Various Artists - Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s, Vol. 7 (1994)

I'm currently wading through the 600+ pages of I Want My MTV by Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum. So far, it's an entertaining read and if you, like me, experienced MTV as it was introduced, you should definitely give it a shot. Anyway, it has understandably put me in the mood for some early '80s music. This is the 7th volume of a fantastic 15 volume set released in the mid-'90s by the always wonderful Rhino Records. Songs on this volume are from the years 1981-1983. This is probably the most diverse volume in the series; we're treated to roots rock, soul pop, New Romantic, performance art, Tex-Mex, reggae, ska, and retread sounds from the '40s, '50s, and '60s.

Tracks:

• Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl) - Haircut 100 (US #101, UK #4)
  From one of my favorite "summer" albums, Pelican West, I've always enjoyed this soul-dance-pop song.
• He Could Be The One - Josie Cotton (US #74)
  Previously reviewed here. Here's what I said then: "I can't figure out how Cotton wasn't a bigger star. Her retro-60's pop sound is immediately accessible. Cotton sings the entire song as if she's on talking on the phone to her girlfriend, on the verge of a giggle fit, which makes the whole song completely endearing."
• I'm Shakin' - The Blasters
  Rockabilly/roots-rock, a cover of a '50s hit by Little Willie John. Seek out the original. I wasn't a rockabilly guy in the early '80s, but now I understand what they were trying to do.
• Six Months In A Leaky Boat - Split Enz (US #104)
  After seeing this video on MTV, I was a fan of the song, but when I heard the rest of album, it didn't hold up to this tune.
• I Need You - Paul Carrack (US #37)
  From the album Suburban Voodoo, this soulful love song should have reached higher than #37 on the charts.
• Love Is Just The Great Pretender - Animal Nightlife (UK #28)
  Bland pseudo-'40s jive meets '80s R&B that might have hit during the swing revival of the '90s - maybe. The problem with doing this in the '80s is that Kid Creole was already doing it better. Not for me.
• Ride Your Pony - Fleshtones
  Average garage rockers trying to play New Wave by adding bouncy keyboards. An awesome band name wasted.
• Blue Spark - X
  Best described in the liner notes as "126 seconds of noirish sexual tension." X was one of those critics' darlings that never got the commercial success they probably deserved. This was too rough for me back in the '80s, but I like it now.
• Pass The Dutchie - Musical Youth (US#10, UK #1)
  Fun, harmless reggae from the UK. The story of the lyrics is better than the music itself: this is a cover version of Pass the Kouchie by The Mighty Diamonds, which deals with the recreational use of cannabis, "kouchie" being slang for a cannabis pipe. For the cover version, the song's title was bowdlerized to Pass the Dutchie, and all obvious drug references were removed from the lyrics; e.g., when the original croons "How does it feel when you got no herb?", the cover version refers to "food" instead. "Dutchie" has since become a drug reference in itself, denoting a blunt stuffed with marijuana and rolled in a wrapper from a Dutch Masters cigar.
• Samson And Delilah - Bad Manners (UK #58)
  2 Tone ska-pop in the manner of early Madness. Not bad if you like that kind of sound.
• Chicken Outlaw - Wide Boy Awake
  If someone wanted to point out the stupidity of New Wave music, they need look no further for an example. If the title wasn't bad enough, they stoop to having chicken sounds in the background. This song should be outlawed.
• Da Da Da I Don't Love You You Don't Love Me Aha Aha Aha - Trio (UK #2)
  This minimalist three-chord number from Germany is hard to get out of your head. It sure is catchy. Last heard in a late '90s VW ad. If you played this song on a continuous loop, however, you could clear a room in a matter of minutes.
• Party Weekend - Joe "King" Carrasco & The Crowns
  Great song where Tex-Mex accordion meets New Wave keyboards. I spent a fair amount of time in Austin in the early '80s and Carrasco was everywhere. These days, he's still touring around Texas, but mainly plays at his Puerto Vallarta club, Nacho Daddy.
• Love Shadow - Fashion (UK #51)
  Smooth New Wave R&B, a style that would become very popular in the later part of the decade. The band couldn't make it in their native Britain, so there was no way they were going to get much promotion over here in the States.
• Flaming Desire - Bill Nelson
  I love this electronic number. It was right up my alley in '82; in the same vein as Gary Numan's Cars.
• O Superman (For Massenet) - Laurie Anderson (UK #2)
  ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah.... Now heavily sampled, you will either love this piece or hate it. This minimalist performance is hard to explain so just watch the video. I recently heard this piece used in a HTC smartphone commercial and it didn't seem out of place at all. Was this piece just 30 years ahead of its time??

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: In the early '80s, I heard Laurie Anderson's Big Science LP and, for a few days, considered moving to NYC and becoming a performance artist. In my mind, I could totally do that. Fortunately, a calmer head eventually prevailed. Ah, the naïveté of youth.

Previously revisited for the blog:

Volume 1	Volume 2
Volume 3	Volume 4
Volume 5	Volume 8
Volume 9	Volume 12
Volume 14
New Wave Xmas
New Wave Dance Hits