"Someone Like You" by Michael Stanley Band

Song#:  1738
Date:  12/24/1983
Debut:  81
Peak:  75
Weeks:  5
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  MSB got their second Pop Top 40 entry with "My Town" (#39 Pop, #11 Rock) from their ninth album You Can't Fight Fashion. The single helped make the album their highest peaking to-date at #64. This next single tried to keep up the momentum, but faltered after a few weeks on the chart. Unfortunately it would end up being the band's last charting single. The album would also be their last to reach that chart. MSB still continued to record and perform for years after with Michael Stanley consistently releasing solo discs since 1996. He and his band still draw huge crowds at Midwest venues.

ReduxReview:  I like the anxious groove and darker sound this song puts out. It's really a good track, but it's just not pop-hooky enough to score a high position on the chart. It's a shame they lost their deal (see below) because I think they could have done even better than this album, which is my favorite of theirs. But sadly, their major label days stopped here.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  Although MSB were not major national stars, their albums consistently did well and charted thanks to their huge Midwest fan base. So after four albums with EMI America, with You Can't Fight Fashion being their biggest yet, why did they disappear from the charts? It seems that soon after this album was released, their contract with EMI was set to expire. The label offered the band a six-month extension, but that seemed to be little support for a band that was hitting their stride. They deserved something a bit better and more secure, so Stanley declined the offer thinking the label would counter-offer something better. Sadly, they did not and instead promptly dismissed the band from the label. Now on their own, the band would independently issue one live album and one studio album before calling it a day. Stanley would form a band called The Ghost Poets, who recorded one album for Razor & Tie in 1993, before going solo a couple years later.

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