The 1981 Listening Post - Heaven 17 - Penthouses and Pavement

 Heaven 17 - Penthouses and Pavement

#412

By Steve Caisse

September 1981

Heaven 17

Penthouse and Pavement

Genre: Cold War Synth Pop

Allen’s rating: 2.5 out of 5

Steve’s Rating: 2 out of 5

Highlights: None

The ‘80s gave us a bunch of “number bands” – Haircut 100, UB40, Level 42, and Heaven 17.   I associate them with changing the channel from MTV to something else whenever they came on.  And our family was late to the TV remote world so this meant getting off the sofa.  I’m a classic rock guitar guy and this music did nothing for me.  You couldn’t bang your head to it and I was instantly distrustful of bands with the new look - slick colorful tailored suits and smartly moussed haircuts. I’ve come around to some of it, but for the most part it’s still a genre I move on from whenever I’m confronted with it.

Heaven 17 formed after the Human League traded two guys out for two ladies. The two castaways, Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware, recruited Glenn Gregory as their vocalist for the new venture.   “Penthouse and Pavement” is their debut and it is song after song of layered synthesizers, drum machines and repetitive, talky vocals.  A thick British accented talky vocal with a hint of faux melodrama to boot.  But that faux melodrama, mostly espousing a left-wing political view, is the only human element in an otherwise cold dehumanized pop soundscape.  They are smart enough to hammer home some catchy hooks, but the verses don’t set themselves apart from choruses and, ultimately, the songs don’t set themselves apart from each other. As you move through the album you don’t tap your feet as much as your head throbs to the beat.

The album did have a minor hit called “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang”.  If this is what the Antifa of the day was using to rally the troops it’s not a surprise that fascism had a foothold in England for as long as it did.  But if you still pine for the days to raise your warm ale and rail against Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan this cheesy electro-groove might be for you. The song was banned by the BBC, a distinction a lot of bands wanted as a badge of honor.  

Anyway I’m not going to belabor this review. The sound is dated and I want to believe anyone who might have cared about this for a few minutes in 1981 would never want to hear it again.  Of course, I would be wrong, as the band still actively tours in the UK.   Still, I don’t understand what there is to like here.  There is nothing I want to listen to ever again, and there is certainly nothing I want to recommend other than some Extra Strength Excedrin.

https://open.spotify.com/album/662vZghUEjQCywafYimHtK?si=L4I5ECAmSaaxShhKDu-oWg

The 1981 Listening Post - Mick Fleetwood - The Visitor

Mick Fleetwood - The Visitor 

#260

By Steve Caisse

June 1981

Mick Fleetwood

The Visitor

Genre: Partly African World Beat – Partly Not

Allen’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Steve’s Rating: 3 out of 5

Highlights: 

Rattlesnake Shake

Superfluous cover: Not Fade Away

Confession: Mick Fleetwood is one of my favorite drummers. Maybe #2 after some guy named Ringo.  I’m as tired of all those Fleetwood Mac hits as the next guy, but I’ve always thought the best thing about them are the drums.  The way Mick shifts the snare drum location in “Rhiannon”, the tom work in “Go Your Own Way”, the brush work on “Sara”, or that lazy hypnotic groove on “Dreams” – to name a few.  I like the sound of them and how they fit into the mix - some of which can be attributed to Sound City recording studios.  When we talk about all those great British Invasion drummers – Ringo, Charlie, Bonham, Moon, Baker – Mick doesn’t usually enter the conversation.  That’s too bad, because he has a distinct sound going all the way back to “Albatross”, “Rattlesnake Shake”, “Oh Well” and “World Turning”. He always brings exactly what is needed for each song, yet makes it a bit unique, too.  That in itself is an underrated talent.  

Anyway, that brings us to this curiosity.  Why, after three monster albums with his namesake band, did he need to put out a solo album?  The album was recorded in Ghana and Mick indulges himself with a variety of local musicians.  I’m assuming Mick considers himself “The Visitor”, so hence the album title.  It’s also a hodgepodge of styles with a rotating band of old pals to fill out the sound.  Mick has the rolodex, so the players are no slouches.  There is nothing that would be an obvious fit for radio or even MTV, but I suspect that Mick didn’t care. He is scratching an itch and when you are Mick Fleetwood, you can do that.  

The album opens with an awesome recut of a 1969 Fleetwood Mac classic “Rattlesnake Snake”, complete with Peter Green on guitar and vocals. It’s stays quite true to the original with a smoking drum track, and Green (listed as Greenbaum on the album) brings his typical brilliance.  It’s the only thing on the album really worth checking out and worth cranking up.  It’s also a head fake since the rest of the album is nothing like it .

Three songs are straight-up West African pieces – and one is a bit of a Issac Hayes style funk marching band instrumental that sounds like a “Tusk” outtake that was repurposed.  And speaking of “Tusk”, there is “Walk A Thin Line”, a Lindsey Buckingham song from that album that features George Harrison’s unmistakable slide guitar and background vocals.  That makes it notable, but it’s not that great.  I love me some George Harrison, but I prefer the “Tusk” version.   There is also a version of “Not Fade Away” complete with African percussionists and background vocals, but it still doesn’t sound like anything new is added and wouldn’t rank in the top 1,000 of covers of this song.  

If I had to guess, Mick really wanted to go full on with the West African world beat thing for the whole album but got talked out of it by the higher-ups at the label.   That’s a shame, because that’s where his heart is.  I was left wishing he was allowed to pursue that further and the Brits meets Ghana combination was more fully synthesized over the course of the whole album – an approach Paul Simon would perfect in South Africa a few years later.  Instead each song is usually titled towards one style or the other - or just not fully realized.  Still, points for stepping away from his pop fame, giving this music a wider audience and showcasing a different side of his talents. 

https://open.spotify.com/album/2Dvv9d8BmCYBUrHKIbG8e2?si=oEgwcSNBQT6Xp3eGpg6NMQ

The 1981 Listening Post - Karla DeVito - Is This a Cool World or What?

 Karla DeVito - Is This a Cool World or What?

#178

By Steve Caisse

May 1, 1981

Karla DeVito

Is This A Cool World Or What?

Allen’s Rating: 3 out of 5

Steve’s Rating: 3 out of 5

Genre: New Wavish Pop Musical

https://open.spotify.com/album/13IR5zu5JFoXzbOD1Wicpw?si=9TdQFw7vSZSzz4YhryZx3g

Highlights:

Heaven Can Wait

One odd thing I’ve always been fascinated with is the 1972 Toronto production of the musical “Godspell”. One

reason is because my mother was in a community theater production the musical in the late 70s and it’s a bit of

soundtrack to my childhood. Another is because I’ve played in the pit band for couple productions of it myself.

But the third has to do with how many in the 1972 Toronto production would become big stars: Gilder Radner,

Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Victor Garber, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas and even the musical director - Paul

Shaffer. This group would then move on to Second City and many of the best comedy movies of the next (going

on) 50 years. Another person who has a “Godspell” to Second City story is Karla DeVito. She was with the 1972

Chicago touring group and would then do a short stint in the Chicago Second City group that included Bill Murray.

But I guess improv wasn’t her thing and she’d find herself in the Broadway touring group for “Hair” before landing

in Meat Loaf’s back-up band for his “Bat Out Of Hell” tour in 1977. She is famously in the “Paradise By The

Dashboard Light” video lip-synching to Ellen Foley’s vocals. There is a great live version of that song with DeVito

from the Old Grey Whistle Test that I’ll link to at the bottom. She is the best thing about the performance and her

theater days serve her well.

Anyway – I wrote all of that because it is WAY more interesting than this album. I mean the songs are OK enough,

the production is actually fantastic, and DeVito can belt out a tune with the best of them. It has a couple of

straight-up pop numbers that were meticulously constructed in a laboratory so they would get radio play, but it’s

also got this weird musical theater vibe that makes it sound like a soundtrack of a stage production and these

songs are in the show. I’m guessing that Broadway singing approach is just who she is, so each song has a bit of

added drama to it. 

She toured the album and got opening slots with Hall & Oates and Rick Springfield – who were

as big as they ever were in 1981. The band on the album includes G.E. Smith, Anton Fig, Paul Schaffer and a long

list of regular studio cats. It still went straight to the cut-out bin. It took five more years before she released the

overproduced “Wake 'Em Up in Tokyo” album – with songs written by her husband Robbie Benson. 

The song “WeAre Not Alone” is known for the dance scene in the “The Breakfast Club”- but it’s still pretty forgettable anyway.

Not much to say about any individual songs on this album other than she sings the hell out of Meat Loaf’s sappy

“Heaven Can Wait” from Bat Out Of Hell. 

The song “Bloddy Bess” goes full rock musical. 

There are more cover songs including “Midnight Confession”, “Almost Saturday Night”, and Randy Newman’s “Just One Smile.

If you like the bombastic, over-produced, theater side of pop rock – like Mr. Loaf, maybe this is something you

might want to check out. Or, since you’ve probably never heard of it before, just skip it and keep it that way.

“Paradise by the Dashboard Light” (Old Grey Whistle Test – 1978)

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ugvzn

The 1981 Listening Post - The dB's - Stands for Decibels

The dB's - Stands for Decibels 

#17

By Steve Caisse

January 1981

The dB’s

Stands For Decibels

Genre: Power Pop

Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5

Steve’s rating: 4.25 out of 5

Highlights:

Black and White

Big Brown Eyes

Bad Reputation

There are a handful of bands that while they may not have moved many units, or became household names, leave a lasting mark on the music scene just the same.  One of those bands is Big Star, who would lay the groundwork for late ‘70s power pop and early ‘90s indie rock.  One band you can directly connect to them is The dBs – another band whose influence would outsize their wallets.  The dBs will then connect you to REM – who would be a wee bit influential themselves.  That jangle may originate in the pubs of Liverpool but the American version grew up between Memphis and Winston-Salem before moving to Athens, GA.

Hailing from Winston-Salem, NC (by way of New York) – the classic form of the group was only around for a few years and two albums.  The group had two distinct songwriters in Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple.  Hosapple, also known for being in REM’s touring band in the late’80s, tends to write the straight-ahead rock tunes, while Stamey (formerly of Sneakers) takes his arrangements on interesting journeys through ‘60s psychedelia.  The end result is an album that covers a lot of sonic territory but stays true to being hook-laden garage pop.   If there is one complaint, the vocals are on the nasal side, and there are plenty of notes that would never survive in the current Autotune era.  

The opening track “Black And White” is certified power pop classic that as all the elements that define the sound.  Plenty of Rickenbacker jangle with arranging that continually keeps you on your toes.  

“Big Brown Eyes”: Everything you are looking for in a power pop song.   I’m surprised this one hasn’t been covered by someone.  Rick Springfield could have taken this all the way up the charts. 

“Bad Reputation”: No, not the Joan Jett tune, but if you are a fan of early REM – the influence this song had on the band will be obvious.  

“She’s Not Worried”:  A collage of ‘60s psychedelia with a heavy Pet Sounds vibe, but with plenty of mid-Beatles weirdness, too – like the backwards piano solo.  If this is your thing, don’t miss out on giving this song a spin.  XTC will take some what is here and run with in a few years later. 

Overall, this is a strange little album and a lost classic. The band is not shy about their influences, but they are also pushing the envelope and creating something quite new from the tools of their predecessors.  The production is pretty barebones, but the song arranging is as inventive as anything a four-piece is putting out at this time.  Truth is, while the songs are quite good, they are not 1980 radio friendly.  Part of that makes them special – most of it means that they’d have a tough time continuing to have a recording contract. Ultimately, that was their fate.   In the end, it’s another band that deserved better.  At least we have all the other bands that were aware of that.   

https://open.spotify.com/album/0eZNXtJQgAt61MTRm2I8NL?si=zaEnbF5dRsGLC5yFhjV6Hg

The 1980 Listening Post - Quartz - Steve Caisse

 Quartz - Steve Caisse

#304

by Steve Caisse

May 1980

Quartz

Stand Up And Fight

Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5

Steve’s Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Genre: ‘70s Hard Rock wants to be NWOBHM

Highlights:

Can’t Say No To You (for the wrong reasons)

Quartz, a band I had never heard of, formed back in Birmingham, England in 1974 under the unfortunate name of Bandy Legs.  After touring with Black Sabbath, guitarist Tony Iommi produced their debut album under the new name of Quartz in 1977.  They continued to be an opening act for various big names through the rest of the ‘70s.

For “Stand Up And Fight”, their second album, you hear a band that is trying to catch onto what would be called the “New Wave of British Heavy Metal”.  And this makes sense – they are from the birthplace of that movement and it’s probably a good career move if you want to stay on the road as an opening act.  The problem is they have been at this too long and are struggling to sound “new”.  What you get is a band that is playing ‘70s hard rock – with some heavy metal rhythm section underneath.  That’s a combination that could work, but instead you get and band that isn’t playing either genre all that well so it’s twice the mess.   On quite a few tunes it was really hard to resist thinking about “Spinal Tap” – which would hit the theaters two years later. 

As for some of the songs: “Can’t Say No To You”, written to be radio friendly, is a blatant a rip-off off Boston’s “Long Time” (minus the Foreplay).   Why the perpetually litigious Tom Scholz didn’t go after them is a mystery.  They even throw in some harmony guitar for good measure.  Maybe he felt sorry for them.   “Charlie Snow” is about cocaine – so they checked that box. It has a distinct “Smoke On The Water” vibe.   “Wildfire” is about marijuana, so they checked that box, too. Most of that song is an inverted “Cat Scratch Fever” riff played ad infinitum.  

Production is standard fare for the genre but the vocals are either horribly recorded and mixed - or the singer is just naturally unintelligible.   The band only lasted a few more years; maybe he found a second career announcing stops on the Underground.  There are plenty of long heavy metal guitar solos as most songs blow by the 4-min mark, but nothing that makes you perk your ears up.   Arranging isn’t bad as the band does try to take the songs to different places. The two lead guitarists work well together.

I should mention that the album cover art is a Molly Hatchet meets Bat Out Of Hell thing depicting a dude in metal jock-strap holding a shield and mace ball whip.   Because of the music genre, I think that is supposed to award it an extra point.

So, nothing memorable here – just a band that can’t be what it was and unable to be want it needs to be.  Not exactly the recipe for a lasting musical career.   

https://open.spotify.com/album/0HqjoepUbR2OFNfLSccTGZ?si=whl2Ei_qTcK7UHAfbXByBA