“Slipping Through My Fingers” by ABBA

Everyone knows ABBA and can probably even sing every word to their monster hits like “Dancing Queen”, “SOS”, and “Mamma Mia”. The group consisted of two couples:  Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus, and Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (incidentally, the initials of their first names is where the moniker “ABBA” originated).

The band cranked out hit after hit from 1974 to 1982. The final ABBA single to chart in the US was 1982’s “The Visitors” – it only went to #63 and was the title track of their last studio album together.

While their songs were always catchy and danceable, the lyrics on the last couple records were getting more sophisticated and often heart wrenching, as the band members wrote about their divorces in song (listen to “The Winner Takes It All”).

Another prime example of their more emotive songwriting can be heard in one of my favorite underplayed ABBA tracks from “The Visitors” called, “Slipping Through My Fingers”.

As you can read in the lyrics below, this song sees Fältskog lamenting how quickly her daughter is growing up, and how many of the things she planned to do together are just slipping away with the ages. The song was written for her daughter Linda, who was seven at the time.

“Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning

Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile

I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness

And I have to sit down for a while

The feeling that I'm losing her forever

And without really entering her world

I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter

That funny little girl…

Slipping through my fingers all the time

Do I really see what's in her mind

Each time I think I'm close to knowing

She keeps on growing

Slipping through my fingers all the time”

The song gets me every time!

Despite numerous attractive offers for a reunion, “The Visitors” was all she wrote for the band ABBA. However, Lyngstad would resurface as Frida with the hit, “I Know There’s Something Going On”, which went to #13 late in 1982. Do you recognize those drums? They sound a lot like what you hear at the end of “In The Air Tonight”, don’t they? That’s because Phil Collins produced and drummed on the record…listen carefully and you’ll hear his backing vocals, too.

1927 “…ish”

A number of Aussie bands from “down under” managed to hit it big in the US in the 80s, such as INXS and Men At Work. 1927 is another Australian band that deserved better than to have their sublime single “That’s When I Think Of You” just barely scratch the Billboard Top 100 (peaking at #100).

The debut album from the band 1927 entitled, "...ish".

This entire record is filled with fantastic 80s melodic pop with exceptional lyrics, but I’ll highlight just two tracks I consider to be among the best: 1) “You’ll Never Know” and 2) “Propaganda Machine”, arguably the catchiest song ever written about politics!

If you long for the days of synth-driven pop rock the likes of Icehouse, Toto, and A-ha, do yourself a favor and track down “…ish” from 1927. Their follow-up record, “The Other Side” is also good, but not as masterful as their debut.

Some trivia:  Remember the 1981 hit “What About Me?” by Moving Pictures? That song was co-written by Garry Frost when he was in that band. Later on, he became a member of 1927 with his brother Bill, and wrote a number of their songs.

“Can’t Hold Back” by 707

707 is an AOR band that made a small dent on the charts in the early 80s but never reached the popularity of their brethren, Journey and Styx. They got off to a promising start with their debut single, “I Could Be Good For You”, which went to #52 on the charts in 1980.

The second hit remained elusive, though, and by the third record the group decided to stop dividing vocalist duties and stick with one guy, Kevin Chalfant.

The third album by 707 was called “Mega Force”, the title track of which was written for a 1982 movie.

While “Mega Force” is a solid anthem for an action film, the stand out track for me is the brilliant pop rocker, “Can’t Hold Back”.

“Can’t Hold Back” features a driving verse that leads headlong into a memorable chorus with bouncy keyboards. A wild guitar solo during the instrumental break provides the last requirement needed for AOR perfection.

Despite some promising signs, including a chart appearance for the track “Mega Force” and tours with the likes of the Scorpions and REO Speedwagon, the members of 707 went their separate ways. Kevin Chalfant joined Steel Breeze and then resurfaced on the charts in 1991 with a new band called The Storm (remember their hit, “I’ve Got A Lot To Learn About Love”?)

“Inside Your Head” by 40 Ft. Ringo

From the ashes of the “hair band” Trixter (remember 1990’s “Give It To Me Good”?), Steve Brown and PJ Farley carried on together to form 40 Ft. Ringo. 40 Ft. Ringo had an updated sound, more like SR-71 and American Hi-Fi. The guys set out to make “hard pop that rocks for a good time”.

“Funny Thing” is the only full-length album by 40 Ft. Ringo, founded by two members of Trixter.

The self-titled record is packed with upbeat catchy rock tunes, but the standout track for me is “Inside Your Head”.

You can’t help but want to sing along to the chorus of this energetic rocker. It should have fit easily on the airwaves of 2004 radio, but for some reason the song never caught fire. 40 Ft. Ringo deserved better. Could it have been the name? Steve Brown addressed where the odd name came from in an interview with Rock United:

“It comes from my good bud, Mark Helbock, who went to see the Beatles anthology in a movie theater. There was a close up of Ringo he laughed and said..." wow, a 40FT. RINGO ". He told me the story and I said, ‘what a great name for a band’... and there you have it.”

To the delight of fans, Trixter has reunited, producing two new records for the Frontiers label, “New Audio Machine” (2012) and “Human Era” (2015). Steve Brown also filled in for Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell when he underwent his cancer treatments. 

“Midnight Magic” by 38 Special

Formed as a Southern rock back in the 1970s, 38 Special is best known for their early 80s guitar-driven hits “Hold On Loosely” and “Caught Up In You”. By the mid-80s, the band had incorporated more keyboards into their sound, culminating with their biggest hit, “Second Chance”, which went all the way to #6 on the Billboard Top 100.

“Second Chance” marked a huge comeback for the band, but the 1988 record from which it came, “Rock & Roll Strategy”, topped out at #61 on the album chart – making it their worst performing album since their 1977 debut.  Interestingly, the lead off single (the title track) and the follow up single, “Comin’ Down Tonight”, both stalled at the same position (#67) on the charts.

Going back to this fine record, it is hard to figure out why it didn't perform better. Maybe they just didn’t release the right singles. There are some excellent deep tracks on “Rock & Roll Strategy” for fans of 80s melodic rock. One of my favorites is “Midnight Magic”, a sappy but sweet mid-tempo love song with an irresistible chorus.

The 1991 follow-up record was “Bone Against Steel”, which featured a top 40 hit in “The Sound Of Your Voice”, yet this album fared even worse, stalling at #170.

Some fun trivia:  What long-time collaborator helped write several of 38 Special’s biggest hits, including “Caught Up In You”, “Hold On Loosely”, “Rockin’ Into The Night”, and “The Sound Of Your Voice”? Hint: He was co-founder of another very successful melodic rock act in the 80s whose two biggest hits were written for movies.

The answer is here.

Some more 38 Special trivia:  Can you guess the two backing vocalists on the chorus of “Tear It Up” from “Bone Against Steel”? Hint: These two might be good “company” at “night”.

Answer 1.

Answer 2.

“Cellophane” by 7th Heaven

7^th Heaven is a modern melodic rock band hailing from Chicago, who sounds more like Def Leppard than Def Leppard these days. “Cellophane” is my favorite cut from their 2008 release, “U.S.A.-U.K.”.

There’s a lot more where that came from on this record – packed to the gills with a whopping 18 tracks, it will appease any fan who can’t get enough AOR. 

“Ceremony” by 4 Way Street

Many people are familiar with the acclaimed live album, “4 Way Street”, by folk supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. But you might not be aware of another supergroup of singer-songwriters who were based in Philadelphia and named their band after this CSNY album.

 2003’s “Pretzel Park” is the only album released by Philly-based group 4 Way Street.

4 Way Street marked the convergence of Scott Bricklin, Ben Arnold, Joseph Parsons, and Jim Boggia. While each member is a notable talent in his own right, this collaboration produced a magical chemistry that is hard to find in the music world. Emulating their inspiration, this record boasts no-nonsense songwriting that focuses on melodies and harmonies.

The standout track for me is “Ceremony”, which features lead vocals by Parsons and first appeared on his 1998 solo record, “5am”. This is a haunting yet beautiful song with an inescapable melody made even better with sublime backing vocals.

From the uplifting opener, “Change Gonna Come”, to the sparse eloquence of the closing track, “Barbed Wire”, the record is perfect for a lazy Sunday morning. You also might recognize Jim Boggia’s excellent song, “Several Thousand”, which was on the TV show Men in Trees and later covered by American Idol contestant Constantine Maroulis on his self-titled debut record in 2007.

While some members went back to solo careers, others in the group stayed together to form US Rails.

4 Reasons Unknown “4 Reasons Unknown”

For reasons unknown, I really like this record – it is one of my biggest guilty pleasures. This is a band from Dallas who won a contest on MTV called “Basement Tapes” in 1986, the prize of which was a record deal. Major label Epic released the band’s one and only album in 1988, this self-titled effort:

4 Reasons Unknown played quintessential 80s music. Melodic pop that is synth heavy with guitar licks peppered in for good measure. Bands like this were a dime a dozen at the time, but 4 Reasons Unknown wrote really catchy tunes often drenched in gorgeous harmony vocals. I would compare them to Richard Marx, Johnny Hates Jazz, or Mr. Mister...and they should have reached the same level of success.

While Paul Nugent handled most of the vocal duties, the group also boasted a recognizable baritone, singing like Brad Roberts from Crash Test Dummies before it was cool. My favorite song on the CD, “Love Parade”, is actually a duet between the two singers.

Epic foot the bill for a music video in support of the record, a tasty slice of melodic pop called “I Will Surrender”.

Another great cut is the melancholy ballad, “Does Anybody (Need Anyone Anymore)”. Packed with tunes that were just as good or better than what was on the radio at the time, it is really surprising this record just fizzled and died.

For the curious, here is the song, “Visual Signs”, that won the band the “MTV Basement Tapes” contest – complete with Martha Quinn’s introduction! (This song did not make the record).

Another fun piece of trivia:  which hard rock band from Boston did they just barely defeat to win the contest? Hint: they went on to score a huge #1 hit in 1991.

The answer is here.

"You Got What It Takes" by 2 Die 4

It was really easy for a band to fall between the cracks in the uncertain musical landscape of 1992. Hair bands were going gray fast and a few Seattle bands were unleashing a new sound called grunge that was rapidly taking over the airwaves.

2 Die 4 was a band from Oxfordshire that is really hard to describe. Best classified as a hard rock band (they did open for W.A.S.P.), their look was somewhere between Poison and Trixter, but their lyrics contained a bit more depth than your average hair band. Their Prince-like name and odd album cover probably didn't do them any favors either.

The one and only record released by "2 Die 4" in 1992.

Back in 1992, MTV still played music videos, and if you stayed up late you might have heard this infectious gem called "You Got What It Takes".

The song and consequently the album didn't get any traction, but "You Got What It Takes" sticks in my head all day long if I happen to hear it. "Sorry I Broke Your Smile" is another great cut, more of a mid-tempo rocker. Other highlights include the rock anthem "Living For The Moment" (check out the Kiss-inspired gang vocal on the chorus) and the power ballad "How Can You Believe In Love".

2 Die 4 was probably just a day late to the melodic hard rock party of the late 80s.

About this site...coming soon!

So many songs, so little time! With the level of competition that is out there, a lot of incredible music doesn't find its way into as many ears as it should. Our goal is to give those overlooked songs a second chance.

I'm going through my personal record collection to do just that, and I'll also be highlighting new stuff I hear along the way. But what I hope makes this site unique is your participation. Send me your favorite overlooked albums/songs - tell me why you love them so much and I may include your finds on "Off The Charts".

And for you budding musicians, I want to hear the best song you've ever written. If it is truly outstanding, I may feature it here as well!

See instructions for suggestions and submissions on the sidebar. 

Let's start digging...