Selection A16: Hall and Oates -- Out of Touch

It was the summer of 1984.  I was 14.  I had a paper route.  MTV was big, and something I would watch whenever there wasn't something else on TV.  And Hall and Oates was about to blow my socks off.

They came out with a new album called Big Bam Boom.  It was different than previous albums because they parted ways with their normal producer,  Neil Kernon, and hired Bob Clearmountain to produce, and hip-hop DJ Arthur Baker to play with the mix in post production.

Some say the sound is too busy, but the whole album moved me.  Out of Touch, the first single released from the album, was mind blowing.  Above is the album/single version, and it is pretty good, good enough to get into my jukebox.  But below is the video version of the song, and the 14 year old in me couldn't wait for the next time it would come on MTV.  It is that good.

It opens with a bit of the song Dance On Your Knees which is the first track on the album.  Arthur Baker is credited with co-writing the song with Darryl Hall.  It definitely has a hip-hop feel to it.  The song in the video uses that track a few other times, and it was the song I liked better.  So much better, I would record it in Mono from our VCR so I could listen to it on my paper route.  It was that good.  I almost never found a clear version of the video mix, until one time while listening to Crap From The Past Ron played it, and said it was from the Hall and Oates greatest hits CD, Playlist.  Needless to say, I bought it as soon as I could.

The big problem here is the 45 I put in the jukebox won't be the video version.  I can live with that.

Selection B16 is Cold Dark and Yesterday.  It's a good track for a B side, and if they were to have released more than 4 songs from this album, I could see this one making it near to the bottom of the top 40.  Good enough to get a few plays in the jukebox.

Selection A15: Don Henley -- All She Wants to do is Dance

Let me follow up an odd pairing with a song that is odd for the artist that made it. Oh, it's got the political messaging Don Henley is famous for, so it isn't that.  No, it's a dance song.  This song made it to #9 on the pop charts in the Spring of 1985, but it made it all the way to #10 on the dance chart.

As a kid, I liked this song because it was so danceable.   The slap drumbeat, the highly distorted guitar.  The synth when it comes in strong.  And that's just the opening.  The bridge also has a strong synth solo.  This is not your typical Don Henley song.  It's one of only two I really like from him, the other being Sunset Grille.  Both are from the great Building the Perfect Beast album. 

Speaking of, the title song of that album is selection B15.  Listening to it now, and there's not much there for me. It is another song I wouldn't expect from Henley, a perfect companion for this 45, but it won't get many plays on the Jukebox.

Selection A14: Art of Noise -- Kiss (featuring Tom Jones)

I hope I am not alone in liking odd parings.  This is actually three in one: an 80s synthpop group called The Art Of Noise; a 60s vocalist Sir Thomas John Woodward who goes by the stage name Tom Jones; and pop superstar Prince.  

The Art of Noise formed in London in 1983.  They consisted of engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with arranger Anne Dudley (who is already on the jukebox as the arranger for Selection A4, Too Many Walls) producer Trevor Horn and music journalist Paul Morley.  They are popular for creating music out of everyday sounds.  You may hear a buzzsaw right next to a bassline.  This digital sampling was new at the time, and it was definitely an interesting sound.  

This, along with their interpretation of Peter Gun are their most popular, although they are also known for Close (To The Edit), and Paranoimia (featuring Max Headroom), all top 20 singles in England.  Here in the US, only Kiss and Paranoimia made the top 40.

Kiss  was already a number one for Prince.  It is his third.  It started as a one minute acoustic demo that he handed off to the band Mazarati, formed by former Revolution bassist Brown Mark.  When they finished with the song, Prince liked it so much, he took it back, added the guitar solo, and kept the band's background vocals.  

The Art of Noise remake is a work of art.  Hiring Tom Jones to do vocals was genius.  I really like his interpretation here.  And the music is typical Art of Noise, pounding drums, horns, noises, and the bridge includes references to their previous hits, including the theme to Dragnet, along with the songs I mentioned earlier.  And though it is weird, it works for me.    

Selection B14 is E. F. L.  It is more typical Art Of Noise goodness.  I highly recommend talking at least one listen.

Selection A13: Billy Ocean -- Loverboy

I know what you are saying.  You are saying, "I see what you did there, Bill.  Lovergirl, then Loverboy. Good one."  Well, these songs aren't just similar in name.  They also aren't just close together in the Jukebox. They also passed by each other on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984-85.  Billy's song made it all the way to number 2 in February of 1985.  It is from the album Suddenly.

The video for this song is awesome. Especially to a 14 year old kid.  It's just so sci-fi (or is it sy-fy now?)  An alien guy rides into a bar in a cave that is similar to Mos Eisley Cantina right off a beach?  And Billy is trapped in a floating pyramid thing, Zod like through the entire video?  And of course, alien boy thing rides off into the sunset with alien girl thing (after killing her alien boyfriend) at the end.  It's a classic on weirdness alone.

And the song isn't half bad, either.  The opening is different than the rest of the song, with a soft synth note breaking into horns (ba-ba-ba-bop!) followed by a smooth guitar entrance into the song.  While I really like the opening, the song's chorus and bridge really do it for me.  The chorus has a strong guitar/bass riff, and the bridge has that same strong riff with some other noises including scratching that just work for me.

Do you like 50s music?  Selection B13 should make you smile.  It's a take on the music from that time, and it's actually Billy's first hit single from 1976.  Not bad, and actually might get a few plays.

Selection A12: Teena Marie -- Lovergirl

There was so much I didn't know about this song when it was released and made it to #4 in 1984.  I didn't know who Teena was at the time.  She was born Mary Christine Brockert, although she was known as Tina. If you bought the 45, you knew she was on Motown Records.  But being a 14 year old white kid from a small town, I couldn't have possibly known her history behind being on that label.

She was the first white woman to be signed to Motown.  She started off recording in 1976, but didn't put out her first album until 1979.  It was produced by Rick James, who gave up producing a Diana Ross album to work with her.  He gave her the signature name (although it was almost Teena Tryson) and her first R&B hit, the #8 I'm a Sucker For Your Love.  She wound up having seven top 40 R&B hits leading up to this one.

This song became only her second top 40 hit, with I Need Your Lovin' being the first in 1980.  And I loved it from the first time I heard it.  The video on MTV showed Teena playing guitar, a hook I really enjoy.  She also wrote and produced it.  It's not a synth song, or your typical pop song.  It's almost a rock song.  Which is probably why it charted higher on the pop charts at #4 than on the R&B charts at #9.

Teena died in 2010.  It is believed she had a grand mal seizure that may have been brought on by a hit on the head she suffered in 2004 when a picture frame fell while she was lying in bed.  She never married, although she did have a child in 1991.  She is the godmother to Nonya Gaye, and has also cared for Rick James son Rick Jr., and took in Lenny Kravitz early in his career.  She will truly be missed for her talent, and her caring.

Selection B12 is an instrumental... sort of.  It still has some vocals, just not all of them.  But seriously, couldn't they do better than this for a B side?

Selection A11: The Doobie Brothers -- What a Fool Believes

This song makes it to the jukebox on music alone.  But I have to admit, I like a web series called Yacht Rock, which gave some fake backstory to the song.  Since it is not safe for work, I'll let you search for it.  But make sure to go to channel 101 for higher quality videos over YouTube.

This song was released when I was 9 in 1979.  It actually was written by Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonnald.  Loggins actually beat the Doobies in releasing the song five months earlier in 1978.  But it only appeared on his album Nightwatch, and for good reason... it was bad.

The Doobies made it to number one with this song, the only other number one they had other than 1974's Black Water.  It was one of the few number one songs of 1979 that wasn't disco.  It was from the album Minute by Minute, which also spawned the top 15 Minute by Minute, and the top 30 Dependin' On You.

Musically, this song works.  It's got great piano, drums, and bass.  I'm not highly enamored with the synth, however.  And McDonnald sings lead, and when a song is this good, McDonnald shines.  You can expect his two top 10 hits to make it to the jukebox as well.

Don't Stop and Watch the Wheels is selection B11.  It's not bad, but just doesn't catch my attention.

Selection A10: Wa Wa Nee -- Stimulation

Okay, confession time.  The Australian band Wa Wa Nee was one of my favorites growing up.  I remember playing their self titled album over the intercom at my fast food job after hours.  The sound in the store was crappy, but I liked the band so much I did it anyway.

The first single from that album in Australia was Stimulation.  It didn't get far here in America even though it was released after the moderately popular Sugar Free (a song you'll be hearing about later).  But it was their most popular song in their home country, reaching #2 in 1986.  It only reached #86 here in the states.

 It's a solid middle of the road pop song.  It has a good back beat, and a good base line.  I doesn't have a strong synth presence, and that helps the song along.

Selection B10 is Headlines.  I never bought the 45" as a kid, just the album, so I had never heard this song before today.  It's not bad.  Like the other songs from the album, I bet I could listen to it a lot.