SCOTTS HIDDEN TREASURES #52 - Back to the 80's, Mid Tempo style!

I’ve got some 80's fever for whatever reason. So that means were spending time traversing the 80's musical universe. This time were diving into some musical styles starting with tracks from the Mid-Tempo range.

Mid Tempo is probably where I spend the bulk of my listening time so it’s a natural starting place for me.

PLAYLIST VITALS ...

LENGTH: 41 minutes 27 seconds
LINK: http://www.podsnack.com/playlists/aabb1ed8796bc605d1fc1203da747833

TITLE: Best Of What I Got
BAND: Bad English
ALBUM: Bad English
YEAR: 1989
LENGTH: 4:39
DID YOU KNOW: This song was also featured in the soundtrack to 1989's Tango and Cash.
Amid the power ballads of the 80's, this band had plenty of them ready to record, but there’s some good mid tempo rock to be had on here as well. The album sounds dated now so you have to listen close, but there’s some gems as you would expect from an almost full reunion of The Baby’s with pieces of Journey peppered in.

TITLE: The Kingdom
BAND: Icehouse
ALBUM: Man Of Colours
YEAR: 1987
LENGTH: 4:53
DID YOU KNOW: Icehouse has produced eight Top Ten albums and twenty Top Forty singles in Australia.
One of my all-time favorites. It might be bit too slick for some on this site. But listen close, there’s great things happening within the layers of this band’s music.

TITLE: Nobody Said It Was Easy
BAND: Le Roux
ALBUM: Last Safe Place
YEAR: 1980
LENGTH: 4:08
DID YOU KNOW: Last Safe Place which was their highest charting album and included their only Top 40 single, "Nobody Said It Was Easy (Lookin' For the Lights)" , which reached #18 in early 1982.
I've posted a few tracks from this album, clearly a personal favorite of mine. Le Roux was a huge regional success in the New Orleans area and I believe that success is still enjoyed. This track was a single and may sound familiar to you if you ever had your radio on in 1980, just great songwriting top to bottom.

TITLE: Breakdown Dead Ahead
BAND: Boz Scaggs
ALBUM: Middle Man
YEAR: 1980
LENGTH: 4:35
DID YOU KNOW: Scaggs re-hired the members of the band Toto as session musicians, and shared song-writing credits with them.
After a long stretch of successful albums and hits Scaggs re-embraces the formula that propelled his "Silk Degrees" into the stratosphere. And he pulls it off! Middle is a strong album full of lush song crafting and tight musicianship. Breakdown Dead Ahead contains a great riff and classic rock and roll timing.

TITLE: Really Want To Know You
BAND: Gary Wright
ALBUM: The Right Place
YEAR: 1981
LENGTH: 4:23
DID YOU KNOW: In 2008, Wright toured with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.
Primarily known for his DreamWeaver release, Wright never was able to recreate that success, but that doesn’t mean he forgot how to write great music. His releases between Dreamweaver and this album, The Right Place, are some of the best albums I own. This track was his last chart success but certainly not his last musical success as he continues to record and tour.

TITLE: Good For You
BAND: Toto
ALBUM: IV
YEAR: 1982
LENGTH: 3:18
DID YOU KNOW: The album received six Grammy Awards including Record of the Year for "Rosanna", Album of the Year for Toto IV and Producer of the Year for the band
Toto's debut was a sensation; they followed that up with two experimental pieces before returning to the formula of their debut. It worked as this album blew up the charts and won over the critics. The album is strong, filled with great riffs and heavy drums. Jeff Porcaro's ability is rivaled by very few and the tones and beat he gets out of this track showcase some of what I mean.

TITLE: Overkill
BAND: Men At Work
ALBUM: Cargo
YEAR: 1983
LENGTH: 3:43
DID YOU KNOW: Colin Hay maintains a successful solo career and also plays with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.
(Pulled from Contraband: The Best of Men At Work)
Cargo received more favorable reviews than their successful debut album. But it didn’t quite get the same success from the singles they released. The reasons for this, as I understand them, were that the balance of the album was more of a thought than producing hit singles. Listening to the album as whole proves that to be true. Good stuff from a band that swept in like Lion and faded too quickly.

TITLE: I Oughta Let Go
BAND: .38 Special
ALBUM: Tour De Force
YEAR: 1984
LENGTH: 3:57
DID YOU KNOW: Their breakthrough hit, Rockin’ Into The Night, was written by the band Survivor.
My wife still plays this album constantly. I love what they were trying to do with this album, but as I understand it the label execs were pressuring them to become a hit machine so there is some imbalance on the record. But for me, Tour De Force was the last great 38 Special release until Resolution in 1997.

TITLE: Love Is Alright Tonite
BAND: Rick Springfield
ALBUM: Working Class Dog
YEAR: 1981
LENGTH: 3:21
DID YOU KNOW: The unusual album cover features Rick's actual pet named Ronnie.
I was skeptical when this album came out; but Jessie’s Girl was so good I had to give the rest a listen as well. When my friend popped his cassette into my car stereo, this track caught me off guard it was so good. Springfield’s output through Living In Oz is really quite good and holds up to this day.

TITLE: Put On Your Old Brown Shoes
BAND: Supertramp
ALBUM: ...Famous Last Words...
YEAR: 1982
LENGTH: 4:22
DID YOU KNOW: Breakfast in America, their most popular album, has sold more than 20 million copies!
The last release to feature Roger Hodgson is often overlooked. I think because it’s a bit of a departure from Breakfast In America, but nothing in their catalog would suggest they’ve ever tried to build on their last effort. I like that about them, always fresh, and always unique. If this release is questionable to you, give it another try, you may be surprised at how good it truly is.

So Jon... Are we spiraling downward fast enough?

I think next week we'll remain in the 80's, I have 3 other 80's playlists ready to go, so you'll have to wait and see which direction I will post. I have slow songs, top 40 hits, and rockers... I'll figure it out later...

Peace Out!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Scott on July 8, 2011 at 10:08pm

Icehouses big hit was called CRAZY from the same album. Nice feedback, love reading these!

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Permalink Reply by Jon on July 7, 2011 at 4:54pm

1,2,3....nah. No thanks. Cool geetar solo on 1 though.

4-10, now that's much better. Lifehouse, Firehouse....just can't get into bands with "house" in the name I guess. I really tried to like it, but couldn't.

So, with MY rating scale I will have to give it a 70/100. Not bad. But you could do better!