"You Don't Believe" by Alan Parsons Project

Song#:  1699
Date:  11/19/1983
Debut:  77
Peak:  54
Weeks:  10
Genre:  Soft Rock



Pop Bits:  Earlier in '82, the Alan Parsons Project had their biggest success with the album Eye in the Sky (#7, platinum), which featured the #3 title-track single. While prepping their next studio LP, the time seemed right to collect up their singles and issue a hits package. The Best of the Alan Parsons Project featured twelve songs - eleven previously released tracks plus this new tune that was issued as a single. The song would do well at Rock reaching #12, but it couldn't quite make it into the top half of the Pop chart. Although the hits disc would peak at a lowly #53, over time it would become a gold seller. 

ReduxReview:  There is a nice rolling undercurrent of synth in this track that moves this song right along. I like it, yet I don't think it's a very strong single. I'm not sure, but I'd guess that this song was really an outtake from the Eye on the Sky sessions. It has the same sound and feel as many of the tracks on that album including the title hit. Perhaps it had too much in common with the title track and got set aside for later. That time came, but it just didn't have the same magic.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  For many of their songs, APP employed several singers to supply the lead vocals. While Project co-founder Eric Woolfson would end up singing on three of the Project's four Top 20 entries (including "Eye in the Sky"), the other hit, 1980's "Games People Play" (#16) was sung by Lenny Zakatek. He would end up supplying vocals for twenty-four of the Project's songs over the years. Zakatek had some success prior to assisting APP. He was a member of the British funk group Gonzalez from 1974 to 1980. During that time, the band scored one minor hit in the US. In 1979, a remix version of their song "Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet" would get to #26 (#7 Dance, #15 UK). Zakatek would leave the band to work for APP. Gonzalez continued on but ended up disbanding in 1986

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"In the Mood" by Robert Plant

Song#:  1698
Date:  11/19/1983
Debut:  88
Peak:  39
Weeks:  12
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Plant would grab a Top 20 solo hit with "Big Log" (#20) from his album The Principle of Moments. It would end up being the biggest solo hit of his career. To follow that song up, this second single was issued. It did well enough to sneak into the Pop Top 40, but that was as far as it could go. It would do much better at Rock getting to #4, which bested the #6 peak of "Big Log."

ReduxReview:  At the time, I wasn't really into "Big Log," but for some reason this song hit my ears just right. There was something about that repetitive melody followed by the "oo-oo-oo-oo's" that entranced me. Then it gets broken up by a nice guitar section with a little synth action at the end. The song doesn't say much, but I loved the atmospheric production and when I hear the tune I almost feel like I'm just happy as a lark floating among the clouds. I'm almost always in the mood for this melody.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  Although this song and "Big Log" were Top 10 hits at Rock, they would be outdone by another track from the album. The LP's opening track "Other Arms" would end up hitting #1 at Rock. Plant's label, Atlantic, fully intended to release the song as a single, but Plant blocked that plan. Instead of issuing a more rockin' song, he wanted the two ballad-leaning tracks pushed out as the singles. The two songs did well and it was a bonus to have "Other Arms" top the Rock chart. One other song from the album got enough airplay to get on the Rock chart as well. "Horizontal Departure" made a brief appearance going to #44.

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"State of the Nation" by Industry

Song#:  1697
Date:  11/19/1983
Debut:  92
Peak:  81
Weeks:  8
Genre:  New Wave, Synthpop



Pop Bits:  This New York trio was originally formed in the late 70s as Industrial Complex. The band worked on getting established over the next few years and along the way issued a couple of independent EPs under their shortened name, Industry. By 1981, two of the three departed and remaining member, Mercury Caronia, found three other new bandmates and forged on. The new line-up of Industry signed on with Capitol Records who flipped the bill for an EP. Included on that self-titled disc was this single that ended up getting some traction in a couple of European countries. The song would reach #1 in Italy and #10 in Sweden. The single got issued in the States, but after lingering around for a couple of months, it could only manage to stay in the bottom quarter of the Pop chart. The success in Europe prompted a full album titled Stranger to Stranger, but with the failure of the single in the States, it disappeared quickly. The band would split up soon after.

ReduxReview:  I like the sound and feel of this song. I'm not surprised it did well in Europe as it is very Euro-synthpop. I just wish the song was a bit stronger. The production is very attractive and draws attention, but the tune doesn't offer anything real concrete for a memorable chorus. It's one of those singles that I enjoy hearing, but soon after I completely forget it and can't even hum a bar. I wouldn't mind hearing the rest of the album to see if they had anything else interesting to offer.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  The second line-up of Industry included new lead singer Jon Carin. After Industry broke up, Carin worked as a session musician. It led to him doing some work for Pink Floyd on their album A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987). During those sessions, a demo of a song by Carin got the attention of Floyd's David Gilmour. Gilmour worked up music based on the song and came up with "Learning to Fly," which would end up being the album's first single. With Carin credited as co-composer, the song would hit #1 at Rock while getting to #70 at Pop. Carin would then be part of Pink Floyd's band for their next two tours.

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"Tell Me If You Still Care" by The S.O.S. Band

Song#:  1696
Date:  11/19/1983
Debut:  94
Peak:  65
Weeks:  11
Genre:  R&B



Pop Bits:  With their new producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on board, this band scored the #2 R&B hit "Just Be Good to Me" (#55 Pop), which was from their fourth album On the Rise. This second single did just about as well getting to #5 at R&B and around mid-chart at Pop. The two hits were a big boost to their career, which had been on the down slide since their 1980 debut hit "Take Your Time (Do It Right)" (#1 R&B/#3 Pop).

ReduxReview:  Jam & Lewis add a bit o' tha Quiet Storm to the band's album and it sounds pretty good. It's a slinky tune that is an easy listen. I wouldn't consider it outstanding, but it is very good mood music. It really is just one consistent groove with the verse and chorus blending together, but the band does it quite well.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  This song was later remade by R&B singer Monica. It was included on her 1995 debut LP Miss Thang. That album spawned three Top 10 hits, two went platinum, one went gold. This song was not issued as a single. Her album would eventually sell over three million copies. Monica would go on to have five Top 10 albums on the Pop chart and three #1 singles including her big hit duet with Brandy, 1998's "The Boy Is Mine."

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"The Big Crash" by Eddie Money

Song#:  1695
Date:  11/19/1983
Debut:  96
Peak:  54
Weeks:  11
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Money's album No Control provided him with his second Top 20 hit, "I Think I'm in Love" (#16). It would help the album become his third to go platinum. His follow-up album, Where's the Party?, should have built on that success, but instead it put a damper on Money's progress and the album became the lowest peaking of his output to this point (#67). The main reason was the lack of a successful hit. This song was issued as the LPs first single, but it faltered at Pop and didn't do all that well at Rock (#17). Without a solid song to promote it, the album was pretty much doomed.

ReduxReview:  Here's another rocker incorporating some 80s sounds to his music. That synth bass line certainly dates the song. I guess what I can say about the tune is that it is good. That's about it. Nothing wrong with it at all. It's just not outstanding in anyway. It almost reminds me of a Bryan Adams tune. I like it just fine, but it is just not strong enough to get much further than it did.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  The Pine Knob Amphitheater in Clarkston, Michigan, opened in the 1970s and became a major summer venue for many artists. With a 15,000 seat theater and an outdoor hill area where patrons can sit/picnic/etc., it was one of the most popular outdoor event venues in the country. In 1992, Eddie Money was the headliner on the opening show of the summer season. He returned to open the venue the following year and has done so ever since. In the 20+ years he has performed the opening show, he has seen the venue change over time including its name. In 2001 it was renamed the DTE Energy Music Theater. Not long before I wrote this post, on May 28, 2016, Money headlined the opening show of the venue for the 25th time.

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"Undercover of the Night" by The Rolling Stones

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  1694
Date:  11/12/1983
Debut:  48
Peak:  9
Weeks:  14
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  The band's previous album, 1981's Tattoo You, was their eighth studio album in a row to reach #1. Although it was mostly made up of leftover tracks from previous sessions, the LP was well-received and spawned the #2 hit "Start Me Up." Two years later, they set out to make their first album of the 80s to feature all brand new material. They would write and co-produce Undercover, but the sessions were a bit tumultuous and a rift would begin between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards that would get larger over the next few years. Jagger was sensing the changes in music and as he had done before, like on the disco-influenced "Emotional Rescue," he wanted to craft music with an eye on the times. Richards wanted to remain in the blues/rock mold that the band was known for. Neither were happy with each other, but they plowed through and finished the album. This first single was definitely a Jagger composition that Richards said "he just played on." Dressed in new 80s technology, the politically-charged song did well hitting #2 at Rock and #9 at Pop. The results were good, but not spectacular, and with the band not touring in support of the album, it broke the string of #1's and peaked at #4. It was still a platinum seller, but this was a drop after the multi-platinum Tattoo You.

ReduxReview:  I remember when I first heard this I was kinda like "whoa!" It was so dense sounding with all the echo, reverb and effects. This was not the typical Rolling Stones song. Most of their recent songs were very clean sounding. This new muddy atmosphere was certainly jarring, but I really liked it. There was a deliberate dirtiness to it that enhanced the somewhat indecipherable, political-leaning lyrics. It was messy and glorious. I wouldn't consider it a classic in their catalog, but it does remain one of my favorite guilty pleasures of theirs.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  The band also kept up with the times by starring in an elaborate music video for this song directed by Julien Temple. It featured a story line that had Jagger as a detective searching for a kidnapped girl in Brazil. Richards plays a mafioso-type boss that ends up shooting Jagger at the end. The violence prompted an edited version to be given to MTV, but even then the video would only be shown after 9 p.m.

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"If I'd Been the One" by 38 Special

Song#:  1693
Date:  11/12/1983
Debut:  62
Peak:  19
Weeks:  16
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  With their third album, Special Forces, 38 Special got their first Top 10 hit with the #10 "Caught Up in You" (#1 Rock). The album would also hit #10 and become their second platinum disc. To announce their follow-up album titled Tour de Force, the band issued this first single. It was another smash at Rock radio hitting #1. Although the track wouldn't get into the Top 10 at pop, it still did well enough to make the Top 20 and help to make the album their third platinum selling in a row.

ReduxReview:  The band created a little niche for themselves by managing to integrate their Southern rock sound with arena-ready pop/rock. It worked out very well for them and the results were certainly solid. This song is nearly as good as "Caught Up in You" and probably should have gotten closer to the Top 10, but it had a solid Top 20 finished enhanced by being a #1 Rock track.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  Band member Donnie Van Zant was the middle of the three musical Van Zant brothers. His brother Ronnie was the lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd until his death in a plane crash in 1977. Younger brother Johnny played in several band and in 1987 would become the lead singer in a reformed version of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Donnie and Johnny would also form their own band simply called Van Zant. A debut album in 1985 yielded a couple of songs that were minor hits at Rock. They discontinued the partnership after the album, but re-teamed for a couple of albums in 1998 and 2001. But their best success came in 2005 when they did the album Get Right with the Man for Columbia Nashville. The country-leaning LP got to #2 on the Country chart thanks to the #8 Country single "Help Somebody." The album would go gold. A follow-up album, My Kind of Country, would also reach the Country Top 10. Unfortunately, due to health issues Donnie would choose to retired from music in 2013.

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