"Tall Cool One" by Robert Plant

Song#:  3481

Date:  04/16/1988

Debut:  85

Peak:  25

Weeks:  18

Genre:  Rock

Pop Bits:  Plant's third solo album, Shaken 'n' Stirred, wasn't quite as well-received as his first two. It would miss the Top 10 (#20) and only go gold, a drop from the platinum sales of his previous efforts. The LP was a bit experimental (i.e., less commercial) and it took Plant further away from the sound of his previous band Led Zeppelin. For his fourth album, Plant decided to move back to his rock and blues roots while updating it with the sounds and production techniques of the 80s. Now and Zen would be released and the first track to get some attention was "Heaven Knows," which took off and got to #1 at Rock. Hot on its heels, "Tall Cool One" was issued out as a single. It would also top the Rock chart. The attention there helped the song cross over to the Pop chart where it slowly caught on and finally peaked at #25. It would end up being Plant's second biggest solo hit on that chart after the #20 "Big Log" (1983). The pair of Rock #1s certainly brought attention to the album and it would return Plant to the Top 10 at #6. Eventually, it would end up becoming Plant's biggest selling solo album going triple-platinum.

ReduxReview:  Plant spent three albums trying to shed the Led monkey off his back and in some ways succeeded. However, much of it seemed so serious. It was like Plant didn't truly allow himself to have any fun. That changed with this track. He took the lyrics "lighten up baby" to heart and created a fun, rockin' track that merged his current solo career with his legendary past. It just sounded like Plant was at a place where he was enjoying himself and not forcing the songs out. The rock radio-ready "Heaven Knows," which should have been a Pop Top 40 hit, still had a joyous, uplifting sound even though it was a darker track. The whole album was a more focused affair and I enjoyed it. Now and Zen still remains the only Robert Plant solo album I've ever owned. I quickly bought into it after hearing "Heaven Knows" and this single. "Tall Cool One" was such a blast of fresh air coming from Plant. The charging rock-blues of the tune combined with Plant's voice, modern production, and clever Zep references was certainly "built to please." It really should have gone Top 10.

ReduxRating:  9/10

Trivia:  For a couple of tracks on the album, including "Tall Cool One," Plant brought in his old Led Zeppelin bandmate Jimmy Page to play guitar. Page's appearance wasn't the only Zep connection in the song. It also included samples from several Led Zeppelin tracks. Snippets of "Black Dog," "Dazed and Confused," "Whole Lotta Love," "The Ocean," and "Custard Pie" could be heard. Plant's lyrics also included references to a couple of Zep songs as well. Apparently, the sampling idea came about due to another popular act at the time, the Beastie Boys. Having been fans of Led Zeppelin, the Beastie Boys used samples of a few Zep songs on tracks from their #1 debut album Licensed to Ill. They did it at a time when the legalities surrounding sampling were blurry and artists were still taking chances in not getting the samples cleared. The trio didn't seek permission to use the Zep snippets and of course that didn't necessarily sit well with Plant. However, Plant decided that legal action wasn't in his best interest and let the Boys off the hook. Instead, he thought that he may get a bit of revenge by incorporating samples from Beastie Boys tracks into his own songs. The problem was that the BB tracks proved to be lower in quality and didn't fit well with Plant's high tech production. Instead, Plant then decided to cop samples from his own band for "Tall Cool One." There would be no legal issues with doing that as he was the co-composer of the tunes and he was still on Zep's label Atlantic. The use of the samples made the song stand out and the nostalgia factor helped push the song to #1 at Rock.

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"Should I Say Yes?" by Nu Shooz

Song#:  3480

Date:  04/16/1988

Debut:  87

Peak:  41

Weeks:  16

Genre:  Synthpop, Blue-Eyed Soul

Pop Bits:  This group fronted by Valerie Day and her husband John Smith broke through in a big way with their second album Poolside. It would be a #27 gold seller that spawned the #3 hit "I Can't Wait" and earned the band a Grammy nod for Best New Artist. The band then had the task of following up that success. They went back into the studio and emerged with their third effort Told U So. This first single got things kicked off. The song did well over at R&B where it peaked at #17, but on the Pop chart it ended up stopping just outside the Top 40 at the dreaded #41. A second single, "Are You Lookin' for Somebody Nu," would miss both of those charts, but get to #2 at Dance. A third single failed to do anything. With those results, the album didn't do nearly as well as their first stopping at #98 Pop/#49 R&B. Their label, Atlantic, had them record a third album, but after its first single tanked, the album got shelved and remains unreleased. It seems the group then lost their contract and the 80s era of Nu Shooz came to an end.

ReduxReview:  With "I Can't Wait" becoming such an iconic 80s hit, this group was going to have a difficult time trying to overcome the sophomore slump. They needed something hooky and instantly memorable to burst through the lingering effects of their first hit. This song wasn't it. The low-key mid-tempo track was a bit of a snoozer. Its soul-leaning groove was somewhat more successful on urban stations, but it did very little at pop to make people set aside "I Can't Wait." The follow-up, "Are You Lookin' for Somebody Nu," was a better tune and did quite well in the clubs, but it still did nothing to excite a pop audience. They needed a much more forceful tune to turn heads and it might have served them well to work with a hit-making composer/producer on at least one song to anchor the album. Instead, they soldiered on themselves and the results were just not as interesting as Poolside. Without securing that much needed second hit, the band's days were numbered.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  After Nu Shooz folded, Valerie Day moved over to being a session vocalist and worked on various projects around her hometown, Portland, Oregon. She would release a couple of albums along the way including a pair of standards collections, one with the Knights of Swing band and the other with local jazz musician Tom Grant. Later in 2010, Day and Smith did a spinoff project of jazz-pop tunes under the name Nu Shooz Orchestra. They would fully revive the Nu Shooz name in 2012 with an album of unreleased tracks from their 80s/90s era title Kung Pao Kitchen. Then in 2016, they would release the first Nu Shooz album of all new material since '88's Told You So titled Bagtown.

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"Underneath the Radar" by Underworld

Song#:  3479

Date:  04/16/1988

Debut:  88

Peak:  74

Weeks:  8

Genre:  Alternative Rock, Synth Rock

Pop Bits:  This UK band first began to develop in 1975 with musicians Karl Hyde and Rick Smith. Initially known as The Screen Gemz, the pair later evolved into the new wave/synthpop quartet Freur. The band got signed to CBS Records in 1983 and released the single "Doot-Doot." It got to #57 in the UK while charting in a few other countries. A debut album by the same name sold a few copies so CBS ordered a second LP. However, after three new singles failed, which resulted in the limited released of their 1986 second album, the band split. Hyde and Smith then formed Underworld with two other musicians. They were signed to Sire Records in the US and recorded a debut album titled Underneath the Radar with producer Rupert Hine. This title-track single was released and it was able to reach the Pop chart for a couple of months. The album would manage to peak at #139. While the band didn't pick up a sizable audience in the US, they did very well in Australia. This single made it to #5 with the album reaching #32. It seems the song was released in the UK, but it did not chart and most likely because of that, the album was not released there.

ReduxReview:  You may be thinking - hey, wasn't this an electro/techno/house band? If so, you are correct. Hyde and Smith would revamp Underworld's sound in the 90s. They would become successful and influential and would even score a major #2 UK hit with 1996's "Born Slippy .NUXX," which became popular after its use in the hit film Trainspotting. However, the group's first two albums were more in the alt rock/synthpop/funk vein. This charging single tried to establish the band, but it didn't fare well in the US. In the long run, that may have been a good thing as who knows if they would have developed into the Underground most folks know today. I like this track, but it took a few listens for me to hook into it. I don't think it was exactly right for US pop radio at the time. It was a little too brash and intense. The album had a couple of bright spots including the urgent "I Need a Doctor," which had shades of earlier 80s synthpop. Overall the LP was nearly there. It had some nice ideas and, of course, excellent production from Rupert Hine. The main problem was that I think it came along a few years too late. It sounded more early 80s than '88.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) Although the promotion came a few months too late, this song was used in the opening scenes of the fifth season opener of Miami Vice. The show, known for its use/promotion of new music, was in its final season and although the episode had been filmed earlier in the year, it didn't air until November of '88. By that time, Underworld's single and album had long been off the charts and the band was unable to capitalize on the song's appearance.  2) At the beginning of the song, there are beeps heard that sound like Morse code. Well, it is Morse code. When translated it says "think globally, act locally." The phrase is basically a call to take care of the planet and to do so you need to start by doing and promoting things in your own area. The concept seems to have first been brought about by Scottish town planner Patrick Geddes in his 1915 book Cities of Evolution. The actual phrase came about decades later in the 70s, although its true origin is in dispute with several people claiming to have used it first. The phrase has also gone on to have applications in business (as an ad-based strategy) and in mathematics (an off-beat way to describe the structure of an object).

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"Englishman in New York" by Sting

Song#:  3478

Date:  04/16/1988

Debut:  89

Peak:  84

Weeks:  4

Genre:  Pop, Jazz-Pop

Pop Bits:  The first two singles from Sting's second album, ...Nothing Like the Sun, performed well with "We'll Be Together" hitting #7 and "Be Still My Beating Heart" making it to #15. Hoping for one more hit to come from the double-LP, this track was selected for the third single. Unfortunately, it didn't get anywhere. It disappeared from the Pop chart after a short month and could only get to #32 Rock and #48 AC. A fourth single, "Fragile," would fail to make the charts. While the album wouldn't generate four Pop Top 20 hits like his debut Dream of the Blue Turtles did, it would still do very well hitting #9 and going double platinum. And like his previous LP, this one would also be nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys.

ReduxReview:  This Kurt Weill-ish song was a terrific album track with an interesting subject (see below). However, this really had zero appeal as a pop single. With it's lite-opera style and jazz interjections, the tune just wasn't a fit for pop radio at the time. I'm guessing that Sting and/or his label thought they would give this song a go as a single because there wasn't much else on the double-LP that had any commercial appeal. A third hit might have been nice to have, but in the long run, the album sold well enough just from the first two singles combined with the Grammy nods. It is hard to judge something like this because it was a poor single choice, but it was a wonderful song. Oddly, in 1990 this song got remixed by Dutch DJ Ben Liebrand, who kept the main parts of the song, but added beats and other sounds/effects to make it more of a dance track. It was released in the UK and ended up doing quite well getting to #15. While the remix did make it a bit more commercial, it still wasn't something that was going to take over the US pop airwaves.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  The Englishman who Sting wrote about as being in New York was the real life writer/entertainer/gay icon Quentin Crisp. Sting had met Crisp while filming the 1985 horror flick The Bride. Sting starred in movie with Jennifer Beales and Crisp had a supporting role. Crisp had moved from England to New York a few years earlier. In addition to being the subject of the song, Crisp also made a rare cameo in the video. Crisp, born Denis Pratt, was an unapologetic effeminate character who often shocked the people of London in the 20s and 30s - a time when homosexuality was taboo and could easily get you beaten up or even killed. Over the years he would work as a male prostitute and as a nude model for art classes. In 1968, he assembled his fascinating life stories into the autobiography The Naked Civil Servant. It was somewhat successful, but what pushed Crisp further into the spotlight was when the book got turned into a British TV movie that starred John Hurt. The success of the film prompted Crisp to develop a one-man stage show of his own, which was successful in the UK and the US. He permanently moved to the US in 1981. Later in '86, he had dinner with Sting and told him what homosexual life was like back when he was young. Sting was fascinated by the conversation and afterwards developed "Englishman in New York." Crisp died of a heart attack in 1999 at the age of 90. 

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"Hands to Heaven" by Breathe

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  3477

Date:  04/16/1988

Debut:  90

Peak:  2

Weeks:  29

Genre:  Sophisti-Pop, Adult Contemporary

Pop Bits:  In 1982, five British teenagers formed a band they called Catch 22. They spent a couple of years honing their skills and trying to figure out their sound. By 1984 they were reduced to a quartet and they settled on a pop style that was tinted with shades of jazz and soul. With their new name, Breathe, they secured a deal with the Virgin Records offshoot Siren and the following year released their first single, "Don't Tell Me Why." It scraped the UK chart at #77. A second single failed to chart, but it seems the label had faith in the band and sent them off with a different producer to finish off a debut album that would be titled All That Jazz. Two singles from the LP were released n '87, but neither charted. In the US, the band already had a deal in place for distribution with A&M Records and the track "Jonah," which failed in the UK, was released as the first single. It got nowhere. Finally, in the fall of '87, "Hands to Heaven" was given a shot as a single in the UK. It clicked and made it to #4. The song was then released in the US in January of '88. It took off first at AC before crossing over to the Pop chart. The song would take its time climbing each chart, but it would eventually peak at #2 on both. On the Pop chart, the song would linger for a lengthy 29 weeks, which helped it finish as the ninth biggest Pop chart song of the year (and the only one in the year-end Top 15 to have not peaked at #1). It took nearly two years, but the band finally secured their first Top 10 hit.

ReduxReview:  This was just a gorgeous pop ballad with a memorable chorus and lovely, soaring vocals from lead singer Davis Glasper. The song had mass appeal and it was easily the best track on the album. Why the record company didn't see that from day one is a mystery. I certainly wasn't a music business pro, but even I could have told you that this song had #1 potential. It's odd that I haven't heard this song in ages. I think the band has been somewhat forgotten. They had three Top 10s in a row, yet I never hear the tunes anywhere and in all the compilations I have, they are not included. It's a shame as their hits were quite good.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  The band's label seemed adamant in trying to break them on radio in the conventional music business way. Industry standards usually dictated that the first single from a new artist, or even a new album, was something upbeat and catchy. A tune that would grab attention from the get-go. While not unheard of, it was slightly unusual for a label to push out a ballad as a debut or lead single. Siren decided to follow the unwritten rule and tried to break Breathe with the uptempo "Don't Tell Me Why." It didn't really work. They tried another one. Nope. As the band's debut LP took shape, the label thought "Hands to Heaven" would be a good single, but for whatever reason they didn't think the band could break through with a ballad and released another upbeat tune, "Jonah," instead. It flopped in both the UK and the US. After four failed singles in the UK, the label finally gave "Hands to Heaven" a try. It would go on to become a major hit. Sticking with convention doesn't always work and in the case of Breathe it could have been a career killer as many labels would have given up after a couple of non-charting singles.. Luckily, Siren (and A&M in the US) didn't give up and they finally got the right single out.

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