The 1981 Listening Post - Phil Collins - Face Value

 Reviewed by John Harrington Bland

Released: February 13 1981 Phil Collins Face Value Genre: Pop? Blue-Eyed Soul? R&B Tinged Prog Rock? All Of The Above? Allen’s Rating: 5 out of 5 John’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Highlights: In The Air Tonight Behind The Lines The Roof Is Leaking Hand In Hand I Missed Again Tomorrow Never Knows Come on. Admit it. You do it. You love to do it. We all do it. I do it, I love to do it. I just did it and I'm ready to do it again, don't tell me you don't do it! I’m talking, of course, about playing air drums to ‘In the Air Tonight’, Phil Collins’s classic ode to anger, despair and frustration. Possibly the most famous drum break in modern music history (I didn’t say the BEST; I said the most famous, so back off Neil Peart and John Bonham fans). ‘In the Air Tonight’ is the opening number on ‘Face Value’, Collins’s 1981 solo debut, and one hell of a ballsy way to intro a pop album. Truth is, I was not excited about reviewing this album. I thought, ‘Ugh. Phil Collins.’ His music dominated my adolescence, along with Huey Lewis and Don Henley, forming a weird Middle-Aged White Dude Top 40 Triumvirate of the Early-Mid 1980s. I mean, I could pretty much turn on the radio in Charlotte, NC, at any time of day or night from 1982-86 -- ANY radio station, from top 40 (95.1 WROQ), adult contemporary (106.7 WBCY), AOR (99.7 WRFX ‘The Fox’), even R&B (98.1 WPEG) -- and eight times out of ten a Phil Collins song would be playing. I mean probably fucking 89.9 WDAV Fresh Air Classical would be playing Phil Collins. He was EVERYWHERE. But I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s 1981, and Phil Collins isn’t ‘PHIL COLLINS’ yet. He’s still the drummer/reluctant frontman for prog rock gods Genesis. And itching to make some hit music. And in 1981 I had just turned 13 and wasn’t into any kind of music. I mean, that year my favorite songs were probably “Elvira” by the Oak Ridge Boys and “Stars on 45” (look it up). Yeah. So… Yeah. (And yes, that was as painful to write as it probably was to read.) More truth: I’m not that much into prog rock and know mostly jack-squat about Genesis. So I’m coming at this with fresh ears. And those (gulp) 52-year-old ears say: This is a DAMN GOOD RECORD. And with the exception of some meh filler on side 2, a near masterpiece. ‘In the Air Tonight’ is iconic NOW, but it wasn’t a massive hit over here in 1981 (topped out at #19). I don’t even think I heard it until 1984, when it was used so memorably in the pilot episode of ‘Miami Vice’. (The Ferrari. The moody Michael Mann lighting. The pastels.) And then -- ‘The hurt doesn’t show, but the pain still grows, it’s no stranger to you and me. DUM-DUM, DUM-DUM, DUM-DUM, DUM-DUM! DUM-DUM!’ (And no, it’s not to be taken literally; Collins did not witness some guy drowning and refuse to help out, despite whatever urban legends you might have heard.) (Frankly, these guys say it better than I ever could: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l3-iufiywU “He dropped the beat at the END OF THE SONG!”) My other favorites are mostly on Side 1, and veer between Latin-tinged ballads (“This Must Be Love”), semi-political dirges (the Thatcher-era “The Roof is Leaking”) and an R&B instrumental (“Hand in Hand”) which allows Collins to indulge in some serious drumming. Side 2 opens with more R&B, the hit “I Missed Again”, which is still a great finger-snapping ditty. The rest of side 2 is… mostly forgettable to me, a lot of early ‘80s sax-heavy ballads, except for the prog-rock cover of the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows”. It’s weird, but I like it. I mean, looking at the album as a whole, it starts with rage and ends with a hopeful shrug. And in this day and age, that’ll work for me. All in all, I give it 4.5 stars. It would probably be 3.5 stars, but “In The Air Tonight” kicks it up another notch. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go teach my 3-year-old how to play air drums…

The 1981 Listening Post - Little River Band - Time Exposure

 Little River Band - Time Exposure

#430

By John Harrington Bland

August 1981

Little River Band

Time Exposure

Genre: Yacht Rock

Allen’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5

John’s Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Highlights:

The Night Owls

Man on Your Mind

Take it Easy on Me

Love Will Survive

(I always approach these reviews with a bit of dread… which is probably why it takes me so long to write them. Should I do an in-depth history of the band in question? Compare and contrast this record with their previous ones? Note how their styles have -- or haven’t -- changed? Where does this album fit in the general zeitgeist of 1981? Or should I just take this one record at face value, disregarding everything else, and write my gut reaction to it?) 

That being said...

Things I discovered while researching this review:

Little River Band was originally formed by (among others) Graham Goble, Glenn Shorrock and Beeb Birtles. I think Beeb Birtles is an awesome name. 

There is actually a place called ‘Little River’ outside Melbourne, Australia. None of the band members are from there, or ever lived there. They just thought it would be a cool name for a band. 

Rick Springfield played in a very early incarnation of LRB.

George Martin produced this album. 

There have been about twelve million lineup changes over the years. None of the original members are still affiliated with the band. 

An incarnation of LRB is still on the road, and will very likely be playing a state fair, bowling alley, casino resort, suburban coffee shop or corporate event near you as soon as this pandemic is over (seriously, these guys will play anywhere).

An American bassist, Wayne Nelson, joined LRB for this album. He’s still on tour with them. He sings lead on the opening song, “The Night Owls”. 

“The Night Owls” was the very first music video I ever saw. 

More information can be found here here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_River_Band. Or here: https://reallittleriverband.com/eventstour/

Now, on to the review itself: 

Ah, Yacht Rock! An entire genre of music devoted to middle-aged white guys everywhere who love to spend their leisure time on fiberglass catamarans and in cozy faux-wood-paneled ski lodges. Jazzy electric pianos. Doobie rhythms. Wry lyrics (often about how said middle-aged white guy is a ‘fool’ for ‘letting the right one go’). The Little River Band didn’t invent it, nor did they perfect it, but they’re definitely of it. 

But it’s 1981 and Yacht Rock (or soft rock as it was known then) is kinda on a downward swing. And after six years and quite a few massive hits, so is Little River Band. 

As I said above, “The Night Owls” was the very first music video I remember seeing (back when HBO, to which we had just subscribed, had thirty-minute video blocks between crappy movies), so I’ve got a soft spot for it. Not a great song but it does fill me with nostalgia. 

“Man on Your Mind” isn’t too bad either. These days it would end up on a B-list of Yacht Rock essentials.  

“Take it Easy On Me” is Yacht Rock at it’s finest. Glenn Shorrock’s baritone is in great form here, rough and bluesy, and it fits in beautifully with Nelson’s soaring tenor and the harmonizing of Goble and Birtles. I can really listen to this song over and over again. 

It goes downhill from there. Like an out-of-control skier off a double-diamond run.  

“Ballerina” is quite possibly the purest expression of yacht rock ever recorded. I don’t mean that in a good way. Our skier’s headed for some trees. 

But he regains his balance -- briefly -- on “Love Will Survive” and manages to just miss getting gored by a pine branch. He might, just might, make it to the lodge for a snifter of Chivas before hitting a communal hot tub.  

But no! He’s plummeted over a cliff and rescue patrol says there isn’t enough of him left to formally identify. It’s that bad. 

“Full Circle” is an a capella-and-snare-drum pseudophilosophical pap. Like a bad tribute to The Association. Yacht Rock does NOT do philosophy. It’s saving grace is that it’s only 1:55 long. “Just Say That You Love Me” is awful. Just terrible. One of those ‘things were so much better back in the ‘60s’ numbers. It’s so out of place I nearly yanked my headphones off in fright the first time I heard it. Screeching vocals and feedback. Yacht Rock does NOT screech. Then we’ve got something called “Suicide Boulevard”. Yacht Rock does NOT do heavy; it kills the buzz. And then the Beatles-esque weirdo “Orbit Zero” for which I blame George Martin. Not a terrible song, but it doesn’t fit with the rest of them. Okay, it’s not terrible but it’s not good either. Yacht Rock does NOT do psychedelia.

“Don’t Let the Needle Win” may be the jauntiest, jangliest, finger-snapping anthem about heroin addiction I’ve ever heard. Yacht Rock does NOT do social commentary. 

“Guiding Light” is a ballad. 

In closing, “Long Jumping Jeweller” is an upbeat, boogie-woogie tune with lyrics that make absolutely no sense. Must be an Australian thing. 

I must admit I had higher hopes for this one. These guys harmonize about as good as any band in rock history. “Take it Easy On Me” belongs in the Yacht Rock Hall of Fame (a genre which, despite my mockery, I adore unrepentantly). 

But the rest should be tossed overboard with the chum. 

https://open.spotify.com/album/76BubGTTioRfDDSyzPpnVM?si=jcjSGN9cSU-IbMRV4vfv4w

The 1981 Listening Post - Survivor - Premonition

Survivor - Premonition

#391

By John Harrington Bland

August 1981

Survivor

Premonition

Genre: Rock

Allen’s Rating: 2.5 out of 5

John’s Rating: (Jesus Christ, I don’t know how to rate this one. 

My 14-year-old self: 1 

My 53-year-old self: 3.5) 

 Highlights: 

Chevy Nights

Summer Nights

Ah, Chicago rock’n’roll. Styx. Cheap Trick (okay, Rockford). The eponymous Chicago. And… Survivor. 

To me, Survivor means one song and one song only -- 1982’s “Eye of the Tiger”, which spent 6 weeks at No. 1 in the summer of my 14th year. Also known as the theme song to “Rocky 3” (the one with Mr. T, not the one with Dolph Lundgren). Also also known as the “Montage Song” used whenever a down-and-out hero needs that overnight third-act transformation (parodied brilliantly in “Wet Hot American Summer”). 

Outside of that, I don’t know dick about them. (Funnily enough, while researching this, I discovered that they had some massive hits in the mid-80s -- “I Can’t Hold Back”, “The Search Is Over” -- that I clearly remember hearing during my high school days and nights. But I swear to God I thought those songs were done by other bands. Which is kinda the problem I have with Survivor.)

“Premonition” predates all of those hits. It was their second studio album, after 1980’s “Survivor”.  

“Chevy Nights” -- I dig this one. Nice opener. I can imagine listening to this down at the beach. Summertime song. 

“Summer Nights” -- Another summertime song, but I’ve heard this before. I thought it was Journey. 

“Poor Man’s Son” -- ‘I’m a poor man’s son/ working all night long…’ Springsteen lite with a hint of Queen. This is the song that prompted Sylvester Stallone to hire them to write the theme for his next movie (see above).  

“Runaway Lights” -- This song screams 1981. The thrumming bass they will use to greater effect on ‘Eye of the Tiger’ is a big part of this one.  

“Take You on a Saturday” -- Starts off like Kiss. Ends like Journey.

“Light of a Thousand Smiles” -- Songs with “Nights”. Songs with “Lights”. I’m beginning to see a pattern… or a songwriting limitation. This one sounds like Billy Joel with louder guitars. 

“Love is on My Side” -- Starts off like Kiss. Ends like Journey.  

“Heart’s a Lonely Hunter” -- Sounds like Styx. Keyboards and harmonies. Lead singer Dave Bickler sure can hit those high notes a la Steve Perry. (Well, sort of; he apparently got vocal nodules after “Eye of the Tiger” and was fired.)

It’s got a good beat, Dick. I can dance to it. That’s about all I can say about it. Will it get heavy rotation in my playlists? No, but a couple of the songs might pop up from time to time. It’s not bad at all; it’s just that other bands have done this stuff much, much better. 

https://open.spotify.com/album/53hOr1HyJYXXMpPYRWdDnN?si=KVct8JEnQfOgUtvxia_reg

 

The 1981 Listening Post - The Cure - Faith

The 1981 Listening Post The Cure - Faith

1981

#157

By John Bland

The Cure
Faith

Genre: Post-Punk/New Wave/Goth
Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5

John’s Rating: 4 out of 5

Highlights:
Primary
Other Voices
Doubt
The Drowning Man
Faith 

When I was in high school, I had a massive crush on a Goth girl. Being as non-Goth as it was possibly to be at the time (my sartorial preferences wavered between neo-Preppy and paleo-Preppy), I rushed to the nearest thrift store and stocked up on black overcoats, used black Doc Maartens, black sweaters, black vests, black t-shirts and assorted random accoutrements to pin on said overcoats and vests. I put on eyeliner but only ended up looking like somebody had punched me in the face twice. I slathered my hair in Dippity Do. I moped around. I freaked the fuck out of my parents. 

I bought a couple Cure cassettes, and pretended to know what they were singing about. 

Goth Girl ended up dating somebody on the football team. (I mean, what the fuck!?) I went back to my Preppy ways and abandoned any pretenses of melancholy. Well, until I got to college and took a poetry class. 

‘Faith’ is a pretty depressing album... and much, much too short. It’s really good, but it is not Music To Play in The Middle of a Pandemic. If my high school self had really listened to this, I mean, REALLY listened to it, and not just flashed around copies of the cassette so a certain girl would THINK I’d listened to it... well, actually I’m glad I didn’t, because high school was depressing enough as it was. 

https://open.spotify.com/album/1qL9O6xT5zW2h4JtWaT2us?si=j_Apo16KT7Kco4LT63AsPw

The 1981 Listening Post - Phil Collins - Face Value

 Phil Collins - Face Value

#74

By John Bland

February 13 1981

Phil Collins

Face Value

Genre: Pop? Blue-eyed Soul? R&B tinged Prog Rock? All of the above?

Allen’s Rating: 5 out of 5

John’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Highlights:

In the Air Tonight

Behind the Lines

The Roof is Leaking

Hand in Hand

I Missed Again

Tomorrow Never Knows

Come on. Admit it. You do it. You love to do it. We all do it. I do it, I love to do it. I just did it and I'm ready to do it again, don't tell me you don't do it!

I’m talking, of course, about playing air drums to ‘In the Air Tonight’, Phil Collins’s classic ode to anger, despair and frustration. Possibly the most famous drum break in modern music history (I didn’t say the BEST; I said the most famous, so back off Neil Peart and John Bonham fans). ‘In the Air Tonight’ is the opening number on ‘Face Value’, Collins’s 1981 solo debut, and one hell of a ballsy way to intro a pop album.

Truth is, I was not excited about reviewing this album. I thought, ‘Ugh. Phil Collins.’ His music dominated my adolescence, along with Huey Lewis and Don Henley, forming a weird Middle-Aged White Dude Top 40 Triumvirate of the Early-Mid 1980s. I mean, I could pretty much turn on the radio in Charlotte, NC, at any time of day or night from 1982-86 -- ANY radio station, from top 40 (95.1 WROQ), adult contemporary (106.7 WBCY), AOR (99.7 WRFX ‘The Fox’), even R&B (98.1 WPEG) -- and eight times out of ten a Phil Collins song would be playing. I mean probably fucking 89.9 WDAV Fresh Air Classical would be playing Phil Collins. He was EVERYWHERE.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s 1981, and Phil Collins isn’t ‘PHIL COLLINS’ yet. He’s still the drummer/reluctant frontman for prog rock gods Genesis. And itching to make some hit music. And in 1981 I had just turned 13 and wasn’t into any kind of music. I mean, that year my favorite songs were probably “Elvira” by the Oak Ridge Boys and “Stars on 45” (look it up). Yeah. So… Yeah. (And yes, that was as painful to write as it probably was to read.)

More truth:  I’m not that much into prog rock and know mostly jack-squat about Genesis. So I’m coming at this with fresh ears.

And those (gulp) 52-year-old ears say: This is a DAMN GOOD RECORD. And with the exception of some meh filler on side 2, a near masterpiece.

‘In the Air Tonight’ is iconic NOW, but it wasn’t a massive hit over here in 1981 (topped out at #19). I don’t even think I heard it until 1984, when it was used so memorably in the pilot episode of ‘Miami Vice’. (The Ferrari. The moody Michael Mann lighting. The pastels.) And then -- ‘The hurt doesn’t show, but the pain still grows, it’s no stranger to you and me. DUM-DUM, DUM-DUM, DUM-DUM, DUM-DUM! DUM-DUM!’ (And no, it’s not to be taken literally; Collins did not witness some guy drowning and refuse to help out, despite whatever urban legends you might have heard.)

(Frankly, these guys say it better than I ever could:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l3-iufiywU

“He dropped the beat at the END OF THE SONG!”)

My other favorites are mostly on Side 1, and veer between Latin-tinged ballads (“This Must Be Love”), semi-political dirges (the Thatcher-era “The Roof is Leaking”) and an R&B instrumental (“Hand in Hand”) which allows Collins to indulge in some serious drumming.

Side 2 opens with more R&B, the hit “I Missed Again”, which is still a great finger-snapping ditty. The rest of side 2 is… mostly forgettable to me, a lot of early ‘80s sax-heavy ballads, except for the prog-rock cover of the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows”. It’s weird, but I like it. I mean, looking at the album as a whole, it starts with rage and ends with a hopeful shrug.

And in this day and age, that’ll work for me.

All in all, I give it 4.5 stars. It would probably be 3.5 stars, but “In The Air Tonight” kicks it up another notch.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go teach my 3-year-old how to play air drums…

https://open.spotify.com/album/7gUgpwRHL95RLPi2WmqxgU?si=pTah4j0TTVmeHtCi-ErUQg