The 1982 Listening Post - Sparks - Angst in My Pants

 Reviewed by Stephen Romone Lewis

Released: March 29 1982 Sparks Angst In My Pants Genre: Pop New Wave Allen’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stephen’s Rating: 5 out of 5 Highlights: Angst In My Pants I Predict Mickey Mouse Moustache Instant Weight Loss Sparks tickle my soul. So, it hurts me existentially that they are not embraced by everyone who loves pop. I understand why reggae fans and polka fans don’t flock to them, but if you’ve ever tapped your foot, even accidentally, to John Mayor, Nickleback or Beyonce WHY DO YOU SHUN SPARKS!? I have 3 theories. One: Russell Mael’s squeally, multi-octave voice is an acquired taste (a musical anchovy). Two: You are turned off by the lyrics. I guess that for SOME people only vague, lovey-dovey pap passes as pop and all other subject matters are instantly regarded as novelty. Three: you’re a fucking moron. Angst in My Pants is eleven tracks of pure, ass-wiggling pop. Yes the lyrical subjects are unconventional: the joy of having a moustache, a sentient cigarette, Tarzan and Jane, Sherlock Holmes, but every tune will stick in your head. Haven’t you heard enough dopey love songs? Come on give a tune about the world’s worst Nostradamus impersonator (Nostra-dumb-ass) a chance. “I predict, Lassie will prove that Elvis and her had a fleeting affair.” One soul tickling thing about Sparks is that they are still actively working and creating. The world seems slightly less post-apocalyptic when I see people a decade older than me putting out inventive and addictive music. It gives me hope. This year Russell and Ron Mael’s (Sparks) film musical, Annette, premiered at Cannes, and their album A Steady Drip, Drip Drip was the only good thing about 2020 besides not having to leave my house. They have 26 albums dating back to 1971 including a collaboration with Franz Ferdinand. I don’t love each one, their work with Giorgio Moroder leaves me cold, but when they set out to write a pop tune, I can’t unhear it (in a good way). Haters, give them a chance. And LONG LIVE ROCK-N-ROLL! Memo to ukulele players: “Moustache” is super easy and fun to play. Only 3 chords C, F and G.

The 1982 Listening Post - Asia - Asia

 Reviewed by Stephen Romone Lewis

Released: March 18 1982 Asia Asia Genre: Pop Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5 Stephen’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Highlights: Heat Of The Moment Only Time Will Tell One Step Closer Here Comes The Feeling Prog rock is like Taco Bell. People either love it or they hate it. Also, Taco Bell uses only 7 ingredients but has 30,000 menu items and prog rock uses only 7 guys but has 30,000 bands. As of 10/1/21 the 4 original members of Asia have collectively played in 46 of those 30,000 bands. They paid dues with prog-rock powerhouses Yes, ELP and King Crimson, as well as, The Buggles, Roxy Music, and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. If you hate prog rock then you will love Asia’s eponymous debut because this is the “prog” album that nearly killed prog. How? With hits. Legit hits like “Only Time Will Tell” and “Heat of the Moment” and the AOR hit “One Step Closer”. I don’t mind prog bands having hits. Genesis went pop and had a lucrative, and well deserved, post Peter Gabriel career. A year after Asia hit the charts, Yes reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Owner of a Lonely Heart”. I could not be happier about that. My problem with Asia having hits is: hits make money and, sing it with me now, “Money changes everything!” Geffen record executives put many Colombian drug lord’s children through college on the success of “Heat of the Moment”. Non-Geffen record executives like cocaine too. They called all the prog bands on their rosters and demanded hits. “No more 15 part 40 minute songs! No more songs with incomprehensible titles. No more rocking out on classical music. No more songs with gong solos!” Once the industry got it stuck in their pinheads that prog bands could actually make them money and not just earn them a little prestige, things got tough for prog bands. According to Wikipedia’s Timeline of Progressive Rock there were 48 progressive albums released worldwide in 1980. That number dropped to 36 the year after Asia’s debut and then wallowed in the low 30s for a decade. The bean-counters couldn’t take the odd time signatures away from King Crimson, but they could keep prog from reaching the pressing plant. I don’t blame Asia for that. I’ve heard it suggested that John Wetton, Steve Howe, Geoff Downes and Carl Palmer made a calculated effort to go commercial. I doubt it. Except for “Heat of the Moment” all the songs on their debut are longer than four minutes: a pop radio programmer’s no no. And, if they could just conjure up hits by force of will, wouldn’t they have done it again. Asia went on to have the same number of chart toppers as Captain Beefheart and G. G. Allen. I’m thinking the success of the album Asia by Asia was a fluke. So how does Asia’s debut sound? Great! The first side is a collection of poppy tunes tinged with clever musical flourishes like Carl Palmer’s stuttering drums in the fade out to “Heat of the Moment” or Steve Howe’s guitar flourishes throughout. It’s clear the band has chops, and the non-hits nestle themselves in your ear after a second listen. There’s no single on side two, but the tunes rock with the exception of hair-metal ballad “Without You”. It wraps up with the arena-friendly, hold-up-your-lighter-and-sway anthem “Here Comes the Feeling”. I just have to sing-a-long. LONG LIVE ROCK-N-ROCK IN ALL ITS GLORIOUS FORMS!

The 1981 Listening - Orbits - Q: What... Ans: Nothing

 Reviewed by Stephen Romone Lewis

Released: 1981 Orbits Q: What... Ans: Nothing Genre: New Wave/Synth Pop Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Highlights: Rear View Mirror Q: What’s it sound like? Ans: Lots of Devo-esque “Pssoo-PSSoo” laser sounds mixed with that nasal guitar sound The Cars use. The interplay between the band members is fantastic: the bass, guitar and synth lines weave together, instead of rock’s typical strummed chords. They do NOT sound even a little bit disco. Q: How did the band form? Ans: The keyboard player and drummer from the disco band Tavares were kicking around Boston and started writing poppy rock tunes. Q: Did they steal the idea for the title from Devo’s 1978 disc (Q: Are We Not Men A: We Are Devo) Ans: probably, maybe it’s an homage. Q: Is it worth our time to listen to it? Ans: There is great musicianship throughout, but the lyrics can be childish and the songs sound derivative. If you really love Devo or The Cars, you might love this. Q: Is there anything we DEFINITELY need to hear? Ans: Yes! Unless you are offended by the phrase “Big tits they make me giggle” you should listen to “Rear View Mirror”. I bought this album when I was 14 because I loved the song “Rear View Mirror”. It got heavy rotation on WBCN, and college radio. When I got software to transfer LPs to MP3s, “Rear View Mirror” was one of the first songs I copied. “Rear View Mirror” has a hit worthy chorus, a hit worthy guitar solo, a hit worthy bridge, a hit worthy coda and hit worthy verses. It also has one brief, hit-killing lyric: “Big tits they make me giggle.” Hip 80’s AOR stations played it, especially at night, but you couldn’t go national with “Big tits they make me giggle.” loudly proclaimed in the middle of your tune. Casey Kasem was not going to issue a long distance dedication featuring “Big tits they make me giggle” clearly enunciated for all of middle America to have a heart attack over. Q: Did any of the other tunes get any airplay? Ans: “7 Digits Away”, “Sensors” and “It's A Surprise” all did some time on college radio playlists. Q: How did you come up with a rating of 3.5? Ans: I took off 1 point because it’s an EP with only 8 tunes and I took off .5 because some of those 8 tunes don’t stand up to repeat listening.

The 1981 Listening Post - Don McLean - Believers

 Reviewed by Stephen Romone Lewis

Released: October 29 1981 Don McLean Believers Genre: Adult Contemporary Rating: 1.7 out of 5 Highlights: Castles In The Air Believers Don Mclean changed my life. When I was in 4th grade, before internet, iTunes, Spotify…, I got a turntable for Christmas and Homeless Brother by Mclean. “The Legend of Andrew McCrew” (the last song on side one) told the TRUE story of a drunk whose corpse was used as The Amazing Petrified Man in the freakshow of a traveling carnival. McLean helped raise cash for a headstone for McGrew who was buried 50 years after his death. I was obsessed with this song. It was music AND a story. Two things I loved squished together. A sonic Reese's Cup. I decided then, in 4th grade, that I needed - not wanted - NEEDED, to tell stories with music. I’ve been writing songs and stories and story-songs ever since. Homeless Brother is a great album. Massive harmonies. The theme of helping the needy runs through every song. Pete Seeger, the king of folk, sings backup. But it’s not the album I’m reviewing. The album I am reviewing, Believers, is shitty, or at least predominantly shitty, or maybe it just sounds shitty compared to the first album I fell in love with, my first big boy record, Homeless Brother. Believers does have 2 winners. It starts with a re-recording of McLean’s hit from ‘71, “Castles in the Air”. “Castles” originally appeared on his debut album, Tapestry, and was the 1st single he ever released. It briefly landed on the Billboard Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary chart. After the success of his 2nd LP, American Pie, he reissued “Castles in the Air” as the B-side of “Vincent”. That generated enough airplay for it to chart again. Ten years later, his creative juices spent, he re-recorded it slightly slower and released it as a single for the 3rd time. It hit 36 on the billboard chart. The other decent song is the title track. I didn’t expect him to be full-throatedly critical of organized religion but the track benefits from this rare glimpse of raw emotion. The rest of Believers is disappointing. McLean titled a song “Sea Man'' and it’s not even a little funny. It’s actually depressing. “Sea Man''! Any 12 year old boy could crank out 20 hilarious verses, but Don clearly had no idea what a goldmine of double entendres he’d overlooked. Other bombs on Believers are covers of the Everly Brothers “Love Hurts” (Narareth does it best), Huey Piano Smith’s “Sea Cruise” and Bobby Darin’s “Dream Lover” with a tempo and choral “Owww’s” meant to put you to sleep. Don’s pop career peaked with his 2nd LP, American Pie. The next 5 albums were a mixed bag of artistic triumphs and forgettable blandness. He ended his pop aspirations with Believers. There’s a nice symmetry to him re-recording and releasing his 1st ever single, “Castles in the Air” 10 years later as his last pop record. After Believers he officially came out as a country artist, signed with Capital and put out 14 well received albums. Over 50 years and 22 albums every note can’t be gold. Believers is aluminum or tin. If you have never heard “The Legend of Andrew McCrew”, check it out, and if you’re having trouble sleeping try McLean’s cover of “Dream Lover”. Better than Ambien.

The 1981 Listening Post - Arlo Guthrie - Power of Love

 Reviewed by Stephen Romone Lewis

Released: June 1981 Arlo Guthrie Power Of Love Genre: Possible Contractual Obligation (something's wrong here) Rating: 2 out of 5 Highlights: Living Like A Legend Slow Boat Kid, if the name Arlo Guthrie reminds you of the hilarity of father rapers, well kid, you are gonna be badly disappointed by Power of Love. No wit. No storytelling. Arlo, like his dad, is best known for his songwriting, but this 10 song collection contains 8 covers. “Living Like A Legend” and “Slow Boat” are the exceptions and they are also the only bright spots on the album. His own songs sizzle with emotion. The rest plod with the restless annoyance of filing taxes. Even a great tune like Richard Thompson’s “When I Get To The Border”, sounds like Arlo would rather be napping. Guest stars attempt to wake Arlo up but they aren’t given anything to do. Phil Everly and Rickie Lee Jones are singers. Give them the mic. Don’t hide their backup vocals behind your nasal, Dylan-with-a-head-cold shenanigans. Give them a verse or an entire song to sing. Go have a smoke. Relax. The album ends with the modern, folk standard “The Garden Song” (Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow…). Someone had the sweet idea of having Arlo sing it with his 3 young children. Sadly, Arlo either hates the song or hates his kids because he sounds annoyed. Don’t feel too bad, the kids are grown now and don’t need our pity any more.

The 1981 Listening Post - The Dillman Band (AKA The Daisy Dillman Band) - Lovin' the Night Away

 Reviewed by Paul J Zickler & Stephen Ramone Lewis

Released: May 17 1981 The Dillman Band (AKA The Daisy Dillman Band) Lovin' The Night Away Genre: Country Rock Paul's Rating: 2.75 out of 5 Stephen's Rating: 2 out of 5 Average Rating: 2.38 Paul's Highlights: Lovin' The Night Away So Much The Smoother Stephen's Highlights: So Much The Smoother [Ed. Note: A slight mishap have given us 2 reviews for this Dillman Band album - enjoy!!] ********** Paul J Zickler's Review: “Dear Friends, With full hearts, we are announcing the end of regular live performances in 2022. We have had an incredible run of forty six years together (it’s hard to imagine and seems like a dream). As a band of young brothers starting out in Excelsior in 1976, we never gave a thought to how far we might come.” (Letter to fans from the Daisy Dillman Band website) “We’ll be lovin’ the night away / Forget about our sorrows / Forget about tomorrow / Just hold me ‘til the light of day / Lovin’ the night away.” (Lyrics from Lovin’ the Night Away) The opening song of this 1981 album by The Dillman Band (known as The Daisy Dillman Band everywhere besides this release) is a pleasant slice of guitar-picking, saxophone-swaying country rock. The chorus is lovely, with its piano-driven rhythms and rich harmony “oohs.” It’s not going to inspire you, but it wouldn’t sound bad at all on a cold Minnesota winter’s evening as you curl up with your loved one (or your dog) in front of a nice fire. According to their website, the boys in Daisy Dillman have been playing together steadily since ‘76, sometimes as a full band, other times as the three piece Daisy Dillman Acoustic. Their era of releasing commercially viable recordings seems to have ended with this, their second LP, in 1981. The record was made at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and it managed to crack the top 50 of Billboard’s Hot 100. The boys look very excited on the cover, ready to leap into the burgeoning country-rock industry. As Tom Petty put it, “the sky was the limit.” "A third album was never released due to internal restructuring at RCA Records." (History of the band from their website) Some of these songs sound a bit like pre-McDonald Doobie Brothers, others more like Pure Prairie League. Side one ending instrumental, So Much the Smoother, opens with a Kansas-like feel, with orchestral keyboards and effects pedal violin leading into harmonizing guitar riffs. Later it all gives way to a bluegrass beat and some fine fiddle playing. She’s Just a Stranger rocks just enough to resemble Glenn Frey, albeit with some weirdly echoed spoken lines: “It just isn’t the same / Boy she’s really changed.” C.O.D. follows a fairly dull AOR blueprint, even including the ubiquitous quick guitar/keyboard arpeggios under the chorus. The closing track veers into MOR pop with its smooth beats, syrupy lyrics, and slick sax solo. In other words, these guys are kinda all over the place musically. Lead vocalist Steve “Stymie” Seamans’ ragged tenor reminds me of a twangier version of Patrick Simmons. Pat Frederick’s violin playing stands out more than anything else, and I imagine he was the featured soloist in the band’s live sets. The album features lots of studio musicians, picking and grinning in support of the five band members. Pianos swell, mandolins chime in, kettle drums boom, and the aforementioned sax croons sweetly on several songs. Clearly, the label put some effort into this recording, so they must have had high hopes for these Minnesota fellas. The songs are mostly pretty decent, if not particularly memorable. Maybe the problem is that they were neither country enough nor rock enough to grab anyone’s attention. Like so many of the bands on the Housekeeping list, they had their brief moment of near-fame, then went back home to entertain the local folks for a few decades, reminiscing about their glory days, gracefully aging until the inevitable announcement that it’s time to hang it up. ********** Stephen Ramone Lewis' Review: One thing I learned from watching Sex Sent Me to the ER is that if something is going great don’t mess it up by trying something new. No matter what your wife’s best friend’s sister says. No matter what that weird blog says. No matter what you read above the urinal in that gas station’s men’s room. If things can’t get worse, sure, chance it, but if you’ve got no complaints then the produce should stay in the kitchen, save the double D batteries for the flashlight and leave the sheepshanks to the fishermen. If Sex Sent Me to the ER was on TV in ‘81 it could have saved this band the hassle of recording this record. In ‘78 the Daisy Dillman Band were a country band winning a slew of awards in Minnesota. In ‘81 they signed with RCA and recorded at Muscle Shoals with Rick Hall (who worked with Paul Anka, Persy Sledge, and the Osmonds). I’m guessing that someone’s wife’s best friend’s sister convinced them to change everything that got them the contract. They changed their name to the Dillman Band and traded most of the twang that brought them success for a shot at pop magic. The single, "Lovin' the Night Away", supposedly cracked the Billboard top 100 but I’m sure I never heard it before. The album sounds like the goal was to sound like Alabama or the Doobie Brothers, but I don’t think the guys' hearts were in it. Other than “So Much the Smoother”, a neat country-rock boot stomper that sounds like Kansas jammed with Charlie Daniels, everything sounds uninspired. After their failed attempt at superstardom the Dillman Band ended up in the ER having all the traces of top forty removed from their urethras. After the swelling went down, they reverted to the Daisy Dillman Band and resumed playing award winning country music. LESSON LEARNED!

The 1981 Listening Post - Robert Ellis Orrall - Fixation

 Reviewed by Stephen Romone Lewis / LISTENING POST DISCOVERY

Released: 1981 Robert Ellis Orrall Fixation Genre: New Wave Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Highlights: White Noise Hit Man But No Call The Uh-Oh Squad Problem With Women In ‘81 I bought a compilation called Blits because the cover showed bayonet wielding soldiers with fire-engine red eyes and not because I was so cool that I had heard of any of the bands on it. Robert Ellis Orral contributed 2 awesome tunes: “White Noise'' and "Call the Uh-oh Squad”. Those are also the best songs on Fixation. The slicing guitar crunch of “White Noise" should have been a national hit. The riff is infectious and Robert’s vocals sound like screams from a rubber room. “Uh-oh Squad” is a dark new-wave novelty song about a group you could hire to clean up embarrassing problems. For example - if you killed your wife’s lover. I remember hours gathered around a baby grand with my pre-teen friends and an untunable Kent guitar trying to cover “Uh-oh Squad”. Overall Fixation sounds like Bob listened to a lot of Devo, Elvis Costello and early Joe Jackson. His voice is a less bombastic version of Human Sexual Response’s frontman Larry Bangor. Growing up in Winthrup, MA, Orral would have heard a lot of Human Sexual Response on Boston radio, and he probably met them as he worked his way up in the Boston club scene. Production is good throughout. Do you like vocal harmonies? He’s got that. Interesting guitar solos. Check. Every song is well constructed and very listenable. If I have a complaint it’s that half the songs are clearly pop tunes, and the other half are rock tunes. Nothing wrong with that, but they’re mixed together, with the rockers bristling with anxious energy followed by a slick little love song. Bob promoted Fixation by opening for U2 and The Kinks, lucky bastard, but he wouldn’t touch the charts until his 3rd LP and the single "I Couldn't Say No". You might not immediately start humming the tune, or have the skinny-tied video pop into your head, but I promise you, you heard it. It’s a duet with Carlene Carter. Carter, daughter of June Carter Cash, used the hit to jumpstart a successful Country music career. Robert traded in his Ric Ocasek suits for some bigass beltbuckles and followed her to Nashville. He recorded country music solo and in the award winning duo Orral & Wright, but his biggest successes were as a songwriter and producer. He penned tunes for Reba, Lindsey Lohan, and Taylor Swift and produced Swift’s records Be Your Own Pet and Love and Theft.

The 1980 Listening Post - Danny Graham - Danny Graham

 Reviewed by Stephen Romone Lewis

Released: 1980 Danny Graham Danny Graham Genre: Psychedelic, I Guess Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Highlights: Put the Blame on Me Early Morning Heat Wave Sister Roulette Eyes In 1980 Australia had 23 guitarists and 22 of them had record contracts. Danny Graham was number 23. Feeling left out he got a TEAC 4-track, all his friends and what sounds like a $10 Radio Shack microphone and multi-tracked his way into the hearts of dozens. Even with this exquisite 16 track demo, Danny could not land a deal, so he had 1000 discs pressed and he legged it across the outback on a journey of self promotion. Several copies made it into the bins of independent record stores and he convinced one radio station to play a couple tunes, but in the end his effort came to naught. According to my extensive 3 minute Google search Danny then fell off the face of the earth. This review would not exist if Strange World Records hadn’t, for reasons they choose not to divulge, resurrected Danny’s demos on vinyl in 2018. How does it sound? Vocals just a sliver better than Daniel Johnston. Diction on par with Eddie Vedder. Impressive and creative guitar playing. Interesting but derivative songwriting. Supposedly he was obsessed with Bowie and influenced by Dylan, but if you look at his eyes on the album cover, you can see his biggest influence was microdot and weed. (Sidenote: He looks like a stoned, Breakfast-Club-era Anthony Micheal Hall.) I hear no Dylan but a lot of pre-Gilmour Floyd and a smattering of T-Rex. Danny’s biggest setback was that 1980 had no interest in psychedelic music and no year ever had an interest in low-fi, psychedelic music. Floyd moved on from Piper at the Gates and made gazillions of dollars, Danny should have followed their lead.

The 1980 Listening Post - The Flames - The Flames

 Reviewed by Stephen Romone Lewis

Released: 1980 The Flames The Flames Genre: Low-fi Echo And The Bunnymen Rating: 3 out of 5 Highlights: Do You Love It Somebody Call Me Nothing seems to Work Out Do you love Echo and The Bunnymen? Would you love them if they were a low-fi band? Would you still love them if they were a low-fi band and about 23% less catchy? If you answered yes then this is the album for you. According to Bandcamp, The Flames formed, recorded and broke up in 1980. The “long lost The Flames album” finally came out in 2017. The album sounds like a collection of well recorded demos or a poorly recorded commercial release. The band sounds timid but plays well together. A year in the clubs would have polished them. Occasionally they feature a sweet pepper-jack organ with a dollop of feta, you know, cheesy, that Question Mark & The Mysterians sound. (Remember 96 Tears?) The song writing is good but not great. Punk News said, “This record blends jumpy power-pop with the snappiness of early new wave with the edgy lyrics of first wave punk.” They also praise Michael J. Richards’ lyrics. Lyrics rarely matter to me unless they make me laugh, so I won’t pass judgment. “Do You Love It” was clearly intended as the single. I was singing along by the end, although I was making up the words. “Stabbed to Death" has a happy, bouncy riff similar to “Tequila” but it’s about someone being stabbed to death, I think. I almost put it on the highlights list but by my 2nd listen I didn’t want to hear it again. Overall The Flames is very listenable. A few songs and solos jump out. Had the band stuck together they could have gone on to something big.

The 1980 Listening Post - Faithful Breath - Back On My Hill

 Reviewed by Stephen Romone Lewis

Released: 1980 Faithful Breath Back On My Hill Genre: They Say Prog/Hard-Rock Rating: 3 out of 5 Highlights: Die Mörderbiene (Ed. Note: This is a bonus track on the 2007 re-issue) I love me some prog. This has some sweet, moogy sounding synths. There is an abundance of key and GTR solos. Solos contain some tasty licks but lack the technical proficiency of top shelf progsters. No weird time signatures or interesting tonal exploration and only one 17 minute epic, so not proggy enough for me. There are some nice harmonies, but the lead singer sounds like he’s auditioning for a part in Pippin. My favorite tune was Die Mörderbiene, the only one sung in German. It’s in 6/8, has some shifting tempos that held my interest and a nice synth solo in the style of early Styx. I wouldn’t call this hard/rock but that’s the way they are labeled on YouTube. According to the only bio I could find they started in Germany in the late 60s playing rock. Over the course of many personnel changes, they morphed into a watered-down prog outfit and went full hard-rock in ‘85. Absolutely nothing bad about anything on this LP. Also nothing to get excited about either.

The 1980 Listening Post - Hudson (AKA The Hudson Brothers) - Damn Those Kids

 1980 Housekeeping

Stephen Romone Lewis

Hudson (AKA The Hudson Brothers)

Damn Those Kids

Genre: Holy Crap It’s The Hudson Brothers

Rating: 4 out of 5

Highlights:

Low Rider (no, not that “Low Rider”)

Sidewalk

Lowlights: 

Unnecessary cover of Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye

If what your life is missing is a thin Ron Jeremy, your search is over. Mark Hudson looks like a thin Ron Jeremy. Just had to get that out of the way.

Like most bands Hudson’s humble beginnings include 37 thousand name changes. Unlike most bands their history includes contracts with 7 different record companies, 3 TV shows (Bonkers! The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show, and the prime time The Hudson Brothers Show) 2 movies (You remember Zero to Sixty right?) and, AND…AAAAAAND an appearance on the LOVE BOAT!!!!!  Yup! The Love Boat.

I was addicted to the The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show. It was a total freak out. I was 8. I had yet to discover reruns of The Monkees. Music + Weirdness = Bliss.

Damn Those Kids is Hudson’s recording swan song. The production and musicianship is 1st rate throughout. 

Side one is a nice collection of pop rock tunes paying homage to Todd Rundgren. Linda Ronstadt does a duet on “Afraid to Love”. Kent Fillmore effortlessly tosses off some prog quality GTR fills and solos. But…there is no earworm. Every song is simply a solid album track.  

Side two continues the AM radio ditty formula until after “Sidewalk”, the catchiest tune on the disc, then things change.

“Lonely” sounds like a David Gates and Bread ballad. I’m not complaining. Gates is a guilty pleasure, but after 7 up-tempo rockers it feels like suddenly swimming in pudding. Then comes an uninspired cover of Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” and a 10 second cover of the Beatles’ “Anytime At All”. They literally only sing the last line of the chorus. The album ends with “Joni”, another ballad. They may have written it to combat their bubblegum, teen idol status. Sample lyric: “Joni, I want you to blow me… (LONG PAUSE). Just blow me a kiss or two…”

I think success sort of killed the Hudson Brothers’ chances at SUCCESS. They were promoted in Tiger Beat as heart throbs but the success of the Razzle Dazzle Show with pre-teens must have turned off the Clearasil crowd, and their minor success as heart throbs probably squelched the success of their adult sketch comedy shows. 

After Damn Those Kids the brothers went solo. Mark Hudson became a music producer and songwriter. He worked with Ozzy, Aerosmith, Cher and Ringo. Brett Hudson became a TV writer and producer working for Bravo and Court TV. Bill Hudson appeared on 3 episodes of Doogie Howser, MD, and got to sleep with Goldie Hawn, Jill St. John, Ali McGraw and Cindy Williams (Remember Laverne and Shirley?). He gave the world Oliver and Kate Hudson, but don’t blame the guy for that, he also did the 3 best episodes of Doogie Howser.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufnk9TIyJGk

The 1980 Listening Post - PM - 1:PM

 1980 Housekeeping

By Stephen Romone Lewis

PM

1:PM

Genre: New-Wave?

Rating: 4.2 out of 5

Highlights:

Madeline

Children of the Air Age

It’s like prog-rock drum God, Carl Palmer, fused Asia with The Cars. New-wave interpreted by super-competent musicians. More harmonies and soaring, intricate solos than The Cars. More riffs and singalong choruses than Asia. Songs are more complex than 80’s pop or metal, but they aren’t prog. Short and catchy. 

After Emerson Lake and Palmer broke up in ‘79, Carl Palmer may have had his heart set on some sweet, pop chart cash or maybe he just wanted a break from pretension. He put this band together by auditioning. He ended up with a bunch of names I don’t recognize: Barry Finnerty, John Nitzinger, Todd Cochran, Erik Scott. Playing is tight. Production is worse than what Carl will get accustomed to with Asia but better than almost anything else released in 1980.

Every Palmer fan must hear this at least once. I loved every single song. Some of the lyrics were cliche or dumb but that never bothers me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DcsZ4RKyog&list=PLcEHCtrzoig286U0K0nlsni9f0EJRTKLz

The 1981 Listening Post - Devo - New Traditionalists

 Devo - New Traditionalists

#382

By Stephen Romone Lewis

August 26 1981

Devo

New Traditionalists

Genre: rock, pop, dance, new wave

Allen’s rating: 3 out of 5

Stephen’s Rating: 5 out of 5

Highlights: 

Beautiful World

Through Being Cool

Jerkin’ Back ‘n’ Forth

How do you feel about sushi? 

“It’s stupid. It should have been abandoned 8 minutes after the discovery of fire!”

“I love it!”

I did an informal poll. There’s very little middle ground with sushi. One guy said he only ate it for the wasabi, but everyone else loved it or hated it. 

DEVO is aural sushi. You think they are innovative, pop wizards or novelty one-hit wonders. No center ground. Reviewing their album means that readers either have no interest or already love it. How do I feel about them? I believe they belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I love New Traditionalists, and I love sushi. I wonder if there’s a correlation. What do you think? Sushi or no sushi? Are they idiots with flowerpots on their heads or geniuses of marketing and media? 

New Traditionalists is nearly perfect. Ten songs. Thirty Four minutes. Not a second wasted. Every song got airplay or should have gotten airplay. Great for treadmill playlists, road trips, dance parties or road-trip dance-parties (give the big rig drivers something to stare at).

Side one:

First song/2nd single. “Through Being Cool” was featured in Heavy Metal. An animated DEVO performed a parody of the Star Wars cantina band while the dragonrider lady, you know the one dressed in daggers and thigh high boots, fights off handsy aliens.  

Second song/third single. “Jerkin’ Back ‘n’ Forth” I hate songs about relationships; they are whiny and selfindugent, but it’s impossible to sound whiny and robotic at the same time, so DEVO gets a pass. 

You might remember “Pity You” by Toni Basil. It’s titled “You Gotta Problem” on her Word of Mouth album. DEVO is all over that record: they played, they wrote, they engineered.

“Soft Things” is the less sexually frustrated follow-up to “Girl U Want”. “There's a certain way it shivers when she shakes… And now I'm calling out for soft things, something soft when times get hard.” Cringeworthy lyrics in the hands of most bands, but DEVO’s deadpan delivery turns it into a parody of a randy, heavy-metal tune.

LASER SOUNDS!!!! How can anyone not love LASER SOUNDS?!? The slightly ominous “Going Under” finishes the side with tons of LASER SOUNDS! See how long you can listen to it without bouncing to that bass line. 

Side Two:

“Race of Doom” deserved airplay. We sure loved apocalypse songs in the 80’s , especially if we could dance to ‘em. There are explosions scattered through the lyrics, are they nuclear bombs or “Love bombs”? Both? It doesn’t matter.

"Love Without Anger'' should have been a single. The band probably thought so too; they made a video for it. The video has a great stop motion animation scene where Barbie and Ken tear each other limb from limb. 

"The Super Thing" is the epitome of a great album track; it provides the perfect palate cleanser between the 7, up-tempo, riff-heavy, pop tunes that kick off the album and the 2 socially conscious songs that end it. It features the album's only guitar solo: a grinding, loopy, distorted melody. The lyrics are ambiguous, and the music is darker and less hooky than anything else on New Traditionalists. 

Track 9. “Beautiful World”. What band puts their best song on track 9? A band more interested in crafting a great album than promoting a single.   

New Traditionalists finishes strong! "Enough Said" is a fantasy about watching the world’s leaders slug it out in a deathmatch and you can dance to it. Flip the record over and begin again. Enough said!

https://open.spotify.com/album/69RnQKuF0WHKl2NcaB8z7t?si=r9o6CF4kTXauBecYXD0dZg

The 1981 Listening Post - Pretenders - Pretenders II

 Pretenders - Pretenders II

#362

By Stephen Romone Lewis

August 15 1981

The Pretenders

Pretenders II

Genre: 20% jangle, 10% new wave, 8% complaints, 35% rock, 13% ballad, 14% pop

Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5

Stephen’s Rating: 5 out of 5

Highlights:

Side 1

Side 2 

The question is: Why do some albums touch our souls, but others don’t?

Have you ever been in a friendly, non-threatening conversation when the other person casually, as if it isn’t unconstitutional, said that they don’t like an album that you consider a religious experience? If the album in question is by Floyd or The Beatles, legions of allies will defend your position. Strangers all over the globe will stop what they're doing and pay for plane fare to back you up. But if the cult surrounding the album is smaller, for example, if you’re the only member of the church that you attend just to preach to the choir, you have to fight alone or suffer the sacrilege in silence.

I come before you today, friends, to spread the gospel of Pretenders II. Yes, I said Pretenders II. No, I did not misspeak. Really! No, I did not mean The Pretender’s critically acclaimed, eponymous debut. Yes, I’m serious. No, I did not confuse Pretenders II with its hit-laden follow-up Learning to Crawl.  

Again I ask the question: Why do some albums touch our souls, but others don’t?

I was a convert to Pretenders II somewhere between the first needle drop and Chrissie Hynde shouting “LET’S GO!” just before my tonearm lifted up at the end of side two. I mourn that Pretenders II, the album that’s rotated on and off my desert island discs list forever, an album I’ve returned to thousands of times, sold the least of their first 4 LPs. I agree with the bulk of humanity that The Pretender’s first record is one of the greatest debut albums in rock history. I acknowledge that the divine #2 lacks the grittiness of #1 and the poppiness of #3.  So, why did only Pretenders II touch my soul?

I have many, many theories, but only two aren’t stupid.

#1 Some albums are truly divine. (I didn’t say it was a brilliant theory; I said it wasn’t stupid.)

I know the Listening Post is dedicated to rock, but one album that has never left my desert island discs list is John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme. In San Francisco, there is an actual tax-exempt church complete with a low-budget website and Facebook Live Streaming services (first Sunday of the month) that uses A Love Supreme as a hymnal. I would attend the Saint John Will-I-Am Coltrane African Orthodox Church if it wasn’t on the other side of the country and I didn’t like to sleep in on Sundays.

But what about rock albums? I can’t find any rock inspired religions, although I have no clue what started the Episcopalians; are they into The Pixies? That sounds right. 

Even if it’s wrong, doesn’t every concert feel spiritual? Thousands of voices raised together, arms raised to heaven, a frenzy of swaying and clapping. Every soul connected! The stranger next to you told you he’s a fascist whose hobbies include drowning puppies and trolling hospice workers, but he can’t be a bad guy, he knows all the words to “Call Me Maybe.” 

Haven’t you met rock prophets? That individual from the IT department who steers every conversation toward Springsteen or They Might Be Giants or King Crimson or (name of your musical obsession here). Aren’t you a rock prophet? If you are a parent and you have not used every family road trip to proselytize about (name of your musical obsession here) then someone ought to call child services.

So, maybe there aren’t any “official” rock churches but haven’t you heard/given sermons on The Clash or Synth Pop bands or Stratocaster vs Les Paul or Stevie Ray Vaughan or (name of your musical obsession here).

If there were churches dedicated to your favorite albums wouldn’t you brush your teeth before noon on Sunday for a change? I would! If there was a church for The Wall, The White Album, Alien Lanes, Surfer Rosa, Dim the Lights Chill the Ham, Close to the Edge, almost anything by They Might Be Giants or In the Court of the Crimson King, I would instantly find religion. And, if there was a church of Pretenders II, I would be genuflecting and speaking in tongues every Sunday.   

Did you forget this is a review of Pretenders II? I did. 

That brings me to my second theory on why some albums touch our souls, but others don’t.

#2 Sometimes the right person hears just the right album at just the right moment in their lives.

I was a freshman when The Pretenders put out their sophomore effort. This was their second release in less than two years. Pushed to quickly churn out anything that could ride the debut’s wave of success, Pretender II was written and recorded during heavy touring and promotion for the first album. Relentless work and coping with fame made chief pretender Chrissie Hynde confused and cranky, and that’s exactly how I felt my entire freshman year, even without record execs trying to get in my pants. She’d gone down to the crossroads and overlooked the fine print, and I was an adolescent with no responsibility and a stable home life, naturally, we both felt gobsmacked and cheated. We were emotional twinsies. That’s why I fell in love with Pretenders II.

But why should YOU love it? Did you love the debut? Well, this is the debut only better. The songwriting is more mature! The band is tighter! The music is more nuanced! It's the same great mix of new wave rockers and dreamy ballads BUT without any instrumentals! You loved their first Ray Davies cover tune (“Stop Your Sobbing”). Don’t miss the new and improved Ray Davies cover tune (“I Go to Sleep”). And EVERYBODY loved the debut’s sound! Jangle fury! Well Pretenders II is the last album recorded before cocaine divided the band between the living and rock cliches. The sweet/aggressive blend of James Honeyman-Scott’s angular chimes and Chrissie Hynde’s croon-snarls ended there. There will be no reunion tour.

Steve, are you saying Pretenders II is perfect? Yes, and if you don’t like it, well, well as Chrissie says, “I may be a skunk, but you're a piece of junk. And furthermore, I don't like your trousers. Your appalling taste in women...You're the pits of the world!”

With lyrics like that, HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE IT!?

https://open.spotify.com/album/1YjEOX1QV6k1MSy2XD8Awy?si=4TeYAxqbTp2cRLBxLFHkwg

The 1981 Listening Post - Marty Balin - Balin

 Marty Balin - Balin

#210

By Stephen Romone Lewis

May 11, 1981

Marty Balin

Balin 

Genre: Soft Rock

Allen’s rating: 2.5 out of 5

Stephen’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5 

Highlights: 

Tell Me More

Hearts

I Do Believe In You

Am I psychic? No. Well, probably not. You decide. 

What I’ve discovered writing these reviews is that they take a lot of time. Writing’s easy. Listening takes time. If I was psychic, I figured, I wouldn’t need to listen to Balin; the universe would connect me to the collective subconscious, and I wouldn't just know everything about Marty Balin; I would BE Marty Balin.

So I drank this tea my buddy Brody takes to realign his chi, and I massaged my third eye with a ball-peen hammer. When I got back from the hospital, there were Post-It Notes everywhere (And I do mean everywhere; the cat’s still skittish). I harvested the Post-Its and discovered that during the week I was unconscious, the universe and I had reviewed Marty Balin’s solo album and doodled dozens of flipbooks showing a horse doing a high dive into a bathtub (Or, if you flip it backward, a horse jumping from a bathtub to a diving board.)

I’ve included the Post-it transcription here, but because I don’t think I’m as psychic as Brody insists I am, I listened to Balin and wrote a second review unassisted by the universe. The universe’s review is in all caps, and my subsequent one isn’t. If you feel they’re similar enough, Allen could save a lot of time by letting the cosmos take over.

MARTY BALIN HAD A WONDERFUL LIFE. HIS MUSTACHE WAS MARLIN BRANDO’S MUSTACHE’S STUNT DOUBLE IN GODFATHER THREE. HE WON A GOLD MEDAL IN BALL FONDLING AT CALGARY IN ‘88 AND HE MANAGED THE BAND GROOTNA.

HIS FIRST SOLO ALBUM, BALIN, WAS DESTINED TO CLUTTER CUT-OUT BINS WHEN THE SINGLE “BITE MY HEAD OFF, WHY DON’T CHA” TOOK OFF! IT TOPPED THE ADULT CONTEMPORARY AND ARMPIT FART CHARTS FOR 6 WEEKS THANKS TO THE PUBLICITY OF NATIONWIDE PROTESTS FROM THE DECAPITATED COMMUNITY. THE HEADLESS FELT THAT THE SONG WAS CULTURALLY INSENSITIVE, DEPICTING THEM AS BRAINLESS AND LAZY BECAUSE OF THEIR HABIT OF NOT BREATHING. 

OTHER THAN THE SINGLE, WHERE BALIN’S VOCALS SOUND LIKE DONNA SUMMERS IF SHE REPLACED HER LIPS WITH LAWNMOWER BLADES, THE ALBUM PAYS HOMAGE TO THE UKRAINIAN NICKLEBACK COVER BANDS THAT FLOODED THE AIRWAVES AND THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA IN THE LATE ‘40S BY INCORPORATING SLIDE WHISTLE AND PAN FLUTE ON EVERY CHORUS. 

REQUISITE 80’S COVER: PENGUIN ATTACK BY GWAR

RATING: A MILK CARTON WITH MY FACE ON IT

 

Okay, here’s what I wrote after the hallucinations tapered off.

Marty Balin had an amazing career. He founded Jefferson Airplane, played Woodstock, was knocked out by Hell’s Angels at Altamont, wrote a rock opera, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and produced and managed the band Grootna. That turned out to be true. Weird.

Balin got into health food about the same time the rest of Jefferson Airplane got into cocaine. He left for a few years but came back to create Jefferson Starship with a few of his old bandmates. 

If you know any of Starships’ laid-back AM hits (“Miracles,” “Runaway”), then you have a good idea of what Balin, Marty’s first solo album, sounds like. It’s pleasant and listenable in a David Gates/Stevie Winwood sort of way. If you’ve been to the dentist since 1981, you’ve heard “Hearts,” the hit off this album. Dentists want us good and relaxed when their hands are in our mouths and play only the calmest retro hits. 

The band on Balin is tight. The arrangements are strong. Distorted guitar fills dance over acoustic strumming and Fender Rhodes. Yes, there’s distortion, but it’s mellow distortion. Your dentist’s fingers are safe! The singing is croontastic! Marty croons more than Tony Bennett. His diction is perfect, but his voice swoops and dives like a wasted hummingbird. 

One disappointment is that Marty, who wrote big hits for Jefferson Airplane/Starship like “Volunteers” and “With Your Love,” co-wrote only 1 of Balin’s 9 songs. The covers are all well crafted, mature examinations of personal relationships, but they are not memorable. 

Even though I can’t find anything about Balin to complain about, I gave it a 3.5 because it sounded more at home in a dentist’s office than in my den.

https://open.spotify.com/album/1qIyjl3oGyc4zBvBFFTJUu?si=5qhN0RTkQum_yzSAD0CrhA