The 1985 Listening Post - Thor - Only the Strong

Thor - Only the Strong

#111

April

Thor 

Only the Strong

Genre: Heavy Metal

3.5 out of 5

Highlights:

When the Gods Collide

True story. 

John Seven and I went to CBGB to see Spinal Tap play their first ever live show before their SNL appearance. 

It was packed. 

I remember the show. 

I don’t remember the giant dude who banged into a John on the crowded floor. 

That man, apparently, was Thor. 

There is a terrific documentary about this guy. 

I wish the music was up to the rep. 

Suffering from 80s hyper-echo, Thor’s vocals are too far down in the mix of mediocre Hair/Hell Metal. 

Oh, what could have been. 

I have a lot of affection for the sheer dumb rockness of “Now Comes the Storm” and “Thunder on the Tundra”. It’s definitely more fun that most of Twisted Sister’s offerings. 

It’s an even record and not 100% inspiring. But I’m glad I finally heard it. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/only-the-strong/818951560

The 1985 Listening Post - The Dukes of Stratosphere - 25 O'Clock

The Dukes of Stratosphere - 25 O'Clock

#112

April 1 1985

The Dukes of Stratosphere

25 O’Clock

Genre: Psychedelic Rock

4.75 out of 5

Highlights:

25 O’Clock

Bike Ride to the Moon

The Mole from the Ministry

But, Allen, I thought we weren’t doing mini-albums!

Yes, that’s true. But in this case, I’m making an exception, simply because I forgot TDoS when I did my XTC retrospective a decade ago. I find Partridge to be a challenge and I wanted to see if this would follow suit or endear me to him/them. 

From jump, this is different. It reminds me of Foxboro Hot Tubs or The Network, side bands for Billie Joe Armstrong that delve into different genres than Green Day fans would/might not tolerate. 

The late 60s, Strawberry Alarm Clock/Pink Floyd/Latter day Beatles sound (“My Love Explodes”) is actually spot on and, day I say, terrific? Like the Morlocks of last month, this is slavishly devoted to the era its trafficking in and it does so, so lovingly that it’s impossible to not like. The songs are strong, the approach equally so. And for the first time in a long while, the weakest track is the Moulding one. Huh.

https://open.spotify.com/album/46ZRujqytRXcbgloCKA9Q7?si=O0KQqbaUTwClhxl1eVSHew

The 1985 Listening Post - Hearts on Fire - Dreams of Leaving

Hearts on Fire - Dreams of Leaving

#110

1985 Housekeeping 

Hearts on Fire

Dreams of Leaving

4.5 out of 5

Highlights:

Flamingo Affair

Hidden Heart

Zero Ours

There is no record of this band. No Wikipedia entry. Nothing on Allmusic. Just the Discogs entry to prove this solidly 80s pop paisley thing exists. 

Do you like 10,000 Maniacs? Well, Hearts on Fire was there first. The lead singer, Syn D’Cody isn’t as powerful as Natalie Merchant but she comes close, as do the U2 meets REM songs. (“Shall We Be Dancing” is a great example of this).

I loved this and wonder how and why they never got their push out into the mainstream. The label was probably garbage. 

Too bad. 

This was excellent. And ahead of the curve. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dreams-of-leaving/215365005

The 1985 Listening Post - Halloween - Don't Metal with Evil

Halloween - Don't Metal with Evil

#109

1985 Housekeeping

Halloween

Don’t Metal with Evil

Genre: Heavy Metal

3.75 out of 5

Highlights:

Busted

Don’t Metal with Evil

What a Nice Place

Where most Satan Metal or thrash either takes their cues from early Sabbath or Metallica/Slayer Halloween seems to be taking theirs from Ozzy. They are searching for, and often finding, melodies. And I’ve enjoyed the whole journey. 

There’s a bunch of controlled chaos happening here and I fell for it. 

The 1985 Listening Post - The Delmonas - Dangerous Charms

The Delmonas - Dangerous Charms

#108

1985 Housekeeping

The Delmonas

Dangerous Charms

Genre: 60s Revival

4 out of 5

Highlights:

Wow Now

Who is Billy Childish?

No, really. Who is he?

This is a progenitor of The Pipettes. It seems like Childish put together a faux-sixties girl group, wrote a couple tracks and then produced a bunch of covers. 

You know what?

It’s totally listenable. 

Are you having a party?

Will you be putting on some, say, B52s? Add this one to that set. Seriously. The first two B52s records, this one and the first Pipettes record and you have about 3 hours of excellent retro party stuff.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dangerous-charms/590086319

The 1985 Listening Post - Trouble - The Skull

Trouble - The Skull

#107

March 1985

Trouble

The Skull

Genre: Doom Metal

3.25 out of 5

Highlights: 

Wickedness of Man

Psalm 9 fades out at the end and….

The Skull fades in. I like that. I like that they are saying, “Here’s a continuation of what we do.” What they do is Doom Metal. And, I’ve gone on record as saying it’s not really my thing. But as that thing goes this is, I think, perfect for the introspective and awkwardly murderous teen. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-skull/1218647784

The 1985 Listening Post - Graham Parker and the Shot

Graham Parker and the Shot

#106

March 1985

Graham Parker and the Shot

Steady Nerves

Genre: Pop Rock

4.25 out of 5

Highlights:

Break Them Down

Lunatic Fringe

Wake Up (Next To You)

It’s really incredible how Elvis Costello got all the accolades and Graham Parker (Who I am still not convinced isn’t actually Elvis irl) languishes in the margins of rock history. I mean…seriously, they sound exactly the same and write songs that sound just like each other. Listen to “Canned Laughter” and tell me which Costello it sounds like (Answer: A lot of them…or do they sound like Parker???)

I admit bias. It took this project’s inception for me to give Parker a try. Squeezing Out Sparks, The Up Escalator, Another Grey Area…all superb. In fact, pound for pound, they give Costello a run for his money. It was on 83’s The Real Macaw that he was felled, like Costello would be in 84.

But, this comeback is better than I expected. A solid record for Mr. Parker. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/steady-nerves/95958333

The 1985 Listening Post - Rick Wakeman - Silent Nights

Rick Wakeman - Silent Nights

#105

1985 Housekeeping

Rick Wakeman

Silent Nights

Genre: Prog Rock

3.25 out of 5

Highlights:

The Opening Line

The Ghost of a Rock ’n’ Roll Star

Elgin Mansions

Not to be left out of the Planet P fun, Rick Wakeman steps up the weird quotient, enlists Gordon Neville to be the anti-Jon Anderson, a saxman named……yes, Bimbo Acock and some other guys and comes up with the proggiest of porgy jams of 1985. 

Rick is not a good lyricist, or constructor of songs. He’s a terrific musician and probably would have some serious organ-offs with Jon Lord of Deep Purple. 

So, this is sort of poppier Yes. I think. It’s more focused. That doesn’t mean it’s better, not by a long shot but, after 90125, it sounds more like Yes than Yes does. 

Even when it seems like it might be ponderous, Rick pivots back to the 40s and gives us a nice boogie for our patience (“The Opera”). 

I kind of wish Wakeman went full Hollywood after Crimes of Passion instead of trying to still be a Rockomposer. He’s better when he’s part of a whole. (How often have we said that??)

The best track here is the autobiographical “The Ghost of a Rock ’n’ Roll Star”. At least Rick is in on the joke. 

And “Elgin Mansions” is lovely.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/silent-nights/185201844

The 1985 Listening Post - Dirty Looks - Dirty Looks

Dirty Looks - Dirty Looks

#104

1985 Housekeeping

Dirty Looks

Dirty Looks

Genre: Hair Metal

2.75 out of 5

Highlights:

Take Your Time

Was this recorded in a banquet hall? The acoustics are awful. Like a lot of these bands, they seem to be influenced by Kiss more than anything else. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Except mid-80s Kiss wasn’t very good and everyone was moving on from that sound. 

And we really only need one Kiss, right? 

This one is an independent release so I forgive them a lot. 

But, boy does “Wild Child” sound like Spinal Tap. In fact, a lot of this does. 

So, there we go. Dirty Looks is the intersection point on the Venn Diagram that is Kiss/Spinal Tap.

Also, the band has had, like, 50 members over the years. Here’s a list:

• Henrik Ostergaard – Vocals and guitars (deceased)^[5](1984–1996; 2006–2011)
• Paul Anthony Stage – bass guitar (1984)
• Paul Anthony "Buck" Dulle – drums (1984–1985)^[6]
• Scot T. Garcia – guitar – (1984)
• Jimmy Chartley – bass guitar (1984–1985)
• Boyd Baker – (1985–1986)
• Steve McConnell – drums (1985–1986; 1993–1996; 2007)
• John Pelinski – bass guitar (1985–1986)
• Jack Pyers – bass guitar (1986–1990; 1991; 2007–200
• A.D. Adams – drums (1986–1987)
• Chris Bensch – guitar (1987)
• Gene Barnett – drums (1987–1990; 1993)
• Paul Lidel – guitar (1987–1994; 2007)
• Chris Caffery – guitar (1988–1989)
• Dave Naro – bass guitar (1990–1991)
• Cary Devore – drums (1990–1991)
• Brian Perry – bass guitar (1991–1993)
• Ed Collins – drums (1991; 2008)
• J.Michael Davis – drums (1991)
• James Harris – drums (1991–1993)
• Robin Crosby – guitar (deceased) (1993)
• Paul Monroe – drums (1993)
• Keith Barrows – bass guitar (1994–1995)
• Alex Kane – guitar (1994)
• Charlie George – drums (1994–1995)
• John Allen – drums (1994)
• Nicky Kay – guitar (1994)
• Idzi – bass guitar (1994)
• Mike Ondrusek – guitar (1994–1995)
• Mike Smith – guitar (1994–1996)
• Todd Yetter – drums (1994)
• Jassen Wilber – bass guitar (1994–1996)
• Ron Sutton – drums (1994–1996; 2007; 2008)
• Garbiel Scott (Robison) – lead vocals (1996)
• Mike Ohm – guitar (2007)
• Trevor Huster – guitar (2007)
• Doug Welser – drums (2007)
• Jeremy Hummel – drums (2007)
• Eric Brewer – guitar (2008)
• Christopher Shaner – guitar (2008–2009)
• Doug Phillips – bass guitar (2008)
• Scott Parmenter – guitar (2009–2011)
• Greg Pianka – bass guitar (deceased)^[7] (2009–2010)
• Jeff Smith – drums (2009)
• Bill Dailey – drums (2009–2011)

The 1985 Listening Post - The Opposition - Empire Days

The Opposition - Empire Days

#103 

1985 Housekeeping

The Opposition

Empire Days

3.5 out of 5

Genre: SynthRock

Highlights:

Five Minutes

So. The U2 meets The Alarm with synths is back. I liked Intimacy. I loved Promises. This one?

It’s damn good. Even though the songs are all a bit long. Even good ones like “Fool for You” (which sound s a LOT like Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers) and “If That Wasn’t Love” feel like they are stretching when the songs clock in a reasonable times. 

I like this album but not as much as the last. It started out promising but soon began to feel like Deja Vu. And it all wearily runs out of steam on the title track which sounds like 1982ish Gary Numan.

 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBJ7ztNazTVAGGhJoYobsJP5vWQhMmKhA