Song#: 2549
Date: 11/30/1985
Debut: 94
Peak: 94
Weeks: 3
Genre: Rock
Pop Bits: Blues/rock guitarist Jon Butcher (born Jon Toombs) started making a name for himself in the Boston-based band Joanna Wild. After garnering a solid fan base, Butcher then branched out and started his own career with his band Jon Butcher Axis. The band became popular around the Boston/New England area and that led to an opening slot on the J. Geils Band's Freeze Frame tour. Labels came knocking and by 1983 Butcher and his band were signed with Polydor. Their first two albums charted thanks to a couple of minor radio hits and that led to a deal with Capitol. Their third album, Along the Axis, contained the #31 Rock track "Stop" and this single that found its way to the Pop chart. It would only be on the chart for a few short weeks, but the two songs helped the album get to #66, which would be the band's highest peaking on the chart. The next two albums would just be credited to Jon Butcher and would each feature a #7 Rock track. Butcher ended the band in 1991. He would then work in another band called Barefoot Servants and also do some solo projects. He also built his own recording studio and has been involved in scoring music for TV shows, films, and games.
ReduxReview: This pop-leaning ballad is a bit different from Butcher's usual rock tracks and it nearly sounds like a definite stab at grabbing a more mainstream audience. It didn't quite work out since the song ended up being a blip on the Pop chart, but he had a loyal following that kept albums selling. It's a lovely tune with a guitar part that kind of reminds me of The Police's "Every Breath You Take." While it's not strong enough to be a Top 10'er, it should have done better. It's too bad AC didn't pick this up as it could have done well on that format.
ReduxRating: 6/10
Trivia: Also included on the Along the Axis album was an instrumental closing track titled "The Ritual." Written by Butcher along with band member Thom Gimbel, the song would received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. They would lose to Jeff Beck who won for his album track "Escape."
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Saturday, October 6, 2018
Friday, October 5, 2018
"Chain Reaction" by Diana Ross
Song#: 2548
Date: 11/30/1985
Debut: 95
Peak: 95
Weeks: 3
Genre: Pop, R&B
Pop Bits: Ross' album she did in association with Barry Gibb and his brothers, Eaten Alive, got off to a rocky start when the lead title track single (that featured Michael Jackson) conked out at a minor #77 on the Pop chart. It did better at Dance (#3) and R&B (#10), but the lack of crossover support was surprising. To try and get back on course, this second single was pushed out. Unfortunately, it did worse barely making both the Pop and R&B (#85) charts. After a successful return to gold-level sales with 1984's Swept Away, many expected this Gibb-led project to do even better, yet it failed to turn gold. While the news was not good in the US, things turned out quite different in the UK and other European countries (see below).
ReduxReview: This is really the Gibb brothers meets Motown. I can absolutely hear the Supremes doing the chorus while the rest of the song has trademark Gibb touches. According to Barry Gibb, this was the last track recorded for the album. The brothers had written this song with Ross in mind early in the project, but never played it for her because they thought she wouldn't want to revisit the Motown sound. Later on after the project seemed done, Ross decided she wanted one more track for the album. They played her this song and convinced her to record the Supremes-like tune. In the long run, it ended up being a good thing (see below). At the time this came out, I didn't much care for it. I didn't like it's updated retro feel and wasn't fond of some of the racier lyrics, which sounded odd coming from Ross ("you make me tremble when your hand goes lower" - that would never be in a real Motown hit!). These days, I appreciate the song more and like what the Gibb bros. were trying to do. It got completely ignored in the US perhaps due to lack of promotion or stations passing it up due to the failure of "Eaten Alive." Or maybe other listeners felt the way I did at the time. Whatever happened, I'm glad that it struck gold for her in other countries.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: Triple Shot! 1) In the UK, "Eaten Alive" was also a chart dud getting to #71. However, this Motown-inspired track along with its associated video started to catch on when it was released. The song gained in popularity until it finally reached the top of the UK chart where it stayed for three weeks. It also got to #1 in Ireland and in Australia where it became the #1 single of 1986. Later in 1993, the song was released in a new remix to celebrate Ross' 30th anniversary in music. It would reach #20 on the UK chart. 2) This was Ross' second solo single to hit #1 in the UK. Her other one came in 1971 when "I'm Still Waiting" made it to the top. However, just like "Chain Reaction," the song failed to do anything in the US and sputtered out at #63 Pop/#40 R&B. 3) This song would get covered by many artists, especially those from the UK, but only one other artist would record a hit version. The UK dance-pop group Steps released their take on the song in 2001. It was a new track included on their Gold: Greatest Hits compilation. It nearly made the top of the chart, but had to settle for peaking at #2. The group was never able to break though to the US market, so the song did not chart.
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Date: 11/30/1985
Debut: 95
Peak: 95
Weeks: 3
Genre: Pop, R&B
Pop Bits: Ross' album she did in association with Barry Gibb and his brothers, Eaten Alive, got off to a rocky start when the lead title track single (that featured Michael Jackson) conked out at a minor #77 on the Pop chart. It did better at Dance (#3) and R&B (#10), but the lack of crossover support was surprising. To try and get back on course, this second single was pushed out. Unfortunately, it did worse barely making both the Pop and R&B (#85) charts. After a successful return to gold-level sales with 1984's Swept Away, many expected this Gibb-led project to do even better, yet it failed to turn gold. While the news was not good in the US, things turned out quite different in the UK and other European countries (see below).
ReduxReview: This is really the Gibb brothers meets Motown. I can absolutely hear the Supremes doing the chorus while the rest of the song has trademark Gibb touches. According to Barry Gibb, this was the last track recorded for the album. The brothers had written this song with Ross in mind early in the project, but never played it for her because they thought she wouldn't want to revisit the Motown sound. Later on after the project seemed done, Ross decided she wanted one more track for the album. They played her this song and convinced her to record the Supremes-like tune. In the long run, it ended up being a good thing (see below). At the time this came out, I didn't much care for it. I didn't like it's updated retro feel and wasn't fond of some of the racier lyrics, which sounded odd coming from Ross ("you make me tremble when your hand goes lower" - that would never be in a real Motown hit!). These days, I appreciate the song more and like what the Gibb bros. were trying to do. It got completely ignored in the US perhaps due to lack of promotion or stations passing it up due to the failure of "Eaten Alive." Or maybe other listeners felt the way I did at the time. Whatever happened, I'm glad that it struck gold for her in other countries.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: Triple Shot! 1) In the UK, "Eaten Alive" was also a chart dud getting to #71. However, this Motown-inspired track along with its associated video started to catch on when it was released. The song gained in popularity until it finally reached the top of the UK chart where it stayed for three weeks. It also got to #1 in Ireland and in Australia where it became the #1 single of 1986. Later in 1993, the song was released in a new remix to celebrate Ross' 30th anniversary in music. It would reach #20 on the UK chart. 2) This was Ross' second solo single to hit #1 in the UK. Her other one came in 1971 when "I'm Still Waiting" made it to the top. However, just like "Chain Reaction," the song failed to do anything in the US and sputtered out at #63 Pop/#40 R&B. 3) This song would get covered by many artists, especially those from the UK, but only one other artist would record a hit version. The UK dance-pop group Steps released their take on the song in 2001. It was a new track included on their Gold: Greatest Hits compilation. It nearly made the top of the chart, but had to settle for peaking at #2. The group was never able to break though to the US market, so the song did not chart.
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Thursday, October 4, 2018
"I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock and Roll)" by Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit
Song#: 2547
Date: 11/30/1985
Debut: 96
Peak: 77
Weeks: 9
Genre: Rock
Pop Bits: Lowe first garnered attention as a member of the UK pub rock band Brinsley Schwarz. Although they didn't have any hits, the band became quite well-known over the course of six albums recorded in the early 70s. Lowe left the band in '75 and began to collaborate with fellow rocker Dave Edmunds in Rockpile. Due to the two artists being signed to different labels, the resulting albums would be fully credited to either Lowe or Edmunds. They were able to issue out one album as Rockpile in 1980, which resulted in the #51 Pop hit "Teacher Teacher." The band broke up the following year with Lowe heading out on a solo career. After two albums, Lowe then assembled a new backing band and recorded his next two albums as Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit. Their second album, The Rose of England, would featured this single. The song did fairly well at Rock getting to #27. At Pop, it got some attention for a couple of months, but couldn't make it out of the bottom quarter of the chart. It would be Lowe's last charting single.
ReduxReview: Lowe gets a helping hand on production via a current hot artist (see below) and there are certainly elements to the production that sound very familiar. It did help the song get a bit of notice, but a roots rock tune was a hard sell in the mid-80s. This song is a lot of fun and I like it even though I find the slick production a bit of a corporate reach to force a hit. Lowe is more genuine on his own. Regardless, it's cool to hear Lowe's take on his own song. However, I prefer Dave Edumund's more reckless original (see below).
ReduxRating: 6/10
Trivia: Double Shot! 1) This song, which was written by Lowe, is actually a remake. Lowe was working with Dave Edumunds in the mid-70s and just prior to the formal formation of Rockpile, Lowe appeared on Edumunds' third solo LP, 1977's Get It. Lowe contributed this track to the album. It was issued out as a single and it got to #26 in the UK. It did not chart in the US. At the time it was just known as "I Knew the Bride." Lowe expanded the title when he recorded it with his new band. Lowe's new version was produced by recent US hit maker Huey Lewis. 2) Lowe produced Elvis Costello's first five albums. In 1978, Costello would cover a song that Lowe had written and recorded in 1974 with his former band Brinsley Schwarz called "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding." The Costello version would first appear as the b-side to a Lowe solo single, but then the song took on a life of its own and would be added to the US version of Costello's 1979 LP Armed Forces. Although neither version of the song would reach the charts, it became a popular Costello track and many artists would later remake the tune. Perhaps the second most well-known version of the song came in 1992 when singer Curtis Stigers cover it for the 17-million selling soundtrack to The Bodyguard.
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Date: 11/30/1985
Debut: 96
Peak: 77
Weeks: 9
Genre: Rock
Pop Bits: Lowe first garnered attention as a member of the UK pub rock band Brinsley Schwarz. Although they didn't have any hits, the band became quite well-known over the course of six albums recorded in the early 70s. Lowe left the band in '75 and began to collaborate with fellow rocker Dave Edmunds in Rockpile. Due to the two artists being signed to different labels, the resulting albums would be fully credited to either Lowe or Edmunds. They were able to issue out one album as Rockpile in 1980, which resulted in the #51 Pop hit "Teacher Teacher." The band broke up the following year with Lowe heading out on a solo career. After two albums, Lowe then assembled a new backing band and recorded his next two albums as Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit. Their second album, The Rose of England, would featured this single. The song did fairly well at Rock getting to #27. At Pop, it got some attention for a couple of months, but couldn't make it out of the bottom quarter of the chart. It would be Lowe's last charting single.
ReduxReview: Lowe gets a helping hand on production via a current hot artist (see below) and there are certainly elements to the production that sound very familiar. It did help the song get a bit of notice, but a roots rock tune was a hard sell in the mid-80s. This song is a lot of fun and I like it even though I find the slick production a bit of a corporate reach to force a hit. Lowe is more genuine on his own. Regardless, it's cool to hear Lowe's take on his own song. However, I prefer Dave Edumund's more reckless original (see below).
ReduxRating: 6/10
Trivia: Double Shot! 1) This song, which was written by Lowe, is actually a remake. Lowe was working with Dave Edumunds in the mid-70s and just prior to the formal formation of Rockpile, Lowe appeared on Edumunds' third solo LP, 1977's Get It. Lowe contributed this track to the album. It was issued out as a single and it got to #26 in the UK. It did not chart in the US. At the time it was just known as "I Knew the Bride." Lowe expanded the title when he recorded it with his new band. Lowe's new version was produced by recent US hit maker Huey Lewis. 2) Lowe produced Elvis Costello's first five albums. In 1978, Costello would cover a song that Lowe had written and recorded in 1974 with his former band Brinsley Schwarz called "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding." The Costello version would first appear as the b-side to a Lowe solo single, but then the song took on a life of its own and would be added to the US version of Costello's 1979 LP Armed Forces. Although neither version of the song would reach the charts, it became a popular Costello track and many artists would later remake the tune. Perhaps the second most well-known version of the song came in 1992 when singer Curtis Stigers cover it for the 17-million selling soundtrack to The Bodyguard.
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Wednesday, October 3, 2018
"It's Only Love" by Bryan Adams and Tina Turner
Song#: 2546
Date: 11/23/1985
Debut: 53
Peak: 15
Weeks: 14
Genre: Rock
Pop Bits: By this time, Adams was five singles deep into his album Reckless. All made the Pop Top 15 with one of them, "Heaven," getting to the top spot. At this point it would be questionable to release a sixth single, but Adams had a minor trump card still in his hand with this duet track. Adams and Turner were certainly at career peaks at the time and that made prospects higher than the norm for this single. In addition, it would be backed up by a live concert video that had Adams singing this song with Turner during one of her tour stops. It all worked well as the track made it to #7 at Rock and then became the album's sixth Top 15 entry. When all was said and done, Reckless would sell over 5 million copies to become the best selling studio album of Adams' career.
ReduxReview: This is another good track from Reckless with a pretty great opening guitar lick, but what really made the song a hit was Tina Turner. Without her, I don't think it would have been as big of a hit (or probably wouldn't have even been released at all). The MTV video certainly helped as well with the pair really selling the song in concert (especially the strutting Turner in her classic jean jacket/mini skirt look). This song doesn't get played as much as some of the other hits from the album, but it ranks right up there with them.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: The video for this song ended up winning an MTV Video Music Award. It won for Best Stage Performance in a Video. This category began with the very first award show in 1984, but was eliminated later with the last award given out in 1989. Besides Adams and Turner, the only other artists to receive this award are Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Prince with Sheena Easton, and Living Colour.
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Date: 11/23/1985
Debut: 53
Peak: 15
Weeks: 14
Genre: Rock
Pop Bits: By this time, Adams was five singles deep into his album Reckless. All made the Pop Top 15 with one of them, "Heaven," getting to the top spot. At this point it would be questionable to release a sixth single, but Adams had a minor trump card still in his hand with this duet track. Adams and Turner were certainly at career peaks at the time and that made prospects higher than the norm for this single. In addition, it would be backed up by a live concert video that had Adams singing this song with Turner during one of her tour stops. It all worked well as the track made it to #7 at Rock and then became the album's sixth Top 15 entry. When all was said and done, Reckless would sell over 5 million copies to become the best selling studio album of Adams' career.
ReduxReview: This is another good track from Reckless with a pretty great opening guitar lick, but what really made the song a hit was Tina Turner. Without her, I don't think it would have been as big of a hit (or probably wouldn't have even been released at all). The MTV video certainly helped as well with the pair really selling the song in concert (especially the strutting Turner in her classic jean jacket/mini skirt look). This song doesn't get played as much as some of the other hits from the album, but it ranks right up there with them.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: The video for this song ended up winning an MTV Video Music Award. It won for Best Stage Performance in a Video. This category began with the very first award show in 1984, but was eliminated later with the last award given out in 1989. Besides Adams and Turner, the only other artists to receive this award are Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Prince with Sheena Easton, and Living Colour.
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Tuesday, October 2, 2018
"Spies Like Us" by Paul McCartney
Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 2545 Date: 11/23/1985
Debut: 59
Peak: 7
Weeks: 17
Genre: Pop, Soundtrack
Pop Bits: Although McCartney's movie Give My Regards to Broad Street was a bit of a box office dud, the soundtrack did well thanks to the #6 hit "No More Lonely Nights." Following that adventure, McCartney was asked by Warner Bros. to write a song for the upcoming John Landis-directed comedy flick Spies Like Us, which was to star Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd. McCartney obliged and penned this title track. It was issued out as a single a couple of weeks prior to the film's opening. The song climbed the chart and made it into the Pop Top 10 while getting to #31 at Rock. It would be McCartney's 22nd US Pop Top 10 hit outside of the Beatles. It also remains his last solo effort to reach the Top 10.
ReduxReview: Okay. I'll just say it. This song is stupid. As much as I love McCartney, this one was a definite clunker. Yeah, he had a hard task working with a title like "Spies Like Us," but the nonsensical lyrics and odd double-time sections were both goofy at best. This tune did nothing for me then and it still doesn't. I'm not even sure it did anything for McCartney because it has only appeared on one compilation of his that I can find. There could be rights issues around the song that has prevented its use, but you'd think by this time that would all be settled. Yet even if it did appear on one of his compilations, I'd most likely hit the forward button quickly. No matter how good of an artist you are, there will be missteps and this was a doozie for McCartney. Still, he somehow got a Top 10 out of it.
ReduxRating: 2/10
Trivia: Double Shot! 1) Although Spies Like Us was panned by the majority of critics, the comedy did well at the box office. The original story was co-written by Dan Aykroyd and Dave Thomas and was inspired by the old Bob Hope/Bing Crosby "road" series of pictures (Road to Singapore, etc.). It was supposed to star Jim Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, but after Belushi's death the film was delayed and Chase later stepped in. 2) As mentioned above, this is still McCartney's last solo Pop Top 10 hit (to-date). However, many years later he did wind up in the Top 10 as a guest on a track. Along with Kanye West, McCartney co-wrote, co-produced, and performed on the Rhianna track "FourFiveSeconds." The song would be a double-platinum #4 hit in 2015. With this hit, McCartney set a record for the longest gap between Top 10 hits at 29 years and 2 weeks. He took the record away from Santana who had 28 years, 7 months, and 2 weeks between 1971's "Black Magic Woman" and 1999's "Smooth."
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Monday, October 1, 2018
"Go Home" by Stevie Wonder
Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 2544 Date: 11/23/1985
Debut: 67
Peak: 10
Weeks: 17
Genre: R&B, Adult Contemporary
Pop Bits: Wonder got his ninth #1 on the Pop chart with "Part-Time Lover," the lead single from his album In Square Circle. This next single wouldn't do quite as well, but it did just barely make the Pop Top 10 while getting to #2 at R&B, #1 AC, and #1 Dance. This song is similar to a few of his previous hits in that Wonder plays all the instruments save for a couple of additions (trumpet and sax in this song's case). The formula of doing most everything himself seemed to be working well for Wonder as the album became a double-platinum seller. Unfortunately, this song would be his last (to-date) to reach the Pop Top 10.
ReduxReview: Back in the day I didn't really pay attention to this song because I just wasn't a fan of Wonder's music around this time. These days I think this is one of his better hits from the 80s. The percolating groove is severely dated, but it still works and chugs along quite well. This song could have benefited from a few real instruments, but synths dominated the day so it probably sounded pretty cool and advanced at the time. The melodies and chord structures here are more Wonder-ish, which I enjoy. It's not an outstanding song and one that's kind of gotten lost in his catalog, but it is worthy of spinning once in a while.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: Wonder became the youngest artist to hit #1 on the Pop chart when "Fingertips, Pt. 2" reached the summit in 1963. Wonder was thirteen years old at the time. Seven years later, an eleven year old Michael Jackson hit #1 with "I Want You Back," but he did that with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5. So while Jackson remains the youngest artist to reach #1, Wonder still retains the title of the youngest solo artist to reach #1.
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Sunday, September 30, 2018
"Sex As a Weapon" by Pat Benatar
Song#: 2543
Date: 11/23/1985
Debut: 72
Peak: 28
Weeks: 13
Genre: Rock
Pop Bits: Although Benatar's last Top 10 hit, "Invincible," was used as a movie theme, it was also being touted as the first single from her sixth studio album Seven the Hard Way. Unfortunately, the album got issued nearly five months after "Invincible" came out so this next track nearly felt like the LP's first single. It became her seventh Top 10 at Rock reaching the #5 spot. At Pop, the edgy rock tune didn't do as well and it retreated soon after getting inside the Top 30. With momentum lost from the early release of "Invincible" and this song not getting close to the Top 10, the album became her lowest peaking to-date at #26 and only went gold. It was her first to not reach platinum status.
ReduxReview: By this time, Benatar had basically stopped writing and made no contributions to the LP (although her husband Neil Giraldo would co-write four songs). Ringers were brought in to provide hits for the album including this tune written by Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg. It's not a bad track, but it certainly isn't as strong or as memorable as other Kelly/Steinberg hits such as Madonna's "Like a Virgin." The production by Giraldo is slick, dense, and a bit overbearing, which was sometimes the norm back in the mid-80s. It all just sounds a bit forced to me especially when you revisit Benatar's earlier hits. I remember hearing this song for the first time and thinking, "well, that's not going to go very far," and indeed it did not.
ReduxRating: 5/10
Trivia: Benatar earned her sixth Grammy nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female for this song. Although she didn't win this time around, she had four previous wins in the category. The four wins were all consecutive from 1980 to 1983.
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Date: 11/23/1985
Debut: 72
Peak: 28
Weeks: 13
Genre: Rock
Pop Bits: Although Benatar's last Top 10 hit, "Invincible," was used as a movie theme, it was also being touted as the first single from her sixth studio album Seven the Hard Way. Unfortunately, the album got issued nearly five months after "Invincible" came out so this next track nearly felt like the LP's first single. It became her seventh Top 10 at Rock reaching the #5 spot. At Pop, the edgy rock tune didn't do as well and it retreated soon after getting inside the Top 30. With momentum lost from the early release of "Invincible" and this song not getting close to the Top 10, the album became her lowest peaking to-date at #26 and only went gold. It was her first to not reach platinum status.
ReduxReview: By this time, Benatar had basically stopped writing and made no contributions to the LP (although her husband Neil Giraldo would co-write four songs). Ringers were brought in to provide hits for the album including this tune written by Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg. It's not a bad track, but it certainly isn't as strong or as memorable as other Kelly/Steinberg hits such as Madonna's "Like a Virgin." The production by Giraldo is slick, dense, and a bit overbearing, which was sometimes the norm back in the mid-80s. It all just sounds a bit forced to me especially when you revisit Benatar's earlier hits. I remember hearing this song for the first time and thinking, "well, that's not going to go very far," and indeed it did not.
ReduxRating: 5/10
Trivia: Benatar earned her sixth Grammy nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female for this song. Although she didn't win this time around, she had four previous wins in the category. The four wins were all consecutive from 1980 to 1983.
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