Various Artists - Living In Oblivion: The 80's Greatest Hits, Volume 1 (1993)

The first of five volumes from EMI Records Group. As of this writing, Volume 1 is the only one I own. The disc includes tunes that pre-date the '80s, making the CD title a bit untruthful, but that doesn't bother me much. I usually claim June 6, 1978 (the release date of The Cars album) as the birthdate of '80s music, so I'm willing to cut the compilers some slack. Bonus points for great sequencing and comprehensive liner notes.

For me, this particular compilation neatly separates itself into four sections:

1. tracks 1-7: tracks I have on other CDs and enjoy greatly
2. tracks 8-12: tracks that I didn't remember and enjoy greatly
3. tracks 13-15: tracks I have on other CDs and enjoy greatly
4. tracks 16-18: tracks I have on other CDs but pass

A .833 batting average with five good new-to-me cuts? On the cheap from the used bin? I'll take it.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks, with both US and UK chart peaks:

Song	Artist	Year	US	UK
Too Shy	Kajagoogoo	1982	5	1
Always Something There To Remind Me	Naked Eyes	1983	8	59
Talk Talk	Talk Talk	1982	75	23
Kids In America	Kim Wilde	1981	25	2
Turning Japanese	The Vapors	1980	36	3
The Politics Of Dancing	Re-Flex	1983	24	28
19	Paul Hardcastle	1985	15	1
Homicide	999	1978		40
Romanticide	Combo Audio	1981
Guilty	Classix Nouveaux	1981		43
(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)	The Stranglers	1977		44
2-4-6-8 Motorway	Tom Robinson Band	1977		5
C30, C60, C90, Go	Bow Wow Wow	1980		34
(She's) Sexy + 17	Stray Cats	1983	5	29
She Blinded Me With Science	Thomas Dolby	1982	5	49
Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)	Spandau Ballet	1981		3
I Eat Cannibals (Part One)	Total Coelo	1982	66	8
Shiny Shiny	Haysi Fantayzee	1983	74	16

Previous posts regarding most of these tracks can be found here, but I'll include some thoughts on the five tracks that were new to me:

• Homicide: to be fair, I have heard this cut before on another compilation, but I didn't remember it. Sounds a bit like Television or The Boys. I dig the singer's snarled delivery. And I just found out it was produced by Martin Rushent.
• Romanticide: a catchy, bouncy New Wave tune. If I hadn't read that Combo Audio was from Illinois, I would have guessed the UK. It would seem Ultravox was popular in Champaign-Urbana.
• Guilty: If I ignore the singer's voice, I really like this tune. More of the catchy, bouncy New Wave mentioned above - the sort to which I gravitated around 1982-84.
• (Get A) Grip (On Yourself): I don't know anything about The Stranglers other than the fact that they have a fantastic band name. I like the chorus and the arpeggiated bridge; normally I don't care much for screeching sax, but it just fits here. Another Rushent production.
• 2-4-6-8 Motorway: Again, I've heard this one before on the same compilation as Homicide, where I gave it a coveted grade of ✔. Easy to chant along with and includes one of the few guitar solos on this disc.

Data suggests you can't put together an '80s compilation without including She Blinded Me With Science; this post marks its eleventh appearance on this blog. And I never tire of hearing it.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but I'll give you odds on whether or not I'll eventually pick up other volumes in this series (warning: don't take that bet cuz I've got a CD addiction to feed).