I bought Milk and Honey but, much like Pipes of Peace, I always thought it was a 'part 2' of a better album. With Peace it was Tug of War, and with Milk it was Double Fantasy. Even the covers of the records bear this out: Having said that, I do really like Nobody Told Me. It probably was unfinished, but as far as unfinished John songs that ended up being released go, it's one of the most complete.
"Nobody Told Me" is just a great tune. There's something a bit clunky about it, especially the transition to the chorus - it probably would have been smoothed down and tweaked a bit in subsequent takes - and the chorus itself is melodically weak, but it's catchy as heck in spite of all that, with a real energy to it. The half-arsed, unfinished placeholder lyrics are equally disjointed but actually work really well, and are evocative on their own if not especially coherent. "Grow Old Along With Me" is the real gem on Milk & Honey I've always thought. I'm surprised nobody has done a proper cover of that one, syrupy orchestra and all.
I think the Pretenders' second album was really strong, but it had the misfortune of following an untoppable debut and the two most obvious singles had already appeared on an EP months earlier
Having something resembling discussion over on the R&B #1's thread overseen by @Grant, is what was basically the last hurrah for the legendary Philadelphia International label. And they couldn't have had something which, as some would say, was more dull than dishwater as this, to end their nearly dozen-year-long run with pretty much a whimper. It had been "in the can" for over a year (recorded some time in 1982, but some opined it sounded even older) when it either was released or had escaped (depending on one's P.O.V.) a few months before here. Its crossover was rather limited too - in spite of it hitting #1 on the R&B charts, it could only attain #46 here. Sort of like "quiet storm" on Prozac. I submit to you, "If Only You Knew" by Patti LaBelle (ex Patti LaBelle And The Bluebelles, ex Labelle of "Lady Marmalade" fame): The odd thing about it is, this one I do remember vividly from "back then." But we'd be hearing from this lass in other areas soon enough.
After "Back on the Chain Gang" peaked in both Canada & the USA at #5, I am surprised "Middle of the Road" failed to hit top 10 in both countries (#12 in Canada & #19 in USA); I think it is a great song still & it felt much, much bigger than I see it charted.
Yeah, their debut might be the greatest debut album by anyone, ever. It's certainly one of the finest albums of the era. A hard achievement to follow. Their sophomore album isn't bad, but it's not spectacular like that, either.
Well liked a lot of more alternative leaning bands, Pretenders weren't really a singles act. The only 80s alternative act who comes close to being one is a group from Ireland who'll really get massive in a few years but even for their stature don't have as many top ten hits as one would think with their pedigree. Alt has always been a more albums based genre than one that gives Michael Jackson volumes of pop hits.
Probably too rocking. Around this time, the Romantics had their biggest hit, Talking in Your Sleep; it reached 3 on the charts in early 1984. If anyone remembers those guys these days, it's for What I Like About You. But at the time that song wasn't nearly as big (peaked at just 49). I always figured that Sleep was more easily embraced by the charts because it was a more middle of the road, mellow cut, while Like really makes you want to get up and boogie. Not as acceptable for the radio, where a lot of people are listening in the office or on their commute? [Edit]: What do I know? Sleep has more than twice as many views on YouTube as WILAY. That's amazing to me. I swear I hear WILAY all the time, and haven't heard Sleep in years. Whatever, I still far prefer the older track!
I always loved “What I Like About You” an iconic 1980s tune featured in a bazillion beer commercials. Most people are shocked to find that tune never cracked the Top 40, especially given how ubiquitous it has become. “Talking in Your Sleep” did nothing for me. I’m shocked that it almost reached #1.
At least it ain't the Crystal Gayle song from a few years before - which could actually put you to sleep:
This is a song I've memorized every riff and run to, Patti was sanging. I thought it was a #1 hit, or atleast a Top 10. Still great though.
Judging by a lot of your comments, it seems many of you were in 6th grade during this time (1983-1984 school year).
While "What I Like About You" deserved higher than #49, I'm one of the rare few that thinks Talking In Your Sleep is better and glad it charted higher. That's one of those songs that just screams "eighties" when you hear it, like your suddenly imagine having big hair and everything
"What I Like About You" actually blew up in the '90s. I think it got picked up in some soundtracks, and it just fit the grunge ethos better, as well as the brief New Wave revival we got with bands like Elastica:
It was definitely a big deal around here (Hudson Valley , NY) in the 80's and as I began my DJ career in the mid 80's I grabbed an excellent sounding 12 inch single with "Talking In Your Sleep" on the flip which got me through many a gig. Another song that had a low chart showing but HUGE afterlife was Todd Rundgren's "Bang The Drum All Day". He was so upset at it's lack of chart success that he never bothered writing straight pop again (Of course he said the same thing 10 years earlier when "Couldn't I Just Tell You" suffered a similar fate)
I saw the video for "What I Like About You" for the first time in 1990, and I thought it was a new song then. I could hardly wait for it to bound up the top 40, as I was sure it would, at a time when I liked absolutely nothing that actually was in the top 40. No idea when I learned it was really about ten years old at the time, or how I missed it until then.
I like Talking In Your Sleep quite a bit (I even have the 12" single), but it is one of those songs that I don't think I have ever heard on the radio since its initial run.
I loved "Jump" when it was new, almost enough to save up my allowance and buy the album. I can't recall for sure why I didn't, but it might be because I was afraid of what my parents might say about an album with a baby holding a pack of cigarettes on the cover. (I was only 11, forget about getting it in the house without them knowing.) Oddly, I never have gotten around to buying it and I never really became more than a lukewarm fan of Van Halen in general. I still kind of like the song, though.
Man, did Pat Benatar bail on hard rock at the wrong time, although with that FAT synth lead I guess you could say this is a pretty pop-forward hard rock single. Still, Van Halen were a straight up hard rock outfit and were certainly an unexpected presence lodged at the top of the pop charts for weeks. If it hadn't been for a certain groundbreaking #1 later in the year this might have been the biggest single of 1984, and by kicking down the doors for heavy metal "Jump" had a huge influence both on what radio played and what MTV played for the remainder of the decade. You can pretty much trace the rise of hair metal later in the decade to February 19th, 1984. Van Halen weren't really my thing and I thought David Lee Roth was ridiculous - although sometimes that worked - but I thought "Jump" was alright. Slapping a big electronic keyboard lead like that onto a hard rock single was somewhat transgressive, but also very 1984. They sort of out-Foreignered Foreigner, and unlike Foreigner who possessed an entirely generic corporate presence, Van Halen was dripping with personality and attitude. In other words, they were tailor made for the MTV era, and 1984, the parent album of "Jump", became an utterly massive success, moving a whopping 10 million units back when that was an eye-popping number.
Just curious, do you consider VH to be heavy metal? I did when I was a kid, but not anymore. I don't know that I could quantify just what sets them apart from that genre, but something definitely does.
