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Post by rayshae3 on Apr 21, 2015 19:04:23 GMT -5
Week18: Joan Armatrading-'Me Myself I' Joan Armatrading was born in Saint Kitts in the West Indies, but moved to Britain at the young age of seven. Since her musical career started in the UK in her early teens, she’s considered here as a British act. She is a black rock, folk and blues artist whose almost all her songs missed the US pop charts (only a single Hot 100 entry). Like Tracy Chapman, a few if any of her works touches on pure and/or mainstream soul music; and content-wise her lyrics are usually filled with despair especially from a personal point of view. Indeed album-wise her only #1 album in the US has been on the Blues chart. A critics’ favorite, besides winning a number of prestigious awards, this accomplished singer/songwriter has been recipient of honorary degrees from at least half a dozen universities.
'Me Myself I' ,a 1980 release, was Joan Armatrading’s biggest Billboard 200 entry (#28 and her only Top 30 title on the pop album chart). Released shortly after it was recorded it ended up being her highest charting album internationally (incl. in the UK album chart) as well.
Track played: "All the Way from America" My personal favorite: "Me Myself I" (title track)
Billy Ocean-'Love Zone' He might be considered as a hyphenated British act as well since he was born in Trinidad (also in the West Indies); but only took on music post -settling in the UK (immigrated with his family at the age of seven). 'Love Zone' from 1986 included four Hot 100 hits: #2 “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Gets Going”, #1 “There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)”, #10 “Love Zone” and #16 “Love Is Forever”. Billy Ocean has had four platinum or multi-platinum albums in total: ‘Love Zone’, ‘Suddenly’, ‘Tear down These Walls’ and ‘Greatest Hits’ of which ‘Love Zone’ slightly outsold ‘Suddenly’ (but was a 2xplatinum as well.)
Track played: "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)"
Unlike "Me Myself I' above, I’m not a fan of this album and found most cuts pretty generic quiet storm sells ( “When the Going Gets Tough...” itself was originally featured in the movie 'The Jewel of the Nile’), in fact I prefer his 70s stuff much better. So had difficulty to come up with any favorite track but if pressed, My personal favorite: "Love Is Forever".
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Post by rayshae3 on May 5, 2015 13:18:17 GMT -5
Week19: The Hollies-‘Hollies’ This 1974 release titled “Hollies” (without the “the” article, as opposed to the band’s name) saw the return of one of two co-founders of the band, Allan Clarke (the other being Graham Nash), after a two-year absence. The album was not their highest charted album. It wasn’t even the second highest BB charted set either. The third-highest it became their only RIAA gold-certified LP and their biggest seller ever. And truly one of the best albums of English pop in the first half of the seventies. Track played: “The Air that I Breathe” (a favorite of both FM album rock and AC radio at the time & the most famous version of the Albert Hammond classic) My personal favorite: “Down on the Run” Roxy Music-‘Avalon’ Roxy Music had a total of twelve charted album on the Billboard 200. This 1982 release was their fifth highest in terms of the position on the list (only got to #53). But what a seller…a platinum set (the other eleven didn’t even achieve the Gold status.) This feat looks more unlikely considering it was Roxy Music last studio album. The group was dissolved shortly thereafter at the top of their commercial and critical success. This was in sharp contrast when they first appeared in the early 70s as they were dismissed being too glittery for rock music. But it 1982, they eventually triumphed by bridging different genres in both the substance and style of their music. Gambaccini also quickly mentions Bill Murray’s Karaoke version of “More Than This” (one of the most covered songs of Roxy Music ever, also on this album) from ‘Lost in Translation’. And you thought SNL’s Nick the Lounge singer was his only arena he could show his singings! Track played: “Avalon” (the title track) My personal favorite: “While My Heart Is Still Beating”
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Post by rayshae3 on May 12, 2015 14:56:07 GMT -5
For the record so far in this thread there have been five cases in which the biggest sellers by the UK artists have also been the recipients of the Grammy album of the year. In chronological order of release dates, these are: Bee Gees/Various-‘Saturday Night Fever, The Original Movie Sound Track’ Phil Collins-‘No Jacket Required’ George Michael-‘Faith’ Eric Clapton-‘Unplugged’ Adele-‘21’
Also the biggest selling UK act in terms of the total number of album sales (with different albums) are the Beatles (with ‘The Beatles’ otherwise known as the White Album, being their biggest seller according to RIAA numbers). Individually, as far as the solo Beatles are concerned, the biggest selling albums are: Paul McCartney (& Wings)-‘Band on the Run’ George Harrison-‘All Things Must Pass’ Ringo Starr-‘Ringo’ which brings us to….
Week20: John Lennon-‘Double Fantasy’ Released towards the end of 1980 (mere three weeks before Lennon was shot.) The album passed its eligibility period for the next Grammy at the time, but was awarded posthumously the Album of the Year in the ceremonies of Feb. 1982. Credited technically to “John Lennon & Yoko Ono” (w/ lead vocals of seven out of the fourteen cuts by Yoko Ono), it was Lennon’s one of two albums that had a 3xPlatinum certification (the other being his 1982 compilation ‘John Lennon Collection’.), nevertheless slightly outselling the latter one. It was also the biggest of his three #1s in chart terms, spending a total of eight weeks atop the Billboard 200. The album also contained his sole RIAA platinum single “Woman”. Musically, this last album, was a real partnership. Written while Lennon was in Bermuda with his five-year-old Sean, but away from Yoko. He played his own songs on the long-distance phone to his wife, who in turn wrote her own parts “in reply”. So the final structure is with them alternating the songs order throughout the set. Ironically what ended up as a premature optimism “Hard Times Are Over” (an Yoko Ono composition), concluded the album.
Played track: “(Just Like) Starting Over” My personal favorite: “Watching the Wheels”
Lisa Stansfield-‘Affection’ Lisa Stansfield’s only platinum certified album, was also her only BB 200 Top 10 set (#9 in 1990). This , her debut solo album (previously she was part of the group Blue Zone U.K.), was even bigger on the R&B list where it landed in its Top 5 portion. The album spawned some of her biggest hits “All Around the World” (#1 R&B, #3 Hot 100 and #7 AC), “You Can’t Deny It” (another Hot 100 and AC chart hit that became her other R&B #1) and “This Is the Right Time” (that also hit the three charts).
Track Played: “You Can’t Deny It” My personal favorite: “What Did I Do to You?”
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Post by rayshae3 on May 18, 2015 20:25:43 GMT -5
Week21: Olivia Newton-John – ‘Physical’ Like the Brothers Gibb, Olivia Newton-John was born in the UK, but slightly spent some more time than the brothers down under. And like them her real breakthrough in the international music scene didn’t happen until after her return to Britain and recording her first studio album of mostly cover songs called ‘If Not for You’. But unlike the Bee Gees, she identified herself more with Australia even during her blockbuster years in the 70s and the early 80s. Indeed her role in the movie version of ‘Grease’ was better augmented by her obvious Aussie accent. Nevertheless like the Bee Gees, we count her here as a British artist as well, because of her birth and lack of any meaningful musical impact on her career when she was in Australia. Also a few words about her musical participation in Grease soundtrack versus the Bee Gees inclusion in the OST to ‘Saturday Night Fever’. The Bee Gees had the most tracks of any single act among the cuts in the ‘Saturday Night Fever’ album. This cannot be said of Olivia Newton-John who only has two solo tracks (plus another three duets with John Travolta) out of 24 cuts spread over two LPs for ‘Grease’. Therefore, she has neither the majority nor the plurality of tracks when it comes to the 8xplatinum ‘Grease’ soundtrack. So here her bestselling solo album ‘Physical’ is considered instead, and that’s a 2xplatinum album from 1981. Her ninth studio album, and the ninth-time her long-time producer John Farrar produced (or co-produced) any of her solo LPs.
Track played: “Physical” My personal favorite: “Silvery Rain”
Spandau Ballet-‘True’ (?) I have a question mark after the title, because in the show Gambaccini identified the played track “true” to be from their biggest-seller 1983 album ‘Parade’. ‘Parade’ was a lesser follow-up to the album ‘True’ and did not contain the famous title track “true”, plus ‘Parade’ was released and peaked on the charts in 1984, not 1983 . This sounds like an obvious case of mistaken identification on the show’s part.
Track Played: “True” My personal favorite: “Gold”
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Post by rayshae3 on May 27, 2015 13:29:41 GMT -5
So far in this thread, the oldest album introduced has been ‘Kink’s Greatest Hits!’ from 1966, and the most recent one from 2011: ‘21’ by Adele. Next up two best-selling album by UK artists, one released way back in the 1950s, and another one even more recent than the Adele’s album, released in 2012 in the US.
Week22: Mantovani-‘Film Encores’ The album is more properly credited to ‘Mantovani and his orchestra’. The orchestral bandleader was born Annunzio Paolo Mantovani in 1905 in Venice, Italy to a musical household. His father was a concertmaster in an opera house in Milan. As Mantovani, Sr. was offered a job as a conductor in London, the family moved to Britain in 1912 when Mantovani Jr. was only seven. Following his father’s footsteps, he studied theoretical music and became a professional violin player as well as a composer. His first British recording was made in 1928, and Joel Whitburn’s Pop Memories book lists his first US chart entry to be in 1935. During 1930s and 1940s when Big Band sounds of Glen Miller and Tommy Dorsey were making a big impact in Britain (especially with the arrival of American GIs during WWII years), Mantovani remained most popular dance band leader inside Britain with his live shows.
But perhaps because of his classical training, the sound of Mantovani's orchestral arrangements and interpretations were more cascading and less rhythmic as he concentrated on his recording career and away from his live shows after WWII. This was in sharp contrast to the dynamic sounds of other band leaders like James Last, Bert Kaempfert; or later on a more pop sounds of Henry Mancini or Paul Mauriat covers. In the album charts he was truly one of the heavyweights on both side of the Atlantic prior to the arrival of the Beatles. On various Billboard album lists, his first title was in 1952. By the time of his 50th and last album entry in 1972, he already had then the record for most consecutive years on the album chart, with at least one album entry per year for 21 consecutive years. Indeed although he never charted in BB after 1972, his early accomplishments is big enough to still warrant his place among the Top 20 album acts of all time to this day. Now to his biggest album ‘Film Encores’ (one of his seven Gold-certified albums) that debuted in the humble BB Top 15 album chart first on 5/27/57 (as the label had a ‘May is Mantovani month’ promo.) But ended up staying in the chart for over 4 years. In fact, to bank on the increasing sale of stereo LPs by the US consumers, he re-released stereo copies of the album. [BTW, at the time this album was re-titled as ‘Film Encores, Vol. 1’, since a volume 2 was already issued]. This gamble was paid off, since the stereo copy topped the newly installed Billboard’s “Best Selling Stereophonic LPs” list in July 1959. (Mono and stereo charts were split between 5/1959 and 8/1963). However regardless of if the LP overlapped in different album charts, this album stayed on the Billboard charts for a total of 231 calendar weeks. Indeed in the week this album was at #1 on the Stereo chart, Mantovani occupied five other positions in the Top 30 stereo chart (or %20 of the total list!). Of course when the album left the charts in early 60s, the mainstream tastes was becoming increasingly divergent of his brand of music. The ‘elevator beautiful’ era was already old-fashioned.
Track played: “Unchained Melody” (One of the Righteous Brothers standards was first appeared in a 1955 movie ‘Unchained’) My personal favorite: “My Foolish Heart”
One Direction-‘Up All Night’ For something completely different, the era of reality TV shows, and so far the flag bearing boy band of the current decade. One Direction fame came mostly because of their exposure through Simon Cowell’s X-Factor franchise on British TV. The five member group (which with a departure of one of the guys just became a quartet) all except one hail from the UK (that one member is from Ireland). So far they have released four album, and all four has been number one on the Billboard 200. But what makes this feat even more amazing is that each of the albums achieved their #1 spot on their debut week on the album chart, albeit with declining sales (thanks to the ever increase in streaming activities on the whole). Their biggest is this debut album, certified 2xplatinum, slightly outselling their other 2-million selling second album ‘Take Me Home’. It was released in the US about five months after it got issued in the British Isles). Nevertheless, it got to its #1 position on its debut week in the album chart due to their massive promoting but without a runaway hit. In fact their very first single “What Makes You Beautiful” (that was eventually became a big seller, certified 4xplatinum and outsold every one of their other subsequent singles) got only released a few weeks before this album hit the shelves in the US.
Track played: “What Makes You Beautiful” My personal favorite: “Gotta Be You”
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Post by rayshae3 on Jun 3, 2015 16:37:08 GMT -5
Again something old, and something new(er) for…
Week23: George Shearing-‘White Satin’ Sir George shearing was a British Jazz pianist from London. Blind since birth, he was born in 1919, and passed away in 2011 in NYC. Although he had albums released even posthumously in 2012, he only had eight albums in total charted in Billboard pop album lists between 1950 and 1962. ‘White Satin’ from 1960 peaked at #11 in Stereo Action Albums Top 30 (one of the main four album charts Billboard ran at the time.) Credited on the album as ‘The George Satin Quintet and Orchestra’, it was in a similar vein to a couple of his previous albums ‘Velvet Carpet’ and ‘Black Satin’.
Track played: Moonlight Becomes You (this version blends the popular standard with Beethoven’s famous sonata.) My personal favorite: “Love’s Melody”
Tears for Fears-‘Songs from the Big Chair’ One of five gold, platinum or multi-platinum albums (in this case 5xplatinum), and it stayed on the top of the Billboard 200 chart for five weeks. But ‘fives’ stop here. Two number ones on the Hot 100 “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “Shout” came out of this album. It was also their biggest commercial success worldwide topping the album charts in Germany and the Netherlands, but not in their native Britain. The album entered the BB chart in late March 1985, and at the time they were fairly new or at least a developing act this side of the Atlantic. Nevertheless because of help from radio and MTV they ended up today being one of the most recognized and popular acts from the mid-80s in North America. Despite their career getting topped because of overexposure of their videos, their lyrics got attracted them to the serious rock fans as well (at least for those who weren’t familiar with their works previously).
Track played: “Shout” (RIAA certified it twice as Gold, once as a physical single, and again as a digital download). My personal favorite: “Listen”
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Post by rayshae3 on Jun 9, 2015 20:39:38 GMT -5
Week24: David Rose-‘The Stripper and Other Fun Songs for the Family’ (believe it or not, this was the album title!)
Born in London in 1910, raised in Chicago, this time we have a real hyphenated Brit in David Rose (or a hyphenated American?, He served for four years in the US Air Force during WWII). First married to the Hollywood actress Martha Raye (1938-1941) and within a couple of months after her divorce, re-married this time to Judy Garland (1941-1945). Besides his personal life, he was a pianist, songwriter, composer, and orchestral leader and arranger. He got nominated for two Oscars in the mid.-1940s, but his winning film music was because of his works in TV series (four Emmys for 1959’s “An Evening w/Fred Astaire”, plus others for “Bonanza” and “Little House on the Prairie” twice). His other TV works include “High Chaparral” and “Highway to Heaven”. In Billboard album charts he had only two charted sets: ‘Cole Porter Review Album’ (#1 in the early 1946 BB Top 5 album list). And the second one, Gold-certified and a bigger seller (#3 in Billboard’s both Top 150 Mono & Top 50 Stereo charts the same week of 8/11/62); Credited to ‘David Rose and His Orchestra’, the album’s full title was ‘David Rose Plays The Stripper and Other Fun Songs for the Family’. I don’t know why the title, most tracks are rooted in burlesque traditions. Also all but the brassy title track accompany some string arrangements too. In fact, Instrumental albums were selling very well in the early 60s.
Track played: “The Stripper” (#1 on the Hot 100 as well as the early AC chart) My personal favorite: “Sophisticated Lady”
Susan Boyle-‘I Dreamed a Dream’ Only a couple of months ago, Simon Cowell admitted the Scottish singer, Susan Boyle’s first appearance was the most magic moment in the history of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ (just before the show headed for the ninth season in April). On a personal level I am not a particular reality talent show fan (with all that soap opera drama moments). But this case was an exception, even though she lost the competition title in 2009, and got to the second place, a global star was born. Her debut album was number one in no less than 11 countries. In the BB 200 album chart, it was number one for six weeks starting mid-Dec. 2009; and the album became 4xplatinum, a staggering figure even by 2015 standards, and big enough to grant the set the title of 2010 #1 album of the year. Just to give a perspective of the vocal and singing power of this singer (in her late 40s when the album was released) with her less-than-stellar appearance; consider her (apparently better imaged) competitors for the holiday season of 2009-2010. She beat out Rihanna and Lady Gaga and Shakira who also put out new albums at around the same time for that holiday season. She had almost 100,000 bigger opening week’s sales than the previous 2009 champ, (for Eminem’s ‘Relapse’). She had best numbers for an opening week’s sales for a debut album by a female (previously held by 2002’s Ashanti self-titled debut). Yes image isn’t everything. And on this album, all the covers, be it the Stones “Wild Horses” or Madonna’s “You’ll See”, are all inspiring.
Track played: “I Dreamed a Dream” (title track) My personal favorite: (the same) “I Dreamed a Dream”
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Post by rayshae3 on Jun 16, 2015 15:54:46 GMT -5
Week25: Herman’s Hermits-‘Introducing Herman’s Hermits’ This teen-beat Manchester band (with ages ranging at the time between 16 and 21) were originally playing in some form together before Herman (aka Peter Noone) joined them. The Herman name derive from a resemblance of Peter Noone with Sherman, a character in the Bulwinkle show cartoon series. And why not nickname him Sherman rather than Herman? Still a mystery! When their debut chart single in the UK “I’m Into Something Good” became a British #1, the fans instigated “Hermania”. But in America, they had to wait until the latter part of 1964 to crack the US market, after the first wave of the British invasion with the likes of the Beatles, Dave Clark Five and the Animals. On the US album chart, their first charted album was appropriately called ‘Introducing Herman’s Hermits’ that only shared four tracks with their debut UK set; including their Hot 100 #1 “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” (which BTW, like their later US #1 "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" wasn't even released as a single in their home country). This album entered the Billboard Top 150 LP’s in February 1965. The eventual biggest seller, it was their first of five Gold-certified albums (all in the 60s). In fact all of their albums except one (a 1973 compilation) charted between 1965 and 1968. Content-wise, this is a hodgepodge of twelve pop songs, with nothing in common, and every single one under 3 minutes!
Track played: “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” My personal favorite: “Sea Cruise”
David Gray-‘White Ladder’ This was the indie-folk singer’s fourth studio album. Released in 1998 in the UK, it belatedly got distributed in the US a couple of years later in 2000. Of his eight charted albums, in terms of chart position, this first US charted entry wasn’t even close to his biggest (reached #35 only in Jan./Feb. 2001), but in terms of longevity on the album list, ‘White Ladder’ was his only album that survived on the Billboard 200 for over a year (83 weeks to be exact between 2000-2002); by comparison his eighth and so far his last album-chart entry (2014’s ‘Mutineers’) only lasted on the Billboard 200 for 3 weeks .‘White Ladder’ was also his only Platinum-certified album. The US version includes an exclusive track “Babylon II” as well.
Track played: “Babylon” [that’s of course the superior album version] My personal favorite: “Nightblindness”
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Post by rayshae3 on Jun 23, 2015 15:03:12 GMT -5
Week26: Dire Straits-‘Brothers in Arms’ One of the best-selling albums of all time, period; and the first album on CD to sell a million in history, this was the fifth studio album of Dire Straits with then the often-changing line-up of the band that started in 1977, and a shift toward Keyboards and synthesizer. Nevertheless, Mark Knopfler’s vision and the base guitarist, John Illsley, still dominate on guitars, and of course still know ‘…all the chords.” (not to forget the album cover has a guitar picture in the sky.) This 1985 release was also their first release in three years following their ultra-fine LP ‘Love Over Gold’. The album sold nine-million only in the US. Chart-wise it was the their only #1 on the Billboard 200 (for nine weeks.) The album also topped the UK album charts for ten weeks and the Australian album list for an incredible thirty-four weeks. By comparison their second successful album (the eponymous ‘Dire Straits’, their first chart album from the early 1979) was a double platinum that managed a sole week at #2 on the BB chart. Eight out of the nine tracks on this album were released as a single at least somewhere in Australia, North America and/or Europe; with three scoring in the US Hot 100 (all in the Top 20 portion.) Additionally four tracks on side-one of the LP (incl: the big two openers “So Far Away” and “Money for Nothing”) has extended versions on the CD, as well as on the cassette.
Track played: “So Far Away” (extended CD/cassette version) My personal favorite: “Why Worry”
Thompson Twins-'Into the Gap' During the second British invasion of roughly 1982-1986, we had a trio of Thompson Twins (not a duo, but a trio; no two members are twins, and no one in the group is named Thompson, as Casey told us many times, and I’m paraphrasing him here…). Like Dire Straits they also started in 1977, but with a new wave sound, as compared to the traditional roots/rock’n’roll sound of Dire Straits. [On a personal note, I saw Thompson Twins live in concert in ’82 before they were big…exciting gig!] The 1984 release called ‘Into the Gap’ was their only platinum album (over one-million sold), but only peaked at #10 on the BB 200 (the highest among their seven chart albums.) This set also included their biggest Hot 100 entry, #3 “Hold Me Now”, the first single released off the album.
Track played: “Hold Me Now” My personal favorite: “Hold Me Now” (the same)
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Post by rayshae3 on Jun 28, 2015 21:50:33 GMT -5
Week 27: The Jam-‘Sound Affects’
‘The Jam’ were formed in 1972, but their first album was not released until 1977. In late 70s/early 80s, they stormed the British singles chart (incl: two entries straight at #1 in the debut week). One of the most successful of acts ever on the singles’ side, was largely unknown outside of the UK (no chart activity on the Hot 100). But on the Billboard album chart, it’s a different story. In the US, they had seven chart titles plus another three on the Bubbling Under the BB 200; but their biggest charted set, their American best-seller (albeit without any certification) called ‘Sound Affects’ from 1981, only managed to get as high as #72. The US copies of ‘Sound Affects’, had the same UK version track-sequence with the exception of the opening track, called “Start!” (with the exclamation mark, their second British no. 1) instead of the UK copies where it was the fifth track of the first side. The American copies also had something extra included in the package: The 7”/45rpm single (“Going Underground”/”Dreams of Children”). This double sided hit single previously issued as a stand-alone single in the UK, was the Jam’s first British #1 from 1980.
Track played: “That’s Entertainment” (this song was never issued domestically in the UK as a single, nevertheless it made #21 on the UK singles chart, on its sales strength as an import, which it actually higher than where it got in the domestic charts of every other country that exported this single to the British market!!) My personal favorite: among the LP tracks : “Pretty Green” (that’s not counting “Dreams of Children” on the extra 45 in the US packages)
Sade-‘Promise’
Trivia about the Billboard Album chart: Who has the longest streak of Top 10 albums regardless of nationality (where every album released by the act got to the Top 10?) Answer: Sade with nine outputs in total (whether live, compilation, or studio sets), beginning with the debut Top 5 ‘Diamond Life’ (released in the UK in mid-84m, but issued and charted in Feb. 1985 in the US) and ending with ‘Ultimate Collection’ in 2011 ( & that’s not counting the DVD-BluRay live title ‘Bring Me Home: Live 2011’ which was at #1 on Billboard’s Top Music Videos chart in 2012, and accompanied an audio CD as well.) That’s testimony to the longevity of the Band’s evolving fan base over a quarter century. The band took the name (or rather nick-name) of its singer Sade Abu (short for her middle name Folasade). She was born in Nigeria to a British mother and a Nigerian father. After her parents separation, her mother took the eight-year-old Sade back to England. In the early 80s, following a brief stint modelling, she got a record deal after attracting record label crowd with her sultry jazz-tinged style of music. Her debut LP, the aforementioned “Diamond Life” was the best-selling debut ever by a British female vocalist in the UK (that is, if you want to consider Sade as a singer rather than the band). [This record was broken by Duffy in 2008]. In the US, her second album ‘Promise’ even avoided the sophomore slump by being #1 on the album chart. Otherwise, in terms of sales according to RIAA, ‘Promise’ together with ‘Diamond Life’, 1992 ‘Love Deluxe’ and 1994 ‘Best of Sade’, each being 4xplatinum, slightly outsold the other three. In terms of charts, on the Billboard200, it was one of the act’s two sets that was #1 (the other one being 2010’s ‘Soldier of Love’). Indeed 'Promise' also started strong in the holiday season of 1985 year-end, being the top new album for the 12/21/85 chart.
Track played: “The Sweetest Taboo” (a quiet storm song that actually mentions “quiet storm”; in fact the album version played starts off with an extra 7 seconds of storm’s sound effect). My personal favorite: “War of the Hearts”
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Post by rayshae3 on Jul 14, 2015 17:37:49 GMT -5
More for the 80s generation…
Week28: Duran Duran-‘Arena’ Formed in Birmingham, the Fab Five were all over MTV news in their heydays, being the favorite of late Princess Di. They’ve gone through constant changes, and at one point in the early 2000s were even reduced to a trio. Now a four-member group; but ‘Arena’ has the works of the original line-up. Overall, Duran Duran had a total of eight platinum or double-platinum and two gold-certified sets. This biggest ’Arena’ was not only a live album, it also included some previously studio-cut releases, plus “Wild Boys” (a new studio track not on any of Duran Duran’s previous albums.) It was one of their three albums that was 2xplatinum, but outsold the other two (‘Rio’ and ‘Seven and the Ragged Tiger’). ‘Arena’ was also Duran Duran’s highest BB200 album at #4. And with the two already mentioned plus their self-titled debut ‘Duran Duran’ were one of only four Top 10 albums of theirs. The album was released in November 1984, and some significant omissions of their previous hits on this set included US Top 10s “Rio”, “New Moon on Monday” and their first British Top 10, “Girls on Film” that was also one of their early American club hits.
Track played: “The Wild Boys” My personal favorite: “Planet Earth”
Love and Rockets-‘Love and Rockets’ The alternative rock group formed by the trio of Daniel Ash, David J, and Kevin Haskins (their former band Bauhaus disbanded two years before Love and Rockets came along , following the departure of the fourth Bauhaus member). But unlike Bauhaus’ early gothic rock works (and titles like “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” and “4AD”), Love and Rockets shed their dark and gloomy image for a brighter and pop-oriented sound. And one doesn’t have to chase around the databases for this group biggest album either. The self-titled 1989 release ‘Love and Rockets’ was their only gold-certified album with no further platinum set, and this was probably because of the success of the single “So Alive” on this album (#3 on Hot 100, their only US Top 40, and #1 for five weeks on early BB Modern Rock chart and “…and the coolest T.Rex tune Marc Bolan never wrote” as one critic put it.)
Track played: “So Alive” My personal favorite: “The Teardrop Collector”
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Post by rayshae3 on Jul 27, 2015 12:39:20 GMT -5
Week29: Moody Blues-‘Long Distance Voyager’
They said the main headliner in the annual Glastonbury festival (in Reading, England) this year was Lionel Richie, but how about another act whose works precedes him to the earlier part of the 1960s, who have been for the better part of this year on constant tour of North America and the UK, culminating in the Glastonbury 2015 before having one last date in the Netherlands last month. Moody Blues is first and foremost a serious album act, known for the long symphonic-inspired works only the albums could do a meaningful justice to their songs filled with gorgeous sometimes mystical, yet not too deep melodies and beautiful lyrics. They had two number one albums on BB 200, one during their first phase (before 1974) called ‘Seventh Sojourn’, and the other the other one from their second post-1977 period ‘Long Distance Voyager’, a 1981 release and another album on their own label Threshold Records. ‘Long Distance Voyager’ was also the biggest seller of their six platinum certified album. On average this second post-reunion album (and their first in three years) was reminiscent of their late 60s/early 70s works that made the group with much following.
Track played: “The Voice” (written by the unmistakable voice of the Moodies, Justin Hayward, and a #1 on top of the early BB rock chart for four weeks) My personal favorite: “In My World”
Amy Winehouse-‘Back to Black’ With Jazz influences like those of Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan, most of her critically acclaimed works, even before the hit album ‘Back to Black’, told of the promising career of a genius. Indeed listening to her songs, if you didn’t know who she was, you felt you were transferred and listening to the Jazz crossover soul era of the first half of the 60s. Unfortunately Amy Winehouse' life was cut too short when she passed away from alcohol poisoning in 2011 at the age of 27. ‘Back to Black’ (released in Mid-March ’07 in the US, about five months after it was issued in her native UK) her only second, and last studio album was a double platinum, and peaked on Billboard album chart at #2 (peaked in 2008 just after her Grammy wins one year after it entered the US album charts). But the significance of the album was its Grammy wins, and I am not talking about the album of the year for which it was nominated for but lost to Herbie Hancock’s. In the 50th anniversary ceremonies, she tied the most awards win by a female in history (currently also held by Lauryn Hill, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, and Beyonce). The five Grammies were for Best Pop Vocal Albums, and three of the four big ones, Best New Artist, and Record plus Song of the Year for “Rehab” which also won her Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Content-wise, what can I say… the personal brutal breakup album at times with hypnotising effect at the end of a single hearing, becomes extremely “addictive”, tiring, and intense however one wants more replay! BTW, if you happened to buy the US edition when it was first released on March 13, 2007, (and not the subsequent deluxe versions), the final song “Addicted” on the original 2006 British release was missing. And in its place there was a first remix version with guest hip-hop act Ghostface Killah.
Track played: “Rehab” My personal favorite: “Love Is a Losing Game”
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Post by rayshae3 on Jul 27, 2015 21:01:09 GMT -5
From two UK female acts who can really sing for…
Week31: Kiki Dee-‘I’ve Got the Music in Me’
The 1974 album ‘I’ve Got the Music in Me’, credited properly to “The Kiki Dee Band”, unlike her other charted albums that is by the singer, was her only Top 30 album, getting to #28. In fact her next charted album only managed to go to #159. With no certification, it’s her obvious best seller. And why not crediting the album to the band? Five of the nine tracks on this set (including the much-covered original title track) was written by the band’s keyboardist, Bias Boshell; one by the guitarist Jo Partridge, and the other three by Kiki Dee herself. This was in marked departure not only from her Motown days, but also her immediate post-Motown collaboration with Elton John and Bernie Taupin (with the song-writing duo providing much help with the materials of her preceding ‘Loving & Free’ LP). This backup disbanded in 1975. But since almost all the reference materials count the album inside Kiki Dee’s own discography, we included this album interchangeably as one of her solo works here as well. Kiki Dee’s own wide-ranging vocals ,on full display on this album and adaptable to both rock as well as AC ballads is what attracted Motown to sign her as their first white female artist in the first place; And of course later on opening for Elton’s concerts towards the middle of the 70s during the height of Elton John’s career (and that was still a while away from her successful duet single with him.) This album, BTW, was issued on Rocket label which was again co-founded by Elton John (the name came from his hit “Rocket Man”) and of course overtook Kiki Dee’s works after she parted with her blue-eyed soul Motown years to become more of a pop/rock artist.
Track played: “I’ve Got the Music in Me” (title track) My personal favorite: “Water”
Dido-‘No Angel’
Born Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong, Dido was the ex-singer of her brother’s Rollo Armstrong dance band Faithless. But as a solo act, she was no cookie-cutter. And one year before the release date of 6/1/99 in the US (and this album was released in America before her native Britain) she was groomed for a year by her record company as a potential breakthrough touring in different US markets. Yet her songs being “…as moody as a rainy day Monday…”, radio did not get her at the beginning, and it was another full year after her album’s release before it finally debuted on the BB200 in June 2000, with a further nine months until the debut album climb to its peak spot (#4 in March 2001) as Top 40 and AC radio were finally warmed up to her and made a smash out of the single “Thank You”. Now to belated release of ‘No Angel’ in the UK which proved the be a real smash, as it is the second biggest selling album of the 2000s so far, slightly selling over 3 million in Britain. But considering the size of different markets still it was less than the 4xplatinum/for sale of over 4 million copies in America.
Track played: “Thank You” My personal favorite: “My Life”
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Post by rayshae3 on Aug 21, 2015 15:24:19 GMT -5
Two pets: Petula ‘Pet’ Clark and Pet Shop Boys for… Week32: ‘Petula Clark-‘Downtown’ Petula (herself pronounces her name as pe-CHOO-la, nicknamed Pet) is one of the top international acts of the 1960s. Born in 1932 in England, at age nine she starred on BBC radio singing and reciting poems for the families of British soldiers during WWII. By the time she was twelve she already had over 500 such appearances. Then, she also signed a contract, starting her film career, and by 1965 she appeared in over 25 movies. Even as she revived her film career in the late 60s with features like ‘Goodbye Mr. Chips’ and ‘Finian’s Rainbow’, her movie works were always second to her music. She cut her first single at the age of 17, starting a schedule of about 20 singles per year. While still in her teens, she set her eyes on continental Europe, first appearing on Dutch TV and radio, and then in France, making hits in French. In fact in the early 60s, after marrying her husband (a Frenchman), she became completely bi-lingual and became one of the main Rock ‘n’ Roll acts in France with hits like “Ya Ya Twist”. Just before conquering America, she also became famous in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Of course in continental Europe, in the first half of the 60s, in terms of success she was in the same league as Elvis, Beatles and Roy Orbison, with multiple No. 1s in countries like Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, and Holland, and especially in Italy where she pretty much dominated the top portions of Italian charts between 1963 and 1965. Then, came her American success post the 64-British-invasion. Well she has the distinction of the first British female with a Hot 100 number one, with the title track to her first BB chart album ‘Downtown’. The following month (February 1965) the album ‘Downtown’ debuted in the BB Top 150 albums, her first of fourteen chart albums in the US. The LP only achieved the high of #21, and although like the other thirteen didn’t gain any certification, it was her biggest selling album. The AC/Easy Listening set is like they say, as smooth as a butter; even when on some tracks like “Let Me Tell You Baby” we hear the surprise help from pre-Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page; so no rough stuff, and some cuts with heavy instrumentations (and I’m not talking about instumentations like “Kashmir”’s. ) Track played: “Downtown” (her signature song, and if you are a Seinfeld fan, the subject of a puzzle, which reminds me of other familiar pop songs in the series: “Believe It or Not” on George’s answering machine, “Shining Star” when Elaine dances, “Witchy Woman”, and “Heartbreaker” by Pat Benatar that Steinbrener can’t get it out of his head. ) My personal favorite: “Now that You’ve Gone” Pet Shop Boys-‘Please’ The duo of Neil Tenant (vocalist, ex-writer for British magazine “Smash Hits”) and Chris Lowe (keyboardist who was also member of the group ‘Electronic’, what else?!) were always on the cutting edge of lush and collage of electronic orchestration. Their breakthrough album ‘Please’ from 1986 was their biggest seller and their highest charted album at #7. It was their only platinum album, but as Gambaccini said gave them “lots of opportunities” like a further four gold-certified sets. Track played: “West End Girls” My personal favorite: A few of my all-time favs from their ‘discography’ is on this album; but quickly I choose “Love Comes Quickly”.
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Post by rayshae3 on Sept 7, 2015 17:54:59 GMT -5
Week33: Gerry & the Pacemakers-‘Ferry Cross the Mersey/Original Soundtrack'
Yes, of the five chart albums by the Merseybeat group from Liverpool, their best seller in the US is a film soundtrack with nine of the twelve track being by the Liverpool group, the remaining three by the Black Knights, Earl Royce & the Olympics and the Blackwells (and this is on the original 1965 US release, not the secondary version track listings on Wikipedia). This album charted concurrently on Billboard Top 150 LP's with its debut date for weekending February 27, ’65 at #140, while their other album ‘I’ll Be There’ also entered the same date at #137, but eventually outsold the latter, and while ‘I’ll Be There’ got stuck at #120, the movie score eventually climb to #13 in May of 1965. Gerry is of course Gerry Marsden, the voice of the quartet who in fact wrote all the nine compositions for the movie in eight days. With his brother Freddie Marsden (on drums) he was in early skiffle bands in their hometown, then to Hamburg, Germany rivaling the Beatles. Indeed, according to the Official British Chart, they have a #1 immediately before the Beatles first UK #1 in 1963 (“From Me to You”), and immediately after. That first two #1s plus another later on in 1963, made them the only group with their first three British chart entries to score three number ones. This feat stood unchallenged for another twenty years before accidentally another act from Liverpool, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, equalled the record in the UK charts in the 80s. The group first got signed by Brian Epstein in 1962. This slapstick movie first released in December 1964 in the UK and credits George Martin as the entire film’s musical director.
Track played: “Ferry Cross the Mersey” My personal Favorite: (the same) "Ferry Cross the Mersey"
Mick Jagger-‘She’s the Boss’ The Rolling Stones might be in the record books with the most US Top 10 albums on Billboard 200 (36 of them), but the frontman Mick Jagger has only five solo titles on the album chart, none of them inside the top 10. The biggest and the only million-seller is the #13 album ‘She’s the Boss’, the debut solo album of him from 1985. It has both familiar Stones’-like uptempo rock cuts as well as funky Chic-like numbers thanks to co-producers, Bill Laswell and Nile Rodgers.
Track played: “Just Another Night” My personal favorite: “Running Out of Luck”
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