Here is a set that I have been meaning to review for months but other stuff kept coming up. I have finally got around to them and here they are. Remember if you are interested in any of these the link will take you to the US Amazon store. On the other hand most of this could be gotten for cheap at a used record store.
This is the third album from Bananarama. It was released in
1986. The track Do Not Disturb was the first single from this album. The band
did not really like the track. The lyricists forced the track on the album
though. The vinyl for the single was issued as three different shapes, the
faces of each of the members of the band. They each came with a display for the
records. The single was released in the UK,
Australia, Germany and Japan. The second single from the
album was Venus. This track was not originally a dance style track. The members
of the group were met with resistance from the producers who liked the
non-dance version. The group persisted and the producers finally relented and
mixed a dance version. It became a smash hit because of this. This is for sure
the track that I remember hearing on the radio. It has been used in commercials
frequently keeping the track in my mind though too. The next single released
from this album is called More Than Physical. Because of the commercial success
of the previous single, Venus, this track was given a similar dance style mix.
This did not really help the track though and it did not chart as well as Venus
did. The next track, called A Trick Of The Night, is a ballad and is the last
single released from the album. The album as a whole is pretty good. I got the
album just for Venus but was pleasantly surprised with the content of the
album. 
This is the seventh album from Billy Joel. It was released
in1980. I remember just about all of the singles off this album. I have a big
liking for Joel. I have just about everything I can get my hands on up to Storm
Front. He lost me after that album. I am not sure if it is the fact that I
remember hearing his music on the radio or if it is just that I got into his
music in the late 80s because of a friend that I had who was into his music.
Either way I still really enjoy his music even if I don’t listen to it all of the
time. The first single from this album is All For Leyna. The lyric tells a
story of a guy who has a one night stand with a girl named Leyna and then
becomes obsessed with her. It was not a world wide release and did not chart
that well either. The next single, You May Be Right, was a big chart hit in the
US but not so much in the UK. This is
another track I remember hearing on the radio as a kid. It is a very fun track
that I very much enjoyed growing up. The third single from this album is called
It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me. The song takes a cynical look at the music
industry. It is sort of a back and forth between producer a musician where the
musician feels that the music will speak for itself over what he wears or
drives etc. This was another big hit for Joel. The next single, Don’t Ask Me
Why, slowed the pace down a little with more of a folk sound and Latin style
drums backing the track. It was still a good charting track but not as well as
the previous two tracks. The track Sometimes A Fantasy was the last single
released from the album. The track is supposed to be about a man who is away
from his significant other and wants to have phone sex. I totally did not pick
up on this as a kid and if I had not read it on the internets I wouldn’t have believed
it at all. When I think about this track I think about it as a kid of about
five or six years of age and sex just does not fit into that mind set. The only
exposure that I had to fantasy was that of the movies, mainly Star Wars. So, I
think of things like robots or dragons and things like that and ignore most of
the lyrics all together. The album is a great first half and then slows down a
bit on the second half. If you are a fan and do not have it all ready defiantly
get it.
This is the second album from The Cars. It was released
in1979. I remember that my father had this album on cassette. I don’t remember
ever hearing him play the album though. I am not sure why he never played the
album when I was around. It could be that he just never listened to the album I
guess. At any rate I remember that we did own it. There were only a few singles
released off this album. The first is called Let’s Go. This track has a great
synth line that I really love. This is another track that I remember hearing on
the radio. The strings in the background also make this track something
special. The song appears to be about a boy that wants to date a girl who
refuses all of his advances. She would rather be out on the scene than be pined
down to one boy. The next single from the album is called It’s All I Can Do. This
track is straight up romantic pop. The cars are famous for writing track like
this. It is not as good as the first track for me but it is still a good track
none the less. It is a pretty good album over all. The cover art work was done
by artist Alberto Vargas. He is a famous artist that did paintings and drawings
of pinup girls for Esquire and Play Boy magazines in the 40s and 60s. The band
pleaded with him to do a cover for them. He was retired by this time. His niece
was a big fan of the group and convinced him to take on the job for the group.
This is the third album from Green Day. It was released in
1994. There were five singles released from this album. This is the groups’
best selling album to date. I first found out about the group upon the release
of the first single from this album, Longview.
The track was their first single to top the modern rock charts. The video was
played consistently on MTV also helping the song chart at the top. The song is
about severe boredom, doing nothing but masturbating and smoking marijuana all
day long. The next single released is called Welcome To Paradise. This song was
originally released on their previous album, Kerplunk! The song was re-recorded
for Dookie. The song is about the members of the band moving out of their
parents’ homes and into an abandoned house that they lived in without paying
rent. The third single released from the album is called Basket Case. This is
another one of my favorite track from the album. The song is about the lead
singers’, Billie Joe Armstrong, struggle with anxiety. This was before he was
diagnosed with panic disorder. The next single released from this album is
called When I Come Around. This one is their highest charting single next to
the later track Boulevard of Broken Dreams. I really like the bass line for
this tracks along with the bass lines for Basket Case and Longview. This is probably why I got into the
group in the first place, amazing bass lines. The last single released from the
album is called She. This track was released as a radio only single. The album
as a whole is very good. I would recommend this album to anyone and everyone.
You all should hear this one for sure.
This is the fourteenth album from prince. It was released in
1992. There were five singles released from this album. I remember a girlfriend
having this album. I borrowed it and recorded it to cassette. I remember it
being a great album but a very long album. There are also different versions of
the album that have been released. I found a copy of the standard version of
the album on CD. I have the songs that I want though and am happy with the
version that I have. The first single from the album is called Sexy MF. The
song cause a lot of controversy because of the chorus line, “Sexy
motherfucker.” Because of this there was an edited version created for radio,
MTV and a clean version of the album. The song takes from R&B and funk
styles. There are also some great horn parts and a sax solo in the song. The
next single released from the album is called My Name Is Prince. This is funny
because not long after the release of this album he changed his name to
O(+>, an unpronounceable symbol. The track has a very cool dance beat to it.
The track also uses samples from songs that he has previously written and
recorded. Those songs are I Wanna Be Your Lover, Partyup, and Controversy. The
third single released from the album is called 7. This is one of my favorite
tracks on the album. The harmonics used under princes lead vocals makes me feel
warm and fuzzy in side. The lyrics are also very easy to memorize as well. I am
sure that this helps the single too. The next track, called Damn U, did not
chart as well. This is a super slow romantic R&B track. There is a certain
style that people expected in the 90s from Prince and this track just wasn’t
it. It is still a good song done very well but not what the public wanted at
the time. The last single released from this album is called The Morning
Papers. This is another slowed down R&B track that also did not chart very
well. I like this track a lot better than Damn U though. Although this album is
on the long side, this is a failing of prince on many albums, it still contains
some really great tracks that should be heard even if you are not a fan of
Prince.
This is the eights studio album from The Who. It was
released in 1978. This is the last album with drummer Keith Moon. He died about
three weeks after the album was released. There are technically three tracks
that were released as singles. The First two were released as a double A side
single. The A side was Who Are You and the AA side was Had Enough. The single
Who Are You is the groups biggest single to date. It was given resurgence with
the use of the track on the show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. This is the
reason that I started to hunt down music by The Who. I thought to my self that
if a band could create a song that is this good they have to have other gems
that I have probably heard in the past but can’t remember. The AA side to this
single, Had Enough, just doesn’t do it for me. It is more on the wishy washy
side of The Who’s catalog. I could do with out it all together. The last single
from this album is called 905. The
lyrics describe a cloned human implanted with memories instead of having an
actual childhood, and was created to serve an unspecified purpose and is unable
to do anything else. He knows though that at least at the end of his life his
soul will be free from his manufactured existence. The song uses some really
cool multiphonic Polymoog synthesizer sounds that I really like. Unfortunately,
this doesn’t save the song. It is still not as good as the first single. My
suggestion is to just buy the first single and leave the rest of the album
behind.
That is all I have for now ...
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