Hidden Treasures - 1984

[Scott]

Everybody Wang Chung tonight!!

1984 Year in music...

• January 27 – Michael Jackson's scalp is burned during the filming of a Pepsi commercial and he is admitted to hospital. Around this time, Jackson also releases the title track from his Thriller album as the LP's final single.
• February 14 Joe Perry and Brad Whitford attend an Aerosmith concert and re-join the band, which embarks on a reunion tour "Back In The Saddle" later in the year.
• February 28 – Recovering from the scalp burns sustained a month earlier, Michael Jackson wins eight Grammy Awards out of twelve nominations, breaking the record for the most Grammys won in a single year. He wins seven for the critically acclaimed album Thriller and the other for his work on the audiobook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
• March 1 – Sting plays his last concerts with The Police at the end of the Synchronicity tour; the band takes a "pause" after the tour and only play a few special events together after this, until 2007, when they would organize a reunion tour.
• April 1 – In Los Angeles, Marvin Gaye is shot and killed during an argument with his father.
• June 18 – At the climax of a Judas Priest concert at Madison Square Garden, fans begin ripping out the cushions from the seats and throwing them on stage. Judas Priest pay damages through insurance and are banned from Madison Square Garden for life over the incident.
• June 25 – Prince releases his sixth album Purple Rain; the album sells over 20 million copies and gives Prince two US number one singles with "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy".
• July 10 – The last original member of Menudo, Ricky Meléndez, leaves the group and is replaced by Ricky Martin. Meanwhile, Menudomania reaches Asia in 1984.
• August 9 – Iron Maiden kicks off the World Slavery Tour in Warsaw, Poland, with shows in Hungary and Yugoslavia soon to follow. This marks the first time a Western band has ever brought a full concert production behind the Iron Curtain.
• August 31 – Canadian music video channel MuchMusic begins broadcasting. The first video played is Rush's "The Enemy Within".
• December 3 – Bob Geldof and Band Aid release the single "Do They Know It's Christmas", which becomes the fastest- selling single of all time in the UK.
• December 8 – Mötley Crüe member Vince Neil is involved in a serious car accident. He is drunk at the time, and Razzle (Nicholas Dingley) of Hanoi Rocks is killed in the accident.
• December 31 Def Leppard's drummer Rick Allen loses his left arm in a car wreck.

 

My Top 5 Albums - Then

1. Bryan Adams - Reckless
2. Van Halen - 1984
3. Whitesnake - Slide It In
4. Scorpions - Love At First Sting
5. 38 Special - Tour de Force

My Top 5 Albums - Now

1. Bryan Adams - Reckless
2. Van Halen - 1984
3. Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers
4. Whitesnake - Slide It In
5. Pat Benatar - Tropico

 

PLAYLIST --> http://www.podsnack.com/CA69EFD9E8C/av7t9go6

	Ratt Out of the Cellar 1 - Lack of Communication Out of the Cellar became a commercial success, going platinum many times over in the United States as well as making them stars in the Far East. The album catapulted the band to the top, capped off by an incredibly successful world tour that saw the band sell out countless stadiums and arenas worldwide. Out of the Cellar is today widely regarded as the band's best work and a definitive moment in 80s heavy metal. Tawny Kitaen, high school sweetheart of Crosby, who'd graced the cover of the band's EP from the previous year, agreed to appear on the cover of their debut full-length album. She also appeared in their video for "Back For More" as the girl in the 1950s skirt at the jukebox. In 1984 the band toured extensively, sharing the stage with such acts as Billy Squier, Ozzy Osbourne, Blackfoot, Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe, Twisted Sister and Lita Ford.
	Honeymoon Suite Honeymoon Suite 2 - New Girl Now The band was originally formed in 1981 by lead vocalist and guitarist Johnnie Dee (of Niagara Falls, Ontario), Keyboardist Brad Bent (of Toronto, Ontario), and original drummer Mike Lengyell, formerly with The Diodes. By 1983, the line-up changed, with Dee (the only original remaining member) now on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, along with new recruits Derry Grehan on lead guitar and Dave Betts on drums. Grehan became the band's primary songwriter, and penned "New Girl Now," which won them an unsigned band contest put on by Toronto radio station Q107. Various keyboard players and bassists came and left during this time, but on the strength of "New Girl Now," WEA Canada signed the band to the label. Ray Coburn was added as a permanent new member on keyboards as the sessions got underway for the group's debut LP, but the band still had no bass player, so bassist Brian Brackstone was recruited as a session player. Brackstone played on the entire album; bassist Gary Lalonde (formerly with Rose and Toronto) was added to the line-up after the album was completed, and appeared in the album's group photos and played with the band live. The band's self-titled debut album, produced by Tom Treumuth, was released in June, 1984. The album featured four charting hits in Canada: a completely re-recorded version of "New Girl Now," "Burning In Love," "Wave Babies," and "Stay In the Light." All were written by Grehan. "New Girl Now" was also Honeymoon Suite's first single to reach the top-50 in the United States.
	Scorpions Love At First Sting 3 - Bad Boys Running Wild Love at First Sting is notable in that it was one of the first digitally recorded heavy metal records ever released. It became the group's most successful album in the USA, where it peaked at number 6 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1984, and went double-platinum by the end of the year, reaching triple-platinum status in 1995. The original cover art created by Helmut Newton features a man and a partially nude woman locked in an embrace, with the man giving the woman a tattoo on her thigh. Despite the record company having shown the original cover art to retailers without any concerns, a complaint by Wal-Mart after the album was released resulted in PolyGram Records issuing a "clean" cover for use in several department store chains. The alternative cover was designed to be less controversial by simply showing a photo of the band members, which was the same photo on the inner sleeve.
	Whitesnake Slide It In 4 - All or Nothing In late 1983, the band recorded Slide It In, which was released in Europe in early 1984. It was the band's fourth top 10 album in their native UK, peaking at number 9. At this same time, the band secured a major US record deal with the Geffen label. The Slide It In (1984) album had drawn mixed reviews, the negatives particularly focusing on its "flat" mix. While a personnel change saw the touring band replace Moody with former Thin Lizzy guitarist John Sykes, plus the return of bassist Neil Murray in place of Hodgkinson, producer David Geffen insisted that the album be remixed for the US release. In addition to the remix, Sykes and Murray re-recorded the lead guitar and bass parts. This revised version of the album had its US release in April 1984. Despite Coverdale's misgivings regarding the lack of edge in these new tracks, Slide It In (1984) just barely missed the US Top 40, and went double platinum there three years later after the release of the band's eighth album
	Van Halen 1984 5 - I'll Wait Reportedly dissatisfied by the concessions he had made to Van Halen's frontman David Lee Roth and producer Ted Templeman on the group's previous album, the #3 Billboard album hit Diver Down - both of whom had discouraged Eddie Van Halen from making keyboards a prominent instrument in Van Halen's music - Eddie Van Halen built his own studio in his backyard. Eddie Van Halen named that studio 5150 (after the Los Angeles police code for "escaped mental patient.") At 5150, Eddie Van Halen composed Van Halen's follow-up to Diver Down - without as much perceived "interference" from Roth or Templeman. The result was a compromise between the two creative factions in the band - a mixture of keyboard-heavy songs, and the intense rock for which the band had become world famous.

[Jon]

Then:

1. Van Halen--1984

2. Twisted Sister--Stay Hungry

3. Kick Axe--Vices

4. Picture--Eternal Dark

5. Hanoi Rocks--Two Steps From The Move

Now:

1. Metallica--Ride The Lightning

2. Iron Maiden--Powerslave  

3. Whitesnake--Slide It In

4. Hanoi Rocks--Two Steps From The Move

5. Kick Axe--Vices

Honorable mentions:

April Wine--Animal Grace

Marillion--Fugazi

Kim Mitchell--Akimbo Alogo

David Gilmour--About Face

Prince And The Revolution--Purple Rain

REO Speedwagon--Wheels Are Turnin'

Queen--The Works

Saxon--Crusader

Twisted Sister--Stay Hungry (even though I like Still Hungry better, plus there's good stuff outside of "those" two songs)

and yes....Triumph--Thunder Seven

  

[Scott]

Wow that was fast you must have the 80's lists ready to go!

Love the Triumph mention!  That's a cool album!

[Jon]

Yep, it was ready to go. I know your every move!

That and Allied Forces are really the only two Triumph albums I can stand nowadays.

[Scott]

Just A Game is my favorite ....

[Jon]

I have a Wang Chung album. It's a greatest hits album. Dancehall Days is a pretty good song, if you ask me.

Ya know, I think that accident that killed Razzle might have had something to do with my dislike for Snotty Spew. I didn't like Vinny-boy when I heard the news, especially since that Hanoi Rocks album was fantastic and it could have been the start to something big.  

I got tired of Love At First Sting very, very quickly. That's why I didn't pick up the CD until a couple years ago after having in on cassette back in '84. 

[RJhog (Admin)]

Best Wang Chung song is To Live And Die In L.A.

[Scott]

There's such a thing as a best Wang Chung song?

[RJhog (Admin)]

Yep, then there is the rest of their catalog.

[Jon]

Dancehall Days and TO Live And Die In L.A. Two good songs. They probably have more but I refuse to listen to their greatest hits at this time!  Do it yourself!

[TageRyche]

Of the five songs:

Ratt - The song is good, but I prefer "I'm Insane".

Honeymoon Suite - Great song, but the album is my least favorite of the first three discs they put out.

The Scorpions - Awesome song, awesome album.

Whitesnake - Love every version of the band

Van Halen - "I'll Wait" is my personal favorite track on the disc.

[Scott]

Couldn't agree more on those first three Honeymoon Suite albums, all three are string, but the debut was the weakest if them. The Big Prize is the best by a long shot.

[TageRyche]

I agree!