They were loved and hated in equal measure but for those who enjoyed any of the music they produced I thought I would create this thread. Feel free to post any songs or reminisce about some of the acts. Did anyone go to the Hitman roadshow or see any of the acts in concert?
I love the early work they did with Divine and Dead or Alive (and 'Venus' is also fantastic) — but from that point they became hopelessly generic and seemingly used the same backing track for every single, whether it was Rick, Kylie, or Jason. It's a shame, as their HiNRG beginnings were brilliant.
Spot on. Back in the beginning, they did more with less ("You Think You're A Man" is exceptional), but in the later days, even when given a powerhouse vocalist like Laura Branigan, the promise just went unfulfilled. Not completely, of course, but there was a nagging sense that there could have been something better than "Shattered Glass" had SAW not dulled their cutting edge.
I don't like them at all, they were incredibly arrogant too, but they had a new sound at first. The Mel and Kim records were great pop. Some of the Kylie ones from the early 90s that were less generic were good too. My sister absolutely loves all the SAW records. I heard them on the other side of the wall for years!
It all seemed so incredibly lazy, didn't it — they'd found a formula that sold lots of records, so they just regurgitated it, over and over and over and over.... Even the Bananarama singles from Wow! all sound the same to my ears. 'You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)', however, is one of those all-time classics that will live forever.
Hazell Dean 'Whatever i do, wherever i go' Carol Hitchcock 'Get ready' Michael Davidson 'Turn it up' Divine 'You think you're a man' Just a few of my faves....
Kylie's 1989 S.A.W. single "I Wouldn't Change A Thing" didn't chart in the U.S. but was a big hit elsewhere, like in the U.K. This is one of my favorite S.A.W. singles and I remember thinking at the time that the melody of its verses was really fantastic. I bought the album on cassette -- pretty sure I still have it.
Not sure if it's in good taste to post this next song, given the sad news about Peter Green. Still, here is SAW's nadir. To think they had the brass neck to complain that thier records weren't being played enough!
one of my personal faves is Sonia, lesser know I think than some others... very uplifting dance songs, this one and You'll Never Stop Me Loving You always put me in a good mood Sonia - Listen to Your Heart
I like the single they did with Sigue Sigue Sputnik (“Success”). Didn’t they do a record with Peter and Test Tube Babies? Never heard that one, but I’m sure it’s... odd.
Not that I particularly want to post in a SAW appreciation thread, but.... They also did a single with The Danse Society - presumably an attempt by their label to replicate the success of Dead Or Alive?
Shooting Party (Safe in the Arms of Love), very good 80's Hi-Nrg disco track, although this is Phil Harding Ian Curnow, not SAW direclty Shooting Party - Safe in the Arms of Love (1989)
There was a wonderful 'lounge-and-bass' group who's name is a play on the famous production team! They're called STOCK, HOUSEN & WALKMAN!
I hit a Barnes & Noble yesterday to see how the U.K. magazine fill was and noticed that either Uncut or Mojo has done a S.A.W. special issue. Rick is on one cover and Kylie, I think, is on another. Not a fan, but I had few customers and an employee that bought everything connected to those guys.
I was waiting for the Beatles to be mentioned... That at least would have been brave with a video shot in Liverpool
2/3's About as manufactured as you can get, including the god-awful band name, geesh. Terrible for a bunch of hot chicks That's What Love Can Do was all over local radio around here, which I actually enjoyed.
