Ike Quebec - Easy Living (1987)

These tracks were recorded at Ven Gelder Studio on Saturday, January 20, 1962, but not released until the latter half of 1987. While revitalizing the label in the mid-'80s, Bruce Lundvall and Michael Cuscuna started rereleasing classic Blue Note albums while also clearing the vaults of previously unreleased recordings by Blue Note artists. That last part is where this album comes in and the late release explains the uncharacteristic album cover they chose instead of a Reid Miles-inspired classic Blue Note design.* This 1985 article in CashBox magazine suggests that Alfred Lion didn't release some '60s albums because the material was "just not up to Blue Note standards." I will note that the article is vague about which recording Lion was referring to. I also couldn't find any printed example where this release was publicized or promoted. The only printed reference of the album I could find was a simple ★★★ rating in The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999).

The sextet present at the session is of an unusual instrumentation, most notably the presence of two tenor sax players. Regardless of instrumentation or quality, I simply couldn't pass up an album from Quebec because I love his tone.

Quebec - tenor saxophone
Stanley Turrentine - tenor saxophone
Bennie Green - trombone
Sonny Clark - piano
Milt Hinton - bass
Art Blakey - drums

CD liner notes by Michael Cuscuna.

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

Tracks:

Tracks are the usual mix of standards and originals from Quebec and band members Green and Turrentine. The album gets off to a weak start, picks up in the middle, and ends in spectacular fashion with the three best cuts, all standards: I've Got A Crush On You, Nancy (With The Laughing Face), and Easy Living.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Blue & Sentimental (1963)
Heavy Soul (1962)

*When the album was reissued on vinyl in 2013, it was given a more appropriate album cover:

Blog post #2200

Patrice Rushen - Watch Out! (1987)

Three women I wish I'd paid more attention to during the 1980s:

1. Angela Bofill
2. Brenda Russell
3. Patrice Rushen

Rushen is an accomplished pianist but I think ofttimes record management pushed her towards pop/R&B chart success. The record executive in this particular case is Clive Davis as this was Rushen's only album for Arista after leaving the Elektra label. The versatile Rushen is difficult to categorize and her current wikipedia entry calls her a jazz pianist and R&B singer, so let's just go with that. This 1987 album is firmly in the R&B camp. I'm not a huge fan of late '80s R&B production tropes, but there's some good stuff here regardless of trend-chasing synth sounds and drum programming.

Ratings/reviews:

• Billboard: "fails to coalesce into a uniformly strong showcase"
• CashBox: "a smooth, sensual collection of sophisticated R&B/pop crossover"
• R&B Report: "a winner"
• Philadelphia Inquirer (★★★): Rushen has developed into a formidable, versatile talent."
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #77
• Billboard R&B: #19
• CashBox: #60
• Rolling Stone: #45

Tracks: Three singles were released: Watch Out (#9 R&B, #22 dance), Anything Can Happen (#51 R&B), and Come Back To Me (#65 R&B, #37 dance). Those are three of my favorites here, along with All My Love and Tender Lovin'. There are tunes that try to capitalize on successes of mid-'80s Pointer Sisters (Breakin' All The Rules), Whitney Houston (Somewhere), New Edition (the aforementioned Anything Can Happen), and Prince (Burnin'). There's filler, but there's no track that will have you reaching for the skip button.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but I'll continue to pick up any CDs I see from the three artists listed above.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Signature (1997)

Larry Carlton - Discovery (1987)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a CD which was either sold, stolen, traded or lost, then replaced by another CD.

I owned this CD in 1988 when I was trying to finish up my undergraduate studies and recently finding another copy in a used bin was like reconnecting with an old friend. Back in '88, I didn't have many CDs so the few that I had were played quite a bit and this was one of those few. The album features Carlton on acoustic guitar and he receives a lot of support from Kirk Whalum on saxophone and Terry Trotter on keys. There's also a few of Carlton's fellow "West Coast sound" stalwarts in the credits, including Jerry Hey, Rick Marotta, and David Pack. The single released was a cover of the Doobie Brothers' Minute By Minute, which hit #25 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and received a Grammy award in the category of Best Pop Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist).

Reviews/ratings:

• CashBox: "bright and melodic fusion date"
• Billboard: "On some past albums, Carlton was seduced by the rock side of fusion, but this leans heavily the other way."
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #180
• Billboard Contemporary Jazz: #1
• R&R Jazz Radio National Airplay Chart: #2
• CashBox Jazz: #4

Tracks: It's a smooth listen from top-to-bottom, but my favorites haven't changed since 1988. Of the nine tracks (7 Carlton originals, 2 covers), my top picks include the aforementioned Minute By Minute plus Hello Tomorrow, My Home Away From Home, and a cover of Knock On Wood.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: see above

Previously revisited for the blog:
Fingerprints (2000)
Larry & Lee (1995)
Collection (1990)

The Nylons - Happy Together (1987)

Because I'm a sucker for an album I heard a couple of times in college, especially when it's sitting in a clearance bin marked 50¢.

The most successful album released by the Canadian vocal quartet and most likely my first exposure to the group. Heck, they had a video getting played on MTV or VH1 and one of those channels was constantly on the house TV as background noise until something caught our ear or eye. A capella groups were rare back then, so this sort of stuff caught my ear. 7 originals - sort of updated doo-wop - and 3 covers done with expert precision forgoing autotune and other production gimmicks. (I can forgive the electronic percussion. It was the '80s.) If you appreciate vocal talent, it's still worth a spin every now and then.

For what it's worth, I discovered this album is one of only seven albums released on the Open Air label (four of those seven by The Nylons). More on that history here: Open Air Records on A&M Records.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "New tunes have appeal, but biggest draws will be the three '60s songs."
• CashBox: "a clutch of classic remakes joins a fistful of tasty originals."
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (1997): ★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #43
• Billboard CD: #25
• Rolling Stone: #30

Tracks: As both Billboard and CashBox suggest, the hits were covers and rightly so. Kiss Him Goodbye was the group's only US Top 40 hit, peaking at #12 on the Hot 100 and #10 on the adult contemporary chart. But I prefer the title track (#75 pop, #16 AC). The other '60s cover is track 4, Sam Cooke's Chain Gang. Of the originals, my picks are Dance Of Love, Face In The Crowd, and Crazy In Love.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I don't remember anything more than hearing this music at the house I rented during the my junior and senior years in college. I'm guessing one of my roommates - either Randy or Eric - owned this album. My money is on Eric.

Previously revisited for the blog:
One Size Fits All (1982)

Lee Ritenour - Portrait (1987)

I've stated this before, but you never knew what kind of album Ritenour would be releasing in the '80s: AOR/West Coast pop, Brazilian, Reggae lite, Smooth jazz, or more traditional, straight-ahead jazz. Well, as the title might suggest, this album brings a little bit of most of those genres mentioned. And because it was the '80s, Ritenour plays not only electric and acoustic guitars, but a guitar-synth hybrid MIDI-controller named the SynthAxe.

It almost seems like Ritenour tried to get an album recorded with Yellowjackets (which I'm sure would have been amazing), but only finished 4 cuts then went to the vaults to fill out the rest of the album. Some decent tracks, but hardly essential. Lots of familiar names in the credits, though, including Alex Acuña, Vinnie Colaiuta, Paulinho Da Costa, Nathan East, Russell Ferrante, Kenny G, Jimmy Haslip, Jerry Hey, Harvey Mason, Phil Perry, Greg Phillinganes, Mark Russo, and Eric Tagg.

Ratings/reviews:

• Stereo Review: "a pleasant stylistic hodgepodge"
• Billboard: "Superb production and lineup"
• CashBox: "mirror-slick fusion project, stuffed to the gills with guests"
• DownBeat: "Ritenour always looks the same on the covers of his albums, like the smiling boy next door - non-threatening - and that's pretty much what his music is like"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Contemporary Jazz: #7
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #4
• CashBox Jazz: #3

Tracks:

1. Asa - Brazilian MPB with guest artist Djavan
2. Turn The Heat Up - AOR/West Coast pop with vocals from Eric Tagg and Phil Perry
3. Windmill - mid-tempo, bossa-ish smooth jazz. The SynthAxe makes its first appearance.
4. White Water - the first cut that features Yellowjackets and is immediately identifiable as such.
5. Portrait - funk-lite featuring a lot of bass slapping from Nathan East
6. G-Rit - more funk-lite, this time featuring Kenny G on tenor sax
7. Shades In the Shade - return of the SynthAxe
8. Children's Games - Yellowjackets 2, a lilting jazz waltz written by Antonio Carlos Jobim
9. Runaway - Yellowjackets 3, third and final track that includes the SynthAxe
10. Route 17 - Yellowjackets 4

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:

Amparo (2008)	Festival (1988)
Rit's House (2002)	Harlequin (1985)
Two Worlds (2000)	On The Line (1983)
This Is Love (1998)	Rit/2 (1982)
Larry & Lee (1995)	"Rit" (1981)
Stolen Moments (1990)	Rio (1979)
Color Rit (1989)

Various Artists - Just Say Yes... (1987)

Sire's Winter CD Music Sampler (awesome!)

The first of seven volumes in the "Just Say Yes" sampler series by Sire Records. The series began in 1987 and lasted through 1994. Of the four volumes I currently own and have heard, this is the most enjoyable throughout.

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

Tracks, with my (somewhat predictable) picks for the top tracks checked:

1. Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again (Split Mix) 9:31 ✔
   #63 pop, #12 dance, from the maxi-single
2. Echo & The Bunnymen - Lips Like Sugar (12" Mix) 6:44 ✔
   from the maxi-single
3. The Mighty Lemon Drops - Out Of Hand (Extended Version) 5:25 ✔
   from the 12" single
4. James - Ya Ho 3:31
   from the album Strip-Mine
5. The Smiths - Work Is A Four-Letter Word 2:45
   previously unavailable in the U.S., available internationally on the Girlfriend In A Coma single
6. Figures On A Beach - No Stars 4:40 ✔
   from the album Standing On Ceremony
7. The Wild Swans - Young Manhood 3:46
   from the album Bringing Home The Ashes
8. Ice-T - Somebody Gotta Do It (Pimpin' Ain't Easy!!!) (12" Mix) 3:27
   from the maxi-single
9. Ramones - I Wanna Live 2:36
   from the album Halfway To Sanity
10. The Replacements - Can't Hardly Wait 3:02
    from the album Pleased to Meet Me
11. Throwing Muses - A Feeling 3:07
    from the album The Fat Skier
12. Aztec Camera - How Men Are 3:38 ✔
    from the album Love
13. The Casual Gods - Cherokee Chief 4:30
    from the album The Casual Gods
14. Erasure - Hideaway (Little Louie Vega Mix) 7:12 ✔
    from the remix album, The Two Ring Circus

If Billboard had started its Modern Rock Tracks chart earlier, surely a few of these would have placed there. However, that chart didn't begin until the September 10, 1988 issue so we're left guessing.

Every time I hear a track from Aztec Camera, I always wonder why I don't have any Aztec Camera CDs. Easily remedied, perhaps, but that doesn't explain why I've waited so long. And if Cherokee Chief doesn't rip off The Talking Heads tune Girlfriend Is Better, I'll eat this liner note booklet. Is that Jerry Harrison's little dig at David Byrne?

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. This sampler was released just a couple of months before I bought my first CD player in January 1988. At a $6 price point, I wish I'd seen it then.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Vol. VII: Just Say Roe (1994)
Vol. IV: Just Say Da (1990)
Vol. II: Just Say Yo (1988)

Herb Alpert - Keep Your Eye On Me (1987)

"Admit it - if it were your record company, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis would have produced your solo album, too." - Musician magazine

Ya damn right they would have. I might even get my label's current star to sing on a couple of tracks and have a few big late-career hits. But I'd probably use that formula for the whole album. That's not the case here as Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis bring their immediately recognizable Minneapolis sound to only 4 of the 10 tracks on the album. The remainder of the tracks are typical '80s Alpert fare, written and produced by Alpert himself or guests such as Albert Hammond and Roy Bittan (I count a total of 7 producer credits on the album). So the album is incredibly uneven moving from new jack swing to instrumental pop and back again, but somehow the variety makes for a pleasurable listen and a musical time capsule direct from 1987. Good, not great, but certainly worth the $1.99 I paid for it.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "an altogether commercial package"
• CashBox: "Amid all the technological razzmatazz, strains of the old TJB brass sound seap [sic] through."
• Musician: "there's never anything condescending about the music here"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #18
• Billboard Contemporary Jazz: #16
• Billboard R&B: #5
• Billboard CD: #29
• CashBox: #16
• Rolling Stone: #29

Tracks: I think the best tune here is the title track (#46 pop, #3 R&B, #3 dance). The bigger hits, though, were Diamonds (#5 pop, #1 R&B, #1 dance) and Making Love In The Rain (#35 pop, #7 R&B, #21 AC); both featuring lead and background vocals by Janet Jackson and Lisa Keith. The other Jam/Lewis tune is titled Pillow and features a vocal duet between Alpert and his wife, Lani Hall. Of the remaining six tracks, my picks are Our Song and Rocket To The Moon. 

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I had given up on new Alpert releases in the early part of the decade and had moved on to albums by other trumpeters, so I didn't purchase this album in 1987. After all, I was a 'serious musician' by that time. What a knucklehead. I would have enjoyed the heck out of this thing back then.

Previously revisited for the blog:

A Portrait In Music (1997)	Beyond (1980)
Passion Dance (1997)	Rise (1979)
Classics, Volume 1 (1987)	What Now My Love (1966)
Magic Man (1981)

Various Artists - The Lost Boys: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1987)

Typical '80s movie soundtrack: one "hit" single, a few covers, a couple of bands/artists you've never heard of before or since, a clip of original soundtrack score, and at least one tune that incorporates the title of the movie.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #15
• CashBox: #11

Tracks:

1. Good Times - INXS and Jimmy Barnes
   This cover of a 1968 Easybeats tune was supposed to be the hit single - and it indeed was a big hit in Australia and New Zealand - but it peaked at only #47 on the Hot 100 here in the U.S. Over on the Rock charts, it peaked at a much more respectable #3. Regardless of chart position, it's a energetic rocker and one of the top cuts on the album.
2. Lost In The Shadows (The Lost Boys) - Lou Gramm
   Those aggressive drums are like a sledgehammer on my brain. Why are they so high in the mix? And for over 6 minutes? A mostly forgettable track, but every now and then Gramm recaptures some of that old Foreigner magic.
3. Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me - Roger Daltrey
   Cover #2. I understand why the producers might want a song with that title in a vampire movie and I guess they went with Daltrey for name recognition? It's just as you'd expect and longer than you'd want.
4. Laying Down The Law - INXS and Jimmy Barnes
   Sounds like a Rod Stewart b-side.
5. People Are Strange - Echo And The Bunnymen
   Cover #3. The best cut on the album. In fact, if E&TB want to record an entire album of Doors tunes, I'm here for it.
6. Cry Little Sister (Theme From The Lost Boys) - Gerald McMann
   Longtime readers of this blog are aware of my dislike for the use of children's choirs in pop music and that's what we've got here. I don't particularly like this tune, but I'll admit it perfectly captures the mood of the movie. As Theresa E. LaVeck writes over at Allmusic: "Singer Gerald McMann's pained phrasing and creepy lyrics, and a chilling chorus sung by what sounds like disembodied children, exemplify the best parts of the movie and the soundtrack." And I was shocked to read the credits and discover that this track was co-written and produced by jazz vibraphonist Mike Mainieri.
7. Power Play - Eddie And The Tide
   A nice enough filler tune, but nothing I'll be humming later this afternoon.
8. I Still Believe - Tim Cappello
   Cover #4. A fantastic tune completely ruined by the unholy screeching of what I'm led to believe is a saxophone.
9. Beauty Has Her Way - Mummy Calls
   Sounds like an ABC b-side.
10. To The Shock Of Miss Louise - Thomas Newman
    A brief excerpt of the original score utilizing a fairground organ.

Looks like a bootleg 2 CD reissue is available with bonus tracks on the first disc with the second disc dedicated to the Thomas Newman score.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: In the Summer of 1987, I took a couple of classes at San Antonio College. I carpooled to campus each morning with a girl who lived nearby and whose parents attended the same church as mine. There was no spark between us, but we went out a couple of times out of boredom and familiarity. In any case, we went to see this movie and she snuck in a few beers in her purse. She instructed me to cough every time she opened one, so I did. That's certainly not the only time I've smuggled in contraband to a movie theater, but it is the only time that contraband was of an alcoholic nature. Until recently, I only vaguely remembered the movie as a campy vampire flick with a weak joke ending that left me feeling cheated. Thinking it surely must be better than I remembered, I watched it again this week and, even after 37 years, it is exactly as bad as remembered. Even Dianne Wiest couldn't save it. I know it is now considered a "cult classic;" I'm simply not a member of that particular cult. But it makes for a fun time capsule of mullets, denim jackets, video arcades, and Coreys.

As for the Second Summer Session at San Antonio College, I received a B in PHIL 1301: Introduction to Philosophy and a B in GOVT 1305: American Government - National, State, Local. I remember very little from either course, but what's more important is that both course credits transferred towards my degree.

Back when I was attending my son's JV baseball tournaments (2013-ish?), I once heard Cry Little Sister played over the PA between innings at a game in Carthage. Odd choice, no?

The Tonight Show Band with Doc Severinsen, Vol. II (1987)

Note: For this, the CD Project's 2000th blog post, I've selected the first CD I ever purchased (or second CD I ever purchased, depending on how you look at it). And not only is this post number 2000, today we're also celebrating the 14th anniversary of The CD Project, which started back on September 15, 2010 when I posted a few random thoughts about Paul Simon's Graceland album.

While the source material on Volume II isn't as attractive as what was on this disc's predecessor, the arrangements of said material are stellar. Like the earlier disc, this is 12 tracks of slick, over-produced big band (re-)arrangements of jazz standards. Top shelf music played by top shelf musicians - it's a blast to reacquaint myself with names like Tommy Newsom, Snooky Young, and Ed Shaughnessy. And while Doc himself has the occasional intonation issue, he plays like none other. The slower tunes plod a bit, but the upbeat numbers are what make this one worth a listen. Promoted as an "All Digital Recording" back when that was a big deal.

And I can't remember the last time I watched The Tonight Show. Maybe 2015?

Track 8, Take The 'A' Train, won the Grammy award for Best Arrangement on an Instrumental. The album itself was nominated for the Grammy Award in the category of Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band, eventually losing to Mercer Ellington for Digital Duke.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "Look for similarly programmed, digitally recorded album of standards to duplicate success of its predecessor."
• CashBox: "a dozen glossy standards go zip-bang-bam."
• Downbeat: "This may be the best-equipped working big band in the world"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #22
• Billboard CD: #15
• CashBox Jazz: #30
• CashBox CD: #25
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #25

Tracks, ranked in order of personal preference:

1. In The Mood (1939)
2. Jumpin' At The Woodside (1938)
3. April In Paris (1932)
4. Take The 'A' Train (1939)
5. Do Nothing 'Till You Hear From Me (1940)
6. Hamp's Boogie Woogie (1944)
7. The Jersey Bounce (1941)
8. Airmail Special (1941)
9. Stardust (1927)
10. Georgia On My Mind (1930)
11. The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise (1919)
12. Serenade In Blue (1942)

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: In December 1987, I had my mind made up that I would buy my first CD player within the next few weeks. I had my eye on a Sony D-160 just like the one owned by one of my fraternity brothers. I wanted to be able to hook it up to my car's cassette player as well as my home stereo. In my mind, it was a done deal.

On Christmas break 1987 from my senior year in college, I was visiting my parents in San Antonio. Doing some last minute Christmas shopping, I was strolling through the K-Mart at Loop 410 and Austin Highway (I believe that building is now the Business Services Operations Center of Goodwill San Antonio). In a rack near the front door, I saw this CD, as well as volume one, priced at only $9.99 each. This was at a time when these new CD things were running $15 and up. So even though I didn't have a player, I bought the two discs. Within a week or so, I listened to them on my friend Richard's sweet new Marantz CD player and within a month, I had purchased my D-160.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Merry Christmas from Doc Severinsen and The Tonight Show Orchestra (1991)
The Tonight Show Band with Doc Severinsen (1986)

---

For those of you playing along at home, 2000 posts in 14 years averages out to a post ≈ 2.5 days. The chart below examines the albums about which I've written, sorted by year of release, excluding compilation discs. The chart covers albums released in the years 1955-2023 (click to enlarge):

I expected the chart to be the highest in the early '80s, which turned out to be the case. However, I also expected my recent interest in 1960's hard bop albums to have more of an impact and create more of a bell curve, but that wasn't to be. I have no explanation for the outlier that was 1997. Anyway, if you like charts, I created three others: posts to date by genre, by year, by popularity.

My sincere thanks for dropping by and supporting my music & physical media addictions for all these years.

Blog post #2000

Yellowjackets - Four Corners (1987)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD. As was often the case around 1987 - and as noted in the advertisement below - the CD version included extended versions of at least one track plus a bonus track tacked on the end, Indigo.

Based on the album and track titles, this is a theme album based around travel. If you're looking for traces of world music influences, you can find them occasionally, but those aren't readily apparent. Even though the group gained a new drummer for this album, William Kennedy, the music is much an extension of the good stuff the group produced for their previous album, Shades. It's jazz fusion along the lines of Weather Report (which had just split) and Steps Ahead, but the difference is in the writing. To my ears, this music skews a little more instrumental pop/smooth jazz with more hooks and hummable melodies than found with those other groups. To date, the group has released more than 25 albums and I'd put this one in the top 20% of that output - an opinion "confirmed" over at Best Ever Albums.

The album was nominated for a Grammy award in the category of Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental, eventually losing to Still Life (Talking) by the Pat Metheny Group.

Reviews/ratings:

• DownBeat (★★★★): "The commitment seems to be there, the chops certainly are, and from what Four Corners says, so is the passion."
• Billboard: "Might be the band's most derivative album ever, but considering the influences mined here, that may well appeal to fusion fans."
• CashBox: "Slick, latinified, and bubbly."
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Contemporary Jazz: #3
• CashBox Jazz: #3
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #1

Tracks: My favorites today are Out Of Town, Sightseeing, Mile High, and Geneva.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I'm getting some strong summer of '87 vibes from this one but nothing in particular comes to mind. That summer, between my junior and (first) senior year in college, I returned to San Antonio to spend about 3 months with my parents, had a summer job as a glazier/painter and took a couple of early morning classes at the local community college during the second summer session: Intro to Philosophy and Government. I'm not a fan of summer courses, but escaped with a B in both. 

Previously revisited for the blog:

Collection (1995)	Shades (1986)
Like A River (1993)	Samurai Samba (1985)
Greenhouse (1991)	Mirage à Trois (1983)
Politics (1988)	Yellowjackets (1981)

The Best Of The Square (1987)

Japanese import

I am completely unfamiliar with The Square. I just purchased this 'best of' CD on the cheap based not on the objectionable objectification of the front cover photo, but the fact that it looks like it might be some '80s city pop. However, this disc was placed in the jazz section of the used CD store so maybe it's more fusion-ish? Hoping for something along the lines of Noriki, Casiopea, Masayoshi Takanaka, and/or Takako Mamiya. Let's find out:

Tracks, and my first impressions upon today's initial spin:

1. It's Magic (1981)
   Young Mark would have loved this in 1981. It's like a more pop-disco version of Sembello's Maniac single that would pop up on the US charts a few years later. Tasty slap bass solo followed by the requisite sax solo.
2. Too Young To Love (1983)
   Mostly instrumental cut featuring breathy-tone flute. It's got a catchy chorus and the tune isn't terrible, but very repetitive.
3. Make Me A Star (1979)
   Disco-tinged instrumental featuring saxophone and synth laser effects. Despite the fact there's not much improv here, this is the jazziest track yet.
4. Banana (1980)
   With that title, I was expecting something a little more wild, but it's another sax-driven instrumental disco-funk tune. Great groove, electric piano solo, plus the most interesting percussion break I've heard in a while.
5. Midnight Lover (1978)
   I'm beginning to think the vocals on the first track were an outlier and this is mainly an instrumental group. This smooth, mid-tempo number sounds like it could have come off any late '70s/early '80s smooth jazz album (long-time readers of this blog know I mean that remark as a compliment). Saxophone player is putting out a real David Sanborn vibe while the piano player is reminding me of Joe Sample.
6. Change Your Mind (1982)
   And we've taken a sharp turn to a more aggressive and driving - almost New Wavey - accompaniment for our saxophone soloist, complete with synth bass. My apologies for not being able to properly identify the saxophonist, but the liner notes are in Japanese.
7. Tomorrow's Affair (1980)
   Ballad featuring electric guitar with overdrive pedal. Not much to the tune; sounds like it could have been lifted from a 1980 movie soundtrack.
8. A Feel Deep Inside (1978)
   I went back and looked up the tracks' release dates and quickly realized I prefer the group's earlier releases, such as this upbeat disco smooth jazz cut.
9. Mr. Coco's One (1979)
   Straight-up disco bass line with the saxophone playing through some sort of phase shifter. And the back-up vocals return. Despite being so dated, it's a catchy little thing.
10. Texas Kid (1979)
    Hey! I was a Texas kid in 1979! This cut is a fast-paced Scottish piece. And by Scottish, I mean Tom Scott-ish. Now that I've read that pun, I must apologize. That was a stinker, but this track is not, it's fun with a high-energy boogie piano solo.
11. Memories Of Alice (1982)
    And we end peacefully with a tasteful waltz featuring solo saxophone over strings and piano.

Preliminary verdict after this initial spin: good, not great. Won't stand up to much active listening but perfect music around the house on a warm, spring day (I know it isn't officially spring until next week, but the temperature here in South Central Texas is about 80°, so close enough). It looks like the group rebranded itself as T-Square and is still around today. If you'd like to venture down this rabbit hole with me, here's where I'm starting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Square_(band).

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Various Artists - Soul Of The Machine (1987)

The CD is subtitled "The Windham Hill Sampler of New Electronic Music" with track titles like Peace Of Mind, Land Of The Morning Calm, and The Lure Of Silence. That should tell you all you need to know about this release, but I'm gonna ramble on anyway. I found this disc in the clearance bin and have been fascinated by it ever since. Some of it is typical '80s New Age fare/yoga background music, but other pieces are a bit experimental and remind me more of art film scores or works that might have been written by a student pursuing an academic degree in music composition. And while there are a couple of names I recognize (Philippe Saisse and Tim Story), most are new to me. Lots of moody synth pads, to put it mildly.

Billboard, July 25, 1987, p. 72
The CD edition includes a bonus track.

Curiously, some of the composers/performers on the sampler never released a full album on the Windham Hill label (marked with an asterisk below). Isn't that the point of such samplers? To sell more albums for the label?

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

Tracks: Interestingly, the tracks are listed on the back cover without artist credit, only the following: "Publishing information listed inside CD booklet." So here's the real track info:

1. Rizzo by Mitchel Forman
2. Time And The River by Fred Simon*
3. Water Trade by Michael Whiteley*
4. Ayers Rock by Colin Chin*
5. Peace Of Mind by Richard Schönherz & Peter Scott
6. Land Of The Morning Calm by Philippe Saisse
7. Cityscape by Gary Chang
8. Chorale by Ted Greenwald & Scott Hiltzik*
9. In The Age Of Steam by Mark Darnell*
10. The Lure Of Silence by Tim Story
11. Shadows Of The Earth by Roy Finch*

My favorite tracks today are 1, 5, 7, and 9.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Various Artists - A Very Special Christmas (1987)

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

First, I direct your attention to this 2022 article from the Washington Post: How a 1987 Christmas album changed the way the holiday sounds, which includes this quote:

“A Very Special Christmas” arguably altered the recording industry’s relationship to holiday music, and the way Christmas sounds in the present day.

And I can't speak for everyone, but for your humble blogger, 21 years of age at the time of release, it certainly altered my own relationship to holiday music.

Up until that time, the only Christmas albums I had heard complete were the classic Carpenter releases, tire store sampler albums similar to this one or, starting in 1983, New Age classics like George Winston's December. Sure, pop stars may have put out the occasional holiday single (i.e., Wonderful Christmastime, Last Christmas, Do They Know It's Christmas), but the only artists I remember putting out full Christmas albums in the early '80s were country artists (that can't be the case but that's how I remember it). A look at the top-selling Christmas albums of 1983 shows many albums released in previous decades:

Billboard, December 17, 1983, p. 6

Things were definitely getting stale. So to have a bunch of new releases by popular artists - including women plus a rap act! - all on one album was a gamechanger, for sure. And to benefit Special Olympics to boot! As for longevity, most of these tracks can still be heard on your local radio stations each December. I know I absolutely wore out my cassette tape back in the late '80s. 

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #20
• Billboard CD: #3
• CashBox CD: #7
• Rolling Stone: #4

Tracks:

• Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - The Pointer Sisters
  Backed by members of the E Street Band, The Pointer Sisters offer a take that is very similar to the one recorded by The Crystals, but if you're gonna steal an arrangement, ripping off Phil Spector ain't a bad way to go. And the Clarence Clemons solo is simply perfect.
• Winter Wonderland - Eurythmics
  I've never heard another version like this one and I doubt I ever will. A perfect synthpop treatment with a beautiful voice floating atop. 
• Do You Hear What I Hear - Whitney Houston
  I don't even like this tune, but Whitney's voice brings me to tears every damn time. And she did this in one take?!?
• Merry Christmas Baby - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
  I've since heard earlier versions, but this live version was my introduction to the 1947 R&B tune. It's more RnR than R&B, but what else would you expect from The Boss? 
• Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - The Pretenders
  I've always liked this tune and Chrissie is in fine voice, but it's the ethereal sound of the guitar pad that makes this one for me. 
• I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - John Cougar Mellencamp
  Well, it certainly sounds like a Mellencamp cut, but I'll pass.
• Gabriel's Message - Sting
  Probably my favorite cut on the album. I've never heard this carol in any other version and I'm totally fascinated by it.
• Christmas In Hollis - Run-D.M.C.
  Taking a sample from the Clarence Carter tune Back Door Santa, we're treated to a fantastic groove and great rhymes - my personal favorite line rhymes yule log with eggnog. Classic.
• Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - U2
  Meh. Give me Darlene's original over any cover.
• Santa Baby - Madonna
  I had never heard the Eartha Kitt version, so if you had told me in 1987 this was a campy new tune written specifically for Madonna, I'd have believed you. It fit right into her Material Girl persona of the time and she hams it up appropriately. 
• The Little Drummer Boy - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Boy
  Another pass.
• Run Rudolph Run - Bryan Adams
  Adams and crew give this Chuck Berry tune a fun, high energy take. I always forget this is one is on the album and then it comes around I start dancing appropriately.
• Back Door Santa - Bon Jovi
  It starts with a cheesy synth lick and goes downhill in a hurry although Richie Sambora tries his best to save it.
• The Coventry Carol - Alison Moyet
  My introduction to this beautiful carol. And what a voice to deliver it to me. But don't be deceived, the lyrics definitely ain't cheerful. Despite the subject matter, this is my second favorite track on the album.
• Silent Night - Stevie Nicks
  I dig the simple arrangement that slowly builds, I just don't think the song is suited to Nicks' distinctive voice.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: During my break from college during the holidays in 1987, I remember spending a few hours at a piano with this tape transcribing Gabriel's Message simply for my own edification.

Previously revisited for the blog:
A Very Special Christmas 3 (1997)
Jazz To The World (1995)
A Very Special Christmas 2 (1992)

Various Artists - The Traditional Sounds Of Christmas (1992)

A reissue grouping of three previously released albums, put together by the GSC Music label. In fact, it appears they just took the leftover, unsold CDs and put them in a bulky three-fer jewel case with minimal listings (below) and no liner note booklet. The 'traditional' part of title rings true even if the 'Christmas' part just misses: the newest tune in the compilation is Leroy Anderson's 1948 piece Sleigh Ride and that's a winter snow song not a Christmas song. The rest of the tunes are older - some several centuries older - and mostly feature somewhat yule-ish lyrics. Perfect for your next church choir Christmas party.

---

YULETIDE CLASSICS (1988)
12 tracks, 41 minutes

This appears to be a compilation CD and it's included in a compilation. The instrumental orchestral pieces lean a little too much toward Mantovanian/Muzak arrangements, but I nevertheless enjoy the mix of orchestras, chorus, church organs, and brass ensembles, especially highlights from The Messiah.

Tracks:

---

AN OLDE-FASHIONED CHRISTMAS (1987)
20 tracks, 52 minutes

An odd pairing of timbres. Tracks alternate between choral and brass arrangements. With the exception of Silent Night, the choral work is mostly full throttle and that lack of subtley and variety gets old very quickly. In contrast, the brass arrangements are lively, tasteful, and quite enjoyable. And if you're looking for a track that has both brass and voice, fuggitaboutit.

Tracks:

---

A CLASSICAL CHRISTMAS (1988)
16 tracks, 52 minutes

This wild compilation is the best of the three discs. Orchestras, a capella choirs, brass quintets, even a jazzy trio of electric piano, acoustic guitar, and flute. Some big names here - Bernstein, Ormandy, Previn, Szell - alongside the likes of The Texas Boys Choir and Rita Ford's Music Boxes. I'm not a fan of operatic sopranos warbling carols atop dense orchestrations and there's a couple of those. But there's enough variety here to keep things interesting plus near the end we hear to Julie Andrews sing the seldom-heard French carol Patapan in a sixtieslicious arrangement, and that's a real treat. I'll even excuse the inclusion of The Hallelujah Chorus (I'm just nit-picking because that chorus closes the Easter section of the oratorio, but I understand the attraction as a stand alone piece as there's no denying it's a masterwork).

Tracks:

---

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: So many of these old hymns take me right back to my carefree school days; as much comfort can be found in those memories as is in these uplifting lyrics.

Acoustic Alchemy - Red Dust & Spanish Lace (1987)

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

Another one of those albums that I must have played quite a bit when it was first released and then slowly forgotten during my transition from LPs/tapes to CDs in the late '80s/early '90s. I say that because I was instantly (re)familiar with all the cuts and found myself humming along on first spin after rescuing this disc from the 50¢ clearance pile. The album is a pleasant but innocuous blend of smooth jazz, new age, instrumental pop, and world music from a duo whose previous gig was in-flight entertainment for Virgin Airlines. From the Nick Webb's liner notes:

I had always wanted to form an instrumental band since I saw "Pentangle" in the early 70's. The acoustic guitar had always been my first love and when I teamed up with classical/flamenco guitarist Simon James things started to take some shape. Since neither of us had any hang-ups about musical barriers, we found we were writing duets of all kinds of musical styles. An album and a single later Simon drifted away to pursue a classical career and I began working with my present partner, Greg Carmichael. Greg brought fresh inspiration and new ideas and before we knew it we were working our passage to the States, performing on Virgin Airlines as "in-flight entertainment." Our travels took us eventually to Nashville and to a meeting with Tony Brown at MCA who commissioned us to make this album for the Master Series. The material on the album represents a wide variety of styles-rock, jazz, flamenco, folk and almost everything in between. The artistic freedom allowed us by the label meant that I could employ the multivarious talents of John Parsons to produce the record. Incidentally John is a superb guitarist in his own right. ln short I had the chance to do everything I’d ever wanted but as the old maxim goes “never believe what an artist says-only what he does" or as Donald Fagen once said, "l cried when I wrote this song-sue me if I play too long."

lf The Oxford English Dictionary definition of alchemy, is "pursuit of the transmutation of the baser metals into gold" and acoustic is "pertaining to sound" then "Acoustic Alchemy" must surely mean "the transformation of musical instruments into something more than the sum of their component parts."

lf our basic ingredients began with 2 acoustic guitars then who's to say where it might end.

I can't believe he fell back on the old 'dictionary definition' shortcut, but at least he threw in a Steely Dan lyric.

The album was issued as part of the MCA Master Series, a short-lived New Age record series under the MCA label that issued its first set of releases in March 1986 and ceased in 1990 when MCA purchased GRP Records and many of the Master Series artists moved to the GRP label, including Acoustic Alchemy.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: Did not chart
• R&R Jazz Radio National Airplay: #14

Tracks: My top picks are Mr. Chow and One For The Road.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I was unfamiliar with Acoustic Alchemy until my newlywed wife and I heard the lead track from this album, Mr. Chow, on the radio sometime in 1989. Most likely heard on KOAI 'The Oasis' 106.1 FM.

We both liked the song so I bought the tape. I was teaching high school jazz band that year (and had absolutely no business doing so) and as part of the class, I would make mixtapes of different sorts of jazz, trying to expose the students to as much music as possible. It was my hope that they'd listen to some of the music outside of school. I have no idea whether they did or not, but I'm pretty sure Mr. Chow was on one of those tapes.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Arcanum (1996)
Blue Chip (1989)

Erasure - The Two Ring Circus (1987)

A remix album that served as a sort of companion piece to Erasure's second album, The Circus, released 8 months earlier. The 16 tracks consist of 7 remixed tracks originally found on the aforementioned Circus LP, 2 songs from The Circus and one from the duo's Wonderland album backed by a full orchestra instead of synths, and 6 live tracks recorded in Hamburg, Germany. Hardly necessary, but I enjoy the thing more than the critics did:

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "slick but undistinguished package of danceable nonhits."
• Record Mirror (★): "Why do bands bother making albums like these?"
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (1997): ★★

Advertisement for the slightly different UK version.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #186

Tracks:

1. Sometimes (Erasure and Flood Mix) 4:54
2. It Doesn't Have to Be (Mix by Pascal Gabriel) 6:55
3. Victim of Love (Little Louie Vega Mix) 5:22
4. Leave Me to Bleed (Vince Clarke and Eric Radcliffe Mix) 5:09
5. Hideaway (Little Louie Vega Mix) 7:14
6. Don't Dance (Daniel Miller and Flood Mix) 5:36
7. The Circus (Dave Powell Mix) 4:10
8. If I Could (Orchestral Arr. & Thanks to Andrew Poppy) 3:50
9. Spiralling (Orchestral Arr. & Thanks to Andrew Poppy) 3:32
10. My Heart... So Blue (Orchestral Arr. & Thanks to Andrew Poppy) 4:07
11. Victim of Love (live) 3:58
12. Spiralling (live) 2:30
13. Sometimes (live) 3:40
14. Oh L'Amour (live) 4:32
15. Who Needs Love (Like That) (live) 3:01
16. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (live) 4:30

The remix tracks are about what you'd expect for the late '80s and all enjoyable, particularly if you're already familiar with the original tunes. All the orchestral arrangements are a delightful change of pace. I don't know if that speaks more to Vince Clarke's writing skills or Andrew Poppy's arranging skills, but no matter: for me, these three cuts are the highlights of the disc. The live tracks are fairly faithful replicas of the studio versions, so - other than the cover of Abba's Gimme Gimme Gimme - easily forgettable. I usually stop after 10 tracks; I only paid $2 for the CD and those first 10 cuts are easily worth that much.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:

Other People's Songs (2003)	Abba-esque (1992)
Cowboy (1997)	The Innocents (1988)
Pop! The First 20 Hits (1992)