This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1014.
1.4.5.: She Couldn't Say No
I think we all know I'm a big fan of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse The Flashcubes. But in 1980, when the 'Cubes ended their initial run, I didn't go into mourning. Guitarist Paul Armstrong had already exited the group the year before that, and while the remaining original trio of Gary Frenay, Arty Lenin, and Tommy Allen added guitarist Mick Walker to form a solid latter-day Flashcubes combo from '79 to '80, it wasn't quite the same to me. August of 1980 provided redemption, as amends were made and hatchets buried, and PA joined his former bandmates for a one-off reunion gig. More reunions would follow in later years.
Meanwhile, the end of The Flashcubes in 1980 gave me two new bands to love. Gary, Arty, and Tommy stuck together as a perfect pop group called Screen Test. And The Most, the group Paul and his then-girlfriend Dian Zain piloted through various line-ups in '79 and '80, became 1.4.5. when Zain departed in 1980. The Flashcubes had been Syracuse's greatest group; with Screen Test and 1.4.5. in 1980, Syracuse suddenly had two greatest groups.
I detailed much of this in my liner notes for The Flashcubes' Bright Lights and A Cellarful Of Boys, Screen Test's Inspired Humans Making Noise, and 1.4.5.'s 3 Chords & A Cloud Of Dust. My favorite 1.4.5. track remains "She Couldn't Say No," a confidently boppin' little number from their 1981 EP Pink Invasion.
HERB ALPERT & THE TIJUANA BRASS: Mexican Road Race
Each weekly episode of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio ends with a closing instrumental, as we back-announce the show's final set before declaring That's it! Adios! We're DONE! This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl! Our spin of "Mexican Road Race" in the sixth set (out of eight) during this week's show accidentally fooled some listeners into thinking the show was ending waaaaay early. That just means we oughtta play more instrumentals during the show instead of just at the end. We've played this track several times over the years, and it's my favorite Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass cut. Including it in this week's 10 Songs gives me a chance to prove that there are other Herb Alpert LP jackets in addition to that one that keeps finding its way onto my blog.
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| Yeah. That one. |
Merrilee Rush's 1968 hit "Angel Of The Morning" was one of my many favorite songs on the radio when I was a kid, and I secured my own copy of it in the '70s on an oldies compilation called You Must Remember These Volume II (a set that introduced me to the snarling appeal of "Little Girl" by The Syndicate Of Sound). I never cared for Juice Newton's 1981 cover, and didn't hear the 1967 original by Evie Sands until decades later. I now regard P. P. Arnold's matchless, soulful 1968 take as the definitive version.
JIM BASNIGHT: Best Lover In The World
In the '80s, Jim Basnight was in a fabulous punk-influenced pop group called The Moberlys. I came to The Moberlys well after the fact, but they've been a TIRnRR Fave Rave for years, and we dig much of Basnight's solo work, too. "Best Lover In The World" is from his 2019 album Not Changing, and the song received sufficient burn on our show to make it TIRnRR's second most-played track last year. Our most-played track was a cover of The Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset," recorded by some talented friends and supporters of the show (billed as TIR'N'RR Allstars), specifically to benefit whatever the hell it is we do. We loved "Waterloo Sunset"--obviously!--and pounded the console with great enthusiasm on its behalf and ours; there were a couple of shows where we played that track twice, and I think there may have been one show where we played it thee times. It was inevitable that would be our # 1 song for 2019.
And for all of that well-deserved pounding of "Waterloo Sunset," it's worth noting that it edged out "Best Lover In The World" for the top spot by a single play. I guess we like that Jim Basnight track a lot, too.
DEF LEPPARD: American Girl
In the early '80s, when I was a recent college graduate working at McDonald's and trying to figure out my own path forward, I devoured rock magazines, from CREEM to Trouser Press to the occasional U.K. tabloid like Melody Maker and New Musical Express. Between CREEM and those tabloids (and probably not including Trouser Press), I heard the phrase "New Wave of British Heavy Metal," and that's how I first heard of a band called Def Leppard. I was intrigued--I was investigating a lot of different sounds at the time--and I sorta-kinda embraced a Def Leppard song called "Let It Go," which was getting a little bit of play on the Rochester, NY area AOR stations in 1981. The winding, twirling guitar sound of "Let It Go" reminded me of Johnny Thunders for some incongruous reason that doesn't stand up to rational analysis. But Thunders was my guitar hero at the time, and if that's what I thought I heard, by God, I'm not gonna argue with the sometimes-surly 21-year-old version of myself.
I had closed my mind to Def Leppard by the time of Pyromania and "Photograph" and saturation MTV play in the mid '80s. Looking back, I realize that I should have given that stuff more of a fair shake; a lot of it's actually pretty good, and has aged better than anything else you could name from that genre at that time.
Flash forward to 2006, to Def Leppard's all-covers album Yeah! Yeah! includes the group's respectful and capable versions of ace classics by the likes of Badfinger, T. Rex, The Nerves, David Bowie, Sweet, Roxy Music, Electric Light Orchestra, and, of course, "Waterloo Sunset," albeit several years before TIR'N'RR Allstars. The album was recommended to me with great enthusiasm by no less a rock authority than Paul Armstrong.
But my favorite track from the Yeah! sessions was this wonderful non-album cover of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' "American Girl," issued only on an exclusive Yeah! bonus CD sold at Wal-Mart or something. Here, Def Leppard pulls off a magnificent cover of a song that was already perfect to begin with. Hell, I preferred it to Petty for a brief, misguided period, but no matter. It's great, and you need to hear it.
MICKY DOLENZ: Livin' On Lies
Micky Dolenz is one of the most underrated pop singers of the rock 'n' roll era. Everyone's heard the evidence of his commanding and endearing vocals on so many hits and album tracks with The Monkees, though relatively few have experienced many (or any) of his performances outside The Monkees' aegis. Dolenz hasn't really done as many solo recordings as you'd think he woulda, and I wish he'd do more. His 2012 album Remember includes a simply terrific track called "Many Years," which I first heard playing over the PA at a venue while I was waiting for The Monkees to perform, inspiring my inner and outer pop obsessive to proclaim, Must. HAVE!! In 2016, 7a Records released an expanded CD version of The MGM Singles, supplementing the previous vinyl edition's collection of Dolenz sides from the '70s with added treats. The delectables include a heavenly live two-for rendition of The Monkees' "Porpoise Song" and The Beatles' "Good Morning, Good Morning," plus "Chance Of A Lifetime" and "Livin' On Lies," two tracks Dolenz recorded some time in the '90s. Repeat after me: Must. HAVE!!
CAROLYNE MAS: Quote Goodbye Quote
Carolyne Mas was described at one point as "the female Bruce Springsteen," a comparison that isn't far off the mark but might not have done her any real favors at retail. Her first three albums--Carolyne Mas (1979), Hold On (1980), and Modern Dreams (1981), all originally on Mercury Records--have just been reissued by Renaissance Records, and I've already bought this one with intent to add the others. It's a very good record, and Mas is worthy of much wider acclaim. "Quote Goodbye Quote" is my Pick Hit, then and now.
MARYKATE O'NEIL: I'm Ready For My Luck To Turn Around
We play the hits. I exhumed this delightful 2006 track for TIRnRR # 1012 on 2/9/2020, and included it in 10 Songs: 2/11/2020, making this the first of many forthcoming repeat tracks in the sprawling and unfolding saga of 10 Songs. You're a witness to history, my friend. An enthused listener heard the song for the first time on a playback of # 1012, prompting me to play it again last week. The fact that its hooks have by now resumed their entrenched grip on my consciousness prompted me to play it yet again this week. It's destined for more airplay throughout 2020. I'm ready for my luck to turn around. Words to live by.
THE POLICE: Roxanne
When I was managing a record store circa 1986, one of my clerks was horrified by my indifference to The Police. I had liked the band initially, around the time of their first two albums in the late '70s, but found myself losing interest in them as they became (to my taste) increasingly...mainstream? I guess. I wasn't trying to be hipper than the crowd, honest; it was just that I preferred their earlier records. I appreciate some of their bigger hits a bit more now than I did then, though I'm pretty sure I'll always detest that damned stalker song, "Every Breath You Take."
In contrast, I very much liked "Message In A Bottle," and I freakin' adored "Roxanne," which I considered the coolest song on pop radio in 1979. Don't think I'll ever get tired of that one.
DONNA SUMMER: I Feel Love
In 1977, Brian Eno told Bowie that Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" was the sound of the future. In that year of potential musical revolution, a year of important and transcendent releases by The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, and Television, Eno was still probably right. An amazing single.
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This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.
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