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...and yes, that is a word I just made up. Eighties-ier it is, because after having the first foray into the Eighties of our All Pearls, No Swine series still firmly with both feet in the sound and sensibility of the 1970s, it's obvious from the opening track, Australia's Triffids and their mighty "Wide Open Road" that we have fully arrived in the decade of the synth swirls, gated drums and echoey production. And if that isn't enough, then track two, The Lover Speaks' synth anthem "No More I Love You" should seal the deal. That song only scraped the lower regions of the charts, but became a huge hit for Annie Lennox almost a decade later. From there we get to ol' Fleetwood Mac alumni Bob Welch and his best stab at a New Wave sound with "I'll Dance Alone" and Men At Work's original version of "Down Under". It was originally a b-side to a forgotten single and didn't yet have the famous/infamous flute melody that got them sued and ultimately led to the self destruction of Greg Ham. Instead it is a weird country-flavored regatta da blanc. Then we get two saints replacing one madonna, as Canada's Sophie St. Lauren does her best stab at Madonna-style pop with the absolutely irresistible "Sex Appeal", before Tera St. John kidnaps Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wildside" for a synth-pop joyride as a self-published one-off (on the impeccably titled Didit M'Self Records!). Plus more sultriness from Rosie Vela, aurally and visually (see below).
We also get new wave goodness from Randy VanWarmer and Sniff'n'the Tears, both soon to be getting their own write ups and home-made compilations here, an underrated synth-pop number from Tears for Fears' first album that The Americans used for an amazing sequence, more Aussies with Big Pig, more Canadians with brainy synth-poppers Strange Advance, a trip to Italy for Raf's (as in Raffaele) original version of "Self Control", issued months before Laura Branigan took over the song and rode it into the Top Ten. That lady sure had a knack for picking up Italian hits ("Gloria") and turning them into world wide smashes! And a trip to France for post-punk psych band The Vietnam Veterans and their take on "The Days Of Pearly Spencer". And out of the 'huh?' department, folk rock veteran Iain Matthews, who after forays into soft rock and new wave ends up in power pop outfit Hi-Fi, covering Prince's "When U Were Mine". How much more Eighties-ier than that can you get?
Have no fear, fellow musical travelers, for even the Eighties, that most dreaded decade for fans of classic rock look better with every passing year, and have some treasures to unearth, starting right here and now...
Whoops, kind of forgot to deliver the merchandise here...
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https://workupload.com/file/7ARRxuhs5mB
This looks great (and so does Rosie Vela!) I hope you don't mind if I borrow "Down Under" for a compilation I'm making of early versions of songs that became hits (after they were re-recorded).
ReplyDeleteAre you familiar with Bette Bright? In the 70's, she was one of the singers in Deaf School. In the 80's she went solo and recorded the first cover of "When You Were Mine" (in a synth-pop arrangement very similar to Cyndi Lauper's). She also covered "Some Guys Have All The Luck" shortly before Robert Palmer and Rod Stewart had hits with their own versions. Then she married Suggs from Madness and started a family.
I mention her because of the Hi-Fi version of "When You Were Mine", which came out after Bette's 1981 cover, but before the 1983 versions by Cyndi Lauper and Mitch Ryder (!)
Good one, the early version of Down Under was new to me.
ReplyDeleteWhile listening to 'The Days of Pearly Spencer' I suddenly remembered that from someone else. Quick search: the original artist David McWilliams had a huge hit with it in Holland in 1967, that's why!
ReplyDeleteMy first exposure to the song was Marc Almond's hugely successful cover version from 1992...
DeleteTalk about risky clicks! (plugs nose and squints)
ReplyDeleteIt's okay, Mr. Dave...they only want to play! Have never bitten anyone either...as far as I know...which isn't very...
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