Of course thread notifications would mysteriously stop right when the thread starts picking up some serious speed... Catching up: Who's That Girl? Naysay all you like; I still love this song! I don't view it as La Isla Bonita-lite so much as an alternate song from a similar stylistic well, and don't push me too far or I might start suggesting I could even prefer Who's That Girl? to La Isla Bonita (there are days...). I quite enjoyed the movie, but I was also ten years old so don't judge me too harshly. Haven't seen it since the '80s, so I can only imagine what I'd think of it today. The soundtrack was a big disappointment to me at the time - I really didn't care about anything other than the four Madonna tracks. A couple of other tracks grew on me, but nobody ever needs to hear El Coco Loco again. Who's That Girl? and True Blue were the only #1 Madonna songs not to make it onto The Immaculate Collection, but they were both included on the contemporaneous The Holiday Collection EP, along with a remix of Causing A Commotion and the album version of Holiday. The EP was like a "here are the ones we couldn't fit on The Immaculate Collection's one CD" release. La Bamba Meh. It was huge and got played ALL THE TIME, and I remember the movie being everywhere, but I never cared about the song and never saw the movie. Nothing has changed. I Just Can't Stop Loving You I've always quite liked this song. It's not top-tier MJ, but it's perfectly enjoyable and catchy - once you remove the spoken intro, that is. I've always found it patently absurd any time MJ tried to position himself as a lover or an object of desire - he always seemed entirely sexless to me. And as mentioned earlier, he was so incapable of irony that he always seemed to believe in his image of himself rather than adding any hint of a wink of self awareness. Siedah Garrett makes almost no impression on the song, and enjoyable as it is it's a bit of a weak lead single - I actually don't remember it being a single at all; in my recollection, the title track was the lead single from Bad. And just a shout-out to the mention of Randy Crawford and One Day I'll Fly Away - phenomenal singer and song (although I wouldn't consider it disco at all).
The thing about The Bee Gees is that they were chameleons from the get go, with one foot in R&B and the other in country until their famous reimagining in 1975. In fact, “To Love Somebody” was written specifically for Otis Redding but he never got the chance to record it. Nowadays their late 70’s output has been properly reappraised and considered classic but they suffered from a case of making it “too big” and were relegated to writing hits for other artists after the disco collapse and STILL scored number ones. True, the US wasn’t ready to embrace them again in 1987 but it was hardly their fault. Brilliant band
are there still number one records these days? i've been out of the loop. i would imagine though that the numbers needed to hit that vaunted top spot today, would rival the numbers it once took to be "big in benelux" - back in the day lol
The Bee Gees had a great run - two great runs, in fact. But, their time was over…like most music groups.
Now for the next topper . . . #638 (21st of 1987): "Didn't We Almost Have It All" by Whitney Houston (#1 for 2 weeks - September 26-October 3, 1987) Like with Ms. Houston's prior #1, the powers that be over at her label used the contents of her prior album as a template to fashion songs for her current one. In this case, what this seemed drawn from, arrangement-, tempo- and feel-wise, was "All At Once." This was an across-the-board Number One here, also making Cash Box' and Radio & Records' top spots. Over in the UK, its performance was considerably more underwhelming: #13 in NME, #16 in Melody Maker - and #14 on the "official" singles chart then compiled by Gallup. Meanwhile, in this song's second and final week atop the Hot 100, over in the UK appearing in the top spot was a number that, early the next year, will make the Top 20 of the Hot 100. When we get there, we'll get there.
Didn't We Almost Have It All Yes, it's formulaic and by the numbers, but at the end of the day the vocal performance elevates the song to be more than the sum of its parts, and Whitney could do no wrong at this point. Although that was about to come to an end...
That ESP album is fantastic. But it seemed no one in the US, including me, knew it then. They were my favorite band since 1975 so I was thrilled to see them come back with a new album. But it was just so different I couldn’t warm up to it. It took me many years before I realized how good it was. Really a shame the US never really embraced them again, though they would enjoy an occasional hit from time to time. Glad to see it mentioned as it’s a whole lot better than some other tracks popping up lately. Especially Michael’s latest! Never liked that one at all, though I do enjoy the bulk of the album.
‘Didn’t We Almost Have It All’: like others have said, this was a really calculated release and a very formulaic song, lyrically and how it is arranged. However, Whitney’s vocal manages to lift it and make it something a little more interesting. This one did not even make the top 20 here (it peaked at 27), which is a little odd considering her previous smash hit number one single. In Australia however, it often happened that people would rush out and buy the album of a really hot artist and all subsequent singles would falter as people already had the album. I always found it strange that they went with the live performance for the video. I like it but in 1987, a big star like Whitney would usually have professional video clips made for at least the first three singles. I bought it and still have the 7 inch single with picture sleeve.
Didn't We Almost Have it All - I still have my copy with the picture sleeve, the only Whitney Houston record I ever bought. It's one of the few songs of this era that I like and my eighties-loving wife doesn't. She thinks it's cheesy. I think it's a damn sight less cheesy than most hits of the time, and it tells a story that manages to be vivid while also leaving plenty of blanks for the listener to fill in. I'm not sure just what "it" was that they kept almost losing all those nights, for example, but I do know what it's like to have a relationship that just doesn't quite work, but the good times make you glad you tried. This does a great job of evoking that feeling.
Unpopular opinion: of the two notable remakes of "Dancing in the Street" to come out of the 80s, I actually like Bowie and Jagger's version more than Van Halen's, which as far as I'm concerned is pretty boring. I will always have a soft spot for "Jump" especially considering, as I learned through the power of the Internet, that it was released on my birthday (21 Dec 1983) - and I also agree with this assessment and that it became a #1 hit on its own merits, as shown by the fact that, as you and others have mentioned, they had multiple other top 40 hits and had even been in the top 20 twice prior to "Jump". On topic, as far as "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" - cheesy, very cheesy, right down to the way the music cuts out for a fraction of a second right after the word "stop" in the chorus. All of Siedah's moans are likewise cheesy and unnecessary. It's not an offensive song and has a catchy chorus melody, but it just seems rather generic and, to repeat myself, cheesy. (What can I say? I'm from Wisconsin so cheese is always on my mind I guess. ) I think there's a different song with a one-word title that should have been the lead single from Bad, as a forceful way of telling the world "I'm back, punks" - but it is also a future #1 so I won't name the song I'm referring to... "Didn't We Almost Have It All" - good vocal performance from Whitney but as others have said, as a whole formulaic. I prefer upbeat Whitney anyway - "How Will I Know" from two years ago is definitely a strong #2 in my ranking of her 80s singles, my #1 being another future #1 hit from this same album of hers.
That's the only Bananarama song I ever liked! Coincidentally, I just bought an "expanded" CD edition of the album the other day because it includes the 12" "Horoscope" mix - same one I had on vinyl. There's a 2-CD, 1-DVD deluxe of "Wow!" but it's OOP and semi-pricey on the 2ndary market. I thought I'd have to get it for the 12" "Rumour" but found the much cheaper expanded CD the other day!
Whitney Houston had a great voice, but it was always so loud and overwrought that it just fatigued me. There's no nuance, shading or emotion, her songs are singing exhibitions that, while impressive technically, I can only take for so long. Also her ballads are all cut from the same cloth. "Didn't We Almost Have It All" is a case in point. The singing is great, the song is boring. It also becomes very shouty by the end, and I need it to be over.
There was another singer of a decade later (no further details until we get to the point in question), about whom it was said, and it seems to fit in Ms. Houston's case as well, that she didn't sing so much as upholster a song.
Didn't We Almost Have It All A bit pyrotechnical, all dazzle, little detail. The vocal is impressive, but quite a bit shouty as it was aptly described by someone above.
I don't even think the tune is all that. The chorus is alright but the verses are forgettable. Yeah, this is when she went full air raid siren. It was certainly attention-getting, but it wasn't particularly enjoyable to me. We're verging into "Don't Cry Out Loud" territory here. Except the tune isn't as memorable.
It’s just not much of a song. I like Whitney’s vocals but it’s not a case where the vocals elevate a mediocre song.
I was curious how much she performed this song and the answer is not much after her Whitney tour. Seems like she was meh about it too. Didn't We Almost Have It All by Whitney Houston Song Statistics | setlist.fm
Whitney Houston - Didn't We Almost Have It All This is where I lose interest. Great voice, but generic ballad. 2/5
Meanwhile, peaking at #10 in the last week of 'DWAHIA's' run at the top was the last time Smokey Robinson would see the inside of same - with "One Heartbeat": That and "Just To See Her" - plus "Being With You" and to a lesser extent "Cruisin' " - are the only Smokey songs that they play on the radio these days. Most don't hold a candle to his classic sides with The Miracles.
Agreed that these aren't absolute vintage Smokey, but I really enjoyed his 80's run of songs, particularly "Cruisin' ".
