The 1981 Listening Post - Section 25 - Always Now

 Section 25 - Always Now

#411

September 1981

Section 25

Always Now

Genre: Wanna Be Joy Division

1.75 out of 5

Actually, it’s sort of simultaneous with Joy Division, no? It was produced by Martin Hannett and co-produced by Ian Curtis before he committed suicide. 

Thing is, if you strip Joy Division of Curtis’s humanity and depth, you are left with a pretty hollow impersonation. 

Section 25 makes me want to investigate all the other sections for something better.

The monotony, while perhaps a producing accomplishment, is an unwelcome experience to my afternoon. Looking at you, virtually ever track but, most notably, “Babies in the Bardo”. Ugh. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/always-now-remastered/305291217

The 1981 Listening Post - Mickey Thomas - Alive Alone

 Mickey Thomas - Alive Alone

#355

August 28 1981

Mickey Thomas

Alive Alone

Genre: Rock

2.75 out of 5

These are songs. 

People played instruments on these songs. 

Someone pushed some buttons to make everything sound like it was supposed to.

Some engineer mastered these songs. 

The songs were committed to acetate and then vinyl and shrink wrapped and, I think, but I can not be sure, that someone bought the record.

Why? I do not know.

But, there are definitely songs here.

OK, that’s not fair. 

Some good writers wrote this songs. 

Jules Shear lent a reggae joint in “”Following Every Finger”. Clapton and George Harrison wrote “Badge”. Didn’t they share a wife or a girlfriend or something? There’s a Jonathan Cain tune and one by Henley and Frey and I don’t know if any of these are covers or leftovers, which is what they all sound like.

The most energetic and successful is “Survivor”, a tune written by Cindy Bullens, a backup singer for Elton John and Rod Stewart. 

And “I Don’t Wanna Talk About It” by…Bret Bloomfield (who?) isn’t terrible but, holy crap is the Frey/Henley “Too Much Drama” hot garbage.

Like I said. There are songs. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/alive-alone/1370152579

The 1981 Listening Post - Cockney Rejects - The Power and the Glory

 Cockney Rejects - The Power and the Glory

#351

August 8 1981

The Cockney Rejects

The Power and the Glory

Genre: Punk

3.25 out of 5

The Cockney Rejects are back with their 3rd snot filled spinner in less than 2 years. With substandard production they straddle the line between old school Ramones of 1974 and the melodic Uber Power Pop of Green Day 10 years later. But they’ve gifted us with inferior versions of both. 

It’s dumb and big and obnoxious and did not age well. When they go for the melodic and approachable like “Lumon” and “It’s Over” and the truly bizarre dream-synth “Byc”, they belie who they really are or want to be, which is latter day Clash. But they don’t have that, either.

A come down from their first two. 

Rejects, take some time, guys. You don’t have to release an album every 6 months. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-power-and-the-glory/1449265746

The 1981 Listening Post - Gino Vannelli - Nightwalker

 Gino Vanneli - Nightwalker

#105

By Chris Roberts

Nightwalker

Gino Vannelli

Genre: Adult “Contemporary”

Allen’s Rating: 2.5 out of 

Chris’ rating: 1.9 out of 5

Girl, you know it’s true—Gino wants to sweep you off your feet. Gino is all about the ROMANCE. Put that Neil Diamond back on the shelf, sister. Toss out that Barry Manilow. It’s time to walk the night with Gino. But just walking—that’s as far as it goes. Gino cuddles, and listens to you, and goes wine tasting. If you hold his hand, or better yet—mention you like his hair— he’ll love you forever. But no hanky-panky. This moonlight stroll is strictly rated-Gino, and I recommend you NIGHTRUN to get it over with. 

The title track threatens to get moody, with a little ambient noise and sad, sparkly piano that suddenly swells into a big orchestral sound! Night walking! At this point, I feel I am listening to vibe offered by the album cover... But after the one minute mark... the whole thing becomes a generic, adult contemporary slog.

Let’s skip to Gino’s monster hit, Living Inside Myself, the second song on side B. Usually I can get a good nostalgia buzz with hits from 1981. But I never liked this song. I don’t even remember it from 1981, it just wormed it’s way into my consciousness through years of being put “on hold” somewhere. It’s a lollygagging lump of a song, that feels twice as long as it actually is. But don’t let me yuck your yum—in fact, take some second helpings of Gino’s slow jams: Put The Weight On My Shoulders and Sally (She Says The Sweetest Things). 

The remaining four tracks, Seek & You Will Find, I Believe, Santa Rosa, and Stay With Me, are the “funky” bits, served up Flanders style with lots of noodles! There’s some George Duke-inspired piano, opportunities for the band to show off, and for Gino to try out his Elton John impersonation. It all reaches, but never arrives.

https://open.spotify.com/album/1NTgVOFOyvIqquGPkaS2mT?si=VnKNWdyKTuyIx39mob_zMQ

The 1980 Listening Post - Daryl Hall & John Oates - Voices

Daryl Hall & John Oates - Voices

#472

by Scott Von Doviak

July 29 1980

Day Hall & John Oates

Voices

Genre: Pop/Blue-Eyed Soul with a dash of New Wave

Allen’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Scott’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Allen’s Highlights:

How Does It Feel to Be Back?

United State

Kiss Is On My List

You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’ 

You Make My Dreams

Scott’s Highlights:

You Make My Dreams (Come True)

Kiss on My List

United State

Diddy Doo Wop (I Hear the Voices)

Here we have one of the first “rock” albums I bought with my own money, circa eighth grade. (I think the first was Kiss Destroyer, but I was more into comedy albums back then.) Relistening to it for this review was one of those weird déjà vu experiences you only get with music you listened to over and over until you stopped for…decades. I haven’t heard some of these songs for more than 35 years, but they came back to me quickly. This is clean, crisp, well-constructed pop music, state of the art for the era, and a lot of it holds up even if it’s not much to my taste these days. Of course there are the hits that still haunt supermarkets to this day, “Kiss on My List” and “You Make My Dreams (Come True),” which remains a perfect, irresistible pop tune. There’s the requisite cover, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” which is well-sung but pretty rote, as well as being a song I never loved in the first place. There’s also a “covered,” a song made more popular by someone else, “Everytime You Go Away,” which became an obnoxiously unavoidable MTV hit for Paul Young a few years later. 

Weirdly, Voices isn’t front-loaded with the hits as was the style at the time. Granted, the opener “How Does It Feel to Be Back” was the first single and they probably had high hopes for it, but it barely cracked the charts. It’s pleasant enough, with Beatlesque harmonies and a Warren Zevon-ish guitar part. “Big Kids” is a stab at New Wave with a fun chorus, “United State” is as punky as they get, which isn’t very, but I could hear it on a Blondie album and I can’t think of another song that includes the word expatriate. “Hard to Be in Love with You” is catchy enough, “Gotta Lotta Nerve (Perfect Perfect)” is doo-wop/New Wave fusion, “Africa” is not the Toto song, and if I listened closer to the lyrics it’s probably quite problematic, but it’s got a nice dose of sleazy sax. Album closer “Diddy Doo Wop (I Hear the Voices)” is about as weird as H&O get – the inner monologue of a Son of Sam type on the loose in bad old New York. I’m glad I got an excuse to revisit this one, because I doubt I ever would have done it on my own.

https://open.spotify.com/album/4LniALl9S6YedTFdiZWOMS?si=JA-eUAdxTx-94VXJOXUE-Q