Various Artists - Living In Oblivion: The 80's Greatest Hits, Volume 3 (1994)

The third of five volumes from EMI Records Group. I didn't buy any discs in this series upon release but now they're appearing in used CD stores as people shamelessly discard entire CD collections. Some of my favorite 80's tunes are here, including Perfect Way and It's My Life, plus great tunes like Poison Arrow, (Keep Feeling) Fascination, and Life In A Northern Town. Also, 7 of the 19 tracks are new to my CD shelves, so it's a perfect mix of familiar and unfamiliar, which is all I can ask of these sorts of compilations.

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

Tracks, with both US and UK chart peaks and links to previous appearances on this blog:

Song	Artist	Year	US	UK	Prev.
(Keep Feeling) Fascination	Human League	1983	8	2	1, 2, 3, 4
Perfect Way	Scritti Politti	1985	11	48	1, 2, 3, 4
Cruel Summer	Bananarama	1983	9	8	1
Life In A Northern Town	Dream Academy	1985	7	15	1, 2
Election Day	Arcadia	1985	6	7	1
Shattered Dreams	Johnny Hates Jazz	1987	2	5	1
Sunglasses At Night	Corey Hart	1984	7	-	1, 2
The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades	Timbuk 3	1986	19	21	1, 2
Make A Circuit With Me	The Polecats	1983	-	76
Rock This Town	Stray Cats	1981	9	9	1, 2, 3, 4
Sidewalk Talk	Jellybean	1984	18	47
It's My Life	Talk Talk	1984	31	46	1, 2
(I Just) Died In Your Arms	Cutting Crew	1986	1	4
Hanging On A Heart Attack	Device	1986	35	-
Poison Arrow	ABC	1982	25	6	1, 2, 3, 4
AEIOU Sometimes Y	Ēbn-Ōzn	1983	-	-
Are You Sure	So	1988	41	62
The Way You Are	Tears For Fears	1983	-	24
What Do All The People Know	The Monroes	1982	59	1	1

Here's my thoughts on those 7 first-timers:

• Make A Circuit With Me: Prior to the purchase of this CD, I was completely unfamiliar with The Polecats, a rockabilly group out of London. Even though there's not much to it, I bob my head to the catchy tune and happy feel of this one, but I wasn't into rockabilly at the time of release so it's safe to say I like it more now than I would have at the time of release. The liner notes state the tune is "built around a metaphor of electronics as sex, perfectly tuned to the Reagan-era" way of thinking.
• Sidewalk Talk: The liner notes also offer up this alliterative blurb: "Mighty Manhattan mixer John 'Jellybean' Benitez made his first album without singing or playing one note." (Not to be pedantic, but it was an EP, not an album, but point taken.) Although she didn't receive an artist credit, this is a Madonna tune. It's highly danceable, but the #18 peak on the pop charts sounds about right.
• (I Just) Died In Your Arms: Didn't care much for this one back in '86 and it hasn't aged well. Pass. Coincidently, I often mistake Cutting Crew for Johnny Hates Jazz and them both being included on this compilation has only compounded my confusion.
• Hanging On A Heart Attack: I know of Holly Knight as being a great songwriter and member of the group Spider, but I didn't know she was a member of a later group, Device. Sadly, this isn't one her better tunes.
• AEIOU Sometimes Y: Devoid of melody, but I like the groundbreaking sampling/DIY aesthetic here. Reportedly the first commercial single produced entirely on computer, it didn't dent the pop chart, but was popular in the clubs in 1983, peaking at #20 on the dance chart.
• Are You Sure: I hadn't previously heard of this song or band, but the single sounds like any number of its contemporaries, nothing to really distinguish it. Could have used a catchy chorus.
• The Way You Are: A single-only release between the duo's first two albums. Neither of the duo like the thing: "I think this was the point at which we realised we had to change direction." I don't think it's all that bad, just a bit unfocused as if the guys couldn't decide if they wanted to sound like experimentalish drum-driven synthpop or have more of a synth-reggae sound. The liner notes claim this compilation was the first official US release of the song. 

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but here's to finding the remaining volume in the used bins and a 5-disc carousel player at the thrift store.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Volume 1 (1993)
Volume 4 (1994)
Volume 5 (1995)