The 1982 Listening Post - Dire Straits - Love Over Gold

 Reviewed by Timothy Sprague

Released: September 24 1982 Dire Straits Love Over Gold Genre: Classic Rock Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5 Tim’s Rating: 5 out of 5 Highlights: Telegraph Road Private Investigations Industrial Disease Love Over Gold It Never Rains It’s been too long since I have revisited Mark Knopfler’s simply wonderful guitar playing, which I pretty much took for granted during the 1980s because Dire Straits were such an AOR mainstay. His unmistakable sound really hits the spot when you need a strong dose of masterful git-picking and Love Over Gold does not disappoint. As I started work on this review I was listening to the album on YouTube but that was just not doing it justice, so I purchased a proper copy on the iTunes store. If that can be considered “proper.” Truth be told I am running out of shelf space for records and CDs so have gone digital with a lot of purchases and I’m not a fan of streaming services. Being assigned to review this album was a good excuse to fork over $9.99 for a Dire Straits album for the first time since I purchased Brothers In Arms in high school, one of the first clear cassettes I ever owned. It seemed really futuristic at the time. The magnum opus Telegraph Road gets things underway, clocking in at just over 14 minutes with layered piano and organ creating a sumptuous backdrop for Knopfler’s raspy storytelling. He lets if fly on his Shecter Strat to magnificent effect and the song feels like it ends too soon, despite it’s length. Private Investigations follows and Mark gets a chance to show off his acoustic prowess for a bit before the album’s hit Industrial Disease. This song always put a smile on my face when it would come on the radio and features another signature Dire Straits sound, the whirling organ of Alan Clark. Clark is no slouch as a musician himself and has an extensive list of credits that includes playing on albums by Bob Dylan, Phil Collins, Pet Shop Boys, Al Green, Jon Anderson and Lou Reed, as well as arranging Tina Turner’s smash hit Private Dancer, written by Knopfler for this album but left unused because he thought it needed a woman’s voice instead of his. Knofler’s production throughout this album is top notch with great little touches like the vibes on the title track. Full disclosure … I loves me some vibes! Another long track, It Never Rains, closes out the album and, as it finishes, I get a little sad that it’s only 41 minutes long. They truly do not make ‘em like this any more. Love Over Gold is a testament to the craftsmanship that bands used to put into their albums. Yes, I know I sound like a fossil but is there a young guitarist out there who even comes close to what we hear on this record? It makes me long for the lost days when being good at playing an instrument was more admired than how many tattoos a musician has. The grace. The subtlety. Attenton to detail. Dynamics. Love Over Gold has all of them in spades. I just can’t find anything I don’t like about this one. Damn it! Now I gotta buy the rest of the DS catalog at the iTunes store. At least I don’t have to get in the car to purchase music these days, so there’s that.

The 1981 Listening Post - Snowy Red - Snowy Red

 Reviewed by Timothy Sprague

Released: January 1981 Snowy Red Snowy Red Genre: Electronic New Wave Rating: 1.5 out of 5 Highlights: Maud Is Dead (Just for the title. The song sounds exactly like everything else on the album.) Blood Blood Blood Here is what it says on Discogs … "Snowy Red was the one-man electronic band of the former Chainsaw bassist, Micky Mike. With the "Vision" LP and some tracks on the "The Beat Is Over" LP, Snowy Red was, for a brief moment only, a band. After the Belgian New Beat boom, Snowy Red called it quits and Micky Mike disappeared, only for the band to resurface again in 2004 as a duo (with guitarist Didier Retelet) at the Belgian Independent Music festival." I would describe this music as a mash-up of Tones on Tail, Gary Numan, Alien Sex Fiend and the XTC album Go 2. It actually sounds fairly ahead of its time and you could fool me into thinking this album came out more recently. The vibe is right at home with other repetitive techno music like Squarepusher and Aphex Twin but the echo-y monotone vocals give it away as vintage New Wave. Three tracks in and I can tell this one is going to be an endurance test. Each track consists of an electronic beat and one synthesizer riff repeated over and over again, while Micky Mike spouts a bunch of nonsense over the top. Remember the movie Liquid Sky? The characters in that film probably enjoyed this a lot when it came out. Everyone else? Not so much apparently. There is still a Snowy Red official Facebook page with very few posts. The latest is from May, 2019 - a note from his son or daughter commemorating his his birthday 10 years after his death. I see comments and replies in different languages calling him a genius so this is apparently another case of us Americans just not "getting it.” One of my criteria for judging music is whether it sounds like something I could have done in my spare time. If it seems like I would be able to do the same thing with my limited musical talents, it probably isn’t very good. And Snowy Red surely falls into that category. I have a synthesizer and Garage Band so I imagine I could whip up something very similar to this album over a weekend with enough beer and weed consumed. My 1.5 rating is a little generous just because this sounds like the other (much more interesting) bands I mentioned above so it’s not completely irritating but I have no plans to explore Snowy Red any further once I am done writing this review. Blood Blood Blood is the only song I might want to hear again. “Blood blood blood on your bed. Die die die crush your head…” That’s a tune I can easily see on one of my mix tapes from high school. Other than that, my recommendation is to skip this album.

The 1981 Listening Post - Genesis - Abacab

Genesis - Abacab 

#424

By Timothy Sprague

September 1981

Genesis

ABACAB

Genre: Pop Prog

Allen’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Tim’s rating: 3.5 out of 5

There is no more evil synthesizer solo in the annals of popular music than the one that Tony Banks crafted for the title song of the 11th studio album by Genesis. It will make your teeth rattle if turned up to the proper volume.  The song’s lyrics are such a weird jumble that Phil Collins refused to play it the last time that Genesis toured, saying he had no idea what it was about.  Really Phil?  Who gives a damn?  The song is one of the best examples of just how good the trio could be when they wanted to shake the rafters of an arena full of adoring fans.  Phil sure sounds angry about something, which is when he is at his best.  But all the snarling bravado is immediately tempered by the next song, No Reply At All.  By this time, the band had made a conscious decision to attempt to appeal to more than just their loyal cult following, although they did have quite poppy songs like Follow You Follow Me and Misunderstanding on their previous two albums, And Then There Were Three and Duke.  But those albums still retained many of the elements that appealed to their base - long tracks, plenty of instrumental passages and concepty headphone-music lyrics.  Abacab featured 9 separate songs, none of them longer than 7 minutes, 30 seconds.  But they were still a respectable rock band, not yet reduced to the top-40 pandering that was to come with Invisible Touch in 1986.  No Reply At All got a lot of radio airplay but still includes some interesting and complex horn and keyboard interplay.  It sounds kind of like maybe they had been listening to a lot of early Chicago albums at the time and wanted to give it a go.  

Me and Sarah Jane comes next and I always forget that this song is on Abacab not Duke.  It sounds exactly like Duke.  Once again, it’s very accessible but still has the signature elements that make it a Genesis song - lots of keyboards and soaring ethereal guitar sounds by Mike Rutherford, kind of mimicking the type of thing Steve Hackett did before he moved on from the group.  The Roland drum machine that was used to great effect on Duke also makes another appearance.  Side one ends with Keep It Dark, featuring a proggy jazz-fusiony riff and a really cool metallic clanking drum break to keep the older fans interested.  Collins’ voice gets a good falsetto workout on this one and is a reminder of just how good his voice can be.  I only wish that Genesis would have kept it darker in subsequent years.  

Side Two kicks off with Dodo and Lurker, the most progressive rock tunes on the album.  They are listed as separate tracks on the original LP but are really two parts of the same song.  Tony Banks shines through once again on keyboards. There are some interesting twists and turns and Collins once again gets into Evil Phil mode behind the mic. His drumming is top notch, as always, and he really gets to pound away on this one. Who Dunnit continues the intensity and is another good example of how the band managed to balance weird arrangements with pop sensibilities.  Roland the drum machine (as he was referred to on the Duke tour) makes another appearance on the next track, the haunting and melancholy Man On The Corner.  The minimal style of the production works great and features some of the same elements that made In the Air Tonight so creepy.  After that… there are a couple more songs that are utterly forgettable.  I am a huge Genesis fan but, if you put a gun to my head and told me to name the last two songs on this album without looking at the cover, I would draw a complete blank.  Like It Or Not sounds a lot like And Then There Were Three, which I rarely listen to.  It’s a Mike Rutherford composition, which may explain the blandness.  Tony Banks does break out an old keyboard sound from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway but that’s about the only positive thing I can say about it.  Another Record closes out the album in nondescript fashion.  They recorded Paperlate during the same sessions and released it on an EP following Abacab.  It’s not their greatest work but would have been a lot better than ending the album with this clunker.  

And, because this is the Listening Post, here is my little personal anecdote.  I was and still am a major fan on Gabriel-era Genesis but also enjoyed albums like Abacab and Genesis.  Being too young to attend many concerts when those albums came out, I was kind of excited that they were touring in support of Invisible Touch.  But the god-awful title track was a turn-off and I did not make it a priority to get tickets for their show at the Worcester Centrum in Worcester, MA.  As the date of the show approached, I started to regret not buying tickets, especially because the audience was going to be full of people who had never even heard of the band until recently.  So, I got myself a seat on the Concert Coach, a bus that would take fans from Boston out to Worcester for all the shows that were happening out there at the time.  The Boston Garden was no longer the main venue that popular bands played and you had to drag yourself all the way out to Worcester if you wanted to see Peter Gabriel, Jethro Tull, U2, Prince, REM, Rush and any other band that could sell out an arena.  I got out to Worcester and started asking around outside the venue if anyone had a ticket.  And I found one!  For the ungodly sum of $40.00!!!  I felt so irresponsible that I had spent a whopping 40 bucks just to see a rock show.  The concert was great and the only time I sat on my hands was during some of the crappier material from the new album.  The only other time I got to see them was at the Hollywood Bowl in 2007 in the pouring rain.  It was such a torrential downpour by the end of the show that they stopped and didn’t play all the encores.  And, unfortunately, no ABACAB because Phil didn’t understand what he was singing about.  What a shame.

https://open.spotify.com/album/6KSLVAuJx6hWsYEk005uZj?si=bf_bzat6StCKqYz7INrKgA

The 1981 Listening Post - Sparks - Whomp That Sucker

 Sparks - Whomp That Sucker

#347

By Timothy Sprague

Sparks

Whomp That Sucker

Genre: Sparks

Allen’s Rating: 3 out of 5

Tim’s Rating: 4.5/5

There are two things required in order to appreciate Sparks… One, a sense of humor.  And two, a high tolerance for multi-tracked falsetto vocals.  Now, before anyone starts making the usual Queen comparisons, let it be said that the first album by Halfnelson, re-released a year later under the new name Sparks, was released in 1971, while Queen’s first album did not hit record stores until 1973.  Halfnelson/Sparks was produced by wunderkind Todd Rundgren and launched brothers Ron and Russell Mael to European stardom and relative obscurity in the US until New Wave came along and finally provided the kind of American audience that would enjoy their quirky sound and offbeat lyrics.  One of those kids was me. 

Whomp That Sucker starts out funny from the first time you lay eyes on the album cover.  Older brother Ron has knocked out his pretty boy kid brother Russell in the boxing ring and stands with his arms raised in triumph.  And both of them look like geeks.  The album is a return to the guitar-driven glam sound that made them a hit in England and Europe in the 70s, after recording two synth-heavy albums produced by Giorgio Moroder that horrified some longtime fans and delighted a new generation of younger listeners.  Tips For Teens comes first, with Sparks imparting their wisdom to “turn up the music and say you’re too sick to go to work.”  This song epitomizes my discovery of New Wave music in 1981 as an impressionable 13-year-old. Somebody had it on a compilation album from the time and it sounded dirty because “tips” kind of sounds like “tits.”  Funny Face comes next, another classic Sparks tune that is still making me laugh as I write this review and listen to the album.  Russell sounds like he is doing a duet with himself while also providing the greek chorus backing vocals to a story about a man so handsome he can’t stand it and jumps off a bridge to injure his beautiful face on purpose.  “I got my one request… I got my Funny Face.”  The next track, Where’s My Girl, appears to be about a stalker tracking down his “girl.”  Humorous but actually quite creepy when you pay close attention to the lyrics.  “Where’s my girl… I’m calmer now… I want her now” Russell pleads.  The dancey tempos and high energy arrangements continue with Upstairs, about what goes on between our ears, and I Married a Martian to close out side one. The latter is by far the most overtly silly song that Ron Mael has ever written in this reviewer’s estimation.  Even if you have not heard the song, you get the idea.  “I married a Martian, and boy am I sorry…”. To this day, it never ceases to bring a smile to my face. 

On to side two and the chuckles continue with The Willys, also a rather silly tune.  “We know whatcha got boy… they call it the Willyyyyyyyysss…”. If all this sounds like novelty music I won’t argue with you but so what?  Novelty is one of my favorite qualities in life. And if you can dance to it, even better.  Don’t Shoot Me is the next track and not really one of Sparks’ better efforts but does have some tasty low end synth riffs that are notable.  Suzie Safety follows, also just kind of lighthearted filler but presents another humorous character from Ron Mael’s imagination who won’t stop nagging everybody to follow safety rules.  Ron digs in to his love of Operetta style songwriting and obsession with icey European women once again on the next song, That’s Not Nastassia.  (This one sounds exactly like it could have been on Halfnelson or their second album A Woofer In Tweeter’s Clothing.) Wacky Women closes out the album on a note of crazed abandon, celebrating all the crazy chicks in the world.  It’s a great ride from start to finish.  

One of the things I love about Sparks is that their style and lyrical content have been consistent for fifty years.  You can mix songs from this album with all of their previous and subsequent work, including their 2020 release A Steady Drip Drip Drip, and it all sounds like one big long album.  Ron and Russell create music about the same obsessions they had when they left Los Angeles in the late 60s to try their luck at being a rock band in England.  The yearning to be admired by women, the insecurity, the dorkiness, the crazy characters, the zaniness, the intellectual references and the just overall goddamn joie de vivre persist through it all.  Ronald Mael has written a catalog of songs that rivals (some, like me, might say eclipses) any of the great songwriting masters over the years, from Irving Berlin to Paul Simon to Woody Guthrie to Burt Bacharach to George M. Cohan to Weber & Rice, Gilbert & Sullivan, Lennon & McCartney or Rodgers & Hammerstein. I am probably being hyperbolic about The Beatles, but the man is prolific and we are better off as a society because of it.  I don’t want to live in a world without Sparks.  

No Listening Post review is complete without personal anecdotes so here are a couple of mine about Sparks. I have been lucky enough to see them multiple times in Los Angeles, usually the only American city where they have played in over 20 years.  They tour in Europe but only play shows in their hometown rather than tour the rest of the US, except for the Two Hands One Mouth tour with no backing band in 2013.  The first time they had played in the US since the 80s was at the Key Club on the Sunset Strip in November, 1998. (The club was previously Gazzarri’s of hair metal fame.) So, my ex-wife is a huuuuuuuuge Morrissey fan, ok?  We walk into the club and who is standing right there by the entrance chatting with a friend but Moz himself!  Of course, she starts hyperventilating and sweating profusely until she gathered herself at the bar for a minute.  I encouraged her to get up the courage to say something to Morrissey and she sheepishly walked up and said, “It’s nice to meet you,” and he nodded obligingly. Morrissey is very open about the huge influence Sparks were for him.  I notice it every time I hear him or The Smiths.  On the way out, we also spotted Weird Al Yankovich!  Obviously a huge Sparks fan, right? After the show, I brought my lp copies of Kimono My House and Angst In My Pants to the in-store appearance at the famous and now defunct Tower Records on Sunset.  Ron was very congenial but Russell seemed bothered and just signed my records and scowled. One would think it would be the other way around, but no.  Another time I saw them at the Fonda Theatre In Hollywood and The Music Geek from Beat the Geeks was in the audience, which also made perfect sense.   Because geeks love Sparks! The live presentation of their musical The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman at the outdoor Ford Amphitheatre in 2011 was also especially rememberable.  

Thanks for letting me review this album and thanks for reading.

https://open.spotify.com/album/3x0j7lxTq1i4VHMBXFg94B?si=cAHjSj1ZTVq75PDwHrp4uQ

The 1981 Listening Post -Jon and Vangelis - The Friends of Mr. Cairo

 Jon and Vangelis - The Friends of Mr. Cairo

#319

By Timothy Sprague

Jon and Vangelis

The Friends of Mr. Cairo

Genre: JonGelis

Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5

Timothy’s Rating: 3 out of 5

Highlights: 

The Friends of Mr. Cairo

State of Independence

Jon and Vangelis is the duo created by Yes lead singer Jon Anderson and keyboard virtuoso Vangelis, best known for composing the soundtracks for Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire, after Anderson moved on from Yes in 1979.  Anderson’s  goal was to explore his interest in electronic music so he engaged the help of his larger-than-life friend that he had met in the early 70s. According to the account that Anderson has told at his solo concert appearances, someone had suggested that he meet this crazy Greek musician.  So, Anderson showed up at his place one day and, when Vangelis buzzed him in, found the keyboardist firing arrows down a hallway for his own amusement.  When Rick Wakeman parted ways with Yes in 1974, Anderson invited Vangelis to jam with the band as a possible replacement but the vibe with the rest of the guys just wasn’t right.  So, they kept in touch and later formed a successful collaboration that yielded several hit singles in England, Canada and Europe in the early 80s, while remaining mostly obscure to the majority of the population of the United States.  

Polydor released two different versions of The Friends of Mr. Cairo at around the same time in 1981.  Why is anybody’s guess but they each have a different song order.  My lp copy is the one with the white cover, which was apparently released first.  The other version features a picture of Jon and Vangelis in tuxedos, enjoying a glass of wine together on the cover and has an additional song, I’ll Find My Way Home, which was a number one hit single in Switzerland and climbed to number six in the UK.  Remarkably, the title track also made it to number one in Canada.  But ask anyone in the US if they have heard either and all you will get is a blank stare.  

This review is based on the white cover edition, which starts out strong with a catchy techno synth bass line before Vangelis’ trademark echo-y piano gets the melody started.  Car chase sound effects and gunshots pan back and forth between the speakers while actors do impressions of Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre acting out a scene in a film noir movie.  It’s quite corny but it works in its own way.  It’s all lighthearted fun and a good silly departure from Anderson’s trippy cosmic persona that he had cultivated for so many years as prog rock’s preeminent choir boy.  The album version is 12 minutes long and morphs into a nostalgic ballad about the lost days of the silver screen, while the one that was such a big hit in Canada only includes the first 4 minutes.  

From there, side one becomes kind of a letdown.  The second track is Back to School, which sounds like Vangelis whipped it together on his Casio right before they ran into the studio and Jon could not come up with anything more creative than intoning that he “wants to go back to school” because those days were so carefree.  It kind of makes me cringe.  This is followed by the ultra-sappy Outside of This (Inside of That), a song that I am sure would be quite popular with four-year-olds around bedtime but best exemplifies the main reason I am careful about spending money on Anderson’s solo work.  He quite often strays into new age children’s lullabies so I have learned to be cautious over the years, even though I am a really big Yes fan. 

Side Two starts with the best and most well-known song that Jon and Vangelis ever recorded, State of Independence. Most people know it as a Donna Summer song and the band Moodswings recorded a popular rendition with Chrissie Hynde on vocals.  It has been used in numerous movie soundtracks, as well.  The original version on this album is an uplifting masterpiece that remains a highlight of Anderson’s solo concerts.  Quincy Jones told Jon that he and Michael Jackson were listening to it a lot as they were getting ready to record Thriller, although it was the Donna Summer cover that really impressed Michael.  He also said it had an influence on We Are the World.  (See my earlier comments about children’s music.)

The album ends with the very Blade Runner-sounding The Mayflower, a song about a spaceship leaving Earth to carry pilgrims away to a new and better world.  It’s also pretty corny but if you can’t lighten up a little you will never enjoy this kind of music.  The sentiment is sincere enough and this is the part of the album where Yes fans looking for a spacey hippie trip get their money’s worth.  

In the mid-2000s I attended the Flashback to the Future festival concert sponsored by legendary Los Angeles radio station KROQ.  The station is well-known for breaking just about every new wave and punk act of the 1980s.  Near the entrance they had a blown up list of the top ten songs they were playing during their first year of existence.  And, wouldn’t you know it, The Friends of Mr. Cairo was among them!  Looking back on that time, it’s hard to picture anyone considering Jon and Vangelis new wave.  But it was all new.  That was the point!  Before anyone could scoff and call it uncool, they were willing to give it a chance.  And that is the best way to approach this album, without preconceptions or cynicism.  It has some obvious flaws but the good parts will give you a nice warm tingly feeling, so just sit back and let it flow over you.

https://open.spotify.com/album/5xqDwdauo7dizP38KurfOB?si=fVC29BZHRW-dt4NsmZ-fUg

The 1981 Listening Post - Kim Carnes - Mistaken Identity

Kim Carnes - Mistaken Identity 

#179

By Timothy Sprague

April 1981

Kim Carnes

Mistaken Identity

Genre: Bette Davis Eyes

Allen’s Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Timothy’s Rating: 2 out of 5

Highlight: 

Bette Davis Eyes

When I first heard Bette Davis Eyes I thought it was a really cool new wave tune and it excited me greatly.  Then I saw Kim Carnes on Solid Gold or Merv Griffin or Mike Douglas or one of those shows and was very disappointed that she was just normal looking.  I was expecting some kind of crazy punked out chick based on the cold synth sounds and electronic hand claps on BDE. She also looked rather old to my 13-year-old eyes.   And it kind of ruined the spell.   So, thanks to the Listening Post, I am finally giving Mistaken Identity its due.  And, ya know what?  It ain’t bad.  Not really the kind of album I would spend money on but there’s no doubt Kim has an interesting voice, although it does sound rather a lot like Rod Stewart.  I know nothing about Kim Carnes’ career but I am guessing she hung in there for a long time during the seventies until she finally got some success with this album.  One moment while I check Wikipedia… Yep, just as I thought.  “After she signed her first publishing deal with Jimmy Bowen, she released her debut album Rest on Me in 1972. Carnes' self-titled second album primarily contained self-penned songs, including her first charting single "You're a Part of Me", which reached No. 35 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in 1975.”  I don’t recall You’re a Part of Me, though.  Or any of these other songs I am seeing in her bio.  Says here she also wrote a lot of stuff for David Cassidy. Who knew?  Oh, everyone but me?  That sounds about right. 

Back to the album…. Bette Davis Eyes is the clear standout and most memorable track.  The rest all kind of blend together without a lot of originality out of the studio musicians working with Kim.  It sounds very “Music Industry” and I picture much snorting of coke at the recording sessions.  Surprisingly little cowbell, however.  But I can certainly see why her audience enjoys this record.  The gritty vocals hold up throughout and there are some nice sassy saxophone solos.  Much too Adult Contemporary for my taste, but I don’t think they made this one for tween Beatles fans.  More like people who bought all of their music at department stores.  She is also much too American for me to really flip for.  My taste in female vocalists runs more in the Siouxsie, Kate Bush, Liz Fraser, Sinead O’Connor eccentric UK-types.  Kim’s got nothing on Debbie Harry, either, for that matter.  If only there were one more memorable song on this album it might rise to 2.5 stars in my book but I will leave it at 2.

https://open.spotify.com/album/3iMwQk5yE0UDDKbLCdcxZA?si=460caaNFQ2C1IbnF6QNAqA

The 1981 Listening Post - Girldschool - Hit and Run

 Girlschool - Hit and Run

#175

By Timothy Sprague

April 20 1981

Girlschool

Hit and Run

Allen’s Raitng: 3.5 out of 5

Tim’s rating: 5 out of 5

Highlights:

Watch Your Step

Yeah Right

Tush

Now this is a heavy metal album I can get behind! Girlschool give The Runaways and L7 a run for their money in the bad girl genre.  And these gals can play!  This is the second Girlschool album and the first I have ever heard.  It’s a real toe-tapper and I am always down for some gutsy female vocals.  From the get-go Girlschool deliver the goods, starting with C’mon Let’s Go and The Hunter. Watch Your Step is also a real standout rocker, especially for guys with a fetish for getting bossed around by hot chicks in leather.  Yeah Right has attitude up the wazoo….  “You can’t do that… You can’t do that… Yeah, Right!!!!”  Just tell ‘em to piss off, Girlschool.  I’m with ya!  The album is unpretentious and unrepentant the whole way through. 

The real treat for me is the cover of ZZ Top’s Tush. Great choice for an all-girl band to turn the tables on the dudes… or are they?  Maybe some kind of lesbian anthem?  Beats me but works either way.  No time for mushy ballads on this sizzler.  Just straight ahead 4/4 rock with plenty of muscle and sultry vocals.  There’s not a bad track on here and I can see why the record made it to number 289 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.

This discovery alone makes it more than worth it to have volunteered to help with this project.  Thanks for assigning it to me, Allen!

https://open.spotify.com/album/4mS85jLsBNV8isZMP20B7n?si=tkuT7A7GShW-TXuhT0aSxAq

The 1981 Listening Post - Tygers of Pan Tang - Spellbound

 Tygers of Pan Tang - Spellbound

#123

By Timothy Sprague

Tygers of Pan Tang

Spellbound

Genre: Metal

Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5

Tim’s Rating: 1.5 out of 5

If Allen Lulu is going to randomly assign a heavy metal album album for you to review, you could do worse than Tygers of Pan Tang.  This is more of the Van Halen party music variety of metal, as opposed to the faux-Satanic spandex and big hair type. I really don’t like metal vocals and shreddy guitar playing but, in the spirit of this project, have done my best to give this album a chance. The sound definitely evokes the 1980s and the boys certainly have some chops.  It’s the kind of album that I assume hardcore metalheads feel is an under-appreciated classic.  The tempos are fast and the rhythm section chugs along nicely.  But those vocals… just not my scene, man.  The thing is, I appreciate how hard it must be to sing like that but I would not be caught dead with this album blasting out of my car windows.  It is the epitome of the conformist corporate-approved “rock sound” of the time.  The closest thing I can tolerate is Ian Gillan on Jesus Christ Superstar and some of the better Deep Purple tunes.  As a prog rock fan, I dabble in Dream Theater a bit, but even that gets tedious for me when the guy starts singing again after the cool instrumental parts.  One can picture many frizzy-haired young men in 1981 stuffing a sock in their tight acid-washed jeans and rocking out to Spellbound.  And probably thinking it will get them laid.  You get the idea.  

On the other hand, if I were going to drive 120 miles per hour down the freeway to oblivion, this album would not be out of place.  Some early Sabbath or AC/DC are more my speed in that scenario.  Tygers of Pan Tang were clearly good enough to get a recording contract, but simply pale in comparison to the masters of the genre.

https://open.spotify.com/album/735Usw12Mtol0gD6JpDkZg?si=Z_b4feeySymcG3HT0L-ZFA

The 1980 Listening Post - Gary Numan - Telekon

 Gary Numan - Telekon

#379

by Timothy Sprague

September 5 1980

Gary Numan

Telekon

Genre: New Wave

Allen’s Rating: 5 out of 5

Timothy’s Rating: 3 out of 5

Allen’s Highlights:

This Wreckage

I Die: You Die

I’m an Agent

Remember I Was Vapour

Please Push No More

Timothy’s Highlights:

I Dream of Wires 

This Wreckage

by Timothy Sprague

It is astonishing to my American ears that this album debuted at number one in the UK upon its release in September, 1980. And it was Gary Numan’s third number one album! While Kenny Rogers ruled the airwaves in the US, our friends across the pond were inhabiting a whole new landscape. Notwithstanding, Gary’s previous album The Pleasure Principle scored a huge hit with Cars. I wore the hell out of that cassette in 7th grade but, over the years, mainly thought of Numan as a guy who listened to Bowie’s Berlin period and said, “I can do that!” 

I had plunked down my hard-earned paper route money at the Hanover Mall for his 1981 followup to Telekon, Dance and was rather disappointed. (She’ll take a slow car to Chiiiinaaa… ugh.) If Telekon had been in the bin my opinion of his work probably would not have have suffered so much damage, but that was all they had that day and I wasn’t going home without some Gary Numan. Unfortunately, it wasn’t his best work. Beyond that, I didn’t give much thought to the rest of his albums until 2013, when he released Splinter, aided by Trent Reznor. Which was great! 

So, I listened to Telekon and here is what I think…. Man, I was being really unkind with my Bowie clone criticism. The influence is clear but Numan added a lot of his own style and it’s pretty unfair to single him out when almost the entire New Wave movement was influenced by Bowie. The bass and guitar parts add a funky human element to the ethereal synthesizer sound and alien robot vocals. Gary is also a very good songwriter. He eloquently captures the Blade Runner zeitgeist of the times on tunes like The Aircrash Bureau, I Dream of Wires and Remember I Was Vapour. Side note: Gary now lives a few miles from me in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. His house in Northridge has a creepy castle look to it but I have only seen pictures. On a hot July day while I write this, I picture going over to his place for a barbecue. No doubt he requires many extra layers of sunblock before going in the pool. Hope to see him out and about at the supermarket one day. 

https://open.spotify.com/album/3QEbNm2vlHTCnTESDISwIA?si=0KYmi6a_Rlat9lD09fDrSg