Various Artists - Arista's Perfect 10 (1984)

EARLY CD WEEK* (APRIL 18-23, 2022)

Similar to the Hear The Light compilations, but from the Arista label instead of PolyGram. Sure, there's ten tracks, but don't think for a minute that the packaging here wasn't influenced by the 1979 movie 10. Spoiler alert: while there may be ten tracks, this compilation is hardly perfect.

For what it's worth, the portable CD player on the cover is the Sony D-5, which notably didn't include headphones with purchase.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Peak on the CashBox Top CD chart: #22

Tracks:

1. Making Love Out Of Nothing At All - Air Supply, released 1983, #2 pop, #2 AC
   Also on the Billboard Top Hits 1980 - 1984 box set.
2. Eye In The Sky - The Alan Parsons Project, released 1982, #3 pop, #3 AC, #11 rock
   Also on the Billboard Top Hits 1980 - 1984 box set.
3. You Should Hear How She Talks About You - Melissa Manchester, released 1982, #5 pop, #10 AC, #8 dance
   Glad to finally have this one on CD. A longtime favorite, this was one of my first legitimate, paid downloads (via iTunes) back around 2005. That syncopated chorus never fails to put me in a better mood.
4. Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' (Too Good To Be True) - Jermaine Jackson, released 1984, #1 dance
   I don't remember this duet between Jermaine and brother Michael. Not properly released as a single because of the Arista (Jermaine) and Epic (Michael) labels, but later covered by Robert Palmer who charted with it in 1989. A good dance tune, written by names I normally associate with soft rock/adult-oriented rock: Michael Omartian, Bruce Sudano, & Jay Gruska.
5. Living Inside Myself - Gino Vannelli, released 1981, #6 pop, #5 AC, #45 R&B
   Also on a greatest hits compilation and Radio Daze: Pop Hits of the '80s, Vol. 5. Sweet mama, that's good stuff. You damn right I had the 45 with picture sleeve, purchased at the local Radio Shack on Avenue G. The highlight of this compilation.
6. Heartbreaker - Dionne Warwick, released 1982, #10 pop, #1 AC, #14 R&B
   Background vocals by the BeeGees, who wrote the thing. A great soft rocker that sounds strongly resembles a later Gibb duet, Islands In The Stream. This became Warwick's 28th of her 31(!) Top 40 hits.
7. Baby Don't Break Your Baby's Heart - Kashif, released 1984, #108 pop, #6 R&B, #40 dance
   New to me, but a solid dance tune - great groove, but no real hook.
8. Games People Play - The Alan Parsons Project, released 1980, #16 pop
   Also on Rock of the 80's, Vol. 12.
9. Hi, How Ya Doin'? - Kenny G, released 1984, #23 R&B
   Also on ftg Presents The Vaults, Vol. 2.
10. Hold Me Now - Thompson Twins, released 1983, #3 pop, #8 AC, #1 dance, #9 rock
    The seventh time this hit song has appeared on the blog (ninth if you include cover versions). Also on a greatest hits compilation, Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s, Vol. 13, Casey Kasem presents America's Top Ten Through The Years: The 80s, Rock of the 80's, Vol. 2, Rock On 1984, the Billboard Top Hits 1980 - 1984 box set, and the Original Album Classics box set. When I saw Tom Bailey in concert back in 2018, he closed the show with this tune and we were all pleased with that choice, including the two ladies in front of me who drunkenly danced and sang along at the top of their lungs. Normally, that kind of thing would bother me, but these women seemed so genuinely elated that I couldn't hold their behavior against them. They probably don't remember it, anyway.

Picking two cuts from Alan Parsons is a little lazy, even though I like both tracks. How about some Barry Manilow, Heaven 17, Haircut 100, or Nick Heyward, Arista? Bah!

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

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*I recently compiled complete chart data for compact disc charts from both Billboard and CashBox magazines. While doing so, I saw the names of a number of very early sampler/demonstration discs with which I was completely unfamiliar. I found a few early CDs that charted, as well as similar discs from 1983-85, and am featuring those this week.