Saturday, November 9, 2019

"It's Not You, It's Not Me" by KBC Band

Song#:  2947
Date:  11/29/1986
Debut:  94
Peak:  89
Weeks:  4
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Over the years there have been various offshoot bands and solo efforts that had their roots planted in Jefferson Airplane. The KBC Band was another group that featured previous members of that famous 60s outfit. Made up of Paul Kantner (K), Marty Balin (B), and Jack Casady (C), the trio slowly came together after each were doing their own thing after departures from Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship. By 1985 they had a full band together and Arista Records signed them up. Their self-titled debut album would be issued in the fall of '86 preceded by this first single. The track did well at Rock getting to #6, but it couldn't quite make it at Pop. It fizzled out after a quick month on the chart. A second single, "America," was another Rock hit (#8), but it failed to reach the Pop chart. The album would sell a few copies and get to #75. Even though the results were fairly positive, the trio quickly began to have issues and by '87 they had split.

ReduxReview:  Well, this wasn't Jeff Airplane. It wasn't Jeff Starship either. In some ways it had more in common with then then-current Starship. It was a slab of 80s pop/rock with a keyboard-heavy production. Written by Van Stephenson and Phil Brown, it was probably selected to add some commercial viability to the album. It kind of work since the track did well at Rock, but it wasn't as good or as memorable as other pop/rock tunes that were climbing the chart. It's good to hear Balin's vocals, but it's also odd that he's fronting a track that could have been on a Starship album.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Even though the KBC Band would break up after their debut album, it was the catalyst for a full reunion of Jefferson Airplane. In 1988, the trio got back together along with Grace Slick and Jorma Kaukonen. It was nearly the full lineup of Jefferson Airplane during their heyday. The only member missing was drummer Spencer Dryden. The reunited band recorded a new self-titled album co-produced by Ron Nevison, who had helmed albums by Jefferson Starship (and Heart). While it produced no Pop singles, One track, "Summer of Love," got to #15 at AC while "Planes" made it to #24 at Rock. The album would make it to #85. The accompanying tour was a success, but the reunion would be short-lived and members would go their various ways once again. A mini reunion would take place in 1996 (with Dryden, but without Slick who was recovering from an illness) for a performance at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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Friday, November 8, 2019

"I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect for You)" by Grace Jones

Song#:  2946
Date:  11/29/1986
Debut:  95
Peak:  69
Weeks:  9
Genre:  R&B, Dance



Pop Bits:  Jamaican-born Jones moved to the States with her family when she was in her early teens. By the time she was 18, Jones had moved to New York and was signed to the famous Wilhelmina Modeling agency. She began to work as a model, but her look was more suited for European designers and she made a move to Paris. It was there that she began to dabble in music, most likely influenced by her frequent visits to the city's gay nightclubs. She released a couple of indie singles in 1975 and 1976, but nothing much initially happened with them. However, the recordings got picked up by a small US label who remixed and released them. Both songs became hits on the US Dance chart and even made the lower rungs of the Pop chart. Island Records then came calling and signed Jones. The two remixes would be included on her debut album, 1977's Portfolio. Six more albums would be released over the years including her best effort, 1981's Nightclubbing (#32), which featured the #2 Dance/#5 R&B hit "Pull Up to the Bumper." For her eighth album, Jones moved from Island over to Manhattan and worked with producer Nile Rodgers to come up with Inside Story. This first single was issued out and it became Jones' ninth Top 10 at Dance getting to #4 while also reaching #9 at R&B. The song proved popular enough to become her first Pop chart entry since 1976. It didn't get far, but it did become her highest peaking single on the chart. The LP sold fairly well getting to #26 R&B/#81 Pop. The single and album would be Jones' last to reach the Pop charts. She followed the album up with Bulletproof Heart in 1989, but then didn't record another album until 2008's Hurricane.

ReduxReview:  I think that this song was Jones' most commercially viable single and indeed it did well at Dance and R&B. However, Pop ignored the tune. I'm not absolutely sure, but my guess is that the song's video (a cool one directed by Jones herself) was never promoted or probably even played on MTV. At the time, the lack of R&B artists (besides Prince and the Jacksons, of course) was still an issue, which was a shame. This song should have been a bigger hit and MTV's support could have made a difference. What kind of sucks too is that this song has a Eurythmics feel to it and I can easily hear Annie Lennox singing this. Had Eurythmics done this song back then, their video would have been on MTV and this certainly would have been a hit for them. But since it was Grace Jones, it got different treatment. That also bled into pop radio as well. Idiots. Well, at least the song became a club and R&B hit and is still one of Jones' best singles.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  When Jones attended college, she took theater class. That led to her doing some summer stock shows in Philadelphia. As her modeling career took off, she dabbled in a bit of acting, but it wasn't until she was an established music star that more opportunities came her way. Her first significant role was in 1984 when she co-starred with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian. She got good notices for her performance and also for her next role as a villain in the 1985 James Bond flick A View to a Kill. She would also appear in the 1986 horror-comedy Vamp and alongside Eddie Murphy in 1992's Boomerang. A couple years prior to Conan the Barbarian, Jones had the chance to be in a sci-fi flick that would turn out to be a classic of the genre. Jones was sent the script to an upcoming film titled Blade Runner. She was being considered for the role of the replicant Zhora. Jones hadn't even read the script before turning the role down on the advice of artist/photographer Jean-Paul Goude, with whom she had a personal and professional relationship. After turning down the role, Jones then read the script and realized she made a mistake. She tried to get back on board with the film, but by then Joanna Cassidy was already signed on for the role. Jones didn't make that mistake again when Conan came her way.

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Thursday, November 7, 2019

"The Best Man in the World" by Ann Wilson

Song#:  2945
Date:  11/29/1986
Debut:  97
Peak:  61
Weeks:  12
Genre:  Pop, Rock, Soundtrack



Pop Bits:  Heart's Ann Wilson didn't have any inclinations to start a solo career, but she was persuaded to lend her voice to a few movie tunes in the mid-80s. The first one was a duet with Loverboy's Mike Reno, "Almost Paradise," which became a #7 hit from the soundtrack to Footloose. A couple years later, Wilson would be asked to help with another soundtrack song, this time for the Eddie Murphy comedy The Golden Child. The track would end up being a solo-billed effort by Wilson titled "The Best Man in the World" and it would be issued out as the soundtrack's first single. The tune would do well at Rock getting to #5, but it just didn't catch fire at Pop where it stopped short of the top half of the chart. A second single from the soundtrack, "Deeper Love" by Meli'sa Morgan, was released. It only got to #74 on the R&B chart. Without a significant single to promote it, the soundtrack stalled at a low #126. 

ReduxReview:  With Nancy Wilson, songwriter Sue Ennis, and producer Ron Nevison on board with this tune along with Ann Wilson, it is more-or-less a Heart song. The verse rocks along quite well, but there are odd sections in half-time that sound like they were written by a film composer (which they were, see below) and they don't quite fit the song. There is also no real chorus or hook to the tune. Half of the tune is rockin', the other half is not. It's a bit like under-baked bread. This one needed more time in the oven.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) Composer John Barry was selected to do the film's score. He began the work, but issues arose with producers and he ended up leaving the project. French composer Michel Colombier then stepped in to complete the score. Although most of Barry's original music would not be used, a couple portions did make the cut. An instrumental titled "Wisdom of the Ages" would be in the film and on the soundtrack. He also wrote the music to this song. Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, and Sue Ennis would supply the lyrics.  2) The Golden Child was Eddie Murphy's next film after the hugely successful Beverly Hills Cop. It ended up being a mild box office hit, but most critics panned the flick and audience reaction was mixed. Even Murphy wasn't a fan. He stated in a 1989 interview with Rolling Stone that the movie "was a piece of shit" even though it did well and made money.

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Wednesday, November 6, 2019

"War" by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

Top 10 Alert!
Song#:  2944
Date:  11/22/1986
Debut:  45
Peak:  8
Weeks:  12
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Springsteen had a reputation for being a terrific live performer and some of his concerts would even go over the three-hour mark. Yet after a decade of recording music that resulted in seven successful studio albums, Springsteen had yet to release a live disc. As things from his #1 LP Born in the U.S.A. wound down near the end of '85, Springsteen's producer, Jon Landau, sent some concert tapes his way thinking it was time to explore a live record. Over the next few months, the pair would comb over hundreds of concert recordings that were culled over the years. They whittled down selections until they had a set of tracks that practically mimicked Springsteen's three-hour events. The songs would be spread over five LPs and boxed up to become Live /1975-85. It was ready in time for the '86 Christmas holiday period and to promote it, this first single was selected for release. The song was a hit at Rock getting to #4 while becoming his eighth Top 10 Pop entry in a row. It created even more demand for the box set and when released in mid-November, it burst on to the Album chart at the #1 position. It was only the fourth album in chart history to debut at #1 and the first since Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life in 1976. It was an epic debut for an artist who was know for giving epic concerts.

ReduxReview:  I remember when this box set came out. It was like an event. I believe that it wasn't too expensive (maybe $25?), but for a barely working college kid, that was a chunk of change. So I did the logical thing - I asked for it for Christmas. Got it! In the end, I wasn't all that enthralled with it. I should have known better because I never really liked live albums, but then it was Springsteen. It has to be something awesome. I found it to just be okay. I'm pretty sure I listened to the whole set once and then filed the box away. It was just too much for me. I might have enjoyed attending one of his mega-concerts, but to listen to it on album was a bit of a chore. I copied a few tracks I liked to cassette so I could hear them separately. This song was one of them. Springsteen applied the appropriate grit to the politically charged tune and as always the E Street Band were on point. It was a solid reading of the old hit and an appropriate choice for a single. It did well, but it has kind of been forgotten over the years.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) Eventually, the box set would be certified 13x platinum making it one of the best selling concert albums of all time. However, the RIAA's policy at the time was to count each disc in a box set separately for certification. Therefore, since Springsteen's set had five discs, a purchase of the set counted as five towards certification. So while it may have been certified 13x platinum, the actual count of full box sets sold was around 4 million.  2) While Springsteen only recorded his own original songs for his albums, he would often throw in cover tunes into his concert sets. This was one of them. It was recorded at the Los Angeles Memorial Colosseum on September 30, 1985. It was originally recorded by The Temptations early in 1970 for their Psychedelic Shack album and there were calls to release it as a single, but Motown refused to because they thought the political nature of it would harm the group's reputation. Instead, it got recorded by Edwin Starr and issued out in the summer of '70. The song became a big #1 Pop/#3 R&B hit.

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Tuesday, November 5, 2019

"Two People" by Tina Turner

Song#:  2943
Date:  11/22/1986
Debut:  72
Peak:  30
Weeks:  12
Genre:  Pop, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  Turner followed up her Grammy-winning smash album Private Dancer with her sixth solo effort Break Every Rule. Its first single, "Typical Male," got things kicked off in a good way when it reached #2 on the Pop chart. For a follow-up, this mid-tempo ballad was selected. Expectations were that it would be another Top 10 for Turner, but the results were not that good. The tune just barely made the Pop Top 30 while getting to #12 at AC and #18 R&B. It was a disappointment that played into album sales. Turner was going to need something better than this to help promote the LP.

ReduxReview:  This was another Terry Britten/Graham Lyle (one of five on the album) and like I inferred in my review of "Typical Male," the pair didn't bring their A-game to the table. Except for "Typical Male," the balance of their material written for Turner (like this track) was weak. I think they were trying for another "What's Love Got to Do with It," but it didn't work out. This wasn't a bad song. The chorus had a nice hook and it was a lovely track to hear. It just wasn't single-worthy. If you look at the singles from Private Dancer or her two movie songs, they were much stronger and far more memorable. This one was just mediocre and it showed when it failed to even get close to the Top 10.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  The b-side to this single was the non-album track "Havin' a Party." It was Turner's remake of Sam Cooke's hit "Having a Party." Cooke originally wrote and recorded the song in 1962. It got to #4 R&B and #17 Pop. Three other artists would do versions of the song that would reach the Pop chart. Two were in medley form while the other was a full remake. In 1973, R&B vocal group The Ovations did a version of the song that included snippets of other songs Sam Cooke had performed. The medley got to #7 R&B/#56 Pop. Luther Vandross used the chorus of the song in his track "Bad Boy/Having a Party." That 1982 single would get to #3 R&B/#55 Pop. In 1994, Rod Stewart would perform the song during his set on the show MTV Unplugged. It would be released as a single and would get to #6 AC/#36 Pop. Turner's version was produced by Martyn Ware (of Heaven 17 and pre-Dare Human League). Ware had produced Turner's take on Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," which was the single that initially began Turner's comeback (#1 Dance/#3 R&B/#26 Pop).

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Monday, November 4, 2019

"Heartache Away" by Don Johnson

Song#:  2942
Date:  11/22/1986
Debut:  92
Peak:  56
Weeks:  11
Genre:  Blues-Rock



Pop Bits:  Actor and sometimes musician Johnson used his newfound success on the TV show Miami Vice to fulfill his dream of being a recording artist. It paid off when the title track first single from his debut album Heartbeat made it to #5. For a follow-up, this next track was selected. The blues-ish feel of the song was different from the straight ahead hooky pop/rock of "Heartbeat" and it proved less successful with the song locked out of the top half of the Pop chart. Still, the TV show and "Heartbeat" were enough to move people to buy the album and it would reach #17 and eventually go gold.

ReduxReview:  This was not a good follow up single. Johnson had set himself up with a contemporary pop/rock sound and he needed to follow through with that or change tempo with a ballad. Instead this Springsteen-lite track with a bluesy edge was released and it wasn't what folks wanted. It was fine for an album track, but it just wasn't the right follow-up single. Johnson also souned a bit drowned out by the production. He got a brilliant artist to do background vocals (see below), but it just made his voice sound weaker. For a vanity project, Heartbeat wasn't too bad of an album, but Johnson didn't necessarily have the chops to sustain a career as a recording artist.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) This song featured background vocals by Bonnie Raitt. She also performed on another track on the album, the Tom Petty-written "Lost in Your Eyes." It came at a time when Raitt was in a difficult period in her career. Luckily, she would go through a major comeback with her 1989 Grammy-winning album Nick of Time.  2) It would take three years for Johnson to follow up his debut album. By the time '89 rolled around, Miami Vice was in its final season with the series' finale airing in May. With the show gone, Johnson didn't have the advantage of the extra exposure it provided as he did when he released his debut album, so his next LP had to stand on its own. In the fall of '89 he issued out Let It Roll. The first single released from it was a remake of the 1966 Aaron Neville #2 hit "Tell It Like It Is." The track was ignored and it failed to chart, as did the album. To-date it would be Johnson's last album. However, he would get one more single on the Pop chart. At the time, he was dating Barbra Streisand and a duet they did, "Till I Loved You," would make it to #22 (#3 Pop) in 1988. Streisand also appeared on Johnson's album supplying backing vocals for the track "What If It Takes All Night."

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Sunday, November 3, 2019

"That's Life" by David Lee Roth

Song#:  2941
Date:  11/22/1986
Debut:  94
Peak:  85
Weeks:  4
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Roth's first full-length album, Eat 'Em and Smile, was a #4 platinum seller mainly due to the LP's first two singles, the #10 Rock/#16 Pop hit "Yankee Rose" and its follow-up "Goin' Crazy!" (#12 Rock/#66 Pop). His label attempted to keep things going with this third single, but it just couldn't grab an audience. It fell off the Pop chart after a short month while not even making the Rock chart.

ReduxReview:  This album closer was meant as a throwback to the standards Roth did on his Crazy from the Heat EP. It was actually a good choice for Roth and his lounge lizard alter ego, but it really didn't need to be released as a single. I think by this point folks were getting tired of Roth's goofy shtick and while this made for a fun final track, no one really wanted to hear Roth whacking away at another standard on the radio. He already played that card with "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody," so this one shouldn't have been dealt out. I think he got the message as he avoided cover tunes on his next LP.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) Although only three singles would be officially released from the album, another track would do well at Rock. Roth's remake of "Tobacco Road" would reach #10 on that chart. The song was originally written and recorded by John D. Loudermilk in 1960. His single was not a hit. Four years later, the tune was picked up by a UK garage rock group called The Nashville Teens and they would be the first artist to make it a hit. The single got to #6 in the UK and #14 in the US. The only other artist to reach the US Pop chart with the song was the San Diego rock band Jamul. Their 1970 version peaked at a minor #93.  2) This song is a remake of one made famous by Frank Sinatra. Sinatra's version became a #4 Pop/#1 AC hit in 1967, but he was not the first to record the tune. Jazz singer Marion Montgomery first got the tune and recorded it in 1964. Her single did not chart. Then R&B/jazz singer O.C. Smith recorded a version in 1966. His take on the tune didn't chart either. However, Sinatra heard Smith's version on his car radio and immediately wanted to record it. He did in 1966 and the single was released late in the year. It went Top 10 early in '67. Thus far, Roth is the only other artist to reach the Pop chart with a version of the song.

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