Running Scared: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack (1986)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD. My copy has a smooth-sided jewel case but was once relegated to the cut-out bins. "Cut-out" is a term carried over from vinyl record overages in which a notch would actually be cut out of the album cover. In the case of CDs, it is sometimes a small hole drilled through the bottom right hand corner, but there's no firm rule of how or where.

But I digress. How's the music?

While this isn't the best pop/rock soundtrack of the '80s*, it's one of the better pop/rock soundtracks of the '80s. Four singles were released: one monster hit, two moderate hits, and one I honestly don't remember. Most tracks comfortably crossover between rock and R&B but with Prince tearing up the charts with that approach, who could blame the movie producers for going that route? The producers were wise enough to sign the incomparable Rod Temperton to write and produce most of the songs. By this time, Temperton had already written a dozen Top 40 hits for the likes of Heatwave, Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, George Benson, and others. This soundtrack provided him with two more. All that quality work and the man doesn't even rate a credit on the album's front cover. I'm incredulous!

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #43
• Billboard R&B: #38
• CashBox: #88

Tracks (compositions by Temperton marked with an asterisk):

1. Man Size Love* (#15 pop, #43 R&B, #18 dance) - Klymaxx
2. Sweet Freedom* (#7 pop, #17 R&B, #8 dance, #4 AC) - Michael McDonald
3. I Just Wanna Be Loved* - Ready For The World
4. Running Scared* - Fee Waybill
5. Once In A Lifetime Groove (#10 R&B, #9 dance) - New Edition
6. I Know What I Want - Patti LaBelle
7. Say You Really Want Me (#44 pop) - Kim Wilde
8. El Chase (Instrumental)* - The Rod Temperton Beat Wagon feat. Larry Williams
9. Never Too Late To Start* - The Rod Temperton Beat Wagon feat. Tommy Funderbunk

Before buying this CD, I hadn't heard some of these tunes in over 30 years and I had forgotten how good some of the cuts are. If you bought this soundtrack solely for Sweet Freedom, you're in for a treat because here's the full 7½ minute 12" version. The other single releases are enjoyable as are the deep cuts Running Scared and especially Never Too Late To Start.

Confession: for years, I thought the title of the instrumental El Chase was a silly way of substituting a Spanish article for an English article. In my mind, the real title of the track should have been 'The Chase' but The was switched out for El. Many years after the fact, it finally occurred to me that the chase scene in the movie takes place on Chicago's elevated train system, nicked named 'The El.' Facepalm. That said, it's a nice piece of tension-building soundtrack work, even better when you consider soundtracks were out of Temperton's usual comfort zone. But maybe a better title would have been Chase On The El??

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I saw the movie with my future wife at the theater back in the summer of 1986. I rewatched it several months ago and can now opine that I prefer the soundtrack to the movie, your mileage may vary.


*So what's the best pop/rock soundtrack of the '80s? I have no idea, but I'd start the discussion by mentioning Footloose, Xanadu, Pretty In Pink, Times Square (yet to be released on CD! I'm incredulous again!), and Purple Rain. As others spring to mind, I'll give ya a call.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Live/1975-85 (1986)

In late 1986 and early 1987, I often went to the music/electronics section of the Walmart in Commerce, Texas and eyeballed the 5 LP box set of this release, wondering if it was worth the money and would it properly feed my music addiction. I hadn't yet purchased a CD player - that would happen about a year later. The price for the set at the time was around $23 which was $30 more than this poor college student had on hand. The set was never purchased, but many years later, I inherited this CD set from one of my wife's cousins and here we are.

The release on Monday, November 10, 1986 (just in time for Christmas shopping!) was an event, with many stores selling out immediately. The box set debuted at #1 on Billboard's album chart - a rare occurrence at the time. Springsteen is great performer and if you like all his music, this was a prize. However, since I'm admittedly not a hard core fan, I'm of the opinion that listening to the whole thing is a slog (disc 2 in particular) and could have easily been pared down into an epic single disc release. It's taken me three days to get through the set this time. But I guess the words "brevity" and "Springsteen Live" don't belong together so I'll just be moving along now.

Press of the time:

• Stereo Review: "Exhausting, exhilarating, moving, funny, raunchy, majestic"
• Rolling Stone: "the ultimate rock-concert experience of the past decade finally packaged for living-room consumption."
• High Fidelity: "represents as ambitious and fully realized a vision of what has become the American Dream as has been witnessed over the last ten years."
• Smash Hits (7½ out of 10): "Is it worth £25? For the Springsteen fan, yes - it's a wonderful present to give yourself."
• CashBox: "An unparalleled event."
• Billboard: "Superior in every respect"
• Robert Christgau (A-): "There isn't one of its ten sides that excites me end to end, and there isn't one I couldn't play with active pleasure now or five years from now. If anything, it isn't long enough."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #1
• Billboard Pop CD: #1
• CashBox: #1
• CashBox CD: #1
• Rolling Stone: #1

Tracks: Here's my suggested track listing for the aforementioned "epic single disc release"

Side A:

• Thunder Road
• Hungry Heart
• Two Hearts
• Fire
• Cadillac Ranch

Side B:

• War (gotta get the single on there. It peaked at #8 pop, #4 rock)
• Born in the USA
• Born To Run
• Tenth Avenue Freeze Out

CD/cassette bonus track:

• Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

Which isn't too far removed from the promo-only LP issued by Columbia: https://www.discogs.com/release/4853200-Bruce-Springsteen-The-E-Street-Band-Live1975-85. Now if that album had been released commercially, I wouldn't have hesitated in buying the LP or cassette in 1986.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: see above

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003)
Greatest Hits (1995)
Tunnel Of Love (1987)

Blog post #2050

Eddie Daniels - Breakthrough (1986)

I saw this CD in the used bin and thought to myself, "Hey! I remember a college friend having that CD back in '86 and there was a piece on it that caught my ear at the time. 25¢? I'll take it!" Turns out the clarinetist I was thinking of was Richard Stoltzman, the album was titled New York Counterpoint, and the piece I was remembering is titled Feast. So while both New York Counterpoint and Breakthrough are third stream releases featuring clarinet, both released in 1986, I'm left with this CD I've never heard before that I bought for purposes of nostalgia. Shrug.

blurbs from the liner notes

There's no denying the technical skills on display here, but if the "bastardized Bach" music doesn't hold interest, virtuosity doesn't really matter.

Reviews/ratings:

• Stereo Review: "Sad to say, there's a market for it."
• CashBox: "surprisingly successful"
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• CashBox Jazz: #25
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #1

Tracks:

If I was pressed to pick a favorite, I'd go with the Daniels original, Circle Dance. The remainder reminds me of expertly performed, fairly generic film soundtrack music.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: see above

The Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill (1986)

By request! (In this particular case, "by request" means that a reader actually sent me a CD. Thanks!)

Admittedly, this kind of music isn't my thing and I probably would think differently about this album if I'd heard it when it was released. But in 1986, I was listening to more jazz and classical as I pursued a music degree. Nevertheless, I recognize a few of the titles so I'm not completely unfamiliar with what's here. So here goes my first listen to the complete album.

...

It's a fun album with lots of manic energy. I imagine it would be a great album to spin while hanging out with friends and imbibing by the pool, but I doubt I'll listen to this one again. More of a humor album than a rap album, maybe? As I mentioned after listening to Paul's Boutique, I like the backing tracks but I don't care much for the Boys' voices. But the album has been certified diamond (10 million copies sold) so what do I know?

Press of the time:

• CashBox: "Beastie Boys' crash and burn abandon is right on the money"
• Billboard: "energetic, decidedly adolescent, and ultimately satisfying"
• Stereo Review: "Stupid beyond all reason"
• High Fidelity: "among the most entertaining LPs you'll ever hear"
• Rolling Stone: "one hard-rockin' cartoon"
• Spin: "arguably the first album by a white band that succeeds both as posterior-punting rock and blaster bombast"

In its 2020 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone ranked Licensed To Ill at #192.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #1
• Billboard R&B: #2
• CashBox: #1
• Rolling Stone: #1

Tracks: I was previously familiar with Fight For Your Right, Girls, and Brass Monkey and those cuts are bringing back late '80s memories of watching videos on MTV and going to college parties.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: When I was earning my public school teaching credentials back in 1987, I had to spend 30 hours observing students and school culture in an normal classroom setting. Typical stuff. While most of my fellow music majors tried to get placed in a secondary school music classroom for their 30 hours, your humble blogger - a noted contrarian - asked to spend time in a 2nd grade classroom. At some point while watching second graders that semester, I noticed one student hiding something in his jacket and showing it to his friends. Grade school contraband! He had his eyes glued to the teacher because he didn't want her to catch him, so while he was doing that, I sidled up next to him and whispered, "Whachoo got?"

He looked at me in terror, thinking he was busted. He slowly opened his jacket to show me his older brother's Licensed To Ill cassette. He was showing his friends the album art on the j card, in particular the 3MTA3 and the crushed blunt. I doubt he understood any of it but who the hell knows. In any case, he dropped his head and started handing me the cassette but I just told him to put that away for the rest of the day and don't bring it back. As of this writing, students in that 2nd grade classroom would now be 44-45 years old. 😒

Previously revisited for the blog:
Paul's Boutique (1989)

Paul McCartney - Press To Play (1986)

Note: This release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by a CD. The CD I listened to was the imported 1993 reissue in The Paul McCartney Collection which added 2 bonus tracks.

The album was produced with Hugh Padgham (The Police, Genesis, Phil Collins) and features writing collaborations with 10cc's Eric Stewart on 8 of the 13 tracks. Big name friends such as Collins and Pete Townshend lend a hand on drums and guitar on track 9, Angry. If you're imagining hook-filled pop tunes with inane lyrics and lots of gated drum sound, you're not far off. I once read a piece about McCartney that stated by he had become "an ace jingle writer" by this point in his career and there's some truth to that oversimplification. The album also includes some attempts at old timey rockers and experimental noodling plus a beautiful ballad. I'm not sure if this is an overlooked, underrated McCartney album or if I just listened to it quite a bit in the fall of 1986 and the nostalgia is kicking in. I like it better than the critics, but it's got its fair share of filler, particularly on what was side two of the LP.

Press of the time:

• High Fidelity: "Here we have a 44-year-old former Beatle...trying to adjust to the '80s."
• CashBox: "some of his most compelling work in years"
• Billboard: "a grab bag of styles"
• Record Mirror (2 out of 5): "Musical progression, where are you?"
• Smash Hits (5 out of 10): "utterly, utterly average"
• Spin: "It's his best album in six years, but we want better."
• Rolling Stone: "one of the sturdiest LPs of McCartney's post-Beatles career."
• Los Angeles Times: "basically just another in a long line (over 12 years!) of post-'Band on the Run' letdowns by a once almost unimaginably creative artist."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #30
• Billboard Top CD: #12
• CashBox: #22
• CashBox CD: #10
• Rolling Stone: #18

Tracks: Let's rank 'em and count 'em down!

13. Pretty Little Head
12. However Absurd
11. It's Not True
10. Footprints
9. Angry (#44 rock)
8. Tough On A Tightrope
7. Move Over Busker
6. Press (#21 pop)
5. Stranglehold (#81 pop)
4. Talk More Talk
3. Write Away
2. Only Love Remains (#9 adult contemporary)
1. Good Times Coming/Feel The Sun

Bonus tracks: Spies Like Us (#7 pop) and the 1987 UK single Once Upon A Long Ago which I once described as "a nice ballad (think Billy Joel meets 10cc with an electronic violin solo)" and Phil Ramone produced the thing so there's your Joel comparison. Spies Like Us is as corny as the movie it was written for. That one doesn't hold up to repeated listenings, but both bonus tracks are good additions to the CD package.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: During the fall semester of 1986, I lived alone in a room in a mostly empty section of my college dormitory. It was quiet, peaceful, and a welcome change of pace from usual dorm shenanigans - it was time to get down to business, get the needed credits, and get the hell outta here [spoiler alert: that wouldn't happen for another two years]. At some point in the latter half of the semester, I caught a nasty bug and was pretty much bedridden for a full week. I must have listened to this album on repeat during that week and put it away for good after I was well because I don't remember hearing these tunes for many, many years. Move to the third decade of the 21st century, CDs are readily available, inexpensive and yada yada yada it was time to revisit the thing.

I kept waiting for this thing to be released as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection, but since it doesn't look like that will ever happen, I opted for this import with the bonus tracks.

Previously revisited for the blog:

Egypt Station (2018)	All The Best! (1987)
New (2013)	Give My Regards To Broad Street (1984)
Memory Almost Full (2007)	Pipes of Peace (1983)
Chaos And Creation In The Backyard (2005)	Tug of War (1982)
Wingspan: Hits and History (2001)	London Town (1978)
Wingspan Sampler (2001)	Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976)
Flaming Pie (1997)	Band On The Run (1973)
Unplugged: The Official Bootleg (1991)

Empire Brass - A Bach Festival for Brass & Organ (1986)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by a CD. My edition is the 2005 re-release.

An hour's worth of  Bach compositions - most originally written for vocalists - transcribed for organ and brass quintet. Quintessential works, expertly arranged, beautifully performed. What's not to like?

Album chart peaks:

• Billboard Top Classical: #19
• Billboard Classical CD: #27

Tracks: Includes many of what might be considered "Bach's greatest hits"

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I associate this album with another record I owned back in the '80s - Brass in Berlin by The Canadian Brass & The Berlin Philharmonic Brass. I listened to both quite a bit while pursuing a music degree. I wasn't a very good trumpet player, but that didn't stop me from giving it the old college try (literally).

Tagg/McNulty Band - At The Legendary Popsicle Toes Club In Dallas TX 1986 (2018)

A CDBaby self-release of a soundboard recording at a concert at a Dallas nightclub in 1986. Purchased because of my familiarity with Tagg through his involvement with Lee Ritenour in the '80s and his few hard-to-find import-only solo releases. I am unfamiliar with Kelly McNulty, but his vocal stylings are definitely influenced by Michael McDonald. The band here is good and Tagg is in fine voice, but the sound quality isn't that great. I guess that's to be expected - they probably recorded to a cassette that night and then the tape sat in somebody's closet for 30 years.

No packaging or liner notes other than a simple cardboard sleeve with the same photo on both sides. The CD is good as a curiosity, but not a must-have.

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

Tracks: 11 tracks, 62 minutes. Naturally, I'm attracted to the songs I'm already familiar with: Sunset Drivers, No Sympathy, and Mr. Briefcase. The others are all in the same vein and I wonder if tapes of studio versions exist somewhere. With no liner notes, I'm left to speculate who wrote what. The best of these other 8 tunes are Radio Silence and Love Like Me Like A Train. Think Of Me lifts takes its cues from popular Madonna tunes of the time, but the band is able to make it work.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: From 1984-88, I attended university in a very small town located about an hour northeast of Dallas. Popsicle Toes was located near Greenville Avenue just east of the SMU campus. I had heard of the place because the Dallas Jazz Orchestra played there most Sunday nights back in the '80s and I had classmates who would occasionally drive into the big city to hear DJO shows. Sadly, I never attended a show at the club. Might have tried to make this one if I had known about it.

Round Midnight - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1986)

Soundtrack to the 1986 film which starred saxophonist Dexter Gordon as an jazz musician and addict who finds acceptance in the jazz clubs of Paris in the 1950s. The album, put together by Herbie Hancock, consists of jazz standards and a few original tracks performed by an all-star group of musicians:

Soundtrack cuts not on this album are included on Dexter Gordon's 1986 companion album, The Other Side Of Round Midnight, which features the last recordings released under Gordon's name before his death in 1990.

For his work in the movie, Gordon was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, losing to Paul Newman for The Color Of Money. However, this soundtrack won the Oscar for Best Original Score for Hancock. Many people consider that Oscar win to be controversial as there isn't much original music in the film and it beat out the wonderful scores of Ennio Morricone (The Mission) and Jerry Goldsmith (Hoosiers). Maybe those two split the vote and allowed Round Midnight to sneak in? It's happened many times.

I found this CD in the clearance bin and wondered how a star-studded Oscar winner could end up in such a place and then I spun the thing. Simply put, it's just ok. There are some great performances to be found - Hancock is fantastic throughout - but Gordon was dealing with health issues during filming/recording and sadly doesn't sound like the Gordon I know from his historic albums Go! and Our Man In Paris.

Reviews/ratings:

• High Fidelity: "[Gordon's] tone is weak, his facility faulty, and his ideas serviceable yet never soaring"
• Billboard: "Mostly standards, with performances of varying quality"
• Stereo Review: "not the best Dexter Gordon album of recent years, nor is it hard to find more satisfying jazz albums"
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #196
• Billboard Jazz: #7
• CashBox Jazz: #3
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #2

Tracks:

1. Round Midnight (Thelonious Monk, 1944) - could use a real trumpet player instead of Bobby McFerrin imitating a muted trumpet.
2. Body And Soul (Johnny Green, 1930) - great solo from McLaughlin
3. Bérangère's Nightmare (Herbie Hancock, 1986) - incidental music, not particularly interesting but certainly not a nightmare (see what I did there?)
4. Fair Weather (Kenny Dorham, ca. 1964) - Not only was I surprised by Chet Baker's vocals, I was moved by them. One of the best cuts on the album.
5. Una Noche Con Francis (Bud Powell, 1964)
6. The Peacocks (Jimmy Rowles, 1975) - a tasty ballad featuring Wayne Shorter and an elegant solo from Hancock
7. How Long Has This Been Going On? (Ira & George Gershwin, 1927) - In which Lonette McKee does her best Billie Holiday imitation and succeeds
8. Rhythm-A-Ning (Monk, 1957) - Another choice cut. Wow does this thing swing - what a band!
9. Still Time (Hancock, 1986) - a great last-call melancholy ballad from Hancock. I'd bet it fit the scene perfectly.
10. Minuit Aux Champs-Elysées (Henri Renaud, 1969) - just Hancock on piano and the great Bobby Hutcherson on vibes. They play off each other perfectly.
11. Chan's Song (Never Said) (Hancock, Stevie Wonder, 1986) - McFerrin's wordless vocals on a pop piece that would be noticeably anachronistic in a period film such as this. A bizarre way to end the album.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. I don't recall ever seeing the film and it's not currently available on any legal streaming service (very few films released in the 20th century are available via streaming, but that complaint/frustration/discussion/argument is beyond the scope of this blog); however, I see that there's a new Criterion Collection Blu-ray release available.

Tom Scott - One Night/One Day (1986)

Film/TV composer arranger Patrick Williams (you may remember him from the soundtrack to How To Beat The High Cost Of Living) started a record label named Soundwings and was lucky enough to land Scott for one of the label's first releases. The idea was to record direct to digital, no edits, essentially a live album in a recording studio with backing band and pops orchestra. It's not a typical Scott recording and it's just okay. But the problem isn't the performances - Scott never sounded better - it's the mostly lackluster material.

note: it was NOT Tom Scott's penultimate record.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #15
• CashBox Jazz: #16
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #7

Tracks: I count three good tracks here: a smooth jazz take on the jazz standard Star Eyes (originally from from the 1943 film I Dood It), which features a tasty vibraphone solo from Victor Feldman, and the two cuts written by Scott himself, Nite Bloom and La La Land. Not sure why jazz musicians like to record their interpretations of Rodrigo's Concierto De Aranjuez, but that nonsense should have stopped after Miles Davis and Gil Evans did it. We've got an attempt here, anyway. Then the album closes with an 11½ minute original work by Williams titled Romances For A Jazz Soloist And Orchestra. Not surprisingly, it sounds like soundtrack music.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None with the music, but I always like to mention when I come across a smooth-sided CD jewel case and that's the case with this one.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Smokin' Section (1999)
Night Creatures (1995)
Reed My Lips (1994)
Target (1983)
Apple Juice (1981)
Blow It Out (1977)/Intimate Strangers (1978)/Street Beat (1979)

Bobby McFerrin - Spontaneous Inventions (1986)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by this CD.

For many folks, McFerrin is a polarizing artist: either you like McFerrin's (mostly) a capella vocal gymnastics or you don't. But I like them in small doses and will readily admit his skills are impressive. While I don't think this is a great album and I've grown tired of his schtick as I've aged, the album does have its share of enjoyable tunes; I was a big fan in the '80s, and I listened to it quite a bit back in '86.

Press of the time:

• CashBox: "another spectacular vocal tour de force"
• Billboard: "a treat"
• Stereo Review: "thoroughly delightful"
• Musician: "An unprecedented tour de force"
  

also on VHS

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #103
• Billboard Jazz: #6
• Billboard R&B: #62
• CashBox Jazz: #3
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #1

Tracks:  The solo original compositions are all pretty good, particularly Thinkin' About Your Body and Cara Mia. Of the covers, McFerrin and Wayne Shorter do a fantastic job with Walkin' while The Beatles cover, From Me To You, and I Hear Music (from the 1940 movie Dancing On A Dime) are top-notch as well. Track 2, Turtle Shoes, is notable as a complete waste of Herbie Hancock's talents while McFerrin sings in an affected voice that I can only describe as baby talk.

The collaboration with The Manhattan Transfer & Jon Hendricks was previously released on the group's 1985 album Vocalese so that wasn't new to me and, quite frankly, sadly wastes their talents as well. Nevertheless, the track won two Grammy awards: Best Arrangement For Voices and Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Simple Pleasures (1988)
How The Rhinoceros Got His Skin & How The Camel Got His Hump (1987)
The Voice (1984)

Rodney Franklin - Learning To Love (1982)/Marathon (1984)/Skydance (1985)/It Takes Two (1986)

UK Import

2019 two disc set from Cherry Red Records featuring the jazz/R&B pianist's fifth through eighth studio albums (1982-86). I prefer his earlier albums, but that doesn't mean there's not good stuff here to enjoy. To this listener, disc two is better than disc one.

---

LEARNING TO LOVE (1982)
8 tracks, 43 minutes

By this point in his career, Franklin had fully opted to move away from a smooth jazz sound to pop/R&B tunes. Produced by Stanley Clarke, this (not surprisingly) sounds a lot like a Clarke solo album at times. Other recognizable names include Nathan East, Michael Sembello, Abraham Laboriel, Tom Scott, Alex Acuna, Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, and Alphonse Mouzon.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "power and sophistication"
• CashBox: "synth-saturated fusion, soulful ballads, scorching bod-shakers and fast-paced funk"
• Stereo Review: "quality pop-soul fare with just enough of a jazz flavor to make it sound sophisticated"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #190
• Billboard Jazz: #9
• Billboard R&B: #45
• CashBox Jazz: #6

Tracks: Enuff is Enuff (#68 R&B) is a pleasant enough shuffle and the theme to the 1982 movie, "One Down, Two to Go." Clarke even breaks out the talkbox and a piccolo bass solo on that one. Tom Scott steals the show on a couple of tracks here: That's The Way I Feel 'Bout Your Love (#64 R&B) and the cover of the Christopher Cross hit, Sailing. The only track that approaches fusion is track 6, a nine minute medley of sorts titled Genesis/New Day/Nature's Way/Early Morning/Let There Be Light which offers a fantastic drum solo from Mouzon.

---

MARATHON (1984)
7 tracks, 36 minutes

Definitely '80s pop that is of its time. Clarke on the boards again, calling on friends such as Ronnie Laws, Gerald Albright, and enough synth drums to last a good while.

Billboard, February 4, 1984, p. 53

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #187
• Billboard Jazz: #15
• Billboard R&B: #54
• CashBox Jazz: #7

Tracks: The single was Stay On In The Groove, which peaked at #72 on the R&B charts. The above Billboard blurb mentions Let's Talk and that's a fun little funk piece, mainly because of Gary Calvin's bass line. Speaking of bass lines, the hard-workin' Louis Johnson (of The Brothers Johnson) is the star of Searchin' For - enough so that I stopped what I was doing and looked up the credits once that track started. Clarke doesn't play as much on this album as one might guess. But, all things considered, my preferred tracks here are Lumière (Franklin's solo shines) and the ballads, Love Is The Answer (with vocals from Darryl Coley and Lynn Davis and a soprano solo from Laws) and the New-Age-ish Reflection Of A Dream, the latter of which is simply Franklin at a Steinway piano.

---

SKYDANCE (1985)
6 tracks, 41 minutes

Not as many synths on this one, which is surprising for a 1985 release. Produced by orchestral arranger Paul Buckmaster instead of Clarke. Not as many big name guests, either, meaning the focus is on Franklin's playing, as it should be. Things settle down and relax; this is the strongest album in this 2 CD set.

Press of the time:

• Stereo Review: "Franklin seems to have found his groove"
• Billboard: "Pleasant if predictable"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #31
• CashBox Jazz: #6

Tracks: All are enjoyable, but my top picks come from what was side one: Song For You, Destiny, and Fiesta. Although Fiesta saw a limited release as a promo single, there wasn't a hit single to drive album sales, unfortunately.

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IT TAKES TWO (1986)
8 tracks, 35 minutes

And we're back to the familiar sound of the mid-'80s with lots of programming and synthdrums. Franklin takes over production duties alongside French composer/arranger/conductor Michel Colombier, but only writes 3 of the 8 cuts here. Not much jazz to be found, but there's some tasty, if a bit preachy, poppish R&B with occasional contributions from Gerald Albright.

Press of the time:

• Stereo Review: "likely the best album Franklin has recorded to date"
• Billboard: "stylish fusion"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #34
• CashBox Jazz: #14

Tracks: The lead track was written by Colombier and Jeff Lorber and is high-energy and features dazzling work from Franklin. The released single was Look What's Showing Through, written by Eddie Schwartz (most famously known for writing Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot). Even with vocals from the incomparable Brenda Russell, that single only reached #59 on the R&B chart. Also good are The Eagle And The Condor and the final cut, Let There Be Peace, which is a beautiful solo piano piece. Also included is a completely unnecessary cover of Mr. Mister's Broken Wings.

Chuck Mangione - Love Notes (1982)/Disguise (1984)/Save Tonight For Me (1986)

UK Import

Three albums on 2 CDs from Mangione who, at the time, had switched labels from A&M to Columbia and was slowly fading from charts and radio playlists.

Excellent remastering job and thorough liner notes. Well done, BGO. In 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Mangione among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal Studios fire.

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LOVE NOTES (1982)
5 tracks, 41 minutes

I'm not sure why I didn't pick this up in '82. I wasn't finished buying new Mangione releases at that time - I bought Journey To A Rainbow the following year. But Mangione albums didn't exactly fit into the pseudo-New Wave hipster image I was trying (and failing) to cultivate in '82 so that might have had something to do with it.

Any of the 5 tracks wouldn't have been out of place on his earlier few albums. It's all melodic, pleasant, and well-performed, but not very memorable. Still, fans of his Feels So Good and Fun & Games albums weren't disappointed.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #83
• Billboard Jazz: #8
• Billboard R&B: #53
• CashBox: #103
• CashBox Jazz: #4

Tracks: The opener, Steppin' Out, is the best tune on the album and bears more than a passing resemblance to the Feel So Good single. Columbia released it as a single and it saw a little action on the R&B chart, peaking at #80. I have a problem with the second track, No Problem, in that it works for 13+ minutes and never goes anywhere. It's not bad, just too long - just when you think it's finally over, someone else gets a solo turn. The remaining three tracks are, as stated earlier, pleasant enough but I won't be whistling them later.

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DISGUISE (1984)
7 tracks, 39 minutes

In which Mangione jettisons his band, teams up with Juicy and producer Deodato, and discovers synths and drum machines. And the cover photo ain't doing anybody any favors. Enter at your own risk.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #148
• Billboard Jazz: #26
• CashBox: #145
• CashBox Jazz: #9

Tracks: Mostly failed attempts at updating the sound for a younger market (hey, it worked for Herbie Hancock a year earlier, so why not?). The most traditional Mangione pieces are Josephine and Love Theme From 'London And Davis In New York,' the theme for a failed CBS TV pilot about a crime-solving photographer. However, there's also a track with Shirley MacLaine rapping which will surely knock your chakras out of alignment.

Would I have preferred the inclusion of the aforementioned Journey To A Rainbow (1983) in lieu of Disguise in this three-fer? Without question.

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SAVE TONIGHT FOR ME (1986)
8 tracks, 42 minutes

The synths and LinnDrums also appear on this album, but their sound is slightly more understated (as understated as synth drums could possibly be, anyway), thanks to producer Morris "Butch" Stewart. It's all very generic DX7 smooth jazz that immediately dates itself to the mid-'80s. Still, it's better than Disguise.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #28
• CashBox Jazz: #12

Tracks: Secret of Love - with vocals by Brenda Mitchell Stewart (the producer's wife) - is the cream. Rockin' At Red Rocks can actually be an enjoyable funk tune once I'm able to get past Chuck's rap. The more traditional, familiar Mangione sound is available here on Sweet Cheryl Lynn.

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Previously revisited for the blog:
Everything For Love (2000)
Classics, Volume 6 (1987)
An Evening of Magic: Live at The Hollywood Bowl (1979)
Feels So Good (1977)
Land Of Make Believe (1973)

Stanley Clarke - Hideaway (1986)

Clarke made his bones as a jazz sideman, earning his reputation with the likes of Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon and, of course, Return To Forever. However, there's very little jazz to be found on Hideaway, which is essentially a pop/r&b album - Billboard tagged it as "quiet storm." But, labels aside, I find this disc to be enjoyable, if not slightly uneven. Clarke certainly grabbed the guest stars: Stanley Jordan, George Howard, Angela Bofill, Herbie Hancock, David Sancious, Larry Graham, Stewart Copeland, etc. I like it better than his earlier solo output, not only because of that great supporting cast, but I think the songwriting here is better than his earlier solo work. Now that I mention it, I think that earlier solo output is about due for a revisit.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #15
• CashBox Jazz: #8

Tracks: Seven instrumental tracks and three tracks with vocals. My picks are the title track, a cover of the Stevie Wonder tune Overjoyed (featuring Stanley Jordan), and the upbeat Basketball. The most commercial smooth jazz track here is My Love Her Inspiration, a tasty ballad featuring George Howard. Nothing to skip here, not even in the slightly more experimental middle part of the disc. I could do without the drum machine on a few tracks, but it was the mid-'80s [shrug].

Overjoyed was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Pop Instrumental Performance, losing to the Top Gun Anthem, while The Boys Of Johnson Street was nominated in the category of Best R&B Instrumental Performance, losing to And You Know That.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. I didn't own this album in '86, but it is certainly in line with some of the stuff I was listening to at that time.

Madonna - True Blue (1986)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD.

Ain't no Madonna like '80s Madonna. Back in '86, I might have called this unabashed synth-dance-pop album a guilty pleasure, but now I'm (much) older and (slightly) wiser and what's it to you if I listen to this? It's my second favorite Madonna album after the Nile Rodgers-produced Like A Virgin. Five of the albums' nine tracks were released as singles and to say they all did quite well would be an understatement:

U.S. charted singles:	Pop	Dance	AC
Live To Tell	1		1
Papa Don't Preach	1	4	16
True Blue	3	6
Open Your Heart	1	1	12
La Isla Bonita	4		1

While it may be my second favorite Madonna album, it's the leader of the pack when it comes to cover design - that lovely Herb Ritts photo sure can't be beat. My cassette copy got plenty of playing time on the Sanyo deck in my car at the time, a remarkably unreliable '85 Oldsmobile:

1985 Firenza pictured in its natural habitat

The album's opener, Papa Don't Preach, was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, eventually losing to Barbra Streisand's Broadway Album. The first single, Live To Tell, was featured in At Close Range (a film I have yet to see), starring then-husband Sean Penn. The album is dedicated to Penn, "the coolest guy in the universe." I like the album and was happy to see a cheap copy pop up in a used CD bin so I could enjoy a trip down memory lane.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "reliable sleek dance-floor contenders"
• Rolling Stone: "Singing better than ever, Madonna stakes her claim as the pop poet of lower-middle-class America."
• Smash Hits (7½ out of 10): "Definitely enough to keep her fans in the short term, but I doubt it will do her long term reputation much good at all."
• Stereo Review: "more melodic, less cluttered, and plain just more fun to listen to."
• Robert Christgau (B): "Critics flock to her uneven product the way liberal arts magnas flock to investment banking"
• Musician: "Her best records do what all great pop records do: they transcend."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #1
• Billboard Pop CD: #2
• Billboard R&B: #47
• CashBox: #1
• CashBox CD: #2
• Rolling Stone: #1

Tracks: 9 tracks, 40 minutes. I dig all the singles, but if I had to pick a top choice, I'd go with Open Your Heart. I also like Where's The Party but usually skip Jimmy Jimmy (the dichotomy of '60s girl group writing with '80s synth bass/drum programming arrangement just doesn't do it for me).

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I picked this one up through one of several encounters I had over the years with Columbia House. I'm not sure how many cassettes I got on that initial order (had to be a dozen, right?), but I only remember 3: True Blue, a Stevie Wonder compilation which I wore out playing I Was Made To Love Her over and over and over, and the epic Volume 6 of Atlantic Rhythm and Blues 1947-1974.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Into The Hollywood Groove (2003)
What It Feels Like For A Girl (2001)
Ray Of Light (1998)
Don't Cry For Me Argentina (1997)
Evita: The Complete Motion Picture Music Soundtrack (1996)
The Immaculate Collection (1990)
Vogue (1990)
Express Yourself (1989)
Like A Virgin (1984)

The Smithereens - Especially For You (1986)

So I received this text message earlier this week:

There ya have it. And while I didn't need that reminder, it did prompt me to pull some Smithereens CDs from the shelf.

You know from the first drum smack that you're in for a rockin' treat here. Leader Pat DiNizio was a gifted singer/songwriter who wrote power pop hooks a'plenty, influenced by all sorts of '60s groups, mainly British Invasion. The band is tight, arrangements first-rate, energy is high, and the vocal harmonies are on point. The music has aged well and certainly the band should have been bigger than they were. And yes, the Smithereens are badass.

Now this disc is going to take up residence in my truck's CD player for a few months. Again.

10 things you might not know about The Smithereens’ ‘Especially for You’ album

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "a wealth of Beatlesque pop hooks"
• Rolling Stone: "like a long-lost greatest-hits album"
• Stereo Review: "when you're faced with music as exquisite as the Smithereens make here, the only sane response is to shut up and enjoy it."
• Robert Christgau (B-)

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #51
• Billboard Pop CD: #27
• CashBox: #41
• Rolling Stone: #50

Tracks: My favorites are Strangers When We Meet, I Don't Want To Lose You, Time And Time Again, In A Lonely Place (with Suzanne Vega and a tasty vibraphone solo), Crazy Mixed-Up Kid, and Hand Of Glory. I know I'm supposed to like Blood And Roses because that's a fan favorite, but it just doesn't do much for me except for the guitar solo.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but after discovering the band through Green Thoughts in 1988, it took me much longer than it should have to explore the group's back catalog.

Previously revisited for the blog:
2011 (2011)
Blown To Smithereens: Best Of The Smithereens (1995)
Blow Up (1991)
11 (1989)
Green Thoughts (1988)