So I am going to play every 45 in my collection.......(Part 3!!)

Dead Or Alive-Come Home With Me Baby /(Deadhouse Dub 7" Edit) (PROMO)
It only hit #69 on the USA pop charts but it was a #1 dance hit. The music sounds like a great Expose track! An interesting combo.....but it works!
\

 

I really love DOA, and I'm as enthusiastic as you are about "Brand New Lover." I also really love "Something In My House" and I wish it would have been a hit here in the US.

I've been a fan ever since I saw the "I'd Do Anything" video on MTV back in '84!

The mastering on this UK package is iffy, but it's a good compilation of singles:

http://www.*******.com/uploads/posts/2010-11/1289639593_folder.jpg

 

That is the exact look my friend was going for in Vegas! Agreed that "Brand New Lover" should have been a world wide smash....and "Something in My House" is right on the money as well. Great taste as usual Surly!

 

Deadeye Dick-New Age Girl/Perfect Family
Named after a Vonnegut novel, this band scored their only hit with this tune from the Dumb and Dumber soundtrack. With it's catchy "Mary Moon" chorus, it is not hard to see why this one became a popular sing-a-long for college age folks. Still fun to this day.....

 

The Dead Weather-Treat Me Like Your Mother/You Just Can't Win (Non-LP)
I admit, I pretty much like anything that Jack White is attached to and this band is no exception. This is from their first LP Horehound. Great track. The riff is nasty and in your face...you need a shower after listening to it. It has a very "street" feel to it...like gutter rap and roll. Nice to hear Jack with some players who can bring it! His voice blends really well with that of Alison Mosshart of The Kills.
"You Just Can't Win" is a cover of the Them song written by Van Morrison. This guy always chooses great songs to cover. His LP collection must be great.

 

Don't knock it, I never have to paint!

 

Jimmy Dean-Big Bad John/I Won't Go Huntin' With You Jake
A huge number one hit and a personal favorite of mine! The story is just so humorous and yet touching at the same time. John was a big dude who killed a guy over a gal once upon a time. He come into town to work at the mine and the locals are scared of him. Things go wrong down in the mine and John gives his life to save everyone else..... so they erect a plaque for him outside the mine! Ridiculous? Sure, but I love it! Really dig the background vocals. Plus this song gets extra points because I love Jimmy Dean Sausage patties!

 

DeBarge-All This Love/I'm In Love With You
A huge R&B smash and a #17 pop hit as well. Nice and smooth but it never really grabs me. A sign of good things to come though....DeBarge was one of Motown's biggest acts of the 80's. Remember their performance on the Motown 25 special?

 

DeBarge-Rhythm of the Night/Queen of My Heart
I had no idea that Diane Warren wrote this until I just looked at the label!! Damn she is everywhere! I remember this in The Last Dragon.....good ol' Bruce Leroy! My wife and I shout along with this whenever it comes on in the car. The music is great....deep bass and some excellent percussion. Richard Perry of Pointer Sisters fame brings his usual exquisite production skills to the proceedings. Usually I hate faked "party scenes" going on in the background of a song but this is an exception...I actually believe there is a good time being had in the studio! Maybe that console was getting a bit of a "workout" with all of the drug issues the members of the band had....

 

DeBarge-Who's Holding Donna Now PROMO
DeBarge get some big time outside help on this track....David Foster, Steve Porcaro, Richard Page, etc....A great follow up to "Rhythm of the Night" this sees the band returning to their home base of R&B flavored ballads. A #6 pop hit in The States, that placing had more to do with it's predecessor than the quality of this track. I never hear this song today....That being said, it is a quality composition and El does sing it well.

 

El DeBarge with DeBarge-You Wear It Well/Baby, Won't Cha Come Quick
It's never a good sign for the life of the band when suddenly on the third single off an LP the band is renamed "so and so with....".
More big league help here in the form of Jim Gilstrap and Jessie Johnson. A catchy track dragged down by a less than thrilling chorus. Jessie does rip that guitar solo up though!!! Kudos to Tommy DeBarge (of Switch fame) on the funky bass line! El actually performed this song with cast members of The Facts of Life ( I liked Jermaine Jackson's appearance better!) and then a few weeks later he played it on Miami Vice. This momentum got it to the top of the dance charts but only to #47 on the pop charts.

 

El DeBarge-Who's Johnny/Love in a Special Way
From the movie Short Circuit which, believe it or not, my wife and I watched this afternoon!! Man is it tough to watch! Ally Sheedy makes Steve Guttenberg look like Charlton Heston! She was in the rather humorous video though. At least Fisher Stevens can say he was in a pretty decent latter day episode of Columbo! I admit it, I like the song much better than the film. A lot, lot better....Other than "Johnny", this song has nothing to do with the film at all.

 

El DeBarge-Love Always PROMO
A #43 pop hit co-written by Bacharach and Sager. Pedestrian and middle of the road. El can do much better than this.

 

El DeBarge-Real Love (REMIX)/Real Love (House Mix)
A big hit on the R&B charts, it failed to cross over to the pop charts. This sounds just like "Just Got Paid" by Johnny Kemp but not as good!

 

Chico DeBarge-The Girl Next Door/You're Much Too Fast
This guy is resilient.....sent to prison, stabbed outside of a club,....and not a member of the group DeBarge. This track is pretty decent. I'm surprised it didn't hit on the R&B charts much less the pop charts. This track seems custom made for an 80's flick about the nerd who is obsessed with the cheerleader next door and he finally gets her at the end of the movie cause nice guys finish first right?

 

It's really incredible, isn't it? Not only the amount of songs she's written, but how many of them have been hits! I think her first real hit may have been Laura Branigan's "Solitaire," but "Rhythm Of The Night" was an early one, too. It's also interesting how many versions have been recorded of some of her songs, like "Don't Turn Around" (which was co-written with Albert Hammond) - I first heard it via Aswad's version in 1988, but Tina Turner recorded it in 1986 as the b-side of "Typical Male." Ace Of Base had a hit with it. Lots of others have recorded it, too - Luther Ingram, Eyes, Neil Diamond, Bonnie Tyler...

 

Funny that "Don't Turn Around" has been recorded by so many artists!! It's a good song IMHO but hardly one that screams out for every artist to do their own version. One of her more interesting co-writes is with Paul Stanley on the song "Turn on the Night" from the Kiss LP "Crazy Nights". Much like "Rhythm of the Night", it focuses on having a good time instead of her usual theme: love.

 

Chris DeBurgh-The Lady in Red/Say Goodbye to It All UK ISSUE
This is a song that I just keep on liking more and more as the years go on. A #3 hit in the USA although I never got the "played out" feeling with this one....I certainly do not remember hearing it everywhere at the time. DeBurgh sings it so perfectly...the hushed vocal lines almost make you feel as if he is whispering to you and letting you in on a secret about some woman he spies across the room.

 

Dedringer-Sunday Drivers/We Don't Mind UK ISSUE
Mostly forgotten British hard rock band, this was their lead single and rocks in a Rose Tattoo/early Saxon kind of way. Good Pub Rock for sure!
"We Don't Mind" is more of the same....not ground-breaking but a good listen nonetheless. Some nice bass on this track!

 

Joey Dee and the Starliters-What Kind of Love Is This/Wing-Ding
Unfortunately my copy of "Peppermint Twist" was just too rough to listen to enjoyably and thus has become a decoration...great tune though. This song is from the Joey Dee movie "Two Tickets to Paris" to which I confess of never having heard of! This tune is pleasant enough but hardly anything special...it only hit #18 and that seems about right. A solid tune but nothing more.

 

This parody version was a huge hit in Australia. It's still on radio today

 

Kiki Dee-Stay Close to You/Africa
A non-charting single from 1987. Hearing this actually makes me long for hearing the ear candy that is "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"! This is adult contemporary all the way but Kiki sounds great and the melody is pretty darn good. Had another artists name been attached to this it probably would have been a hit. It actually has a bit of a 2000's country sound to it. Faith Hill or Trisha Yearwood could have made this a monster.
"Africa"....color me disappointed that this is NOT a cover of the Toto song!

 

Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots-Disco Duck/Disco Duck (Instrumental)
Do I really need to listen to this?? A number one hit for God's sake!! As is usual for these types of "songs", this parody record has absolutely no staying power and is best left on the shelf!

 

Def Leppard-Photograph/Action! Not Words
I wore this album out in my younger days! A true rock classic. Great songs, great playing, and perfect rock production from Mutt Lange.
Cool sleeve...neat view of the camera catching a Marilyn Monroe-esque model. The song is just phenomenal! That riff is one that every band would die for. Simple yet extremely effective. The "gang" of background vocals is a style often imitated but Lange is the king of making it truly work (check out the Heartbeat City LP or Bryan Adams' Waking Up the Neighbors for proof.) Phil Collen throws down a highlight of a solo too. Rick Allen shows what he could truly do before his car accident. Love the semi-discrete use of keyboards imitating strings during the bridge....cool touch. What is NOT to like here?? Well for one my 12" UK single blows this away in the sound department but this 45 still rocks a plenty! UK...you should be ashamed for only getting this to #66!
"Action! Not Words" starts with a neat little bluesy riff. This is A-Side material for sure! These guys were the king of the bridge....it really escalates this tune to another level. The "Shock Me" backgrounds just make you shout along. Too bad the chorus doesn't match its power. Still, an "A" list tune for sure.....and another Monroe reference! Interesting....

 

Def Leppard-Rock of Ages/Billy's Got a Gun
As soon as you hear the nonsensical "Gunter glieben glauten globen", you cannot help but get pumped up. The video may be ridiculous (yet fun), but the song is balls to the wall rock. Anything that quotes Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My" can't be all bad right?? Once again, keyboards lend some weight to the rhythm of the track in a way that never really makes you notice them. Great solo here! Fits the song perfectly. Pyromania is an absolute stunner from start to finish. Interesting fact...this is #1 on my list of rock songs inspired by bible verses...a close second is "Turn! Turn! Turn!".
"Billy's Got a Gun" again features a killer bridge! Songwriting 101 from Lange and the boys. Nice to see Rick Savage get some prominence in the mix for once! There is a great live version coming up as a B-Side to a Hysteria-era track.