parsons Project’s Stereotomy, after all these years, remains my least favorite of the group’s string of albums from the 1970s and ’80s. Of all the Project albums, Stereotomy has almost no discernable theme, breaking a long string of nicely-thought-out concept albums, and at least two of its songs – the title track and the rambling instrumental “Where’s The Walrus?” (a title reportedly coined by an associate of the band complaining that the album didn’t sport anything as instantly catchy as “I Am The Walrus”, and you know, he was right!) – just waffle on too long for the sake of being too long, and long after the band had shed most of its prog rock credibility in exchange for short, catchy singles too.

So does Stereotomy reveal anything new in remastered form? Maybe. I’m still a bit underwhelmed by the original album program, and this time around, even the bonus features are a bit thin, with the liner notes booklet pointing out that Parsons had gone to all-digital recording by this time, which made it easier – and, due to the expensive nature of the equipment and recording media, necessarily more economical – to just roll back over outtakes rather than hanging on to them. As a result, most of what we get here are the same songs we already know, except either with no vocals or with an early guide vocal long since mixed out of the released version. There’s one legitimately new song here, “Rumour Goin’ Round”, which is an interesting rock number not too far from the sound of “In The Real World”. It has no lyrics, so it’s presented here as a bit of a rough-hewn instrumental, and one wonders what the finished product would have been like. The liner notes point out that Parsons and songwriter Eric Woolfson felt that the album was full and ready to deliver to the label without finishing out this song, and I’m not entirely sure I agree with that. In any case, as it appears here, it’s not exactly the undiscovered gem that “No Answers Only Questions” was.

I was hoping for some mention of the infamous unreleased ’80s instrumental album The Sicilian Defense, and the controversy which surrounded it as Parsons and Woolfson tried to get out from under their demanding Arista contract, but the liner notes of these releases have steadfastly stayed away from that topic, despite this being a perfect opportunity to separate fact from rumor (were the Sicilian songs mined as material for later albums, or is there really an entire Project album we’ve never heard?), and that whole vetted-by-the-label safe approach has left me disappointed. The liner notes booklets in the Project remasters play it very safe, and even recycle the same liner notes about the post-Project careers of Parsons and Woolfson, word for word. It’s not like Sony’s ELO remaster series opened the vaults and told all in its accompanying literature, but at least one didn’t get the sense that those essays were being phoned in; here, one gets precisely that impression.

2 out of 4Stereotomy, even in shiny remastered form, doesn’t get out from under the position of being my least favorite Alan Parsons Project album, and truth be told, it’s one of the weakest remasters from a standpoint of bonus material too, making it a completists-only item.

  1. Stereotomy (7:16)
  2. Beaujolais (4:28)
  3. Urbania (5:00)
  4. Limelight (4:38)
  5. The Real World (4:21)
  6. Where’s The Walrus? (7:33)
  7. Light Of The World (6:17)
  8. Chinese Whispers (1:01)
  9. Stereotomy II (1:23)
  10. Light Of The World (instrumental backing track only) (6:14)
  11. Rumour Goin’ Round (5:01)
  12. Stereotomy (rough mix with Eric’s guide vocal) (6:39)
  13. Stereotomy II (rough mix) (1:22)

Released by: Sony / Legacy
Release date: 2008 (original album released in 1985)
Total running time: 61:13

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Categories
1985 2007 A Alan Parsons Project Non-Soundtrack Music

Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture (remastered)

4 min read

Order this CD in the StoreThe first (and only) Alan Parsons Project album with no orchestral element whatsoever, Vulture Culture has some decent songs, but a few things working against it. By the tiime of this album’s original release, the Project’s home label, Arista, was so enamoured of Eric Woolfson’s voice that they all but dictated that they wanted to hear the bulk of the songs sung by the same voice that had sung the smash hit “Eye In The Sky”. Even two albums on, as much as I like Woolfson’s almost Orbison-esque voice, Vulture Culture features his voice on songs he simply shouldn’t have sung – they just required a different delivery than his sometimes overly sweetened stage-musical sensibilities.

I’ll admit that Vulture Culture just edges out Stereotomy for the dubious honor of being my least favorite Project album, but having listened to the whole thing anew with this nicely remastered edition, I have to say that, at least lyrically, I may not be giving this album its due. It’s a somewhat unsubtle commentary on the exploitative side of our culture, but there are nuances I hear in the lyrics now that I just didn’t “get” back in those carefree days when I didn’t have a mortgage, or any concerns about building up savings for my child’s eventual education. The title track hits me in a whole different way now, as does “Separate Lives”.

Added to Vulture Culture for this reissue are both a demo and a finished version of “No Answers Only Questions”, a track recorded for this album, but dropped before the final edit. It brings a more simplistic, direct and altogether less flowery approach to the album’s topical theme, and perhaps is all the better for not burying itself under layers and layers of production. As much as I like the finished version (which was also the “unreleased track” used to lure folks into buying the 3-CD Dutch Collection / Essential Alan Parsons Project / whatever other names the compilation had in various territories), I think I may like the slightly looser, folkier demo version better.

A slightly different mix of “Separate Lives” and a very rough early demo of the instrumental “Hawkeye” are included, as well as the customary “naked” medley, featuring instrumental excerpts from several songs on the album. “The Naked Vulture” also features various improvised spoken word bits by Lee Abrams (credited on the album as an anagram of his name, “Mr. Laser Beam”) which were later edited into transitions between songs. I almost wonder if perhaps the Lee Abrams material shouldn’t have been its own track, separate from the music, because here it shows up repeatedly as a transition, which takes me right out of the music itself when I’m listening.

The booklet surprises me a bit here – it reveals that there’s going to be quite a bit of repetition of the essay material from album to album – and it also dances around the problems that Parsons and Woolfson were experiencing with Arista at the time (from the insistence on Woolfson lead vocals to the disputed, never-released album The Sicilian Defense). Even more surprisingly, it features a coda that hints at possible future collaborations between Parsons and Woolfson, which makes me wonder if perhaps something isn’t already waiting to happen once the remastered albums are all released, a la Crowded House’s “surprise” reunion on the heels of the DVD and CD release of their 1996 farewell concert. Vulture culture, indeed.

Rating: 3 out of 4In the end, sadly, I can really only give this album three stars – while I apprciated the lyrics more, the delivery on many of them is all wrong thanks to Arista’s interference, and the album’s inherent weaknesses carry through to some of the bonus material, which takes the shine off of things just a bit.

  1. Let’s Talk About Me (4:29)
  2. Separate Lives (4:38)
  3. Days Are Numbers (The Traveller) (4:52)
  4. Sooner Or Later (4:24)
  5. Vulture Culture (5:22)
  6. Hawkeye (3:48)
  7. Somebody Out There (4:54)
  8. The Same Old Sun (5:26)
  9. No Answers Only Questions (Final Version) (2:10)
  10. Separate Lives (Alternative Mix) (4:16)
  11. Hawkeye (Demo) (3:17)
  12. The Naked Vulture (10:42)
  13. No Answers Only Questions (The First Attempt) (2:57)

Released by: Legacy / Arista
Release date: 2007 (originally released in 1985)
Total running time: 61:23

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1985 Non-Soundtrack Music Roy Wood W

Roy Wood – Starting Up

Roy Wood - Starting UpThe year is 1985. Euro-pop has taken hold, but is rapidly giving way to watered-down hard rock “hair” bands. And despite having a fine and, it must be said, multi-colored head of hair, if you’re old school rocker Roy Wood (founding member of The Move and ELO), you fit into neither of these categories.

Not that he didn’t try, mind you. Woody’s always been an advocate of reinventing his sound, of trying to do something that either hasn’t been done before in rock ‘n’ roll or trying to bring back something that’s fallen out of favor. After trying to give rock music a full-time string section with Electric Light Orchestra, he moved on to create groups like Wizzard and Helicopters, centered around a 50s-style wall-of-saxophone sound. (It’s this last permutation that seems to have stuck, as Wood still tours to this day with Roy Wood’s Big Band.) But in ’84, Wood returned briefly to what he did with his underrated 1975 classic Boulders – recording everything by himself – only with much more modern tools at his disposal.

The sole drawback to this: Starting Up probably could have charted in 1980 or 1981, when the sound of synths and drum machines was fresh where the mainstream was concerned. And Wood’s voice isn’t a million miles away from, say, Gary Numan’s. It wouldn’t have been a bad fit for the early days of synth pop. But in 1985, most of the songs on this album already sounded dated, and 20 years later, time hasn’t been much kinder to them.

Oddly enough, one of the only two tracks that stand head and shoulders above the rest suffers (or perhaps benefits) from a near-total sonic disconnect from every other song on the album. Featuring Louis Clark (of Hooked On Classics fame, and longtime orchestral arranger for ELO) and a full orchestra backing, “On Top Of The World” is a catchy song with a snazzy tune, and easily Wood’s best vocals on the whole album. It’s like this song dropped in from a better-written, better-produced album that we’ve never gotten to hear. The other standout track, “Turn Your Body To The Light”, is a nice melding of synths and Wood’s trademark sax, and it’s a catchy tune too. These two songs easily eclipse the rest of the album.

And let’s set one thing straight – drum machines alone don’t doom a song to cheesiness. Two demos Wood recorded with old friend and former bandmate Jeff Lynne circa 1990 have leaked out, very simple, low-tech productions showcasing a couple of beautifully written nuggets of rock ‘n’ roll that most of the world has never gotten to hear. And that’s what Starting Up is really missing: well-written songs. This is the same Roy Wood who gave us “Blackberry Way” and “Fire Brigade” back in the Move days, and has peppered his solo career with lesser-known but equally-worthwhile songs like “Dear Elaine”…not that you could tell from listening to Starting Up. To put the cards on the table: his songs this time around either weren’t as inspired, or the intent got lost in the execution.

2 out of 4A real curate’s egg, this one, and it’s also Woody’s last solo album to date. Considering what his former bandmate was able to accomplish with Zoom under the ELO banner, I’d really like to hear Roy Wood come back and zing us with a solo project now. Because, as hard as I’m sure he tried to accomplish something unique with Starting Up, he’d almost certainly do better with the technology and techniques available today…and he’s had time to write some new songs too.

Order this CD

  1. Red Cars Are After Me (3:56)
  2. Raining In The City (4:17)
  3. Under Fire (4:24)
  4. Turn Your Body To The Light (4:31)
  5. Hot Cars (3:13)
  6. Starting Out (3:20)
  7. Keep It Steady (3:49)
  8. On Top Of The World (3:30)
  9. Ships In The Night (5:04)

Released by: Castle
Release date: 1985
Total running time: 36:04

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Categories
1985 Non-Soundtrack Music T Talking Heads

Talking Heads – Little Creatures

Talking Heads - Little CreaturesThis Talking Heads album gets a bit of a bad rap for being the one where David Byrne took over the band’s creative direction completely, but be that as it may, it’s my favorite. Of course, just about any album that kicks off with “And She Was” would stand a good chance of ranking right up there with me – incredibly catchy, surreal and funny all at the same time. Which just about sums up this whole album.

This is also the album with the single “Road To Nowhere” on it, bringing up the rear as the closing track, and yet sandwiched between those two minor hits are some of the Talking Heads’ best stuff.

But not all of it – “Give Me Back My Name” is just sorta so-so, an interesting lyric that seems like it should be supported by a more interesting melody. “Creatures Of Love” can catch you off guard with a bit of a country-ish sound, while “The Lady Don’t Mind” slips back into more of the typical Talking Heads sound.

Right smack in the middle of Little Creatures are two of my all-time favorites from this band: the obscure, not-quite-a-hit single “Perfect World” and “Stay Up Late”. “Perfect World” has one of my favorite Talking Heads melodies, and some of my favorite David Byrne vocals. Somewhat surprisingly, and yet not surprisingly, “Stay Up Late” has enjoyed something of a revival – with its cute lyric about keeping one’s baby brother up way past his bedtime, it’s guaranteed at least one spin per night in ABC’s overnight World News Now show. If “Stay Up Late” doesn’t inspire you to laugh out loud at least once, you’re listening to the wrong song.

“Walk It Down” is a song that opens with a deceptively odd, percussive sound that gives way to something more akin to an upbeat, joyous, almost churchy feel during the choruses. The catchy “Television Man” – another great Byrne vocal performance, by the way – stops just this side of being Jerzy Kosinski’s novel (and later film) Being There set to music. Now there’s a concept that would be worthy of David Byrne’s talents – not that anything wrong’s with “Television Man” as it is.

rating: 3 out of 4I’ve heard a few diehard fans refer to Little Creatures as a bit of a post-sellout album for Byrne & company, but I have a hard time buying into that (miserable pun intended). Some of the band’s best and most offbeat stuff can be found here, though for this group, delving into more popular territory as this album did was offbeat. It’s rather uneven as an album when listened to all in one sitting, but there are indivdual numbers that make this easy to overlook. Little Creatures is a big joy to listen to.

Order this CD

  1. And She Was (3:39)
  2. Give Me Back My Name (3:22)
  3. Creatures Of Love (4:15)
  4. The Lady Don’t Mind (3:58)
  5. Perfect World (4:27)
  6. Stay Up Late (3:43)
  7. Walk It Down (4:44)
  8. Television Man (6:10)
  9. Road To Nowhere (4:19)

Released by: Sire
Release date: 1985
Total running time: 38:37

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1985 Non-Soundtrack Music R R.E.M.

R.E.M. – Fables of the Reconstruction

  • By Dave
  • September 20, 2004

Fables of the ReconstructionR.E.M. ventured into uncertain territory for its third studio album; having done all its previous releases with producer Mitch Easter relatively close to the band’s Athens home base, this time around the band flew to England to work with Joe Boyd. While producer and band had a decent working relationship and a healthy respect for each other, the four members were clearly out of their comfort zone, in a country where their indie-rock reputation had not yet spread, suffering through a cold and dreary winter quite unlike their usual climate, and unsure of where to take the next record musically. The result is Fables of the Reconstruction (or possibly Reconstruction of the Fables, since the phrase ‘of the’ appears twice on the album’s cover art), a murky, often melancholy album that’s probably the least accessible of their early work. Years later, drummer Bill Berry would tell Rolling Stone that “Fables sucked,” but behind the murk is a rewarding depth and songs that have become essential parts of the R.E.M. canon.

Peter Buck’s familiar chiming guitars pervade the album, but are often sent to the background as a foreboding atmospheric element. He provides plenty of more assertive lead guitar lines throughout, and Mike Mills steps up on bass to drive many of the songs like Kohoutek and Old Man Kensey (the latter song sharing a writing credit with J. Ayers). Buck, Mills and Berry mesh exceptionally well on “Life and How to Live It,” one of the rare up-tempo tracks on the album. Another, “Cant Get There from Here,” actually boasts a horn section at the end, one which screams “four white guys bringing on a tiny amount of the funk” in a lightly self-deprecating way – it’s a fun song, and one of the bright moments of the album.

rating: 4 out of 4 More typical is “Driver 8,” the album’s best-known song and one which really represents the essence of R.E.M. at the time. The album maintains a consistent mood thanks to the relatively slow pace of the songs and Michael Stipe’s delivery of lyrics that are still often highly allegorical or close to incomprehensible, although he starts making forays into social commentary with “Green Grow the Rushes.” The band’s isolation and homesickness comes through strongly in his singing and in the stories often drawn from the more eccentric side of the South. While not necessarily telling complete narratives, Stipe takes on more of the role of the storyteller here – stories that I feel more than I comprehend. If you’re willing to give Fables time to wash over you, you might feel them too.

After R.E.M. achieved international success with Warner Bros., IRS Records re-released the band’s early catalogue overseas with additional tracks, mostly live performances and remixes along with the occasional b-side. These additional tracks remain unavailable on U.S. versions of the album.

Order this CD

  1. Feeling Gravitys Pull (4:48)
  2. Maps and Legends (3:01)
  3. Driver 8 (3:18)
  4. Life and How to Live It (4:20)
  5. Old Man Kensey (4:10)
  6. Cant Get There from Here (4:10)
  7. Green Grow the Rushes (3:42)
  8. Kohoutek (3:10)
  9. Auctioneer (Another Engine) (2:41)
  10. Good Advices (3:30)
  11. Wendell Gee (2:56)

(Track listing reflects original U.S. release; foreign re-releases contain additional tracks)

Released by: IRS Records/Capitol
Release date: 1985
Total running time: 39:43

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1985 G Godley & Creme Non-Soundtrack Music

Godley & Creme – The History Mix, Volume I

Godley & Creme - The History Mix, Volume ISo how do you come up with a best-of album for a musical entity you’ve never heard of? It’s ironic, really, that the one song that 10cc alumni Kevin Godley & Lol Creme are best remembered for…is a new song that was recorded for this 1985 album. And that song’s recognition may in fact spring more from its then-striking B&W video than anything, though “Cry” continually pops up on “best of the 80s” compilations no matter where you go. (In their native Britain, Godley & Creme are much better known for two well-regarded albums, L and Consequences.)

In fact, The History Mix (and to date, for the record, there’s never been a Volume II) does make history – but not for Godley & Creme or their quirky brand of pop. Along with Yes’ 90125, this album is one of the first appearances of the production team of Trevor Horn and J.J. Jeczalik – a duo which was – with the addition of Anne Dudley, Gary Langan and Paul Morley – about to become known as the Art Of Noise at around the same time. The first track on History Mix is actually an Art Of Noise-esque medley of Godley & Creme tunes, with a healthy helping of Godley & Creme-era 10cc numbers thrown in for good measure – “I’m Not In Love”, “Minestrone” and “Rubber Bullets”, with little bits and pieces of a few others. It’s a joyfully raucous remix in which even the smallest snippet of a song is fair game and nothing is sacred – to be quite honest, it’s one of my favorite things Art Of Noise ever did. To say nothing of Godley & Creme. It’s also just about twenty minutes long, so pack a lunch.

Two tracks later, “Expanding The Business” is a similar bit of business, though it lacks the lovingly self-referential oomph of “Wet Rubber Soup”, despite referencing more material. And maybe that points up the simple beauty of “Wet Rubber Soup” – after a few minutes, you finally clue into the fact that you’re hearing chunks and samples of only four or five songs. By upping the number of songs referenced, “Expanding The Business” is a bit too much business, becoming a little confusing.

In between them, however, is that apparently immortal slice of ’80s pop we call “Cry”. It is a really good song, and though it’s loaded down with novelty effects of the time – the guitar is flanged like crazy through the whole song – it stands the test of time and deserves the recognition it’s gotten. Until the end, where, instead of, oh, bringing in someone to do one little guest vocal, the guys pull a Roy Wood and pitch their own voices way up for the ascending scale that closes the song. Maybe it’s just me, but it sounds kinda silly.

But where “Cry” makes the cut and earns a kind of musical immortality, many of the other individual songs on The History Mix fall flat. They rely heavily on just as many sonic stylings of the ’80s, but so much so that they’re actually eminently forgettable. The one exception is “An Englishman In New York” (not the song by the same name that Sting later made famous). It’s a bizarre commentary on American assimilation and commercialization of all those cultures that make up those big melting pot of ours. On one hand, it’s the most gimmicky song on the whole album – well, okay, that’s a bit of a tough call on such a gimmicky album – but somehow it’s the most timeless, and not just because of the subject matter at hand.

2 out of 4This best-of collection is a bizarre mix, and even if I’m not impressed with all of the new material, I like how a lot of the duo’s older material is intertwined into something that somehow is new. It’s hard to really recommend the whole album on that basis, but some of it’s worth hearing.

Oh, and ironically, Lol Creme later joined Art Of Noise. Coincidence?

Order this CD

  1. Medley: Wet Rubber Soup (18:52)
  2. Cry (3:55)
  3. Medley: Expanding The Business / The "Dare You" Man / Humdrum Boys In
    Paris / Mountain Tension     (17:03)
  4. Light Me Up (4:30)
  5. An Englishman In New York (5:52)
  6. Save A Mountain For Me (3:34)
  7. Golden Boy (5:48)

Released by: Polydor
Release date: 1985
Total running time: 59:43

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Categories
1985 Artists (by group or surname) Non-Soundtrack Music S Steely Dan

Steely Dan – A Decade Of Steely Dan

A Decade Of Steely DanAh, Steely Dan, love ’em or hate ’em. The brainchild of jazzy rockers Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, Steely Dan was an experiment to bring rock and jazz together, an experiment that not everybody welcomed – and yet somehow, the group scored two massive hits with their 1972 debut, the slinky rocker “Do It Again” (whose lyrics allude somewhat nebulously to shady deeds going down) and the more upbeat and yet still lyrically cryptic “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”. And from there it was uphill in the charts, and downhill in the critics’ reviews, all the way.

Decade strings together Steely Dan’s most recognizable radio hits and a smattering of somewhat more obscure album tracks, all culled from the “band”‘s first ten years. And I put band in quotation marks because it really ceased to be that at some point – Becker and Fagen grew tired of the touring/promotional grind, disbanded the regular core members, and continued with Steely Dan as a studio-only entity. Granted, they had some of the best session players in the fields of rock and jazz by their side, and still scored on the charts, but the touring moratorium cost them more than a few fans.

As with most greatest hits albums, you can hardly critique the songs themselves – they aren’t new – but you can critique what’s included. That said, I’m glad that the theme song from the 1978 movie FM is the lead track on Decade – I’ve always loved the song (but not so much the movie) and didn’t want to bother with the double-disc FM soundtrack, so finally getting “FM” on a proper Steely Dan album is worth the admission charge in and of itself.

“Peg”, “Do It Again” and “Reeling In The Years” are some of my most enduring memories of ’70s radio – I mean, they did get played over and over, didn’t they? Unlike quite a few acts I could name from that era, though, Steely Dan’s output stands up to repeat listening. The bizarre melodic and harmonic twists that their songs throw at the listener are quite unlike anything we’ve heard before or since – even now that Becker and Fagen have forged some kind of truce and are playing (and, bizarrely enough, touring) together again. The new Steely Dan has nothing on the material from this era. It may be an unfair comparison to stack a new album up against a compilation of proven hits, but it’s almost like there are two different bands going by that name – the more recent incarnation having lost some of the nerve required to crash two very different flavors of music 4 out of 4together over 30 years ago.

This is Steely Dan at its finest. I like their stuff, and I’ve even heard their full albums, but I think it’s safe to say that unless you’re an ardent fan, this album will cover your Steely Dan needs quite nicely. You just won’t need anything else.

Order this CD

  1. F.M. (4:50)
  2. Black Friday (3:33)
  3. Babylon Sisters (5:51)
  4. Deacon Blues (7:26)
  5. Bodhisattva (5:16)
  6. Hey Nineteen (5:06)
  7. Do It Again (5:56)
  8. Peg (3:58)
  9. Rikki, Don’t Lose That Number (4:30)
  10. Reeling In The Years (4:35)
  11. East St. Louis Toodle-oo (2:45)
  12. Kid Charlemagne (4:38)
  13. My Old School (4:46)
  14. Bad Sneakers (3:16)

Released by: MCA
Release date: 1985
Total running time: 66:26

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1985 Non-Soundtrack Music Weird Al Yankovic Y

Weird Al Yankovic – Dare To Be Stupid

Weird Al Yankovic - Dare To Be Stupid1985. The video game industry had fallen, the last Star Wars movie had unspooled, leaving no sign of a sequel outside from some unpromising Ewok TV movies that somehow lacked the epic sweep of a Jedi duel between good and evil, and new wave music had given way to slickly-produced pop that attempted to mass-produce the synth-based sound that had been so boldly experimental just six years before when Gary Numan gave us Cars. And Weird Al Yankovic? Thank God at least Al was still around, and he had a fresh target: Madonna was on the rise.

This brings us to “Like A Surgeon”, Al’s cuttingly funny take-off of Madonna’s “Like A Virgin”, and the lead single (and first track) on Dare To Be Stupid. Considering that In 3-D had made him a superstar, the follow-up required some serious work to top it. And that it did, complete with some of Al’s best original compositions ever.

Dare To Be Stupid itself is a brilliant rip of the Devo sound, and in some ways even exceeds its inspiration. (Years later in a VH-1 special about Weird Al’s career, Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo confessed that he loved the synth sounds Al used in the song – and hated him from that day forward for “wasting” them on a parody. Get over yourself, Mark. We’ll reserve a room for you in the Shatner suite.) “One More Minute” sets some truly bizarre lyrics to Inkspots-style doo-wop music, while the brilliant “This Is The Life” takes on the big band style that wouldn’t be coming back into vogue for nearly a decade and a half. “Cable TV” is hilarious as well, and in some ways lays the foundation for Al’s movie, UHF.

In the area of parodying specific songs, Weird Al rarely hit the ball over the fence this often in the space of a single album. “I Want A New Duck” is a bizarre spoof which flips the bird to Huey Lewis’ “I Want A New Drug” (and I’ll best Yankovic spent a lot less time apologizing for his song after the fact); food is once again the topic of the Cyndi Lauper-inspired “Girls Just Want To Have Lunch”, and most brilliantly of all, Weird Al does an almost straightforward retelling of The Empire Strikes Back to the tune of the Kinks’ “Lola” in “Yoda” – proof, if any be needed, that Al needs to go back, record some new material, add “Yoda” and “The Saga Begins” to the mix, and tell the entire Star Wars saga through music.

The album is triumphantly capped off with “Hooked On Polkas”, another of Weird Al’s signature polka medleys of songs that were making it big at the time. Among his victims this time around are ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man”, Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose”, and Nena’s “99 Luftballoons”, to name just three richly-deserving candidates. It’s hard to really put a finger on why Dare To Be Stupid always rocked my world 4 out of 4back then; the only song that doesn’t do a thing for me is “Slime Creatures From Outer Space”, which sounds like a weak attempt to mimic Thomas Dolby’s style circa 1984, but that’s one bad egg out of nearly a dozen – and truth be told, Al foisted worse turkeys on us with Even Worse. Dare To Be Stupid dared to take on an era when rock and pop music was getting less and less interesting, and at least made them funny.

Order this CD

  1. Like A Surgeon (3:32)
  2. Dare To Be Stupid (3:26)
  3. I Want A New Duck (3:04)
  4. One More Minute (4:05)
  5. Yoda (3:58)
  6. George Of The Jungle (1:05)
  7. Slime Creatures From Outer Space (4:23)
  8. Girls Just Want To Have Lunch (2:49)
  9. This Is The Life (3:07)
  10. Cable TV (3:38)
  11. Hooked On Polkas (3:52)

Released by: Scotti Bros.
Release date: 1985
Total running time: 36:59

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1985 1998 Soundtracks Television V

V: The Series – music by Dennis McCarthy

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Dennis McCarthy saved the day by rescoring V: The Final Battle for Warner Bros. and NBC, so when the time came to bleed the well of ideas dry for a short-lived weekly series, Dennis was called to compose music for invading lizards once more.

In retrospect, I think his music may be one of the classiest things that V: The Series had in its favor.

Opening up with a much more quickly-paced version of the V: The Final Battle theme as the series main title, the album proceeds quickly into the first episode, where McCarthy pumps things up in an energetic chase sequence which refers to the main title frequently. After the second track, the music slows down and McCarthy begins to display some of the scoring style that has become a mainstay on the various Star Trek spinoffs.

Some of the standouts include the minute-long “Star Child” track, which introduces a choral motif for the now-grown-up Elizabeth, and the following track, “Lift Off Into Space”, jumps back and forth between this choral theme and some nice action segments.

If there’s any one thing which turns me off about McCarthy’s scores for the weekly series, it’s something over 3 out of 4which he may not have had any control. The studio handed the man a decent-sized, well-trained orchestra to use…and then he winds up with a lot of suspiciously synthesized-sounding drums? Give me a break!

Like the V: The Final Battle CD, this composer promo may be worth the search for any big V fans, or fans of Dennis McCarthy’s musical style.

Order this CD

  1. V: The Series main title (4:18)

    Liberation Day

  2. Space Chase (1:06)
  3. Martin’s Death (4:55)

    Dreadnaught

  4. Elizabeth’s Rebirth (1:50)
  5. Enter Diana / Elizabeth Grows Up (1:55)
  6. The Star Child (4:00)
  7. Lift Off Into Space (0:59)
  8. Farewell / Dreadnaught (2:23)

    The Sanction

  9. Elizabeth’s Theme (5:30)
  10. A Sunny Day (2:39)
  11. Kyle and Elizabeth (2:13)

    Visitor’s Choice

  12. Lounge Lizards (1:20)

    The Deception

  13. Seductive Dream (3:08)

    Reflection In Terror

  14. Doppelganger’s Demise (1:57)

    The Conversion

  15. Rats R Us (2:52)

    The Betrayal

  16. Nathan’s End (1:04)
  17. Lizard Courtship (4:35)

    The Rescue

  18. Wedding Fanfare / Banquet Music (4:13)
  19. Reception Music (3:26)
  20. Adios, Charles (4:09)

    The Betrayal

  21. Finale (2:57)
  22. V: The Series end credits (1:57)

Released by: SuperTracks
Release date: 1998
Total running time: 59:13

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