Monday, November 30, 2015

"Anna Lee (Sweetheart of the Sun)" by The Bangles

It is hard to think of the 80s without having The Bangles come to mind. They dominated the charts with numerous hits like "Manic Monday" (#2, 1986), "Walk Like An Egyptian" (#1, 1986), "In Your Room" (#5, 1988) and "Eternal Flame" (#1, 1989). But by the end of the decade, turmoil had set in and the girls parted ways. Susanna Hoffs launched a solo career, which probably would have been more successful had it not come at a time when grunge was chopping off the head of any song that made you smile.

Time heals wounds, so The Bangles eventually got back together and released two more albums, "Doll Revolution" in 2003 and "Sweetheart of the Sun" in 2011. While the latter was only three fourths of the band (Michael Steele sat this one out), it marked a return to the Billboard Top 200, landing at #148.

The title track is a wonderful return to form and should have put The Bangles back in the Top 10.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

"Laredo" by Band of Horses

Band of Horses is a sublime modern rock/folk band that strives for melody and harmony, so obviously they aren't going to have any songs charting on the Billboard Top 100. However, they have scored on the album chart and other specialized charts. "Laredo" is from their breakthrough 2010 release, "Infinite Arms", which managed to go all the way to #7 on the Billboard Top 200. "Laredo" was also recognized by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top 50 songs of that year. 

Friday, November 27, 2015

"Goodbye Forever" by Balaam And The Angel

Balaam and The Angel was an underrated trio of brothers from Scotland who blended melodic rock with a touch of goth, kind of like The Cult. They should have risen to greater heights in the US during the late 80s, but their biggest album, "Live Free Or Die" only made it to #174, propelled by the underground hit (meaning that it failed to chart), "I Love The Things That You Do To Me".

Their follow-up record didn't even chart in the US, but contained plenty more hard rock and pop anthems, such as this one - "Goodbye Forever":

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

"Don't Let Me Hide" by The Badlees

The Badlees were a folk rock band from Pennsylvania poised to hit the big time in the mid-90s with their acclaimed release, "River Songs". Their sound fit comfortably alongside other popular artists of the time, such as Counting Crows, Edwin McCain, and Shawn Mullins.

Excitement surrounded their long-awaited follow-up, "Up There, Down Here", which didn't arrive until 1999 due to record label problems.


  
"Don't Let Me Hide", the lead-off single, should have secured this band a bigger place in music history, but it failed to chart.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

"I'm Through Loving You" by Balance

Balance was an AOR band that released a single, self-titled album in 1981. The band featured Peppy Castro (Blues Magoos) on vocals and Bob Kulick (brother of Bruce Kulick from Kiss) on guitar. The trio was rounded out by Doug Katsaros on keyboards. 

The band scored one top 40 hit with "Breaking Away", which climbed to #22 in the summer of 1981. The follow-up tune, "Falling In Love", only got to #58.
The only album from the band called Balance reached #133 on the Billboard Top 200.
Fans of 80s pop-rock and AOR should enjoy a lot of the other songs on this underrated release. My favorite is the upbeat rocker, "I'm Through Loving You".

Saturday, November 21, 2015

"Straight To Your Heart" by Bad English

Bad English is a reunion of sorts for the classic rock outfit, The Babys, who we recently featured earlier this week. The lineup features lead singer John Waite, keyboardist Jonathan Cain (Journey), and bassist Ricky Phillips, all who played on the Babys album, "On The Edge". Rounding out Bad English were guitarist Neil Schon (Journey) and drummer Deen Castronovo (who would later join Cain and Schon in a Steve Perry-less Journey).

Their self-titled debut album was a big success, spawning the #1 smash, "When I See You Smile", and several other hits. The follow-up record was plagued by internal grumblings that the band's sound was gravitating too close to the "pop" end of the spectrum, away from the "rock" end. The band broke up before mixing of the record was complete, pretty much sealing the record's fate.


"Backlash" was the 1991 sophomore effort from supergroup Bad English.
Nevertheless, "Backlash" reached #72 on the Billboard Top 200 and its lone single almost cracked the top 40 (stalling at #42). It is one of the stronger cuts off this inconsistent album, arguably one of the catchiest rockers the band composed.


Thursday, November 19, 2015

"Little Angel" by Bad Company

There aren't too many bands willing or able to move forward after the lead singer decides to leave. Many people probably figured Bad Company was done with the departure of Paul Rodgers in 1982 after six albums, but the band experienced a rebirth with the addition of new vocalist, Brain Howe. Howe used to sing for Ted Nugent but joined forces with original Bad Company members Mike Ralphs and Simon Kirke in 1985. By then, Rodgers was busy singing with The Firm. 

"Fame and Fortune" was the first record with Howe, which failed to generate any major action on the charts. Filled with keyboards to play to 80s trends, the sound was quite askew from the guitar-driven work that fans were expecting. But by the next album, "Dangerous Age", this new version of Bad Company was attracting a new fanbase comprised of melodic rockers falling in love with the remarkable range of Brian Howe.

"Holy Water" (1990) would be the watershed moment for the Brian Howe-era Bad Company. Howe wrote most of the album and it catered to the popular hairband arena rock of the day. "Holy Water" did a number on the charts and marked a huge comeback for the band.

The follow-up record, Howe's last with Bad Company, was released in 1992. While it didn't match the stunning success of "Holy Water", "Here Comes Trouble" did rather well given the dynamic music scene at the time. 

"Here Comes Trouble" reached #40 on the Billboard Top 200 and went gold.
The first single, the excellent "How About That", got to #38, but the power ballad follow-up, "This Could Be The One", died out at #87. "Little Angel" is a catchy mid-tempo rocker that probably would have done well if released a couple years earlier.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

"Postcard" by The Babys

Despite a handful of minor hits in the late 70s, classic rock outfit The Babys remains generally underrated. The band "gave birth" to several notable careers in melodic rock:  lead singer John Waite had a solid solo career in the 80s and keyboardist extraordinaire Jonathan Cain (who joined the band in 1979) took to Journey. Those two plus another former member of The Babys, bassist Ricky Phillips, would hit the charts in a big way once again as Bad English in the late 80s.

The Babys released 5 studio albums in their hey day, with "On The Edge" being their last. The album marked a shift from classic rock to melodic rock more fitting to the emerging 80s sound.
"On The Edge" was released in 1980 and went to #71 on the Billboard Top 200.
"On The Edge" only generated one charting single, "Turn And Walk Away", which went to #42. Seems a fitting epitaph for the band, which broke up after this release. An unnoticed cut from this album that I thought deserved better is "Postcard" - check it out.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

"Romanticide" by Tal Bachman

It's not surprising that the son of Randy Bachman, from legendary bands The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, would also prove to be a talented singer and songwriter. What is surprising is that he only had one major hit, 1999's "She's So High", which got to #14 on the Billboard Top 100.


Tal Bachman's smash hit "She's So High" was the lead single from his debut album.
Follow-up singles "If You Sleep" and "Strong Enough" failed to chart in the US, effectively making Tal Bachman a one-hit wonder. To my ear, these are two of the weaker songs on the record.

"She's So High" was sufficient to propel his album to #124 on the Billboard Top 200, but I can't help but wonder if greater success could have been attained if the catchy pop rock tune, "Romanticide" would have been released as a follow-up single instead.

 

Other notable cuts from this record include "Darker Side of Blue" and "Looks Like Rain". Tal Bachman released a little-known sophomore effort in 2004 called, "Staring Down The Sun". 

Saturday, November 7, 2015

"Painless" by Baby Animals

Despite extraordinary success in their native Australia, the hard rock band Baby Animals couldn't catch a break in the US during the tumultuous music scene of the early 90s. 

"Painless" is a puzzle. It is a terrific song that should have fit comfortably into rock, grunge, or pop - it is crazy that it didn't create a buzz like similar songs such as "Joey" by Concrete Blonde.


Monday, November 2, 2015

"That's The Stuff" by Autograph

80s rockers Autograph are best known for their epic ode to music, "Turn Up The Radio", which went to #29 in 1984. Thanks to the success of this single, their debut album, "Sign In Please", went gold and - strangely enough - also went to #29 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart.

The band's follow-up record, "That's The Stuff", was filled with more anthems and feel-good rockers, but fell short. The album only reached #92 and failed to generate a charting single.


After the first single, "Blondes In Black Cars", bombed, the band released the far superior title track. Now this is a song that should have cleaned up the charts in 1986.