The 1981 Listening Post - Robin Lane and the Chartbusters - Imitation Life

Robin Lane and the Chartbusters - Imitation Life #144 April 21 1981 Robin Lane and the Chartbusters Imitation Life Genre: Rock 2 out of 5 Assignment: Write 100 words on a Robin Lane and the Chartbusters album “Will you pay me for it?” No. “Will I be able to point to your site as a reference for my CV?” Nah, we’re Facebook. However… “Yes?!?” You may cross post it on your blog. “My…blog?” Yes. “The one I started a decade ago when Blogs were a thing and is now only frequented by bots that crawl the internet for search engines?” Yeah. That one. “Sigh…ok. But only because I need to stretch my writing muscle and I have no patience to do any long form writing.” Whatever. We don’t care. 100 words. Go. Robin doesn’t write good songs. Her voice is distancing. The band is uninteresting. She sounds like she wants to be every other woman led band from Pretenders to Go-Gos and falls short on all of them. Done. https://music.apple.com/us/album/many-years-ago-complete-robin-lane-chartbusters-album/1465207251 Songs 12-21 on this comp.

The 1980 Listening Post - Robin Lane and the Chartbusters - Robin Lane and the Chartbusters

 Robin Lane and the Chartbusters - Robin Lane and the Chartbusters

#330

1980 Housekeeping

Robin Lane and the Chartbusters

Robin Lane and the Chartbusters

Genre: Power Pop/Rock

2.25 out of 5

I’d heard the name “Robin Lane and the Chartbusters” for decades. But, honestly, hand to Sky Daddy, I thought Robin was a guy’s name. Like Robin Gibb. Robin and Batman. I had no idea it was a female fronted project. Who sounds a bit like Christine McVie & Exene Cervenka. 

I don’t know why on earth someone made the decision to open this thing with that mid-tempo non ballad that belongs in the middle of the record. 

Okay, whatever, it’ll pick up. Right?

Ugh, this really doesn’t. Not until “I Don’t Wanna Know” does it show a sign of life, but that’s all the way at the END of Side One! Why not open the record with your barn burner? Even if it’s a pedestrian piece of programming. Sheesh. 

Side Two opens with at least more energy but, let’s be honest, Robin is busting any charts. Not only had the industry moved on from this sound but she’s not good at it, the songs are dull and she is as uninviting a singer as I’ve heard. 

Meh.

The album is the first 11 terrible tracks here:

https://music.apple.com/us/album/many-years-ago-complete-robin-lane-chartbusters-album/1465207251