"Machinery" by Sheena Easton

Song#:  1168
Date:  09/04/1982
Debut: 79
Peak:  57
Weeks:  7
Genre:  Pop



Pop Bits: After two gold albums and a pair of Top 10's, Easton set out to record her third effort, Madness, Money & Music. Although the set leaned towards ballads, the first single selected was this upbeat tune. It didn't fare well at all and sank before even reaching the top half of the chart. Listeners quickly lost interest and the album failed to sell well topping out at #85.

ReduxReview:  Frankly, this is just an awful single. I'm not sure whose idea this was, but it almost killed her career. Although it is not a completely horrible song, it is just not single-worthy. I think they wanted to break her out of the ballad mode, but this was just not the song to do it. Time hasn't served it well either and it sounds very clunky and 80s synth cheap. Fortunately, she was able to overcome this tripe.

ReduxRating:  3/10

Trivia:  Easton recorded a song for this album that later ended up being a major #1 hit. Her take on the recently written "Wind Beneath My Wings" ended up on the album but was not selected for single release. Although crooner Roger Whittaker was the first artist to release the song, Easton's version soon followed. Obviously, Bette Midler's 1989 take for her film Beaches would become the most famous version for the song. It reached #1 and won a couple of Grammys along the way.

_________________________________________________________________________________