Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 1419 Date: 04/16/1983
Debut: 53
Peak: 9
Weeks: 18
Genre: Rock
Pop Bits: By this time, Springfield had racked up three Top 10 hits (including the #1 "Jessie's Girl") from two platinum selling albums. The success of his music career was truly surpassing that of his acting day job on "General Hospital." He continued the streak with his next LP "Living in Oz." While his previous two efforts were full of well-crafted pop/rock songs, the new album showed Springfield moving into more mature territory and expanding his sound with synths and a harder edge. This first single was greeted well by pop fans who handed Springfield his fourth Top 10 hit (#23 Rock). It also earned him a Grammy nod for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. Although the album would peak just outside of the Top 10 at #12, it was another platinum seller for Springfield.
ReduxReview: This is the album where Springfield got loud. Both "Working Class Dog" and "Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet" contained crunchy, guitar driven pop/rock songs without a lot of frills. For "Living in Oz" it seemed that Springfield wanted to incorporate the new musical technology and really go for a new sound. He did and I liked the results. The songs were layered with guitars and synths which gave them a density that screamed "I'm a grown up now!" I think it was a positive change for him but a lot of critics didn't like it. I think the album is underrated. It's not perfect and there is some filler material, but there is a lot of good going on including this song.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: The "Oz" of the album title did not com from "The Wizard of Oz." It's an informal word that refers to Springfield's home country of Australia. Apparently when people spoke the short version of Australia, which was simply "Aus," it sounded like it ended with a "z." The way it was pronounced made it sound like it should be spelled as "Oz." The spelling took hold and over the years Australia has simply become known as Oz.
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