A Record a Week: Loverboy - s/t

SIDE 1.
THE KID IS HOT TONITE
TURN ME LOOSE
ALWAYS ON MY MIND
LADY OF THE 80'S

SIDE 2.
LITTLE GIRL
PRISSY PRISSY
TEENAGE OVERDOSE
DOA
IT DON'T MATTER

Two things popped into my mind when I first listened to this: 1. Is this a greatest hits album? and 2. The spelling 'tonite' dates back as far as 1980?

Well, 1. no and 2. apparently.  I also did not know they were Canadian and that they were able to predict what a 'Lady of the 80's' was right off the bat in 1980. I suppose that's possible though, since they seemed to have most of what the musical style of the 1980's was all trapped into this record. A little bit of new wave and a little bit of rock, the rest of the record (after the first two songs) sounds like songs that Elvis Costello made work for him or like anything else that power rock bands did around that time. These days, you can find them playing casinos and fairs and festivals that hold on to the past (with bands like Whitesnake, Poison, etc.)

Only somewhat related, but one time I was working sound at a festival with Alan Frew and it was really sad. His drum skin said both 'AF' and 'Glass Tiger' as he played songs from the distant past mixed in with newere, less successful works. I imagine a Loverboy to feel a lot like that as you see them up there in middle-aged clothing playing the same songs they have for 30 years (or worse, if they dressed the same as the back of this album).

All that aside, The Kid is Hot Tonite & Turn Me Loose are pretty great right? I mean for what they are? They remind me of Footloose and Top Gun, even though my research says that neither appeared in either of those films (though apparently a later song Heaven in Your Eyes did appear in Top Gun, so bonus points for that?) A pretty good career start for a band that managed to squeeze out a few more hits and still live off them a few decades later.

A Record a Week: Ronnie Hawkins - s/t

SIDE 1.
ONE MORE NIGHT (Dylan)
BITTER GREEN (Lightfoot)
I MAY NEVER GET TO HEAVEN (Buddy Killen & Bill Anderson)
WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN (Public Domain)
MATCHBOX (Carl Perkins)
LITTLE BIRD (Jerry Jeff Walker)

SIDE 2.
ONE TOO MANY MORNINGS (Dylan)
FORTY DAYS (Berry)
DOWN IN THE ALLEY (Solmon Burke, Bert Berns, Babe Marvin & Joseph C. Martin)
WHO DO YOU LOVE (Ellis McDaniel)
HOME FROM THE FOREST (Lightfoot)

This record contains covers of some of the most influential folk and rock artists over the years. Hawkins took the success of the band and parlayed it into a solo career. His skill in different styles of music shines through on this record. Not only does he do justice to the talent of the original artists, but also adds his own jazz/folk/country spin to the songs.

I hear his tribute to the original artists in his singing style, but I also hear a lot of Elvis Presley. Not all the time, but in a few of the songs, he seems to take a 'Can't help falling in love with you' approach in the vocals.

I just love this record, and this is coming from a person who isn't a Hawkins fan. I'm not not a Hawkins fan, I just haven't explored the catalog or heard enough to ever consider myself a fan. This record definitely gets the thumbs up.

A Record a Week: Fun Boy Three - Fun Boy Three

SIDE 1.
IT AIN'T WHAT YOU DO (w/ Bananarama)
THE TELEPHONE ALWAYS RINGS
WAY ON DOWN
THE LUNATICS
FUNRAMA 2 (w/ Bananarama)


SIDE 2.
BEST OF LUCK MATE
FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY
LIFE IN GENERAL (LEWE IN ALGEMEEN)
I DON'T BELIEVE IT
ALONE (w/ Bananarama)
SANCTUARY (w/ Bananarama)

For some reason, I at one point had two copies of this album even though I had never heard of it. I know this, because when me and my old roommate began screenprinting, we used covers of albums I didn't know about or listen to as test prints (something I now wish I hadn't done).

This album is an interesting mix of things I didn't expect. Judging by the cover and the hairstyles donned on said cover, I thought it would be more along the lines of A-HA or Culture Club. While there were elements of that new-wave/electro/pop sound, there were definitely larger elements to the album that were pleasantly surprising. The majority of the album has an underlying African drum/bongo beat thing going on and combined with a funky beat, creates a real Dr. John feel. It was a bit of a musical cacophony, certainly more complex than what I had pictured going in.

On a technical note, the band only existed for a couple years ('81-'83) and released just this and one other record. The featuring of Bananarama on this record was what launched their career. I would say that, in the end, they may have got the better deal career-wise.