80's Pop Hits [Slipcase]

Being someone who spends a lot of time at the used CD shops I've acquired a hell of a lot of compilation discs - most of them in the 80's music genre but I do get some of the stuff from the 60's and 70's if I come across something that interests me. Most of the time I try to limit my spending to no more than four bucks for a disc - three bucks if it is a compilation of some sort. That doesn't include boxed sets or things that have more than one CD to them. I found this at Disc Trader [when they were still in business] for $4.99 and couldn't pass it up. I guess that is why some people say that I am a compulsive shopper - if it has a sale sticker on it chances are I'll buy it. Let that be an indication to some of the hideous things that I have tucked away in my music collection - things that I will never review at this site for fear that I'd be chastised or mocked [yes, some of these CD's are that bad].

The only reason I picked this up was the price - I figured that even if I listened to it once it would be worth it - sadly, this is something that gets dragged out when people see the playlist - mostly when I have a party or some kind of gathering. It starts off innocently enough - someone sees a song that they haven't heard in years and they want to give it a listen. That is usually all it takes for someone to start flipping out, crying and having an emotional enema about someone that screwed them over and broke their heart. Hey, I guess it's cheaper than therapy. Too bad everyone in the room has to go through this cathartic experience ... with that being said, this isn't all that bad but it is something that you should check out completely before you buy it - especially if you are getting it new. Is this really worth the suggested thirty dollar price tag? Somehow I think not.

Tracks & Talent

"Easy Lover" - Philip Bailey & Phil Collins
"Rosanna" - Toto
"You're A Friend Of Mine" - Clarence Clemons & Jackson Browne
"All Cried Out" - Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam Featuring Full Force
"Keep On Loving You" - R.E.O. Speedwagon
"Total Eclipse Of The Heart" - Bonnie Tyler
"Sexual Healing" - Marvin Gaye
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" - Wham!
"Let's Hear It For The Boy" - Deniece Williams
"Talking In Your Sleep" - The Romantics
"Wishing Well" - Terence Trent D'Arby
"Voices Carry" - Til Tuesday
"Take Me Home Tonight/Be My Baby" - Eddie Money & Ronnie Spector

Any CD set that opens with Phil Collins is either going to be great [that is if it's "In The Air Tonight"] or it's going to flat out suck ["Easy Lover"] - this is a good indication of what you are going to get from all three discs - songs that were hits but no one can really explain why they were hits to begin with. I think the best way to describe the songs that were collected for this is like this - sometimes musicians get complacent; they can put out a bunch of crap and people will still buy it or at the very least buy into it. A great example of this it the collaborative efforts of Clarence Clemons & Jackson Browne; separate they are pretty popular names in music but when they joined forces to come up with "You're A Friend Of Mine" they should have been stopped by someone. Clemons was insane for thinking that he should put down the saxophone and start singing [although most of his efforts were clapping through the song] and Jackson should have stuck to his roots. I could even go so far as to slam Wham! for "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" but hell, they did a good job of it when they put out the companion video for the song. Sure it is a piece of pop memorabilia but so are the pieces that Michael Jackson has had snipped, plucked, bleached and enhanced over the years - that doesn't mean I want them on display.

Deniece Williams had her fifteen minutes of fame with "Let's Hear It For The Boy" [remember that from the Footloose soundtrack?] and I won't deny that it's a catchy song but come on now, it's so cheesy that you should get a free bag of nacho chips to go with it when you listen to it. Bonnie Tyler broke away from her country roots to give us "Total Eclipse Of The Heart", a song that did managed to get on the pop and country charts - something that still puzzles me. I mean the song is good and it has a nice "dark" element to it and the vocals are above average but it was a fluke - some critic heard it and gave it the thumbs up and all of a sudden everyone is saying that she's the greatest female vocalist that ever walked the earth. But wait, there are three duets on the first CD and the worst of the three has to be Eddie Money & Ronnie Spector with "Take Me Home Tonight / Be My Baby” this might have sounds like a good idea when it was in the planning stages but the end result was something that was less than aurally pleasing. Eddie Money has a very unique voice but none of his talents were used to their capabilities on this track .. and don't even get me started on Ronnie Spector.

What really gets me about this is that there are so many true classics of the 80's - "Keep On Lovin' You" by R.E.O. Speedwagon - a song that literally defined the power love ballad. And lest you forget Marvin Gaye's sultry, sexual and hip pumping "Sexual Healing" - a song that still makes women get all gooey and turn into a marshmallow like state. That's the power of music - when a song can make you feel something - now try telling me what you feel when you hear a song like "Wishing Well" [Terence Trent D'Arby] or "All Cried Out" [Lisa Lisa] - this is what I am talking about. There are so many awesome songs but they are sandwiched in between such generic songs that it is enough to make you want to puke. 'Til Tuesday is riding the fence with "Voices Carry" - it is one of their better songs but it's something that gets way too much exposure when these kinds of releases are compiled.



Disc Two

"Girls Just Want To Have Fun" - Cyndi Lauper
"Shake You Down" - Gregory Abbott
"Carrie" - Europe
"Can't We Try" - Dan Hill & Vonda Shepard
"Stop To Love" - Luther Vandross
"Time And Tide" - Basia
"The Flame" - Cheap Trick
"When I See You Smile" - Bad English
"I'll Be Loving You" - New Kids on The Block
"Eternal Flame" - The Bangles
"Heaven" - Warrant
"How Am I Supposed To Live Without You" - Michael Bolton
"Shining Star" - The Manhattans

Good lord, it's Michael Bolton. Sometimes I have to wonder how he ever got a recording contract. I mean, he can sing but can people honestly want to hear it? I've got nothing against the guy [outside of the hair] but to be honest, I don't see it. I think I am one of the few chicks in the area that doesn't go gaa gaa over him - I chalk this up to sticking to my grange roots and refusing to listen to Celine Dion. Luther Vandross makes up for Michael Bolton but this might be too much for some people to get into. "Stop To Love" isn't the kind of song that most people who are in to 80's music are going to "get" - it's going to go right over their heads. I was a little saddened to see that "The Flame" by Cheap Trick was included on this. Cheap Trick was one of the groups that I grew up on and their music meant a lot to me. Some people say that they "evolved" when they started putting out mainstream music like this but to me it was selling out. You can't listen to any of their older stuff and tell me that "The Flame" is what came from their years in the music business. Nope, it was all about the mighty dollar.

And since I am on the subject of sell outs - that brings me to New Kids on The Block. Yeah they didn't write the song and until their later releases they never played their own instruments but damn, they did put out some cool songs. "I'll Be Loving You Forever" was one of their most popular 'love songs' but it does have a cheesy element to it. Cyndi Lauper created some media stir with "Girls Just Want To Have Fun” it could have easily become a 'girl anthem' if it weren't for the mind numbing pop tone of the song - and please, don't get me started on the video. It's a 'cute' track but just a little too cute for my taste. "Heaven" by Warrant seems completely out of place here - I mean it fits in on the level of it being a love song but if you are looking at the groups and artists - Warrant doesn't exactly blend in. The song is nice but it's too generic in it's sound and uses the old "they say we aren't going to make it baby but have faith in me" kind of rock and roll love ballad hook. Same thing with "Carrie" by Europe - it just doesn't fit in with the line up and when you look at the groups discography this isn't the kind of song that you expect from them. Bottom line - these songs aren't the groups greatest hits and some of them don't fit in with the playlist but damn it, someone some where felt like they were doing the right thing making this.

Disc Three

"How 'Bout Us" - Champaign
"Break My Stride" - Matthew Wilder
"Shower Me With Your Love" - Surface
"Heart On Fire" - Randy Meisner
"Key Largo" - Bertie Higgins
"This Could Be The Night" - Loverboy
"Leader Of The Band" - Dan Fogelberg
"Your Love" - The Outfield
"Every Time You Go Away" - Paul Young
"Footloose" - Kenny Loggins
"Who Can It Be Now" - Men At Work
"The Warrior" - Scandal
"Der Kommissar" - After The Fire
"Love My Way" - The Psychedelic Furs

If you have any hope that the third disc is going to be better - grab a bottle of whatever it is that you drink and dig in for some more music potpourri. If it weren't bad enough that we had "Let's Hear It For the Boy" from Miss Williams we also have to contend with "Footloose" [yes, from the movie of the same name] by Kenny Loggins. Even after all these years the song still has some life left to it but it's clinging to life on a wing and a prayer. Men At Work is definately out of place on this kind of a release that's mostly made up of bad love songs or song about love gone bad. Even so, it is a nice treat for those who got into the lighter side of 80's music. Same thing for "Der Kommissar” it's one of those timeless kind of songs that no matter how many times you hear it - it never gets old. The Psychedelic Furs got spanked with "Love My Way" - I mean they have so many other great songs to pick from so why take one from the middle? If it was a matter of money I would have gladly chipped in so they could have picked something a little more redeeming to the groups efforts.

To once again prove that the producers of this misguided effort were clueless and partially deaf - "How 'Bout Us" by Champaign is a true classic of the softer side of 80's music so why have it on this kind of a release? If they would have broken things up and had dedicated discs with similar songs or artists grouped together I am sure that this would have been a better type of release. I shouldn't even mention Loverboy's contribution, in fact, I won't so strike that thought. When you look at 80's music it's inevitable that Dan Fogelberg's "Leader of The Band" is going to surface some where in time but this isn't the place for it. This should be on some type of "classics of the 80's" release instead of something mainstream like this. Pair him up with Air Supply, Hall & Oats and Loggins & Messina and then you have something that is worth the price of the CD.

Out of all three CD's the third feels the most scattered - sort of like they planned to have all these great songs and then everyone that was worth their weight in salt backed out at the last minute [or sobered up] and they tried to shove the songs that had no real place on this project on to one CD. This is a real shame because you have such great songs like "Every Time You Go Away" by Paul Young and even "Break My Stride" by Matthew Wilder [I don't like the song but I can appreciate it] - songs like this that are shoved in with stuff that is so "bottom of the barrel" that it makes you ashamed to admit having this in your collection of CD's. I never really cared for The Outfield but I do feel sorry that they got left back for the third CD; "Your Love" was one of their most popular tracks but just like the late great Rodney Dangerfield - they get no respect.

The Bottom Line

I really wish they would have broken up the songs a little more and had each disc for a certain kind of music - like the slow songs on one, pop on another and the middle of the road stuff on another. That would have made a lot more sense than having everything shoved together in this manner. This is not worth $30.00 so if you are thinking about buying this set look for it used or check the prices at online auctions. If you are an 80's junkie there are a lot better compilation out there to choose from so if you look over this playlist and don't like at least half the songs there's no reason to get it. That's not to say that it's a bad set but there are a lot better ones to choose from. Like most of the other compilations that I own, this gets used when I have a party or someone wants to get all reminiscent - that usually leads to some somber moments but they usually pass pretty quickly when the next song starts. If you come across this used then it's a good deal as long as the price is right but if you are thinking about getting it new - think twice.


As always, thanks for the read!

~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~

© 2005 Freak369


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