Old Enough to Forget

Lonesome Jubilee  introduced the world to John Mellencamp ... no more John Cougar, or John Cougar Mellencamp ... it was John Mellencamp thank you very much. John's transformation into a full fledged folk rock (Americana is the term that would later be applied, but at the time this is just roots rock) hero was complete. While John had maintained his multi-platinum run in the States, here is Canada would find his greatest commercial success with Lonesome Jubilee . His previous three releases, American Fool , Uh-Huh , and Scarecrow all sold in excess of 500,000 copies. That an RIAA gold album from a population literally ten times small than our neighbours to the south. With Lonesome Jubilee he moved over 600,000 and this would be the peak of his popularity at least in terms of commercial album sales. He's never stopped creating music, and has released another sixteen albums, the last being Orpheus Descending (2023). However for me this was really the point where I stopped payin...

I remember seeing the cover for Shabooh Shoobah  in the early '80s and trying to work out how to say the band's name. Without radio or video I just assumed it was pronounced inks . The band would slowly start to build here in Canada and "Original Sin" got quite a bit of airplay, and then came "What You Need" which was a pretty big song. I thought they were good, but there were a lot of good bands and I only had so much money.  Kick was one of those albums that managed to connect with people in a big way. Fronted by Michael Hutchence who was simply mesmerizing and backed by an incredibly tight band INXS delivered a near perfect album. The timing could not have been better and the album would go on to move over 20,000,000 copies, almost ten times more than their previous record and it would be the band's high-water mark. At the time I had no idea this was as big as it was. I knew who the band was before Kick came out, and while I knew it was a popular albu...

A decade after Heart released  Little Queen , they dropped Bad Animals . To say they were back was a bit of an understatement, Heart was enjoying a career resurgence and were bigger than they'd ever been. Case in point, both albums went triple platinum in the States, while here at home Bad Animals would sell 400,000 copies doubling what they did on Little Queen. I had no idea at the time it was this big a deal. I knew "Alone" (from their self titled comeback in '85) was a huge power ballad, but honestly when I think of classic Heart albums, I don't think of Bad Animals . Time is a cruel mistress that way.  Now to be fair, I didn't have the classic albums when I was younger, although I did have  Passionworks  back in '83 because I liked the guitar solo on "How Can I Refuse?" a song that unfortunately stalled for the band. Of course I thought the big hits were cool, and "Barracuda" is right up there with my favourite songs growing up. Th...

Before Danny Elfman became synonymous with soundtrack work, he was one of the creative forces behind Oingo Boingo. It's still a surprise to me that Danny is credited as the sole composer as the contributions of the band were so important to the sound. Then again, what do I know? It was early '83 that I bought the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack and discovered the song, "Goodbye, Goodbye" and I was blown away. I then started looking for the band's albums and I really got a kick out of how dark and bouncy the band was. I still get a wicked grin when I think of "Only a Lad" and although I didn't really think the movie was that funny, I thought the song "Weird Science" was good, but "Dead Man's Party" was better - but I'm getting ahead of myself. For whatever reason the quirky lads just couldn't seem to catch a break with their first few albums and A&M dropped the band, and things seemed to be over. Then in th...

Another one of those, "I wonder what this sounds like" albums I found in a bin. It was still shrink wrapped which is always fun. The cover didn't yield a release date, but this looked mid '80s and the guys looked like they were going to sound like ABC or Depeche Mode ... or worst case Duran Duran, or worster case, they'd be a boy band.  You know what they say about judging a book by it's cover. Well, in this case I got more or less what I was hoping for. From the opening notes of "Let Her Fall" this was that dreamy blend of rock and synth-pop. It had a lot of guitars, and there were times I got hints of INXS and Simple Minds ... of course I could have easily said it sounded like a-ha and Pseudo Echo and I'd still be right. First (The Sound of Music) was the band's debut, and it came out in '87 and by this time the '80s had developed a sound and Then Jerico knew what they were doing. Now, as much as I'd like to write a love letter...

It was sealed, and it was cheap, and it followed me home so I got to keep it. New Regime, stylized as New:Regime was a relatively short lived '80s new wave tinged rock band who released two albums on RCA, their self titled debut in '85 and The Race which was released in '87. Me personally, I don't think I'd heard of them and reading through the credits I can't say I recognized any of the main players. I did recognize Neil Chapman's (Pukka Orchestra) name along with Dalbello under the additional musicians section which did lend a little cred from my perspective. I had been puttering in the basement, so I figured I'd just put this one and crank it up. Admittedly not the best way to road test a new album but it is what it is. Musically this sort of hit where I thought it would, which was cool. It was very mid '80s and reminded me a lot of Robbie Nevil (only on the first listen, after that it was harder to hear) but you'd be forgiven if you came up w...

Obladi obla dah. This month has a double shot of The Knack a band I've gotten into lately. They were so much more than a one hit wonder. I also figured four was enough this time. Rick Wakeman - Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1974) The Knack -  ... But the Little Girls Understand (1980) The Knack - Round Trip (1981) Foreigner - Inside Information (1987) Rick Wakeman - Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1974) I bought this as a curiosity, and it was a curiosity I got. I'd seen so many copies in the dollar bin it just seemed too interesting to pass up. I'll be the first to admit this would have been an astounding show to see live; however, hearing it as a stand alone experience is a little more disconnected. While there were parts that were certainly engaging, and I was particularly enamoured with the narration by David Hennings, there there were quite a few sections where in the cold light of day you hear the imperfections evident in the performance. While it can b...

The Silencers. The band that should have been. It's not like they were all over the radio, although I think I've retrofitted a memory of hearing "Painted Moon" on the radio - but I'm pretty sure it was just on a mix tape. It was the cover I found enticing. A simple white jacket with wee little black and white cut outs of the band on the bottom right corner. It looked intriguing, and it was also in a discount bin. Ah, the liquidation bin ... there was a warehouse that specialized in selling off store inventory from failed businesses and one day a couple of very large tables appeared that were full of CDs ... new CDs and they were cheap. Which was good because back in '87 my purchasing habit was insatiable which was fun for the ears and hard on the wallet. I can't remember how many discs I got from those disorganized tables but it was a lot ... the only one I truly remember getting is A Letter From St. Paul . Partly because of "Painted Moon" and be...

The Jitters were an odd little band who released two albums during their short career. Their debut dropped in '87 and the single "Last of the Red Hot Fools" was catchy, and I heard it a few times on the radio. A couple of years later they had another minor hit with 'Til The Fever Breaks" and then they were gone.  In the early '90s I found both albums on CD, and really enjoyed them - although to be fair as I sit here I don't really remember much other than the two songs I had heard on the radio way back when. Still, the band left a lasting impression.  I was browsing through the bins the other day, and to my surprise I found a sealed copy of the band's self titled album and it was too good to pass up.  I'm gonna sit back relax and revisit an album I've not heard in decades. Ladies and Gentlemen and all points in between The Jitters. ... a little while later ... Musically, they sounded like Katrina and the Waves and Huey Lewis and the News had a...

Here was chugging along into August, and I have to admit that my self imposed schedule of cranking out two of these a month may have been a tad ambitious. It's likely I'll take a step back and go to once a month. I mean, I'm spending a lot of time jotting down my meandering thoughts that frankly for the most part are just on this side of being coherent ... I'll let you pick a side. Still, I've been grinding my way through my pile of records. Up for grabs this time out are another gaggle of odds and sods and repeat offenders. Let's get right to it ... are you seated comfortably? Chilliwack – Look In, Look Out (1984) Neil Diamond - Love At The Greek: Recorded Live At The Greek Theatre (1977) Pete Townshend - All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes (1982) Loverboy - Wildside (1987) T Bone Burnett - The Talking Animals (1988) Chilliwack – Look In, Look Out (1984) At the time this felt like a reset for the perennial Canadian stallwarts who'd been cranking ou...

Here we go kids. Hope you're ready as well start the slide into the summer months. Junary can be a weird month where it's either too hot, too cold, or too boring. I'm still working my way through the records I bought last December, and while I'm still adding to the pile I'm trying to slow down. Having my favourite record store go tits up was really bad for them, but good for me. Although they do have an auction, and at times that's been a problem but that's my cross to bear. This time out is another mixed bag of nuts. Some of the albums I had back in the day, and others are new to me. It's always fun to sit down, turn on and turn it up. Rock and Hyde - Under the Volcano (1987) Three Dog Night - Naturally (1970) The Moody Blues - This is The Moody Blues (1974) Carl Perkins and NRBQ - Boppin' the Blues (1970) The Kinks - Give the People What They Want (1981) Rock and Hyde - Under the Volcano (1987) A couple years after Payolas tried and failed to gr...

Hooters released their follow up to Nervous Night in the summer of 1987. It hadn't seemed like two years between albums. When the album dropped I picked it up right away. I really don't recall my reaction at the time. I do know I immediately pulled "Satellite" off the album as my favourite track and it ended up on a lot of mix tapes. There were a couple other songs that I liked too, but I'll admit to having shelved the album pretty quickly after hearing the highlights, and giving it a few spins. It was a damning judgment, but this was 1987 and I was getting so much music that my attention span was pretty short. However, there was always something about the band I liked, and I would pick up their next album Zig Zag in '89 and then I would more or less lose track of the band. Getting back to One Way Home , I will say that it's been a hoot (sorry) getting to hear this again. Now, I do have this on CD, but finding a pretty mint copy of the record was too much...

A few nuggets here. The Alice Cooper record has seen better days, but I've found some really cool stuff too. Besides it's all for a good cause. Alice Cooper - Love it to Death (1971) Visions: Mission Andromeda (1987) The Records - The Records (1979) Trooper - Money Talks (1982) Eddie Schwartz - No Refuge (1981) Alice Cooper - Love it to Death (1971) While Billion Dollar Babies was my jam, and I love that album, it never really spurred me to become an obsessive fan. I mean don't get me wrong, when I heard his stuff I never turned it off, and when in the mid '80s he had a career resurgence I was there.  A while back I walked into a shop, and out front was a box that was full of records with a sign saying FREE . Well, it was worth a look. There sandwiched in between an old Irish Rovers record (that I had already. Don't judge me) and some obscure soundtrack was a pretty beat up copy of Love it to Death. "Well what have we here?" I slip the record out, and i...