Eurogliders - This Island (1984)

Eurogliders This Island was a nifty little trip down memory lane. I found the record a while back when flipping through a discount bin and something about it seemed familiar but I couldn't put my finger on anything tangible. The track list didn't offer up much in the way of hints (they were there) but I put it under my arm along with a few others I'd found and figured it would be fun finding out.

It was. 

Turns out the lead off track "Heaven" was why this was familiar. It may not have been a big hit, but I heard it enough for it to get lodged into my brain. As soon as it started I was like, "Ah, I remember this ..." It was pretty bloody catchy, but seemed to fade away as fast as it popped up.

These are the kinds of albums I tend to get a kick out of revisiting. There's something really fun about this era of pop. 1984 was still pretty early into the new decade but the elements that would later be the defining sounds of the '80s were on full display. There were so many Australian bands who were carving out their own sound and in the process defining an era. There must have been something in the water they used to brew their beer. This was still a couple of years before the push to bring Foster's to Canada ... hmm, beer.

The band employed two lead vocalists: Bernie Lynch who wrote the songs (according to the notes) and played bass synth and Grace Knight who also played tenor sax. The two would alternate or sing counters and harmony with each other. Their voices are the key to the band's sound. 

The other players here were, Amanda Vincent who seemed to carry the heaviest burden on the keyboards, she also provided glockenspiel (oh ya) and bass synth. Crispin Akerman had that '80s tone dialed in on guitar. He plays exactly what's needed. John Bennetts provided drums, percussion and Paiste Cymbals ... which says to me he played breakables along with the programmed segments. Rounding out the rhythm section was Ron Francois who played bass and bass synth. Seems like everyone played bass synth.

Some of the songs do employ a drum machine on several tracks, that '80s flat splat is a hallmark of the times, however, the majority of the songs do feature a real drummer, and yes the snare sound is a flat splat, so go figure. This was my favourite slice of the '80s when the marriage of technology with actual musicians was complimentary and used to enhance. I have no issues with electronic bands, but there's something tangible when you have organic textures being supported with synths and programmed accoutrements. The featured horns, actual horns throughout is frankly awesome.

The album would go platinum in Australia, and the single "Heaven" would chart all over the world. Eurogliders would release more albums, but here in North America this would be the only time I ever heard them on the radio. Apparently the follow up to This Island released in the fall of '85 would also go platinum at home ... subsequent records not so much. Which is another story I am not qualified to tell. What I do have is This Island, and the entire album is full of nice pop songs, and there are no clunkers or duds. For a record I picked up on a whim I got way more than I expected in addition to the trip down memory lane.