"Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  3767

Date:  01/14/1989

Debut:  85

Peak:  5

Weeks:  17

Genre:  Hard Rock, Glam Metal

Pop Bits:  Upon release, the band's debut album Appetite for Destruction was having little success and was on the verge of disappearing. Their label, Geffen, finally stepped in and got MTV to start pushing one of the band's videos. That did the trick and a year and a half later the band would be one of the hottest in the country. The album would spend four weeks at #1 and generate a pair of Pop hits including the #1 "Sweet Child O' Mine" and the #7 "Welcome to the Jungle." To keep the momentum going, this follow up single was issued out. It would reach #14 at Rock while becoming the band's third Pop Top 10. The hit would ignite sales of the album and it would reach #1 for a fifth week in mid-February. By that point in time it would also be certified for sales of over 7 million.

ReduxReview:  Here's another winner from the band's excellent debut album. The opening of this song had "epic" written all over it. What followed were charging verses and an arena-ready chorus. It also featured the only keyboard part found on the album. The guitar licks/hooks were aplenty with Axl Rose's voice soaring above them all. The double-time finale threw the song into overdrive and by the time it ended you were spent, out of breath, and on glam metal cloud nine.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  As far as actual product moved, Appetite for Destruction is still the biggest selling debut album of all time in the US. However, it took a while to get there. At the time of its release, the biggest selling debut LP was Boston's 1977 self-titled effort. It stood at the 9 million mark. Sales continued over the years and eventually it would be at the 17 million mark in 2003. Appetite for Destruction would also continue to sell over the years and in 2008 it would reach 18 million in sales surpassing Boston's debut. Based on product sold, no other artist's debut album has surpassed that mark and it still holds the record. Yet that's not fully the end of the story. In 2016, the RIAA changed its rules on certifications due to the growing popularity of streaming and music services. Instead of being based solely on product, new rules pad the numbers with audio and video streams along with track-based album equivalent numbers. With those new rules, certifications for another debut album shot up. Cracked Rear View, the 1994 debut LP by Hootie & the Blowfish reached the 16 million certification in 1999. After the RIAA rule changes in 2018, the LP was suddenly certified at 21x platinum. That was 5 certification levels above the Guns N' Roses debut. However, those extra certifications were mainly all due to streaming and not actual physical sales. Therefore, if you look at what debut album actually sold the most physical copies, Guns N' Roses still rule. If you want to consider just certification level (sales plus streaming), then Hootie rules the day as of 2022.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"The Love in Your Eyes" by Eddie Money

Song#:  3766

Date:  01/14/1989

Debut:  88

Peak:  24

Weeks:  18

Genre:  Rock

Pop Bits:  Money's seventh studio album Nothing to Lose got a boost from its first single "Walk on Water." The tune would get to #2 Rock while becoming Money's third Pop Top 10 hit. For a follow up, this next track was selected. It would end up becoming Money's third and final #1 on the Rock chart. Over on the Pop chart, it wouldn't do as well. The song stopped short of the Top 20. Without the extra push from a second big mainstream hit, the album halted at #49 and would fail to reach the gold level sales mark.

ReduxReview:  While this song wasn't quite as strong as his previous big hits, it was still a nice, quality track that I thought might get closer to the Top 10, especially since it got to #1 at Rock. What really stood out to me on the track was the "nothing but blue skies" sections with the background vocalists. The chord changes injected the track with a different feel. It was almost like a cool distraction from the regular verse/chorus hooks. A bit of a forgotten track now, but a worthwhile listen.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  This song was written by Adrian Gurvitz, David Paul Bryant, and Steve Dubin. It was the first US hit for English singer/songwriter Gurvitz. He had previously reached the UK Top 10 twice; once in a band and once as a solo artist. Gurvitz's first band, Gun, got to #8 in 1968 with their rock track "Race with the Devil." After two albums, the band split. Gurvitz would go on to form Three Man Army and then the Baker Gurvitz Army. Each band had limited success. By 1979, Gurvitz was a solo act. He would released two albums for Jet Records, but neither made a big splash. He moved over to RAK for the 1982 LP titled Classic. The title track would reach #8 in the UK. The LP was distributed in the US by Geffen, but it failed to generate interest. Gurvitz would then turn mainly to writing songs for other artists. After a move to the US, Gurvitz would have his first success on the US chart with this track from Eddie Money. A few years later, one of his compositions would get placed on one of the biggest selling albums of all time. With Franne Golde, Gurvitz wrote "Even If My Heart Would Break." The song, recorded by Kenny G and Aaron Neville, would be included on the soundtrack to the Whitney Houston movie The Bodyguard. The album was a massive hit becoming the biggest selling soundtrack in history with 45 million copies sold worldwide. It would also with the Grammy for Album of the Year. Gurvitz's song would not be released as a single from the soundtrack. However, Kenny G would put the tune on his 1992 album Breathless and later in '94 it would be the LP's fourth single. It would only reach #28 at AC. Gurvitz would go on to write songs for other artists like Steve Perry and REO Speedwagon. In 2015, he would co-write the majority of songs on the debut album of R&B singer/songwriter Andra Day Cheers to the Fall (#6 R&B/#48 Pop).

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Don't Tell Me Lies" by Breathe

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  3765

Date:  01/14/1989

Debut:  96

Peak:  10

Weeks:  16

Genre:  Pop, Sophisti-Pop, Adult Contemporary

Pop Bits:  The UK band's debut album All That Jazz would turn into a gold seller thanks to a pair of Pop Top 10 hits including the #2 "Hands to Heaven." To keep the momentum going, this next single was issued out. The original version of this song had been released in January of 1986 as the band's debut single in the UK. At the time it would reach #77. Two years later after a pair of hits, this remixed version would become the band's third single in the US. The tune would once again do well for the band and reach the Pop Top 10 while also making it to #5 at AC. The remix would also be pushed out in the UK and on the song's second run, it would do a little better reaching #45. A fourth single, "All This I Should Have Known," would be released in the US, but it could only get to #34 AC.

ReduxReview:  After a pair of ballads, this upbeat tune was a nice change of pace from the band. The tune was easy to digest with its shuffling beat, hooky chorus, and David Glasper's soaring vocals. Hearing it now it just seems so odd that it failed the first time (and kinda the second time too) in the UK. It was a pleasant, memorable, radio-ready track.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  After the success of their first LP, the band went back into the studio to record a follow-up. Peace of Mind would be ready by the fall of 1990 and its first single, "Say a Prayer," would be issued out. It was a dud in the UK only getting to #92. The tune did better in the US where it got to #3 AC and #21 Pop. A second single, "Does She Love That Man?," would fare less well reaching #17 AC/#34 Pop. Those results left the album peaking at a minor #116. The music biz seemed to get the best of the band and by 1992, they decided to call it quits. Members of the band went off to pursue other careers with a couple of them dabbling in their own music projects along the way.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Let's Put the X in Sex" by Kiss

Song#:  3764

Date:  01/14/1989

Debut:  97

Peak:  97

Weeks:  2

Genre:  Hard Rock, Glam Rock

Pop Bits:  The band's 1987 album Crazy Nights got to #18 and returned them to platinum status. It got a boost from a pair of Rock Top 40 tracks that were also minor entries on the Pop chart. The LP saw less contributions from original member Gene Simmons, who at the time was starting to manage and produce other artists. That and some other internal issues had the band a little at odds. They needed to regroup and focus their efforts as a full unit for their next LP, but before that was to happen, it was decided that an interim compilation would be released to keep fans busy. Smashes, Thrashes & Hits would combine some of the band's best known songs along with two brand new tracks that could be used to promote the LP. "Let's Put the X in Sex" was one of the new recordings and it was issued out as the first single. It did little to help the LP with the song missing the Rock chart and only becoming a minor two-week blip at the bottom of the Pop chart. Still, a hits compilation with new tunes was catnip for fans and within a couple of months the LP would peak at #21 and go platinum. Seven years later, it would turn double platinum.

ReduxReview:  And yet another horny rocker from Kiss. Written by Paul Stanley and his sometimes collaborator Desmond Child, the tune is not all that different from what they had been slingin' out on their previous few albums. Kiss were known for their cheeky songs about sex. Sometimes they would be sly about it, other times more overt and even humorous. It worked well for tracks like "Love Gun," but fourteen years into their career, the joke was becoming stale. Clever innuendo was getting replaced with the humor of a teenager. Meanwhile, contemporaries like Aerosmith were hitting new highs with far better material while newer stars like Bon Jovi were leaving them in the dust. Kiss was always going to have a big, loyal following no matter what they did, but songs like this one were not going to expand their audience.

ReduxRating:  2/10

Trivia:  Although most hits compilations will include the original recordings, some artists opt to include updated versions of the tracks. Kiss chose to do that with the majority of the song on Smashes, Trashes & Hits. The compilation gave them a chance to remix some songs and even update/replace certain parts. While most of these changes may only be apparent to diehard fans and audiophiles, the band made one change that was significant. Kiss' biggest hit, "Beth" (#7, 1976), was originally co-written and sung by the band's drummer Peter Criss. Criss would leave (or was fired from) the band in 1980. His replacement would be Eric Carr. Instead of putting the original version of "Beth" on the compilation with former member Criss singing, it was decided that the song would be redone with Carr doing the vocals. The basic track from the original record was used with Carr singing a new vocal and adding some drum overdubs.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"The Living Years" by Mike + the Mechanics

#1 Alert!

Song#:  3763

Date:  01/07/1989

Debut:  79

Peak:  1 (1 week)

Weeks:  20

Genre:  Pop, Soft Rock, Adult Contemporary

Pop Bits:  The band's second album, Living Years, didn't get off to a great start. While its first single, "Nobody's Perfect," did reach #3 at Rock, it stalled in the bottom half of the Pop chart. That was a disappointment since their debut album featured a pair of Pop Top 10 hits. Looking to gain back their mainstream audience, the band issued out this next single. The sentimental ballad struck a nerve with a lot of folks and that led to the song becoming the band's first and only one to reach #1 on the Pop chart. It would also get to #1 AC and #5 Rock. The hit would later on earn four Grammy nominations including Record and Song of the Year. With the tune hitting #1, sales of the album increased and it would reach #13 and become their second LP to go gold.

ReduxReview:  If you are going to do a reflective sentimental pop track, this is how you do it. Everything in the tune from the lyrics to the arrangement with the children's choir is perfectly geared to eke a teardrop from even the most hardened soul. The advice given to all songwriters is write what you know and I think B.A. Robertson did that with his lyrics and did it well. This could have easily slipped down the icy saccharine path, but I think Robertson got the message across without weight it down with treacle. The rolling rhythms and sing-a-long chorus only made the song stronger. In the pantheon of father/son songs, this one sits alongside classics like Harry Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle" (#1, 1974) and Dan Fogelberg's "Leader of the Band" (#9, 1981).

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  This was obviously a personal song for its writers; band member Mike Rutherford and composer B.A. Robertson. The pair had previously written Mike + the Mechanics' first hit, the #6 "Silent Running," so when Rutherford was ready to work on new material for a second album, he hit up Robertson. The pair would co-write five songs for Living Years including the heartfelt title track. In 1986, both Rutherford and Robertson would experience the loss of their fathers. The bond they shared of losing a parent would be poured into "The Living Years." Robertson had written the first two verses of the song before taking it to Rutherford. He would write the remaining verses later. Robertson based the lyrics on his relationship with his father and had actually started to write it just prior to his father's death. He would write the last verse later, which mentions a newborn child. Robertson's son was born a few months before his father's death. The song was finished just prior to the recording sessions for the album and the lead vocal part was assigned to band member Paul Carrack. He easily related to the song because his father died in an accident when Carrack was just 11. Plenty of other people related to the song as well and they made it a major #1 hit.

_________________________________________________________________________________