10at10 Club

Main Discussion Area => Regional 10@10's across the time zones! => Topic started by: RGMike on March 23, 2006, 07:48:43 AM

Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: RGMike on March 23, 2006, 07:48:43 AM
figures the stream would actually be working on a Thursday when Bob does one of his (usually) less-than-stellar '80s sets.  Betting on Sting and Huey Lewis.
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: Gazoo on March 23, 2006, 08:03:15 AM
Comical TOTHC: "And the streets of Brazil."
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: RGMike on March 23, 2006, 08:07:06 AM
Quote from: "Gazoo"
Comical TOTHC: "And the streets of Brazil."


wasn't this on the "When bad songs happen to good artists" HFH set last year?  I love it when Mick says "oo-kay" for "UK".

"Don't You Forget About Katrina" -- and knowing Bob, the REAL Katrina may not be far away.
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: Gazoo on March 23, 2006, 08:14:40 AM
WOS to the Summer of '69.

But HM to "Broken Wings," which strongly evokes a humid September school bus ride home for me.  They had a follow-up a year or two later called "Something Real (Inside Me/Inside You)" that apparently I was the nation's only fan of, and the band disappeared soon afterward.  Singer was kind of a looker, as I recall.
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: RGMike on March 23, 2006, 08:18:06 AM
Quote from: "Gazoo"
WOS to the Summer of '69.

But HM to "Broken Wings," which strongly evokes a humid September school bus ride home for me.  They had a follow-up a year or two later called "Something Real (Inside Me/Inside You)" that apparently I was the nation's only fan of, and the band disappeared soon afterward.  Singer was kind of a looker, as I recall.


They also did "Kyrie", which was an even bigger hit than "Broken Wings" iirc.  

I'm no Bryan Adams fan, but  SO69 is actually one of his few bearable singles IMHO. That's not saying much, of course...
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: Gazoo on March 23, 2006, 08:19:12 AM
Argh, that dreaded gated-snare that always heralds a Phil Collins '80s production . . .
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: RGMike on March 23, 2006, 08:19:28 AM
AAAAAAAAACK! No jacket required; no Collins needed.  "Inside Out" -- musta been a reversible jacket.
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: RGMike on March 23, 2006, 08:20:16 AM
Quote from: "Gazoo"
Argh, that dreaded gated-snare that always heralds a Phil Collins '80s production . . .


that gated-sanre bought him several gated houses...
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: Gazoo on March 23, 2006, 08:21:34 AM
Quote from: "RGMike"
I'm no Bryan Adams fan, but  SO69 is actually one of his few bearable singles IMHO. That's not saying much, of course...


Bryan Adams songs I like, in order of preference:

1. Straight From the Heart
2. Do I Have to Say the Words
3. Thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven
4. It's Only Love
5. Heat of the Night
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: Gazoo on March 23, 2006, 08:26:34 AM
BOS to Sade, "Smooth Operator."  Another sense-evocative one for me: My mother was working as a caretaker for an elderly woman named Stella, and I'd stop by there on my way home from school to see what errands she needed me to run.  I had a tiny radio -- a free gift from Sports Illustrated, I think -- and would play the Top 40 station, WBZZ B-94, all along the way.  I don't know if it was spring or fall when this hit, but I remember loving it instantly (and hating in equal measure its followup, "Your Love Is King").
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: Gazoo on March 23, 2006, 08:32:29 AM
BOS2 to the magnificently produced "Shout."  I heard "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" last night at a bar; it really should be in my Top 100 of All Time.
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: RGMike on March 23, 2006, 08:39:13 AM
Quote from: "Gazoo"
BOS to Sade, "Smooth Operator."  Another sense-evocative one for me: My mother was working as a caretaker for an elderly woman named Stella, and I'd stop by there on my way home from school to see what errands she needed me to run.  I had a tiny radio -- a free gift from Sports Illustrated, I think -- and would play the Top 40 station, WBZZ B-94, all along the way.  I don't know if it was spring or fall when this hit, but I remember loving it instantly (and hating in equal measure its followup, "Your Love Is King").


I hope you've re-evaluated "YLIK" since then. Great song.   I first heard of Sade 2 years earlier, on my first trip to London -- that great Brit magazine The Face was gushing about her then. It took nearly 2 years for America to catch up.
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: mshray on March 23, 2006, 08:41:48 AM
Baby baby, please let me hold you...

BOS Heads.
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: RGMike on March 23, 2006, 08:42:54 AM
VHM T.Heads and the KFOG staple "Stay Up Late."

"little pee-pee and little toes"
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: Gazoo on March 23, 2006, 08:43:47 AM
Quote from: "RGMike"
I hope you've re-evaluated "YLIK" since then. Great song.  


I don't hate it anymore, but it's near the bottom of her singles for me.  In hindsight, what I hated wasn't as much the song itself as the video, in which someone kept turning over a king in a deck of cards (oooh, symbolism).  Almost as bad as the Pretenders' drummer pointing to the menu in the "Brass in Pocket" video.  "Special!"
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: mshray on March 23, 2006, 08:45:45 AM
Still my favorite Petty song, "Don't Come Around Here No More".

Did I mention that I just love jangly guitars?
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: RGMike on March 23, 2006, 08:45:49 AM
Quote from: "Gazoo"
But HM to "Broken Wings" ... Singer was kind of a looker, as I recall.


(http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00009PBWL.03.MZZZZZZZ.jpg)
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: RGMike on March 23, 2006, 08:47:32 AM
Quote from: "mshray"
Still my favorite Petty song, "Don't Come Around Here No More".


speaking of songs that were ruined by the video (for me anyway; Petty-as-Mad Hatter still grates 2 decades later).
Title: The Drive, 3/23/06: 1985
Post by: Gazoo on March 23, 2006, 08:52:40 AM
AMG reveals that Mr. Mister's members had an oddly wide reach in the rock & roll family tree:

A product of the L.A. session-musician community (which also produced the harder-rocking Toto), Mr. Mister enjoyed a brief but massive burst of popularity during the mid-'80s, crafting an atmospheric, vaguely progressive variation on slick, radio-ready pop/rock. While they disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived on the scene, their two number one hits, "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie," remain enduring classics of '80s mainstream pop.

Mr. Mister was formed in 1982 by bassist/lead vocalist Richard Page and keyboardist/vocalist Steve George, boyhood friends from Phoenix, AZ, and accomplished session men. The two had previously played together in a jazz fusion outfit called Pages, which recorded three major-label albums from 1979-1981 (the final one being more pop/rock-oriented). Plagued by a lack of sales, an abundance of personnel shifts, and an uncertainty over direction, the group disbanded by the end of 1981, and Page and George returned to their session careers (they'd previously done vocals on Village People records, among others). The two wrote songs and offered backup for artists including REO Speedwagon, John Parr, Chaka Khan, the Pointer Sisters, Donna Summer, Al Jarreau, and Kenny Loggins, and conceived the idea for their own band while on tour with Andy Gibb. The first to join was guitarist Steve Farris, who had been working with Eddie Money; next was drummer Pat Mastelotto, who had done numerous sessions for producer Mike Chapman. Page's cousin, lyricist John Lang, was invited to collaborate on material as he had done for Pages, and the group quickly landed a deal with RCA on the strength of several showcase concerts.

Mr. Mister's debut album, I Wear the Face, was released in 1984, producing one chart single, "Hunters of the Night," which failed to reach the Top 40. It didn't sell very well, which made the band's breakthrough with their sophomore effort all the more surprising. Welcome to the Real World, issued in May 1985, perfected the band's blend of Genesis-style pop, swirling keyboard textures, slightly spiritual lyrics, and polished studio craft. Page had turned down offers to join Toto and Chicago, and his faith in Mr. Mister was justified with the release of the album's first single, "Broken Wings." It took a few months to catch on, but helped by the band's prominent tour slots, it climbed all the way to the top of the pop charts before year's end, and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Group. The follow-up, "Kyrie," duplicated that feat in March 1986, and Welcome to the Real World topped the album charts the same week, on its way to platinum sales. Third single "Is It Love" reached the Top Ten, and the band consolidated their success with appearances at several awards shows and benefit concerts.

Work on their third album was slowed by Mastelotto's back problems, and once song selection was completed, lyricist Lang moved to New York to attend graduate school. The album, Go On, was released in fall 1987; its lead single, "Something Real (Inside Me/Inside You)," barely scraped the Top 30, despite its appearance on Miami Vice. Second single "Healing Waters" was released only in Europe, yet still managed a Grammy nomination for Best Gospel Performance, Duo or Group. "Stand and Deliver," originally intended for Tina Turner, was used in the Edward James Olmos film of the same name; still, Go On simply couldn't catch hold the way its predecessor had. Disagreements between Page and Farris led to the latter's departure from the group in July 1988. Mr. Mister never settled on a permanent replacement, using Trevor Rabin and Buzzy Feiten in their subsequent recording sessions. Those sessions were dedicated to what was to be the band's fourth album, Pull; however, an RCA roster purge left them homeless, and the record was deemed too proggy and uncommercial to be picked up by any other label (it still has not been officially released). Before the end of 1989, Mr. Mister decided to break up.

Still, the individual members' musical pedigrees ensured that they wouldn't be wanting for work. Mastelotto played drums on XTC's Oranges and Lemons (among many other albums), and joined King Crimson in 1994; he also plays in the progressive/experimental rock band Mastica. Page co-wrote Madonna's 1994 hit ballad "I'll Remember," which led to his forming the group Third Matinee with Madonna producer Patrick Leonard. They released an album in 1994 but broke up the following year, and Page issued his solo debut, Shelter Me, in 1996; he eventually moved into Disney musicals, among other vocal gigs. Lang formed the post-grunge band Djinn, which released Radio Beirut in 1995. George served as Kenny Loggins' music director from 1991-1997, and subsequently toured with Jewel. Farris toured with Whitesnake in 1997, and recorded with Tori Amos, 4 Non Blondes, and others.