Haircut 100 are back!

1982, the year Status Quo named an album after it it was that cool with all sorts of music from Post Punk via Funk and New Romantics to Heavy Metal vying for your wallet and chart positions, a World Cup like this week and a conflict thankfully won in the South Atlantic.

 Was it really all those years ago the original chapter of Haircut One Hundred beamed briefly yet brightly not to be seen after October as we followed the solo fortunes of Nick Heyward?

Haircut 100 achieved the kind of success that they could have only dreamed of: four UK Top 10 hits, all of which were definitive '80s classics - 'Love Plus One', 'Fantastic Day', 'Favourite Shirts (Boys Meets Girl)' and 'Nobody's Fool' - followed by a debut album, 'Pelican West', which peaked at #2 during an eleven week run in the Top 10, in the process reaching Platinum status.

I remember well tuning in on Radio One for the premiering of that album and been amazed at the musicianship, tight, mainly recorded live to digital tape performances and, not for the first time, going with the influences of the girls I knew for tips on hot musical acts.

That was 42 years ago and where have those heady years gone? 

But now after a lengthy absence, Haircut One Hundred are back fuelled by the power of friendship, a love of adventure, and the simple joy of seeing wherever their unexpected next chapter will take them. 

Their return now gathers pace after releasing their first new music in 40 years with the new single 'The Unloving Plum', more new music and this album in released last Friday.

An advantage of sorts is having this long for a reunion is following on a few years ago from the release of a BBC concert recording from 1982, this their new album is on vinyl too and cheaper than many other new releases.

'The Unloving Plum' sparkles with the exuberant joy of a band loving what they do. The joyous, brass-assisted, instantly unforgettable pop that they're best known for is still their most compelling trait, but it's a natural evolution that takes in touches of jangly, Beatles-esque pop and an anthemic Britpop-flavoured power. 

While vocalist/guitarist Nick Heyward explains what it means to him, it also speaks to the universal experience of something great in life emerging from what you initially thought was the worst possible outcome.

Musically this album follows a similar freespirit jazz-funk lead feel as that debut filtered though a pop presentation, mature pop without being too pretentious, easy to hum along or start moving to but having substance.

Playing it was a blast!

This has been something I've been so looking forward to.

Now Vault 1982

Now it has warmed up a little  we'll resume on a series of entries from 2024.

In June 2024 Now launched a sub series VAULTS, which aims to cover minor hits of the sort that tended to pad out our Ronco and K Tel sets as much as we may of preferred some of them to the big hits back in the day and also American Hits which unless someone did a American Hit compilation you didn't get so I'd buy the 45's where available.

Issued Friday 16 January, it follows the broad theme of things that for all the music industry talk didn't trouble the top 30 and american hits that weren't in the UK (and should of been I'd add).

Opening the set on disc 1 we have the era-defining style with ‘The Hanging Garden’ from The Cure, taken from their album ‘Pornography’, and Bauhaus with ‘Spirit’ ahead of the collaboration ‘Bamboo Houses’ from David Sylvian & Ryuichi Sakamoto. 

A single in the U.S., ‘Secret Journey’ from The Police comes ahead of ‘Athena’ from The Who, and ‘Valerie’ from Steve Winwood – which would be a bigger hit when remixed five years later and closing the first side a beautiful song – ‘Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)’ from Elton John.

Flipping to side two we have a run of new wave and post-punk gems including from Elvis Costello, The Clash, Theatre Of Hate and Gang Of Four. Melancholic pop from The Teardrop Explodes leads to disc 1's  closers from Mike Oldfield, and a classic ‘Tug Of War’ by Paul McCartney from the album of the same name.

Disc 2 kicks off with a run of pure pop: Culture Club’s ‘I’m Afraid Of Me’ was the single before their #1 breakthrough, and is joined by Spandau Ballet, Level 42, Bananarama and Toyah with a re-recording of her 1980 anthem ‘Ieya’. 

A trio of synth-pop essentials closes the side: Visage with ‘Pleasure Boys’ their third single in 1982, Blancmange with ‘Feel Me’ – their second single, (the next would be their Top 10 breakthrough) and ‘Flowers’ by singer-songwriter Zaine Griff – produced by Hans Zimmer and featuring unmistakable backing vocals by Kate Bush. 

Flipping over the side sees the fusions of Electronic Music with hip hop and disco celebrated, opening with three huge tracks: ‘Planet Rock’ from Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force, the floor-filling ‘Loopzilla’ from George Clinton and ‘Let It Whip’ a Top 5 U.S. smash from the Dazz Band – ’82 R&B from Aretha Franklin leads into retro-influenced pop from Mari Wilson and a jazz-influenced club classic from Blue Rondo A La Turk. The LP finishes with Imagination who created one of 1982’s essential albums with ‘In The Heat Of The Night’, from which this title track was taken as a single.

The concluding disc celebrates what was happening in the U.S. in 1982 on its first side. ‘Atlantic City’ from Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska’ leads, ahead of huge stars Billy Joel and John Mellencamp. 

1982 would be the year that Daryl Hall & John Oates broke through in the UK with two Top 10 hits – but here featuring their U.S. Top 10 ‘Did It In A Minute’, plus, Michael McDonald who hit the Top 5 in the States with his debut solo single ‘I Keep Forgettin’ while Quarterflash leads into Asia, who had the year’s biggest selling album in America, and Journey with their biggest hit, the massive ballad ‘Open Arms’ from their Escape album.

The final side opens with an instrumental theme to a TV series U.S. Police drama ’Hill Street Blues’ ran for six years and peaked in popularity in 1982 – with its theme by Mike Post featuring  Larry Carlton spending over five months on the chart, hitting the Top 10 in the U.S. and #25 in the UK. Fun Boy Three hit with their cover of ‘Summertime’, which comes ahead of Grace Jones and Men At Work. 

This is followed by U.S. new wave from The Go-Go’s, The Waitresses, and The B-52s and closing the collection Siouxsie And The Banshees’ stunning interpretation of the traditional French carol, ‘Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant’.

This set just fits nicely between my original Ronco, K Tel and Telstar compilations and the rather good Now Yearbook 1982 set, rounding out that years great colourful sounds.

The Life of a Showgirl

Well this week I'm looking back to time of early social media that made making connections easier, finding out about websites with fairly specific focusing when it came to what they were about  

Today such sites seem endangered - will there be an endangered sites listing  like we have with buildings? - but music was a focus of one and music is an interest of mine going right back to childhood.

To looking through my singles and lps is to open pages in a diary recalling, people, places and events of the time which is something you don't get with downloads or streaming.

Recently we saw the release of the 12th Taylor Swift album from her 2006 debut that goes back to the earliest days of blogging really where country music is a given although she's embraced synth pop, hip hop beats, folk and more indie territory with here last release Tortured Poets Society.

It's a bit early to give definitive thoughts as it usually takes several plays before things really settle with me but overall I'd give it a solid 4/5, a little less deep lyrically than the last but having more infectious pop sensibilities and melody, nearer 1989 than subsequent albums.

The main inspiration seems to be a reflection on her life, specifically her career in music that shows in both titles and subject matter.

The opener, The Fate of Ophelia is a personal favourite. 

Now Yearbook 1976

After a gap since November last year we've now moved back again into the nineteen seventies in the Now Yearbook series, a kind of two part (and bonsu sets later) round up of all the hits of that year of two hundred years of the United States, the UK asking the IMF for a massive loan, the heatwave and matching drought and a time when ABBA ruled the roost.

That said due to licensing issues we have no ABBA or David Bowie on here but you've almost certainly got a compilation or two by them to fill the gaps.

The set rounds everything up on four discs with the option of the book with tracknotes and a quiz or a cheapskate piece of cardboard with slots so I opted for the book version.

An overview of artist and songs for each disc on on the reverse while inside fuller details lie within the pages.

Back then of course most of bought hit compilation records but most by original artists sounded thin and were often shorted while the "Top of the Pops" ones, while sounding better had cover versions of hits.

Actually there is a condensed version of this set on triple lp available.

Kicking disc 1 in style we have: A #2 in 1976, Queen’s ‘Somebody To Love’, followed by Electric Light Orchestra with ‘Livin’ Thing’, Fleetwood Mac with ‘Say You Love Me’, and 10cc with ‘I’m Mandy Fly Me’. Chicago hit #1 with their all-time classic ballad ‘If You Leave Me Now’, and Bonnie Tyler made her chart debut with ‘Lost In France’, whilst Leo Sayer reached #2 in the UK, and #1 in the US with ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’. 

This is followed by a trio of dance-floor favourites – and all #1s in ’76: Tina Charles with ‘I Love To Love’, The Real Thing with ‘You To Me Are Everything’, and 14 years after making their UK chart debut Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons enjoyed their first chart-topper with ‘December 1963 (Oh What a Night)’. The floor-fillers continue from Candi Staton, Barry White and Melba Moore ahead of a disco-flavoured single from former glam-pop stars, Mud. 

Brilliant and unforgettable pop gems from Smokie, Bryan Ferry, Sailor, and a classy cover of ‘Here Comes The Sun’ from Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel lead into Paul Simon’s ’50 Ways To Leave Your Lover’, and the first disc’s closing tracks – both timeless ballads: Joan Armatrading with ‘Love And Affection’ who I remember seeing "In Concert" on BBC 2, and Diana Ross with ‘Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)’

Disc 2 opens with a stellar run of pure-pop classics. Elton John celebrated his first UK #1 single, in a duet with Kiki Dee on ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’, Cliff Richard  got more earthy with ‘Devil Woman’, and ‘Forever And Ever’ gave Demis Roussos a ’76 chart topper. 

Guys N Dolls had a second Top 5 hit with their cover of ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’ – and the UK won at Eurovision, with the winner ‘Save Your Kisses For Me’ by Brotherhood Of Man not only hitting the #1 spot but also becoming 1976’s biggest seller. Showaddywaddy celebrated their biggest hit and their first #1 with ‘Under The Moon Of Love’ that was played at school christmas discos, and Slik, featuring a pre-Ultravox Midge Ure reached the top with ‘Forever And Ever’ – a different song, with the same title as the aforementioned Demis Roussos #1 prodused by Bill and Phil who'd produced the Rollers in 1974.

Talking of which Love Me Like I Love You, a nin album single by the Bay City Rollers from April does feature!

1976 produced some classic rock smashes, and included here are singles from Status Quo, ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ from Thin Lizzy, ‘Squeeze Box’ from The Who although some wondered what that was really all about, and the epic ‘Music’ from John Miles. 

More pop nuggets follow from Billy Ocean, Dana, David Dundas and Fox ahead of Disc 2’s comedic closers from the Kursaal Flyers and The Wurzels with the #1 ‘The Combine Harvester (Brand New Key)’a reworking of the Melanie hit from 1971.

Disc 3 celebrates ‘76’s dancefloor with a stunning collection of disco that was coming in in '76 and soul gold: First up, Donna Summer with her debut smash ‘Love To Love You Baby’ before ‘More More More’ from Andrea True Connection and a second appearance on this Yearbook from Diana Ross with the genre-defining ‘Love Hangover’. 

‘Turn The Beat Around’ from Vicki Sue Robinson is followed by a trio of bands who all released unforgettable disco singles in ’76: Tavares, The O’Jays and The Miracles minus Smokie Robinson.

 Soulful vocals from The Stylistics, and Lou Rawls lead into timeless tracks from The Isley Brothers with ‘Harvest For The World’, ‘I Want You’ from Marvin Gaye, and the sublime ‘Midnight Train To Georgia’ from Gladys Knight & The Pips which is followed by more soul ballads from James & Bobby Purify, The Manhattans and Yvonne Fair, the disc closes with a run of fabulous funk hits from Archie Bell & The Drells, Wild Cherry, James Brown and Lalo Schifrin’s version of the theme from ‘Jaws’.

The biggest seller in ’76 in the US opens the final disc: ‘Silly Love Songs’ gave Wings a UK #2 and comes ahead of another peerless single from Elton John with ‘Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word’. Dr. Hook had a huge hit with ‘A Little Bit More’, and Dolly Parton made her UK singles chart debut with ‘Jolene’ three years after it was a hit in the US. 

Country music was also represented by Billie Jo Spears who had her biggest hit with ‘What I’ve Got In Mind’ – but it was a Dutch band, Pussycat, who hit the top with their country-pop track ‘Mississippi’. C.W. McCall capitalised on the craze for CB radio with ‘Convoy’, which leads to hits from Neil Diamond, Randy Edelman, Sutherland Brothers & Quiver and Liverpool Express. The Stafford, England group, the Climax Blues Band scored a Top 10 hit in the UK and a US Top 3 with ‘Couldn’t Get It Right’ and features alongside more great vocalists including Linda Ronstadt and Yvonne Elliman. 

Soul-influenced pop from R&J Stone and the re-released ‘She’s Gone’ from Daryl Hall & John Oates lead to a closing run of stunning balladssuch as The Walker Brothers who returned to the Top 10 in 1976 with their excellent cover of ‘No Regrets’, ‘Heart On My Sleeve’ from Gallagher And Lyle, Eric Carmen a former Raspberries member  hit big with ‘All By Myself’ and Cliff Richard makes a second appearance on this collection with one of his defining ballads ‘Miss You Nights’ and concluded by the year’s Christmas #1 from Johnny Mathis with his seasonal favourite ‘When A Child Is Born’ which I might add I loved back then.

This set gives a great flavour of what twelve year old me heard and generally loved as much as the Rollers were my #1 obession.

Teenbeat: More stereo explosions in the Wintertime

What was billed as a major snow storm was really rather a mild one here at the yesterday and monday so all the preparation was really rather wasted with a  couple of centimetres of snow at the most but something it did do was give me the opportunity to listen to the latest in a series of special cds for collectors.

The stereo explosion series of cds was a new series started a few years ago by the enterprising Eric Records company in Oshawa, On., Canada who specialize in finding and re-issuing original hit recordings that in an era where albums are more coveted the single version which is often different is hard to find new.

There was a period in the United States especially where such records were tossed out as singles especially mono single mixes were seen as "old hat" and not worth spending money on storing.

A lot of research and time finding them even if sometimes a clean original record may be the only available option would be undertaken and they'd issue compilations of them for collectors and presenters of vintage chart shows.

The Stereo Explosion series follows the same concept they would try to find the stereo single and using modern techniques of using artificial intelligence in audio extract individual elements within a recording that wasn't issued in stereo and remix that to stereo.

We had got up to Volume 10 in 2023 and just before CatMas, Volumes 11 and 12 were issued.

Volume 11 is more the mid 1950's to early 1963 period covering rock and roll as shown by the Elvis Presley selections, early R&B/Soul from Sam Cooke, Gladys Knight and classic pop fromthe Crystals and Chiffons.

A tidal wave swept the American charts from the end of December 1963 wiping out much of what had gone before and it was British and this selection from  mainly 1964 and 5 captures many of these sounds although the likes of the Beatles aren't covered.

There's no problem finding anything by them on cds!

Singles in the UK often weren't on albums, were often only mixed into mono for playing on Radio Luxembourg and inexpensive portable record players and so seldom have a true stereo mix...until now.

This just imagine my delight to hear the seriously brilliant Yardbirds perform For Your Love, Bits And Pieces by the DC5, Please Don't Go by Them and I Can't Explain by the Who in very credible clean sounding stereo.

Recordings that influenced the next wave of American acts and actually Berry Gordy of Motown really rated the production and beat of those early DC5 songs.

Also included are the awesome Animals, Manchester's Herman's Hermits and those Swinging Blue Jeans with the infectious Hippy Hippy Shake.

The out of this world Telstar produced by the amazing Joe Meek appears sounding really fresh with the second mix a generation higher than the one used for the single sounding clearer than ever.

For those of us who love pop hits of the 50's and 60's these discs are just great for the songs, memories now in stereo sound.

Now Yearbook 1977

 Did say the other week new music releases were coming think and fast but this one slots in well with the overall theme of this blog well being more than a list all  your purchases and in run post because it takes me right back to my childhood, just a teen, in a radically changing musical environment. 

There is a cheap folded wrap around version but I opted for the book form editions as it gives you short entries about each featured track and even a little about the years main events which is why I buy these editions.

They are more like end of year pop annuals with hits and much talked about tracks included better for being centred around when it charted and in 1977 many of our favourites from the last four to five years lost momentum as the New Wave such as Elvis Costello, Jam and Stranglers crashed in but it wasa  year with very broad tastes which suited me fine.

Kicking off Disc 1 with a timeless anthem from Queen with ‘We Are The Champions’ as the "old wave" rose to the challenge of the new and followed by the huge instrumental rock of ‘Fanfare For The Common Man’ by Emerson, Lake and Palmer. The song that would open ‘Live Aid’ years later is next up from Status Quo with their signature ‘Rockin’ All Over The World’, and 1977 saw ‘Way Down’ from Elvis Presley go to #1 in the wake of his death. Classic pop-rock from 10CC with ‘Good Morning Judge’ is followed by a trio of ballads from Electric Light Orchestra with ‘Telephone Line’, Leo Sayer with his trans-Atlantic chart topper ‘When I Need You’, and David Soul actor in tv's Starsky and Hutch with another UK and US #1 ‘Don’t Give Up On Us’. Hot Chocolate enjoyed their first #1 with ‘So You Win Again’ and is followed by a superb run of dance-pop from Candi Staton, Patsy Gallant, Donna Summer, Boney M. and The Rah Band. More pop-rock from Suzi Quatro, Smokie and a hit from the soundtrack of the tv series ‘Rock Follies’ lead toward the emotionally charged closing tracks on the first disc – from Elkie Brooks with ‘Pearl’s A Singer’, Liverpool Express and ‘Every Man Must Have A Dream’, and the #1 ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’ from the concept album for the upcoming musical ‘Evita’ by Julie Covington along with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

Disc 2 opens with an amazing run of punk and new wave classics: The Stranglers with ‘No More Heroes’, Ramones with ‘Sheena Is A Punk Rocker’, The Clash with their debut ‘White Riot’, and The Jam with their first Top 20 hit ‘All Around The World’. The Boomtown Rats debuted with ‘Lookin’ After No.1’ and defining hits are featured from Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers, Mink DeVille and Elvis Costello with the peerless ‘Watching The Detectives’. A genre defying hit from the Tom Robinson Band leads into a sequence of hits that includes singer-songwriters Paul Simon, Boz Scaggs and Bryan Ferry, rock smashes from Boston and Santana, and to close the disc softer rock from Thin Lizzy and beautiful ballads from Racing Cars with ‘They Shoot Horses Don’t They’, and Yes with ‘Wonderous Stories’, where prog actually charted on the singles chart!

The charts in 1977 were fantastically diverse, and one of the biggest genres of hits was Disco and it is that that owns  Disc 3.

Arguably one of pop music’s defining moments came in 1977 with Donna Summer’s #1 ‘I Feel Love’ with it’s production showcasing the role of the synthesiser. European disco smashes found huge success: Baccara topped the charts with ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’, along-side massive tracks from Belle Epoque and the debut ‘Daddy Cool’ for Boney M. – who a year later would become the biggest selling singles act of 1978. Meco re-worked the ‘Star Wars’ theme into a US disco chart topper, and The Trammps, Heatwave, The Emotions, Rose Royce, Thelma Houston and chart newcomers Chic all feature here in a stellar run of floor-filling hits. Marvin Gaye had a massive track with ‘Got To Give It Up – Pt.1’ and Gladys Knight & The Pips continued their run of hits with ‘Baby, Don’t Change Your Mind’. The disc finishes with 3 of 1977’s greatest soul tracks: Deniece Williams took ‘Free’ to #1, and the Commodores released an all-time classic, with ‘Easy’ from the album known as Zoom in the uk, featuring Lionel Richie on vocals, whilst Detroit R&B vocal group The Floaters scored their only UK hit in style with ‘Float On’ reaching #1 in August.

The final disc opens with 1977’s biggest seller – the first single to sell over two million copies, all time personal favourite – and the years’ Christmas #1, ‘Mull Of Kintyre’ from Paul McCartney & Wings. Two more #1s follow: Manhattan Transfer with ‘Chanson D’Amour’, and the second chart-topper in the year for David Soul with ‘Silver Lady’. Olivia Newton-John’s ‘Sam’ continues the run of ‘easy-listening’ pop that also includes #1 ‘Angelo’ from Brotherhood Of Man’, sublime tracks, ‘The Things We Do For Love’, from 10CC, ‘Oh Lori’ from Alessi Brothers, and the Boz Scaggs penned ‘We’re All Alone’ by Rita Coolidge, plus pop gems from Carole Bayer Sager and Meri Wilson all feature. Kenny Rogers hit #1 with ‘Lucille’, Billy Ocean enjoyed his second #2 smash with ‘Red Light Spells Danger’, while The Dooleys and Andrew Gold made their chart debuts.

Rock ‘n’ roll was enjoying a revival and two contemporary groups both enjoyed massive success - Showaddywaddy continued their run of hits with ‘Dancin’ Party’, and Darts arrived with a medley of ‘Daddy Cool’ and ‘The Girl Can’t Help It’….and the collection finishes with two instrumental hits, ‘Portsmouth’ from Mike Oldfield reached #3 in the first week of the year, whilst unexpectedly ‘The Floral Dance’ became a massive seller for the Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band, spending the last four weeks of 1977 at #2 behind ‘Mull Of Kintyre’ which lead to the Terry Wogan version too.

Dizzy Heights

 This week we're going for a spin.

The music countdown to Christmas has began although this isn't one those "For the Xmas market" releases strictly speaking but one that came out in early September part of series of reissues that I cherry picked this one from.

This was an album I bought back in February 1997 on pre-recorded MiniDisc but whose modern take on mid 60's was one that did rather like.

It was issued at the time on vinyl, it did come out in four formats, strangely enough back then including cassette, compact disc and vinyl but these days getting your hands on the vinyl edition will prove elusive and very expensive

There was a blue vinyl edition but passed over that for the black one, for one thing it's easier to spot defects and for another most vinyl was black back then.

Released in November 1996, The Lightning Seeds' fourth album pleases all fans of Britpop.

With 'Dizzy Heights', there isn't a dull moment as it never lets up over both sides.

Most of the songs are so upbeat that it's difficult not to become addicted after the first play, and even the slower ones will have you humming along. The opening track 'Imaginary Friends' and 'Touch and Go' could easily have been successful had they been released as singles.

It isn't that the album falls short of well known songs, all four singles: 'Ready or Not', 'What If..', 'Sugar Coated Iceberg' and 'You Showed Me' hit the top twenty. The whole album never fails to boast my mood, and whilst I wouldn't say it was The Lightning Seeds' best album, let's say the predecessor 'Jollification' was a tough act to follow, the band certainly hit a high with 'Dizzy Heights'.

It remains my favourite modern "Pop" album so I was delighted to had got a vinyl version of it.

Next week we should be going backwards in time....

Steely Dan gets near to finished off

At christmas 2022 at Christmas I had a couple of Steely Dan albums I hadn't got then that were being issued by the american specialist company Analogue Productions on both record and Super Audio cd (sacd).

I had these two Super Audio cds that originally were issued in 2000 and 2003 part of a series seeing the entire Steely Dan catalogue remastered and issued in audiophile vinyl and Super Audio cd form by Kansas based Analogue Productions.

That was part of a projected ten disc reissue series that way back then I had set up pre-orders for  with a major specialist record and cd store in Wales.

This weekend one of the last three titles has eventually been delivered, November 1980's Gaucho although it had been released in the United States last month as apparently they give two company owned retailers over there a two week window before shipping out to the Rest Of The World - aka us here in Great Britain and Ireland.

It featured Hey Nineteen", reaching # 10 on theU.S. pop chart in early 1981, and "Time Out of Mind" (featuring guitarist Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits) was a moderate hit in the spring.

The whole series has been dogged by major delays even on the vinyl side due to pressing plant shortages and with the Super Audio cd, only two plants in the world make them and they're fully committed with other titles to manufacture.

This 1974 album came out around November last year with "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" which reached as high as #4 on the U.S. charts.

 

 Countdown To Ecstasy issued in 1973 home to the singles  "Show Biz Kids" and "My Old School shown in its case came out in June 2023.

 

 

1972's Can't Buy A Thrill that was their first ever album featured the hit Do It Again was issued in January 2023.

 

1977's Aja came out in March of this year although the record version came out much earlier.

That's how it came to be what normally would of been be a single launch of a bunch of titles on one day has been in dribs and drabs in two years so much so I go by my record at the store of what was ordered and what's still in the orders to keep track of it.

And much has happened since then that in many ways I'd lost some of the buzz around these coming out and even doing a full set of entries in them despite their expense so this week we're catching up.

With any luck I'll fire up the player the Saturday before posting and give this a good spin.
 

Now 12 inch 80's Pt.II

 The World of NOW, gets bigger and bigger taking in numbered volumes of Now That's What I Call Music,, Now Yearbook, themed Now That's What I Call ..... and was joined by the cd only Now 12" 80's series which looks at 12" singles from a specific year rather than the three compilations of 80's 12 inch singles.

The first bunch 1980 to 1982 are on an earlier post.

My original intentions were to group post all the series together but the 1982 edition gained two volumes which doubles the post and you will note they've done the same with this edition so it seems that the remainder will follow the two part format.

That makes it more sensible to break them into chunks and update each.

As ever this is a bare bones card wrap around cover set which is a pity as a book form with some notes as with the Deluxe Now Yearbooks would of been better as this is amimed more at music fans and collectors but we live in their world....

Disc 1 opens with two of 1983’s biggest artists with Wham!’s "Bad Boys”, followed by Eurythmics’ (over 12 minutes remix of) "Right By Your Side”before being joined by Duran Duran with "Union Of The Snake (The Monkey Mix)", and the extended “Communication” by Spandau Ballet. The Human League keeps the momentum with their massive hit "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" which I bought straight on 12 single back then, while Howard Jones and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark keeps up the Synth-Pop  with "New Song" and "Genetic Engineering" from the Dazzleships album respectively. Extended versions from Blancmange, Ultravox, and Tears For Fears  "The Way You Are" are also feature on the first disc.

Disc 2 celebrates Pop Gold with Adam Ant’s "Puss 'N Boots"one I remember from early Signal Radio here, Bananarama’s "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", plus The Belle Stars, and Bucks Fizz. Pop and New Wave fused on fabulous tracks from Haysi Fantayzee, and Altered Images with the unforgettable "Don't Talk To Me About Love", and hits from a huge chart year for Kajagoogoo and Paul Young. The disc closes with more Synth-Pop from Heaven 17, Soft Cell and a huge U.S. hit for Taco with an unexpected cover choice in “Puttin’ On The Ritz”.

Disc 3 starts from the dancefloor with the iconic "Flashdance…What A Feeling", from Irene Cara, and the stunning Electropop work-out in extended form on Freeez’s "I.O.U. (Megamix)" a personal favourite. The legendary Arthur Baker produced “Confusion” for New Order, and “The Harder They Come” for Rockers Revenge, and Forrest enjoyed a smash covering “Rock The Boat” while Modern Romance and Level 42 bought Pop and Funk crossover to the charts. This disc works towards its finale with four UK acts who all enjoyed great success in ’83 with these 12” versions enhancing already great tracks – Madness, Fun Boy Three, The Style Council, and Nick Heyward who’s “Whistle Down The Wind” was his first solo hit.

Disc 4 offers a star-studded line-up opening with 12” and remixed versions of Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson’s "Say Say Say" that took much effort to steem a sudden drop in the charts and Billy Joel’s "Tell Her About It" before The Fixx appear with their huge US hit “One Thing Leads To Another” from the album Reach The Beach, followed by Debbie Harry, and Laura Branigan who achieved a global success with “Gloria” from her first album. Hi-Energy floor-fillers from Miquel Brown and Divine, are next alongside Ryan Paris’ pan-European smash “Dolce Vita”. The collection concludes with classic dance hits from Lydia Murdock and Phil Fearon & Galaxy and a great collaboration between the legendary Donna Summer and Musical Youth.

For gathering so many interesting and important 12 inch singles of the year, a good number I personally bought at the time, this set is well worth it filling next to Now Yearbook 1983 (and Extra+Vault) before the next instalment is released. 

On October 18 Part 2 duly arrived adding some additional 49 tracks to this years selection packaged in its now common place wrap around card sleeve.

Just why these cannot be in book form like "Yearbooks" or "Yearbook Vaults" really escapes me as the material more than justifies such treatment with pictures and commentary.

Disc 1 kicks off with the U.S. remix of Wham!’s classic "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)", starting off a stellar run of huge hits in their 12” versions: Spandau Ballet with the iconic "Gold", "Who's That Girl?" by Eurythmics, Bananarama with "Cruel Summer", while Culture Club’s infectious "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" was a big U.S. and an essential 12” version. Some of 1983’s new chart stars are up next…the extended version of Marilyn’s "Calling Your Name" and Kajagoogoo’s "Too Shy (Midnight Mix)" feature alongside The Lotus Eaters, Men Without Hats and Flash And The Pan. The first disc wraps up with 12” gems including Joe Jackson’s cool, synth driven "Steppin' Out", and Mike Oldfield’s Top 5 hit ‘Moonlight Shadow’.

Within a collection of ‘80s 12” versions, Disc 2 couldn’t open with anything more legendary than New Order with their groundbreaking "Blue Monday" – released only on 12” in 1983. Some timeless new-wave follows including The Cure with the extended version of "The Lovecats", Echo & The Bunnymen’s "Never Stop (Discotheque)" and Public Image Limited with the remix of "This Is Not A Love Song". Aztec Camera’s "Walk Out To Winter" adds a touch of indie-pop before huge chart pop from Madness with "The Sun And The Rain", and TRACIE and Tracey Ullman providing a fun, upbeat interlude. The disc closes with extended versions of anthemic pop from Paul Young with "Love Of The Common People", Rick Springfield’s "Human Touch", and Yes with the ‘Special Remix Dance Version’ of “Owner Of A Lonely Heart”.

Disc 3 is all about the dancefloor, opening with one of the decades’ biggest floor-fillers from Lionel Richie with "All Night Long (All Night)", followed by KC & The Sunshine Band’s irresistible #1 "Give It Up". Donna Summer’s empowering "She Works Hard For The Money" is up next, followed by ‘80s disco classics, Indeep’s "Last Night A D.J. Saved My Life", and Divine’s “Love Reaction”. Enjoyable mash ups of hip-hop and electro-pop follow courtesy of Malcolm McLaren with the iconic ‘Double Dutch’ in its full 12” version, and Rock Steady Crew with the extended version of “(Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew”. More dance-pop from Modern Romance, and Shalamar, while Booker Newberry III’s soulful "Love Town", Billy Griffin’s ‘Hold Me Tighter In The Rain’ and Level 42’s smooth "The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)" round off this funky disc.

Disc 4 begins with the Monster Mix of Duran Duran’s first #1 "Is There Something I Should Know" and Heaven 17’s timeless "Temptation". Tears For Fears deliver brilliant pop on the extended version of "Change", while Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark and Blancmange continue a superb run of synth-pop gold with “Telegraph” and “That’s Love, That It Is”, ahead of Japan’s cover of “All Tomorrows Parties” and Annabel Lamb’s cover of "Riders On The Storm". The disc concludes in style with Yello ahead of Talk Talk’s "My Foolish Friend" and Midge Ure’s collaboration with Mick Karn on "After A Fashion" – even more sublime in its’ extended version, wrapping up this second volume of 1983’s 12” essentials!

Now Yearbook 1974

 

After an excursion into the 90's, we return with this fantastic series of year based compilations right back in the decade I enjoyed as a young child and to where music formed a backdrop to much of that life which we played and discussed.

1974 remains a strong memory with me for the sheer chaos of the adult world as things spired out of control with terrorist bombings, often bitter industrial strife as the economy moved towards tanking.

That played out in shortages and comics going up in price.

Music as a ten year old was something you took a good deal of interest in, listening on Radio One to new chart hits, following stories in the newspapers about your idols, watching them on Crackerjack, Supersonic or Top Of The Pops so this 82 track four cd set with notes on every song is just fantastic for reliving the sounds of that time.

1974 had variety from soul coming from Motown, Philadelphia International and other labels notitably including Sad Sweet Dreamer, the first philly inspired British soul number 1 and the marvellous When Will I See You Again by the Three Degrees.

If like me that was your bag you probably had Motown Chartbusters 9 that year which was a great compilation of soul and funk.

Glam rock was all around is from Slade, Arrows, Suzi Quatro in all her leatherness joined in leatherness by Alvin Stardust, Mud with the great Tiger Feet and heartfelt Lonely This Christmas.

The Rubettes added a Doo Wop twist to it, crossing over with Rock And Roll revival in the form of Showaddywaddy and Queen for period looked as they'd be in too.

Sadly there is no Glitter Band who had three hit singles nor as with 1973 nor any Gary Glitter who was very much a part of 1974 whatever we rightly feel regarding him today.

Pop included to this bloggers delight the Bay City Rollers who, having just crept into the top 30 in November 1973 managed four top ten hits including Shang-A-Lang, Sweet Dreams cover of Honey Honey although there is no Abba, Elton John, Terry Jacks with Seasons in the Sun and Lulu with The Man Who Sold The World plus Pilot with Magic.

Rock included Ace, Wings with two hits from the great Band On The Run album,Cozy Powell's brilliant drum track Dance With The Devil and Sparks.

Country was held up with Charlie Rich which I did like.

Come June the fifth the now legendary Extras volume came in its low rent flip out tri fold card cover and the discs are best lined to avoid scratches.

Still we have Peters and Lee, an often forgotten couple, the unforgettable Remember You're A Womble, a couple more Bay City Rollers hits and a great serving of excellent soul music that I loved at the time.

It was a great year, this is a great compilation, just a pity we've no Osmonds otherwise it would be perfect.

Wings 1973 redux

This week we are going back in time with two albums that have joined the record collection and only otherwise exist in the 1993 limited edition DCC 24 karat gold plated cd editions.

Sir Paul McCartney and Wings are not fully represented in vinyl in part due to the cd revolution coming as I bought many of his albums on that format and part due to finding a number of them not titles that I play that much so what is on vinyl are original childhood copies, well cared for of things like Ram, Band On The Run, Venus & Mars, London Town and Tug Of War plus Wings Greatest the 1978 compilation that had non album singles on it.

Recording for Red Rose Speedway began at Olympic Studios in London between 6–30 March 1972

 It was initially planned as a double album and Paul McCartney decided to include some unreleased songs that had originally been recorded during the Ram sessions in 1971, before the formation of Wings, two of which, "Get on the Right Thing" and "Little Lamb Dragonfly", appeared on the final album.

The album ends with an 11-minute medley of the songs "Hold Me Tight", "Lazy Dynamite", "Hands of Love" and "Power Cut", which was made in a similar style to the Beatles' Abbey Road medley

The album was originally issued in the UK on May 4th 1973 on lp, 8 track tape and cassette but was treated to a special limited edition half speed mastered cut on April 22nd 2023 for Record Day Special which I have to say is most impressive.

It keeps the 12 page illustrated booklet folded and is housed in a thick gatefold sleeve.

That edition was pressed by GZ Media in the Czech Republic.

There are anniversaries that you may quite enjoy and there are others that just remind you of how many tens of years have gone by such as the recent anniversary of the 1973 multi-million seller, Band On The Run which was marked on February 2nd with the release of full original album and extended versions on lp record and compact disc.

Too bad there wasn't a limited edition 8 track as as those of us around then will recall there was and indeed I did own the UK edition which sounded rather good where it was played at home and in the car player a lot.

I opted for the single lp version as I have little use for a disc of demos as much as musicologists get a buzz out comparing songs as they evolve and for another this uses the US track listing that added Helen Wheels, a 1973 single to the second side of the UK album.

It came pressed by Optimal in Germany with the original poster plus OBI.

Being cut using a Half Speed mastering system from high resolution files from the original analogue tapes allowed it to sound much better than the original US Apple edition and even challenge the UK which was really good with strong bass.

I was delighted with this edition.

Now Yearbooks 1990

After looking at a few issues in this life, let's go back to 1990 and enjoy ourselves shall we?

Book format with chart information and  pictures are present in this edition of the Now Yearbook.

We last touched base as the cool kids say with Now Yearbook last September with the 1973 issue and it's worth saying I'd stopped buying compilations like the Now's apart from the mid to late 90's Shine Indies ones.

1990 was a transitional year format was as I'd moved from lp with Early 1989 with Now 14 to cd by Summer's Now 15 and that was to run on 1991 and many of main trends of 1989 continued into 1990.

As with the other titles it is also available in deluxe 4 cd book form and cheaper fold round card cd versions with more tracks apart from the vinyl release.

Starting the rewind back to 1990 are George Michael with ‘Praying For Time’, and Elton John with his #1 single ‘Sacrifice’, followed by Roxette’s ‘It Must Have Been Love’ from the soundtrack to ‘Pretty Woman’. Disc One includes #1s from New Order, New Kids On The Block sadly missing on the vinyl edition, Steve Miller Band, and The Beautiful South, as well as Pop smashes from The KLF, The B-52’s, Kylie Minogue, Whitney Houston Kim Appleby, and concluding with the theme from Twin Peaks, Julee Cruise’s ‘Falling’, Chris Isaak with ‘Wicked Game’ and Pet Shop Boys defining ‘Being Boring’.

Dance floor-fillers start off Disc 2 from Deee-Lite with ‘Groove Is In The Heart’, #1s from SNAP!, and from Adamski & Seal plus club classics from Bass-O-Matic and Adventures Of Stevie V with ‘Dirty Cash (Money Talks)’, plus the unexpected collaboration between DNA & Suzanne Vega. British R&B legends Innocence and Soul II Soul appear ahead of a run of Indie-Alt legends including Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, The Charlatans, Primal Scream and The Cure – before finishing on Candy Flip’s cover of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, and ‘All Together Now’ from The Farm.

Disc 3 opens with the brilliant interpretation of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ from the late Sinéad O'Connor. Up next are film related hits; Maria McKee’s ‘Show Me Heaven’, from the ‘Days Of Thunder’ soundtrack, and the ‘Young Guns II’ track ‘Blaze Of Glory’ from Jon Bon Jovi. Faith No More had their UK Top 40 Chart debut with ‘Epic’, and the Grammy Award-winning US #1 for Alannah Myles ‘Black Velvet’ appears, alongside huge US artists Cher, Heart, and 1990’s biggest US hit from Wilson Phillips… and there’s still room for Pop-Reggae from UB40 and Maxi Priest, and the mega rap debut from M.C. Hammer and a further two #1 singles – both debuts - from Partners In Kryme with ‘Turtle Power’ and Vanilla Ice with ‘Ice Ice Baby’ that samples Queen's Under Pressure.

The tenth consecutive Top 10 hit for Pet Shop Boys ‘So Hard’ opens the concludiing disc, followed by the superb cover of the Disco classic ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)’ from Jimmy Somerville, before a second appearance from Kylie Minogue with her Disco anthem ‘Step Back In Time’ and one of Stock, Aitken & Waterman’s greatest dancefloor tracks ‘Happenin’ All Over Again’ from Lonnie Gordon. Pop/Dance gold from 49ers, Blue Pearl, and Bananarama lead into timeless Pure-Pop from Dusty Springfield, Halo James, Jason Donovan, Adam Ant with Room At The Top and another track from the ‘Pretty Woman’ soundtrack – this time from Go West before the collection winds down with two classic covers from Deacon Blue and a-ha, closing with two ‘60s hits that became hits once again, Bobby Vinton’s ‘Blue Velvet’ following its use in film, and tv commercials, and The Righteous Brothers with their rendition of ‘Unchained Melody’ – featured in 1990’s biggest film ‘Ghost’ which helped catapult the song to #1, 25 years since its initial release, when it reached #14.

This is a more comprehensive selection than the period Now 17 and 18 albums I bought on compact disc that year.

Issued March 15th the Extra edition that tops up the main volume emerged in its simple card cover which may be effective but does stick out like a sore thumb next to the beautiful main edition.

This just finishes off nicely the year adding singles both major hits like How Am I Supposed To Live With You, a cover of the Laura Branigan hit  and Betty Boo's Doin' The Do and minor ones.

Yes Singles and thoughts on the vinyl revival

There was a time when vinyl records were expected to be just a memory removed from shops as a new item with just few used ones traded more as mementos of the past in "Olde World" shops.

Equally many of us expected and went through the process of converting our record and tape collections to compact discs as I recall going on Friday afternoons with bags of records to part exchange for new cds or credits for any they held.

By the mid nineties I had just a few left usually where a title hadn't been issued on cd (some early Rolling Stones titles were not) or where I wanted mixes not issued on cd such as the stereo Beatles first four UK albums and the original stereo Help and Rubber Soul.

But in the main all new titles and back catalogue was now bought on the cd thus all my Yes progressive rock lps went for compact discs either regular ones or the audiophile issues on labels such as Mobile Fidelity and Audio Fidelity.

Things as you may of noticed are different today.

Your record shop has a lot of brand new records, not just old classic rock or soul but todays artists too because many have rediscovered over twenty years the vinyl record and buy them.

I haven't been immune from that virus having upgraded my record playing equipment and buying brand new discs and rebuying some favourites from the past, hearing more of the playing than I did back in the day.

That you see is where Yes Singles fits in, a single disc of single edits that capture them from 1969 to 1984 which is really where my interest in this prog rock band stopped as much as I did get Big Generator on vinyl in 1987.

The full track list is here and if you know this music, you can see why I'd want it.

1 Your Move (Single Version)

2 Starship Trooper: Life Seeker (Single Version)

3 Roundabout (Single Version)

4 America (Single Edit)

5 And You and I (Part One) [promo Radio Edit]

6 Soon (Single Edit)

7 Sound Chaser (Single Edit)

8 Wonderous Stories (Single Version)

9 Don't Kill the Whale (Single Version)

10 Into the Lens (Single Version)

11 Owner of a Lonely Heart (Single Version)

12 Leave It (Single Remix)

While some are not whole works - and with Yes some do run to over 20 minutes! - it reminds you of their achievements in their single forms that are otherwise stuck on many pieces of seven inch plastic so I got this on Friday, day of release.

It was cleaned before playing and it does sound great and just hearing Roundabout and Wonderous Stories on vinyl takes me back years.

Recommended  even if you may want Classic Yes for the full length versions of some tracks.

Now Yearbooks 1973

 Last week was different both at home for needing less on due to the very hot weather and of course having a content a bit different from the run of the mill on this blog.

After a brief run with alternative offerings, Now That's What I Call Music returned September 8th to the Yearbook series interestingly bypassing the last 1970's batch and going with 1973 which signals the series will run from 1970 to 1974 rather than opting for 1977 although I'm sure that'll emerge soon.

1973 is a year I know well - possibly even too well - being but a year out of double digits in a year that obviously included religiously watching Blue Peter and John Craven's Newsround where I learned about Skylab, I started to notice I liked girls clothes and a good deal of industrial action took place apart from catching The Sky At Night.

My older brother was a bit of influence musically, as I watched Top Of The Pops with him and he'd play records to me such as Roger Daltrey's (of the Who) Giving It All Away and I'm Free although I had my own suitably "tween" ones.

As with the reminder of this series on cd you have a bare bones folded card 4 cd edition and a book with a short write up on each song and a quiz which is what I opted for while for record fans there is a shorter 3 lp 47 track edition too.

I could easily criticize it for including a few songs that just were not UK hits like Blinded By The Light and Rocky Mountain Way as much as I like Bruce Springsteen and Joe Walsh plus for contractual reasons we don't have David Bowie's RCA era hits which include Drive-in Saturday and Sorrow plus missing out Gary Glitter who had two big number one singles and few others this year.M

We'll take a tour around this set.

Opening the first cd we have the iconic ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ from Elton John from the amazing double lp of the same name and followed by Paul McCartney & Wings’ Bond theme ‘Live And Let Die’ proof he's got past been seen as an ex-beatle but a serious solo artist, this epic beginning to this journey back to 1973 continues with a run of massive Glam-Rock infused hits from T. Rex, Mud and Alvin Stardust, and #1s from Suzi Quatro, Wizzard, 10cc, ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ from Slade and Sweet with ‘Blockbuster’. 

Pop classics from Gilbert O’Sullivan with the #1 ‘Get Down’, and from Jackson 5, The Osmonds and the re-issued ‘The Laughing Gnome’ from David Bowie lead into some soulful vocalists including Aretha Franklin, Rod Stewart and Gladys Knight & The Pips to complete this first disc. 

Disc Two opens with an awe-inspiring run of legendary artists: John Lennon, Bob Dylan, and Paul Simon, plus the debut single from Bruce Springsteen with ‘Blinded By The Light’ and timeless signature releases from Billy Joel with ‘Piano Man’ another great non hit and ‘You’re So Vain’ from Carly Simon that got everybody wondering just who she meant.

Defining tracks from Ike & Tina Turner, Thin Lizzy and Stealers Wheel lead into Rock classics from Faces, Free, Electric Light Orchestra, Status Quo, Joe Walsh, Alice Cooper and Nazareth… and the disc closes with ‘Albatross’ from Fleetwood Mac – a #1 in 1969 and a #2 when re-released in 1973. 

A run of stunning ballads kicks off the third disc; Paul McCartney & Wings with ‘My Love’ which was to become a "standard", Roberta Flack with the peerless ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’, and ‘Always On My Mind’ from Elvis Presley before Diana Ross with Touch Me In The  Morning ushers in an incredible line-up of Soul smashes including from, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes feat. Teddy Pendergrass, Billy Paul, Barry White, The Temptations, Michael Jackson and ‘Let’s Get It On’ from Marvin Gaye. 

In hindsight it is easy to forget just how much great soul music was on the chart from the Atlantic, Motown and Philadelphia International stables.

The final disc is all about more huge Pop smashes, opening with the era-defining ‘The Ballroom Blitz’ from Sweet, second inclusions for Suzi Quatro and Mud, plus Mott The Hoople, Roxy Music, Barry Blue and the debut hit from David Essex, ‘Rock On’. Donny Osmond’s #1 ‘Young Love’ and 1973’s biggest seller - Dawn feat. Tony Orlando’s ‘Tie A Yellow Ribbon...’ lead an Easy-Pop run including massive hits from Shirley Bassey, Perry Como, Olivia Newton-John, Eurovision singles; winner Anne-Marie David, Cliff Richard’s second contest entry, and #1s from Peters & Lee, plus ‘Eye Level’ - the theme to one of the year’s most popular TV shows by the Simon Park Orchestra. 

This Yearbook 1973 closes in magnificent style with two of the biggest and most loved Christmas classics of all time – Wizzard with ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday’ and ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ from Slade.

Back then Christmas hits were a thing and we loved those two.

In the main though when you look at all that it does deliver on those hits we did like, that take us back that year which is really the strength of this set as anthologies of this era back then were either the "soundalike" Hallmark Top of the Pops 12 track selections or ghastly sounding 22 or even 24 track K tel single lps with cut down songs and thin sound to get it all to fit.

I was bought the Top of the Pop's ones which at least sounded better on my portable stereo record player with built on AM radio which lived in my bedroom.

Strongly recommended.

As has become usual, there is a top up three cd set with 60 more hits from 1973 some of which did belong more as hits of the first set than what was included but, hey, there at least here covering everything from pop, soul, glam rock and even French crooners!

Disc: 1

1 Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me - Slade

2 Angel Fingers - Wizzard

3 Solid Gold Easy Action - T.Rex

4 Hell Raiser - Sweet

5 Daytona Demon - Suzi Quatro

6 Hypnosis - Mud

7 Do You Wanna Dance? - Barry Blue

8 All the Way from Memphis - Mott the Hoople

9 Pyjamarama - Roxy Music

10 Lamplight - David Essex

11 The Dean and I - 10cc

12 Why Oh Why Oh Why - Gilbert O'Sullivan

13 The Twelfth of Never - Donny Osmond

14 Daddy's Home - Jermaine Jackson

15 The Look of Love - Gladys Knight & The Pips

16 Break Up to Make Up - The Stylistics

17 Skywriter - The Jackson 5

18 I'm Doin' Fine Now - New York City

19 Ghetto Child - The Spinners

20 Why Can't We Live Together - Timmy Thomas

Disc: 2

1 Hi, Hi, Hi - Paul McCartney & Wings

2 Showdown - Electric Light Orchestra

3 Joybringer - Manfred Mann's Earth Band

4 Broken Down Angel - Nazareth

5 All Because of You - Geordie

6 Paper Plane - Status Quo

7 Frankenstein - The Edgar Winter Group

8 Hello Hooray - Alice Cooper

9 God Gave Rock 'N' Roll to You - Argent

10 The Free Electric Band - Albert Hammond

11 Ramblin' Man - The Allman Brothers Band

12 Pick Up the Pieces - Hudson-Ford

13 Loves Me Like a Rock - Paul Simon

14 Baby I Love You - Dave Edmunds

15 Hallelujah Day - The Jackson 5

16 Keep On Truckin' - Eddie Kendricks

17 Take Me Girl, I'm Ready - Jr. Walker & The All Stars

18 You're a Special Part of Me - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye

19 Pillow Talk - Sylvia

20 Drift Away - Dobie Gray

Disc: 3

1 Daniel - Elton John

2 The Right Thing to Do - Carly Simon

3 Time in a Bottle - Jim Croce

4 Delta Dawn - Helen Reddy

5 Rocky Mountain High - John Denver

6 Dueling Banjos - Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandel

7 My Friend Stan - Slade

8 The Groover - T.Rex

9 Ball Park Incident - Wizzard

10 Honaloochie Boogie - Mott the Hoople

11 Randy - Blue Mink

12 Step Into a Dream - White Plains

13 Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose - Dawn

14 Pinball Wizard/See Me Feel Me - The New Seekers

15 Avenues and Alleyways - Tony Christie

16 I've Been Hurt - Guy Darrell

17 Spanish Eyes - Al Martino

18 Fool - Elvis Presley

19 The Old Fashioned Way (Les Plaisirs Démodés) - Charles Aznavour

20 Monster Mash - Bobby 'Boris' Pickett & The Crypt Kickers

Those were the hits I recall and it's nice to hear them all again.