Various Artists - Now That's What I Call Music! 1981: The Millennium Series (1999)

UK Import

Musically, the UK had a very different 1981 than I, so while this two disc set has some very familiar tunes, there are tracks with which I was previously unfamiliar. All 36 tracks were hits in the UK while only 11 reached the US Top 40. Kudos for great sequencing through different genres - there's a reggae/ska section, a country(ish) section, an R&B section, etc.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Not released in US

Tracks:
CD 1:

1. Queen and David Bowie - Under Pressure (#1 UK, #29 US)
   Because my cooler older cousin played a cassette of Queen's greatest hits in his Z28, I quickly bought my own copy because I knew and liked all the tunes. And then, at the end of side one, I discovered this wonderful new collaboration.
2. Ultravox - Vienna (#2 UK)
   I don't remember hearing this song in '81, but I bought an import copy of this LP a few years later and fell in love with this moody techno track. It slows down, it speeds up, it's got an electric viola solo, I don't know what the lyrics are about, but I still dig the thing.
3. The Specials - Ghost Town (#1 UK)
   While the lyrics are depressing as hell, it's got a great groove and there's no denying this is Jerry Dammers' major opus. When we first shut down for the pandemic in March 2020, this song was in my head all the time and I'll bet I wasn't the only one.
4. UB40 - One In Ten (#7 UK)
   Hadn't heard this song until I purchased this compilation. More reggae/dub than ska, this is still a great follow-up to the previous Specials track. A slow reggae track that uses a sax solo where the chorus should be. Depressing lyrics again - around 1 in 10 people were unemployed in England when the song was written/released.
5. Blondie - The Tide Is High (#1 UK, #1 US)
   Wrapping up the ska/reggae-lite section of the compilation with this tune. A fantastic cover of a 1967 rocksteady b-side. While Debbie Harry drolly delivers the goods, the real star for me is the arrangement - a cross between reggae and mariachi.
6. Duran Duran - Girls On Film (#5 UK)
   I came to Duran's earlier tunes only after I had fallen in love with the later Rio album. I don't think this tune quite measures up to Rio's standards and could use less guitar and more synth, but I still like the thing. Today I'm focusing on John Taylor's bass playing and it is fantastic.
7. Soft Cell - Tainted Love (#1 UK, #8 US)
   I had never heard anything like this cover tune when it hit American radio. I had never heard of the band and I didn't know what a 'tainted love' was, but that didn't stop me from digging the programmed synth arrangement. It was a big hit and the all-time favorite song of my friend Scott. Me, I still like it, but I've heard it plenty. Thankfully, the version on this disc doesn't segue into the group's unnecessary cover of Where Did Our Love Go.
8. Human League - Love Action (I Believe In Love) (#3 UK)
   The entire Dare album is required listening for me every summer. This is one of the highlights of that album. I have questions, though: Was it released as a single in the US? If not, why? Was an extended 12" single mix produced other than what's on the Love And Dancing remix album? If so, why don't I have a copy? 
9. Starsound - ABBA Medley (#2 UK, #67 US)
   Oh boy did we love our novelty medleys in the early '80s. If it wasn't Starsound (AKA Stars on 45), it was "Hooked On" something or other, or a Beatles movie tune medley, or a Beach Boys medley, et al. I loved all of 'em back then, but now I'd rather hear the whole versions of the original songs. What's amazing about this particular single is how close the voices match the original ABBA vocals. The line-up of tunes as follows:
   • Stars On 45
   • Voulez-Vous
   • SOS
   • Bang-A-Boomerang
   • Money, Money, Money
   • Knowing Me, Knowing You
   • Fernando
   • The Winner Takes It All
   • Super Trouper
   • Stars On 45
10. Spandau Ballet - Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On) (#3 UK)
    I prefer the group's later blue-eyed soul work, but this is one of the better tunes from the group's first two albums. Still, Haircut 100 did it better.
11. Philip Lynott - Yellow Pearl (Top Of The Pops Theme) (#14 UK)
    Lynott was a bassist and vocalist for Thin Lizzy, but this song sounds like no Thin Lizzy tune I've ever heard (granted, I haven't head many TL tunes, and this single was co-written by Midge Ure, who is well-represented on this first disc). Sounds more like an outtake/b-side from ELO's Time album to these ears. A fantastic choice for a TV theme for a lipsynch show, though.
12. David Bowie - Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (#20 UK)
    Bowie is well-represented on this first disc, as well. I once succinctly described the entire Scary Monsters album as "all tension, no release" (probably because of Robert Fripp's guitar work). I'm sure that was the point of the music, but I have to be in a very particular mood to listen to any track from it. Doesn't mean it's not quality stuff, though.
13. Godley And Creme - Under Your Thumb (#3 UK)
    I had not heard this tune before purchasing these CDs. I like the arrangement, the verse meanders a bit, but what a wonderful chorus. Dark lyrics, but a new and welcome surprise from these discs, nonetheless.
14. Visage - Fade To Grey (#8 UK)
    A groundbreaking single that opened doors for synthpop in the '80s. This studio group was masterminded by Midge Ure (his influence is obvious) and Blitz club host Steve Strange along with other members of Ultravox and Magazine.
15. ABC - Tears Are Not Enough (#19 UK)
    One of many standout cuts on a packed Lexicon of Love album. Suave and sophisticated, just like me. Not released as a single in the US and that's just dumb (it was the b-side of Poison Arrow).
16. Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin - It's My Party (#1 UK, #72 US)
    Not the Dave Stewart from Eurythmics, but just as synthish. Dark and moody, perfectly suited to the lyrics. It eerily sounds like something tragic might happen to Johnny by the end of the night. I keep waiting for it to get moving but it keeps me in suspense until a popish ending hits at the 2:47 mark and the anticipation is delicious. I love a cover that changes up the original and this cover certainly does just that.
17. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Souvenir (#3 UK)
    With a wordless chorus, this early synthpop tune has hooks for days and often takes up residence in my head for hours. This duo knew what they were doing from the get-go, it just took awhile for the US audience to catch on.
18. Vangelis - Chariots Of Fire (#12 UK, #1 US)
    Sadly overplayed (at the time) and over-mocked (since). The soundtrack album is fantastic rainy day music as well as my introduction to the synth-washed New Aged genre.  The single would have been totally different if the exact same music had been scored for strings.  Not many of my high school friends shared my appreciation for this music; in fact, one of them once told me, "My mom has that album." which sounds exactly like a put down a teenager would use.  

CD 2:

1. Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight (#2 UK. #19 US)
   If you told kids in their 20's today that this song wasn't a #1 smash in 1981, they might not believe you. (It did top a digital chart in 2020, however.) This thing's got staying power, for sure. Other memories of this single have already appeared on this blog here.
2. Roxy Music - Jealous Guy (#1 UK)
   Until I discovered the exquisite Avalon album, I was more familiar with Roxy Music album covers than their actual music. However, I learned a great deal about their influence on New Romantic music recently while reading Sweet Dreams: The Story of the New Romantics by Dylan Jones (recommended). This cover of a John Lennon tune was recorded as a posthumous tribute to the former Beatle. It's a quality cover with a wonderful sax solo from Andy Mackay. It was re-released in 1988 and peaked at #22 on the US adult contemporary chart.
3. Elvis Costello - A Good Year For The Roses (#6 UK)
   A cover of a George Jones tune from Costello's country covers album, Almost Blue. Not really my thing. The album originally appeared with a warning label that read "WARNING: This album contains country & western music and may cause offence to narrow minded listeners." Aimed at folks like me, apparently.
4. Squeeze - Labelled With Love (#4 UK)
   I loves me some Squeeze, but this is me, being a narrow minded listener again. Admittedly, this song is easier for me to take within the context of the entire classic East Side Story album. I'm usually don't pay much mind to lyrical content, but Chris Difford's lyrics are so good they're hard to ignore. Stuff like "He ate himself older, drunk himself dizzy" hits a little too close to home.
5. The Jam - That's Entertainment (#21 UK)
   I like this tune and I can't exactly pinpoint the reasons why. There's not much to it, no solos, no bridge, not much drumming, the only electric guitar is a psychedlic backwards thing under the penultimate verse. Ah, well - we like what we like.
6. Madness - The Return Of The Los Palmas 7 (#7 UK)
   Yet another song that was new to me. While not ska, this instrumental is what I would expect from this group - fun, upbeat, partyish.
7. Kim Wilde - Kids in America (#2 UK, #25 US)
   From the first time I heard this song, I was a Kim Wilde fan, although that was mid '82, not 1981. I quickly bought her debut album which reminds me of the fall of 1982. I had recently gotten my driver's license and thought a lot of myself as I listened to a tape I made of Wilde's debut LP in my car as I drove me and some friends to early morning marching band practice. Good times. I hear this tune often and I've yet to tire of it.
8. The Teardrop Explodes - Reward (#6 UK)
   I group this band with Echo & The Bunnymen in a category called "bands I should have listened to in the early '80s but never did." It wasn't that I wasn't exposed to them, I simply (mistakenly) chose not to listen to them much. Opportunity lost. The driving beat, the manic horns - this tune would have been right up my alley. Not to mention my New Waver wannabe persona might have been enhanced with a few band pinbacks on my jacket. 
   
   
9. U2 - Gloria (#55 UK)
   Such a great tune. So good it opens not one, but two U2 albums: October and Under A Blood Red Sky. I really fell in love with it when I bought the latter album on cassette. Around the time of that live album's release, in an effort to woo a girl named Gloria, I gave her a copy of the cassette and told her to listen to the song titled Gloria. Needless to say, that effort didn't work. Mainly because it was a lame idea, but also because she was way out of my league.
10. XTC - Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me) (#16 UK)
    Typical quirky pop from the mind of Andy Partridge. The misogynistic lyrics certainly haven't aged well, though.
11. Steve Winwood - While You See A Chance (#45 UK, #7 US)
    A fantastic song and maybe my favorite of this compilation - always puts me in a good mood. It just seems to constantly move upward. Memories of this song are here and here.
12. Four Tops - When She Was My Girl (#3 UK, #11 US)
    The group's 23rd Top 40 hit in the US. 23rd! It's always great to hear Levi Stubbs over those smooth background harmonies. Nominated for a Grammy in the Best R&B Song category, eventually losing to Grover Washington, Jr.'s Just The Two Of Us. 
13. Kool & The Gang - Get Down On It (#3 UK, #10 US)
    Can we get a little more respect for K&TG and their legacy? 22 Top 40 hits and 42 Top 40 R&B hits in the US; 18 Top 40 hits in the UK. And I can't think of any tune of theirs I wouldn't be happy to hear right now, including this radio-friendly funk jam.
14. Quincy Jones - Razzamatazz (#11 UK)
    Not released as a single in the US, it well shoulda been. Written by Rod Temperton, vocals by Patti Austin, backing band includes Herbie Hancock and Steve Lukather, horns from Jerry Hey, produced by Q. If that's not a perfect storm, I don't know what is. 
15. Smokey Robinson - Being With You (#1 UK, #2 US)
    Smokey Robinson should be on money.
    
16. Imagination - Body Talk (#4 UK)
    Not only was I previously unfamiliar with this tune, I was also completely unfamiliar with the band. This slowly slinks along with lots of falsetto. Nothing objectionable, but I'm not blown away, particularly following a Smokey tune.
17. Michael Jackson - One Day In Your Life (#1 UK, #55 US)
    Originally released in 1975, re-released by Motown in 1981 to capitalize on the success of Off The Wall. To call the arrangement overblown is putting it mildly. It's not a bad tune in the Johnny Mathis adult contemporary tradition, but out of place here.
18. Diana Ross & Lionel Richie - Endless Love (#7 UK, #1 US)
    This smash hit appeared on another 1981 compilation I featured a few months back. Here's what I wrote then:

    I don't particularly care for this song anymore, but I can sing both duet parts if you need that sort of thing. During fall 1981, I rode with a older neighbor (we'll call her Nancy because that was her name) to marching band rehearsal each morning. She'd drive to the local donut joint on the way and that's when I developed the decidedly unhealthy habit of starting each day with a popular caffeinated carbonated cola beverage. Nancy loved Endless Love endlessly and had the cassette of the movie soundtrack. So, for three months, she'd listen to the first track on side one (this song), then flip over the cassette and listen to the last track on side two (titled "Endless Love Reprise" but it was the same damn song), then back to side one, repeat ad nauseum. Never seen the movie and have no plans to change that fact. At least I got donuts.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: see above