Song#: 0573
Date: 04/18/1981
Debut: 81
Peak: 55
Weeks: 7
Genre: Pop, R&B
Pop Bits: Back in 1975, The Jackson 5 left Motown (not very amicably) and moved over to Epic. Michael had done four solo LPs for Motown, but his next solo effort would be for Epic. That ended up being the hugely successful "Off the Wall" album. With Michael's popularity soaring, Motown decided to try and cash in on their previous property and slapped together a compilation of songs from his final Motown album "Forever, Michael" (1975), along with four Jackson 5 songs to pad the disc. The resulting "One Day in Your Life" was issued and this first single got a little bit of interest, but since it was nothing like his "Off the Wall" hits and already six-years old, not as many folks were interested. But oddly in the UK, this single became his first #1 in that country. That was fortunate for Motown as it allowed their ploy to work pretty well and the LP ended up selling around 2 million copies worldwide (with only minor sales in the US).
ReduxReview: Oh man, just that teeny harmonica intro is enough to date this song. It sounds like a song that would have been featured in some schmaltzy 70s movie - like a romantic comedy or something sad with a small kid. It's a treacly confection that could maybe be tasty if redone, but with this big ol' fashioned arrangement, it just kind of sinks to the pit of your stomach and sits there like a lump.
ReduxRating: 3/10
Trivia: Five years before they got everyone to do the "Conga," the Miami Sound Machine (with Gloria Estefan) covered this song for their self-titled 1980 album. Theirs was a Spanish language version titled "No Me Olvidaras."
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Saturday, October 12, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
"Time" by Alan Parsons Project
Song#: 0572
Date: 04/18/1981
Debut: 82
Peak: 15
Weeks: 23
Genre: Soft Rock, Prog Rock
Pop Bits: The Project just had their best chart showing with "Games People Play" (#16) and this second single from their "The Turn of a Friendly Card" album would eclipse that peak by a notch giving them their best single showing yet.
ReduxReview: I never would have thought this languid ballad would actually be a hit, but there it was hitting #15! For me, the slowness of the tune, the melody, and especially that voice completely suckered me in. I loved it and got the single pronto. I also remember this song at state band camp at Interlochen one summer. There was a mixer on one of the evenings and there was dancing. I was painfully too shy to really dance, but when this came on a flute player I was talking with grabbed me to go slow dance. I'm sure that slow dancing with me was probably the equivalent of dancing with a sheet of plywood.
ReduxRating: 8/10
Trivia: As co-founder of the Project, this would be Eric Woolfson's first charting single as lead vocalist and it introduced his oddly recognizable voice to a larger audience.
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Date: 04/18/1981
Debut: 82
Peak: 15
Weeks: 23
Genre: Soft Rock, Prog Rock
Pop Bits: The Project just had their best chart showing with "Games People Play" (#16) and this second single from their "The Turn of a Friendly Card" album would eclipse that peak by a notch giving them their best single showing yet.
ReduxReview: I never would have thought this languid ballad would actually be a hit, but there it was hitting #15! For me, the slowness of the tune, the melody, and especially that voice completely suckered me in. I loved it and got the single pronto. I also remember this song at state band camp at Interlochen one summer. There was a mixer on one of the evenings and there was dancing. I was painfully too shy to really dance, but when this came on a flute player I was talking with grabbed me to go slow dance. I'm sure that slow dancing with me was probably the equivalent of dancing with a sheet of plywood.
ReduxRating: 8/10
Trivia: As co-founder of the Project, this would be Eric Woolfson's first charting single as lead vocalist and it introduced his oddly recognizable voice to a larger audience.
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Thursday, October 10, 2013
"Fool in Love with You" by Jim Photoglo
Song#: 0571
Date: 04/18/1981
Debut: 83
Peak: 25
Weeks: 16
Genre: Pop, Soft Rock
Pop Bits: Photoglo's debut album spawned the minor hit "We Were Meant to Be Lovers" (#31") and this first single from his second album did about as well. It ended up being his best charting song and his last as well. Photoglo would issue one last pop album in 1983 before moving over to the country market where he became a successful songwriter. He would issue further solo albums ten years later, but this would be his heyday as a charting artist.
ReduxReview: Although it's nothing that grabs your ears and won't let go, this is a nice smooth jam and goes down easy. I've always kind of liked this song and its the one I was familiar with from Photoglo. There were lots of songs like this on the chart around this time, but this one was a slight step above most.
ReduxRating: 6/10
Trivia: In 1993, Photoglo joined forces with some other well-known musicians to form the comedy country group Run C&W. The group recorded two album of novelty tunes and soul songs in a bluegrass style. They even fictionalize themselves as the Burns quadruplets with names like Side Burns and Rug Burns. After two albums that seemed to fizzle, they all went back to their day jobs.
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Date: 04/18/1981
Debut: 83
Peak: 25
Weeks: 16
Genre: Pop, Soft Rock
Pop Bits: Photoglo's debut album spawned the minor hit "We Were Meant to Be Lovers" (#31") and this first single from his second album did about as well. It ended up being his best charting song and his last as well. Photoglo would issue one last pop album in 1983 before moving over to the country market where he became a successful songwriter. He would issue further solo albums ten years later, but this would be his heyday as a charting artist.
ReduxReview: Although it's nothing that grabs your ears and won't let go, this is a nice smooth jam and goes down easy. I've always kind of liked this song and its the one I was familiar with from Photoglo. There were lots of songs like this on the chart around this time, but this one was a slight step above most.
ReduxRating: 6/10
Trivia: In 1993, Photoglo joined forces with some other well-known musicians to form the comedy country group Run C&W. The group recorded two album of novelty tunes and soul songs in a bluegrass style. They even fictionalize themselves as the Burns quadruplets with names like Side Burns and Rug Burns. After two albums that seemed to fizzle, they all went back to their day jobs.
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"Hurry Up and Wait" by The Isley Brothers
Song#: 0570
Date: 04/18/1981
Debut: 85
Peak: 58
Weeks: 7
Genre: R&B
Pop Bits: The Isley's had a hot streak throughout the 70s with continuous platinum and gold-selling albums. Their second effort in the 80s, "Grand Slam," continued that streak going gold, but it was not as successful on the chart as their previous LPs and marked a decline for the group. Although they continued to rack up R&B hits, their pop entries became less frequent. This first single from the album couldn't get them back into the Top 40 and even missed the Top 10 at R&B.
ReduxReview: The group seemed to be struggling and I've read a lot where around this time they were becoming repetitive and/or stale - basically almost just phoning it in. I'd have to agree. This song just sounds listless. There is no excitement to it. It think if their hearts were really in it, this might have been much better. It's not a terrific song, but it seems like it could have been pretty solid. But with the way they did it, I'm not surprised it didn't fare well. After being a group for almost 20 years by this point, I'm sure finding inspiration was getting more difficult. Unfortunately, it kind of showed.
ReduxRating: 4/10
Trivia: In 1964 and 1965 when the group was struggling a bit trying to get a hit and moving labels, they hired a lead guitarist for their band who would also do a couple of studio sessions with them. But since nothing panned out with the singles, the guy left. The guitarist they had hired was Jimi Hendrix. I'm not 100% sure, but everything I've read seems to indicate that Hendrix's first time on record was the session for the Isley's "Testify" single in 1964.
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Date: 04/18/1981
Debut: 85
Peak: 58
Weeks: 7
Genre: R&B
Pop Bits: The Isley's had a hot streak throughout the 70s with continuous platinum and gold-selling albums. Their second effort in the 80s, "Grand Slam," continued that streak going gold, but it was not as successful on the chart as their previous LPs and marked a decline for the group. Although they continued to rack up R&B hits, their pop entries became less frequent. This first single from the album couldn't get them back into the Top 40 and even missed the Top 10 at R&B.
ReduxReview: The group seemed to be struggling and I've read a lot where around this time they were becoming repetitive and/or stale - basically almost just phoning it in. I'd have to agree. This song just sounds listless. There is no excitement to it. It think if their hearts were really in it, this might have been much better. It's not a terrific song, but it seems like it could have been pretty solid. But with the way they did it, I'm not surprised it didn't fare well. After being a group for almost 20 years by this point, I'm sure finding inspiration was getting more difficult. Unfortunately, it kind of showed.
ReduxRating: 4/10
Trivia: In 1964 and 1965 when the group was struggling a bit trying to get a hit and moving labels, they hired a lead guitarist for their band who would also do a couple of studio sessions with them. But since nothing panned out with the singles, the guy left. The guitarist they had hired was Jimi Hendrix. I'm not 100% sure, but everything I've read seems to indicate that Hendrix's first time on record was the session for the Isley's "Testify" single in 1964.
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Wednesday, October 9, 2013
"Still Right Here in My Heart" by Pure Prairie League
Song#: 0596
Date: 04/18/1981
Debut: 87
Peak: 28
Weeks: 14
Genre: Country Rock
Pop Bits: Their previous album contained their first and only Top 10 hit with "Let Me Love You Tonight" (#10), so hopes were probably high that their next release would build upon that success. This first single did some good business on the chart reaching the Top 30, but it was a far cry from their previous success and their album "Something in the Night" failed to make the Top 50 as well.
ReduxReview: It sounds like they were moving even closer to that SoCal sound of folks like the Eagles and even Linda Ronstadt. It works fine, but the material is a bit on the bland side. It's a nicely written tune and a pleasant listen, but still nothing that makes me any further interested in the group..
ReduxRating: 5/10
Trivia: Band member and co-writer of this tune Jeff Wilson apparently has has a second career in movies. Not as an actor, but behind the scenes doing camera and other electrical work. He also has a very brief cameo in the movie "Knocked Up" in a record store scene where a Pure Prairie League LP is discussed.
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Date: 04/18/1981
Debut: 87
Peak: 28
Weeks: 14
Genre: Country Rock
Pop Bits: Their previous album contained their first and only Top 10 hit with "Let Me Love You Tonight" (#10), so hopes were probably high that their next release would build upon that success. This first single did some good business on the chart reaching the Top 30, but it was a far cry from their previous success and their album "Something in the Night" failed to make the Top 50 as well.
ReduxReview: It sounds like they were moving even closer to that SoCal sound of folks like the Eagles and even Linda Ronstadt. It works fine, but the material is a bit on the bland side. It's a nicely written tune and a pleasant listen, but still nothing that makes me any further interested in the group..
ReduxRating: 5/10
Trivia: Band member and co-writer of this tune Jeff Wilson apparently has has a second career in movies. Not as an actor, but behind the scenes doing camera and other electrical work. He also has a very brief cameo in the movie "Knocked Up" in a record store scene where a Pure Prairie League LP is discussed.
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