Old Enough to Forget

Two Worlds came out in 1985 and the '80s had a sound, and by gum this was it. The flat splat of the drums, crisp guitars and gang vocals and sparkly keyboard parts. Body Electric was one of those bands who never really got out of the starting blocks. I remember seeing a poster for the band's debut on the wall at Little Mountain Sound. It was a cool cover, but all I knew was it was Frank Ludwig's new band, and as talented as Frank was, I never really got into his stuff. When "Do You Think They Can Tell" got some minor airplay in Vancouver I thought it was pretty cool, but it was the ballad "Don't Look Back" that clicked with me. That was an awesome song. So I picked up the E.P. and with only 5 songs, it was really all killer no filler. The album was produced by Bill Henderson and it sounded like a continuation of his '84 release Look In, Look Out . The album felt like a taster of things to come, except there wasn't anything else. This was a ...

After All was a band that seemed so full of promise. The band was based in Vancouver, and the members were Scott Acomba on vocals, Jordy Birch on bass and backing vocals, Todd Simko guitar and backing vocals, and Leigh Grant on drums. The band was signed to Capitol, and I'm guessing they were licensed from Nettwork but that's just a guess on my part.  I did buy the CD when it came out in '88, and even saw them open for Bruce Hornsby at the old Expo Theatre - a great venue, now gone. It was an odd pairing, but they gave it a good go, and I remember rooting for them as I'd just picked up the album and it was cool to see them run through their short set. "Bullets" was getting a little bit of airplay here at home, and I suspect it was a regional thing, but for me it counted. I can't remember if they got a little pop when they played it. I like to think they did. It was an unexpected pleasure to find the record. I didn't need it. I wanted it. This was a bit...

The other day the Jim Foster popped into my head, I hadn't thought of him in well over thirty years. Who knows what brought that up. At least it wasn't "Pop Muzik" by M - then I'd have never gotten it out of my head. "X-ray Eyes" was a catchy song, and because of that one song I bought Power Lines when it came out in 1986. It got played it a few times, and I put the hit on my mix tapes, and honestly other than the one song didn't remember much about Jim Foster. I do remember that "X-ray Eyes" got airplay on the radio station just across the border, which I thought was cool. That meant it was a real hit, not just a CANCON obligation. I don't remember the video but I did watch it on YouTube and I still really liked the song. I was browsing through my other favourite record store when I found a sealed copy of Power Lines for under six bucks. It was remaindered cutout, but my goodness, how could I pass this up? I didn't, and I was pre...

Paul Janz released High Strung in 1985 and the single "Go to Pieces" got a lot of radio play, but didn't really break into the top 10. Which I still find perplexing as it was one of those ear worms that had all of the magic ingredients that made mid 80s pop so appealing. The song is awesome. Electricity, released in 1987, is the one album of his I didn't have, and I honestly can't remember why I didn't pick it up. If you lived outside Canada this was his debut, and I suppose it made sense to include "Go to Pieces" as I didn't know at the time High Strung wasn't released outside Canada. Paul has a distinctive voice, a deft hand with his arrangements and his song craft was impeccable, so it's a head scratcher as to why he didn't really catch on. I think a lot of people bet on him being a big deal too. One of those guys was Michael Godin. He was an executive with A&M who left his position to guide Paul's career. Electricity was m...