Various Artists - Rock of the 80's, Vol. 2 (1992)

Over at the Herc's Hideaway blog, it's '80s Compilation Week and in today's post, he focused on Priority Records' Rock Of The 80's series. Until reading his post, I was unaware that the series consisted of fifteen volumes. Only this second volume appears in my collection and there aren't any plans for purchasing additional volumes. Not for reasons of quality, but because I already own most of the songs on other CDs. Songs on this compilation are from the years 1979-1984. Only 9 tracks, it's not all '80s, and it's more New Wave than rock, but for a budget priced '80s compilation CD, you could do much worse.

Tracks:

• She Blinded Me With Science - Thomas Dolby (#5 UK, #5 US)
  The tenth time this particular song has appeared on this blog. Also heard on Retrospectacle, Ultimate New Wave Party 1998, Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s, Vol. 8, 12 x 12 Original Remixes, 80's Hits Stripped, twice on The Sole Inhabitant, and twice on The Golden Age of Wireless. The fact that I've got at least 10 copies of this song should indicate how much I like it.
• Tainted Love - Soft Cell (#1 UK, #8 US)
  The fourth time this song has appeared on this blog. Also heard on Ultimate New Wave Party 1998, Here and Now: The Very Best of the 80s, and Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s, Vol. 4. Here's what I previously wrote about the song: "[A] cover, this was a big hit and the all-time favorite song of my friend Scott. Me, I can take it or leave it. Thankfully, the version on this disc doesn't go into the group's horrible cover of Where Did Our Love Go."
• Always Something There To Remind Me - Naked Eyes (#59 UK, #8 US)
  My only copy of this wonderful cover. This song ranks somewhere in my Top 10 list of favorite pop songs of the '80s. I never tire of hearing it. Back in '82, I bought a copy of the group's self-titled debut LP on the strength of this song. As I recall, it only had two good songs on it, this #8 hit and its #11 follow-up, Promises Promises.
• The Look Of Love - ABC (#4 UK, #18 US)
  The sixth time this song has appeared on this blog. Also heard on Ultimate New Wave Party 1998, Here and Now: The Very Best of the 80s, and Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s, Vol. 6, The Lexicon of Love, and Absolutely. Here's what I previously wrote about the song: "Fantastic New Romantic song produced by Trevor Horn. From the classic album, The Lexicon Of Love."
• The Metro - Berlin (#58 US)
  Currently, my only copy of this one, although I also own an acoustic version. Not quite as good as Sex (I'm A...) but miles better than Take My Breath Away. With all the typical New Wave trappings (drum machine, synths, percolating bass line, etc.) this probably would have been a bigger hit in US if the typical American teenager had a clue as to what The Metro is.
• Hold Me Now - Thompson Twins (#4 UK, #3 US)
  Previously heard on the group's greatest hits CD. I loved this song and had the Into The Gap album on cassette where this was easily the best track. I would ride around town in the Markmobile (a white '72 Ford Maverick) and sing the falsetto part at the chorus at the top of my lungs. Sometimes I hit the pitches, sometimes I didn't. It didn't really matter.
• Cars - Gary Numan (#1 UK, #9 US)
  Previously heard on Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s, Vol. 3 where I called the song "a groundbreaking classic." More on this one when I pull my CD of The Pleasure Principle off the shelf.
• Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles (#1 UK, #40 US)
  Previously heard on Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s, Vol. 1. This is what I wrote then: "It was love at first hearing for me and this song. Even though I've heard it thousands of times, I never skip it or change the radio channel when it comes on." More on this one when I pull my CD of The Age Of Plastic off the shelf.
• Never Say Never - Romeo Void
  The third time this song has appeared on this blog. Also heard on Just Say New Wave and Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s, Vol. 6. Despite the squealing saxophone, this song quickly became an earworm during my junior year of high school. I remember repeating the song's best line, "I might like you better if we slept together" over and over. I once just flat out said it to a senior girl and she actually gave me a look like she was considering the offer (not that I would have known what to do anyway). These days, saying something like that would get you a 3 day suspension for sexual harassment.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I purchased this disc not long after my 10 year high school reunion. My buddy Scott had a copy of it and I was envious. At the time of purchase, I don't think I had any of these songs on CD.