And in that respect, "Morning Train" could be seen as the polar opposite, message-wise, from Dolly's "9 to 5" ode to working women and what they've had to put up with in the workplace.
Would that artist by any chance go by the initials 'G B'? (Don't worry, I'm keeping mum otherwise on any details.)
At the top of the charts - you are absolutely correct. Personally, I think 1981 was a great year in music but that wasn’t reflected at the top of the singles charts. Some of the great singles released in 1981: Radio Free Europe - REM Ghost Town - The Specials Police on My Back - The Clash Pretty in Pink - The Psychedelic Furs Tainted Love - Soft Cell Our Lips Are Sealed - The Go Gos Message of Love - The Pretenders Once in a Lifetime - Talking Heads Love Action - Human League The Metro - Berlin Great singles but most didn’t get much chart action, and those that did never got close to the top.
I think all of Roger Moore's films are somewhat unfortunate. For Your Eyes Only is one of his better outings. That isn't saying much. Moonraker might be my favorite simply because it's the most over-the-top. If you're aiming for camp, you might as well shoot for the stars. The production design is the best of any Bond flick. Michel Lonsdale also puts in a fantastic performance as the loathsome Hugo Drax. Moore couldn't stand Lois Chiles as the CIA agent Bond girl Dr. Holly Goodhead (ha-ha), but I think she's far better than average as a Bond girl, too. One of the biggest problems with For Your Eyes Only - the Bond girl isn't as hot as Sheena Easton is in the credits sequence. Jeebus! Given the timing of the film release, she must have recorded this as or just after "Morning Train" topped the US charts. The producers apparently weren't sure she was up to the task of singing their Bond theme. She proved more than capable. For a brief period after this hit later in the summer it seemed as though Sheena might be one of the biggest singers of the '80s. Her career didn't quite pan out that way, although she was very talented and could act as well. She had a great 5-episode run on Miami Vice as Caitlin Davies, a singer who ends up falling in love with and marrying Don Johnson's Sonny Crockett in the '87 season. Needless to say, things don't turn out well for the couple, but I thought she was dynamite in the role and was sad to see her go. Maybe if "Morning Train" had hit a year or so earlier, Easton could have been tapped to play an actual Bond girl...
Well yeah, lots of great stuff was being released, it just wasn't hitting the US charts (or it was charting very low, often out of the Top 40). We've reached the point where the upper reaches of the US and UK charts have completely flip-flopped in terms of quality. In general now the stuff in the UK Top 10 beats the crap out of the crap in the US Top 10. Never would have predicted that was possible after seeing what was topping the UK charts in the '70s.
Yup, big Mutt fan. He did miracles for Shania Twain too. Have not liked a thing she’s done since their break up. Will be fun to discover sone things he’s done that I’m maybe not familiar with.
Feel the same. Like When He Shines a lot but I would bet we’re in the minority. And her stuff sounds pretty awful too. Not sure why they didn’t record her first three albums better.
Yes, she really had to try something different or she would have fizzled out sooner. It worked for a while. But I didn't much care for stuff like Sugar Walls. As was mentioned, it’s tough when you have to depend on others for material. Look how hot and cold Diana Ross, who was in the same boat, was.
I'll be the dissenter and give Sheena a big thumbs up for Morning Train. Probably one of my favorite singles of '81. Just a shot of pure joy every time I hear it. Heck, John Peel had 2 copies of the 45 in his fabled collection. Played the heck out of both 9 to 5's alongside Rapture when they were currents and while Dolly's is great, I'm much more burned out on it than Easton's. She rode this train right up to the Grammy stage, picking up Best New Artist off of this and the Bond theme coming up in the latter half of the year - beating out Luther Vandross, who in retrospect lost the gong but won the longer career. Still, to paraphrase Paul Grein when noting Sheena's final trip to the top 20 in 1991 with "What Comes Naturally," she was never particularly hot or cold but she managed to keep her career lukewarm for a decade, no small feat.
I feel the same way about the late 80s, 1986-on, which sounds very similar. The charts feature songs that sound too much like Janet Jackson. With a few exceptions, like U2, Enya, etc., a pretty dull and uninteresting era. The early 80s stand heads and tails above 1987+
Fall '86 (age 14) is where I checked out of top 40 and started listening to metal (both current and older stuff). I was still aware of top 40 given I still spent a lot of time watching MTV, but once I heard stuff like Black Sabbath's Master of Reality and Led Zeppelin IV, things were never the same... I probably won't really feel "lost" in this thread until we get to maybe the mid 90s.
Same with me I was 15 in 86 and moved on to metal. I hated the pop charts at that time but I like that stuff much more now as I grow older.
Here is a great synth pop single from mid-1981 - “Love Action” by Human League. It was their first big hit single, reaching #3 in the UK. It did not chart in the US. Human League’s big US breakthrough occurs next year (hint).
I'm going to try and stick with the thread until the end of century. But, I won't be saying much that's positive in the 90s. There was good music in the 90s, but it rarely hit the Top 10.
another great (debut) single of 1981 was "i'm in trouble" by the replacements... niever understood why they didn't release "takin' a ride" as a single
I love the Replacements - they’re one of my favorite bands. But, I didn’t get on board until 1984 with Let It Be and “I Will Dare.” Then I was hooked.
