"Life Goes On" by Andy Taylor

Best known for his role as guitarist in Duran Duran and Power Station, Andy Taylor released a couple of solo albums in the late 80s, "Thunder" and "Dangerous." However, no songs from those albums hit the US charts. Prior to their release, Taylor scored two minor hits in 1986 from film: "Take It Easy" from American Anthem went to #24 and "When The Rain Comes Down" from Miami Vice reached #73. 

"Life Goes On" is a highlight from his 1987 record, "Thunder," that deserved greater attention.

"Too Much Information" by Duran Duran

Duran Duran had an amazing run through the 80s, ranking as the 19th best artist of the decade according to Top Pop Singles. They had two number ones in their hey day, "The Reflex" from 1984 and "A View To A Kill" in 1985. They also had a lot of near-misses, such as "Hungry Like The Wolf" (#3), "The Wild Boys" (#2), and "Notorious" (#2).

By 1993, it seemed things had cooled off the band as their last top 40 appearance was 1988's "All She Wants Is", which topped out at #22. But their self-titled comeback record proved the band still had some gas left in the tank. The so-called "Wedding Album" returned the band to the top 10 on the album chart, reaching #7 - Duran Duran's last top 10 record before that was 1984's "Arena".

The "Wedding Album" also gave the band two more top 10 hits: the extraordinary "Ordinary World" soared to #3 and "Come Undone" to #7. "Too Much Information", however, only hit #45 but it is one of my favorites from the band. Raging about the media and the perils of consumerism is not typical Duran Duran territory, but they pull it off with angst and grace. Makes me wish Duran Duran rocked like this more often.