The Breakfast Club was notable for being the band that had Madonna as a member before she was famous and Stephen Bray (the drummer) co-wrote many of Madonna's early hits. But in 1987 the band finally got their chance to shine. They had a minor hit with Right On Track, which I love, but this was a song that needed some more love....and now you can give it some.
Released on March 17th, 1986 this album showed not just a darker direction for Depeche Mode but a new found confidence in the song writing of Martin Gore. Add to that the power of Dave Gahan's vocals and the exciting sampling of Alan Wilder and this was a masterpiece of music for the mid 1980's. It also opened up the floodgates that would be 1987's blockbuster Music For The Masses and its follow up, Violator. So the road was being paved.
Lets take a look at the tracks:
Black Celebration - Dark and atmospheric, a song about how the fringe kids, the loners, the "wierdos" are still connected to happy times and being with the one that makes the blackness go away. I'll drink to that.
Fly On The Windscreen - Talk about dark. Its bleak, its haunting but lie on the floor with headphones on (trust me) and be transported to Martin Gore's view of love during the apocalypse.
A Question Of Lust - Martin Gore lays all his cards on the table in the game of love and lust.
Sometimes - We found our depression and we want to share it...
It Doesn't Matter Two - This is what young lust fulfilled sounds like.....with its awkward ending and all.
A Question Of Time - Disturbingly creepy but very danceable (and that makes for much confusion). He's protecting the 15 year old by taking them "under his wing"?
Stripped - Very atmospheric. But here's an electronic band talking about shedding all modern things and escaping back to nature if even just for one day as the keyboard swells and entices. What a statement!
Here Is The House - A look at domestic bliss...but I suspect not everything is all sunshine and roses...it is Depeche Mode, after all.
World Full Of Nothing - Well, here it is...the thoughts that go through every young couples head when they finally pass that first, big barrier and experience lust. Oddly we usually look back on this moment with less fond memories.
Dressed In Black - What do you do when you fall in love with your bondage master?
New Dress - An indictment of the British press in the mid 80's. The world is going to hell in a handcart and the press reports on the trivial, The power of the press should never be underestimated.
......Wow!!
All of those are great songs. And listening to them 30 years later, there is no drop in quality and the use of all of the range of the stereo effect is amazing. Alan Wilder used the whole spectrum of effects to paint a huge landscape of sound.
The band also released a few singles before the album was ready for market.
It's Called A Heart - Probably the most straight forward love song Martin Gore ever wrote.
But Not Tonight - The band handed this over to a movie company that used it as their theme...the song is much better than the movie. Even someone as pessimistic as Martin Gore can smile when he sees the stars.
Flexible - Someone sounds like he questioning his commitment to his views now that he's becoming a rich rock star.....probably not.
Shake The Disease - My favorite DM song of all time. In fact, lets watch the video now...
I LOVED this band. Still do. I was lucky enough to see them during their first tour after releasing their first album, Play Deep and then again after the second album, Bangin'. After the second show I was able to meet the band and I was so thrilled....and the funny part was they wanted to stay and chat with me so they wouldn't have to go meet with record company people (or "suits" as they called them).
The band, Tony Lewis (bass and lead vocals), John Spinks (guitar, background vocals and main songwriter) and Alan Jackman (drums) formed in Manchester, England after first getting signed as The Baseball Boys. They changed their name at the request of the record label and never saw any chart success in their native country. But they more than made up for it in America. Seven US top 20 hit singles. Add to that a triple platinum debut album and things looked unstoppable for the boys...then the Seattle grunge scene hit and things slowed down on traditional rock music. Over the years the band has continued to release music and tour from time to time (I saw them a third time in the early 2000's and they were still great). Sadly, John Spinks passed away in July of 2014 from liver cancer and the future plans for the band are up in the air as of now.
But for now, lets enjoy the first single off their second album.....
Released on Feb. 25th 1985, it was a landmark album, and only the second release from the band. It reached #1 in the US and spawned two #1's and a #3 single. Shout, Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Head Over Heals and, my personal favorite, Mothers Talk. Its still hard to believe this band had only formed 4 years earlier. It went on to sell over 5 million copies in the US alone.
Please enjoy Mothers Talk and keep in mind this was 30 years ago.
Another Canadian band that caught a spark in the US for a few minutes. The song, On The Loose, was a top 40 hit in 1981.....but not because the video is any good (early MTV was filled with great songs....terrible videos). I'm not sure why the lead singer breaks out of jail and hides on stage in the middle of a concert. And why don't the police recognize him??? He's only wearing a giant white jump suit with a spot light on himself. Oh well, the song is awesome.
I love me some Gibson guitar fueled rock....and this song has 3 Gibson guitar players....and 2 drummers (The bass player must have felt very lonely). 38 Special was founded by neighborhood friends Don Barnes (lead singer) and Donnie Van Zant (middle brother of the Van Zant brothers, from Lynyrd Skynyrd) in Jacksonville, Florida in 1974. By the early 80's the band had crossed over from Southern Rock to mainstream rock with a series of radio friendly hits. Thank goodness they never needed music videos to break into the big time, 'cause this video is not the way to sell this song....maybe they wanted to sell beer (just look at the drum riser and you'll see what I mean).
If you want to have a hour or so of fun, go to the Wikipedia page for the band and try to chart out the members of the band over the years.
But since the song is the star of this show....please enjoy.
The song that probably raises more questions than it answers. But lets take a look at the whole picture and see what we get. Men Without Hats was a band from Canada and this was their one big hit. Released in early 1983 its supposed to be about bouncers at Canadian dance clubs that were stopping people from pogo-ing (an early, non-violent form of slam dancing). Um...what?
Ok, well the song is one of those classic 80's synth-pop songs that had a great hook and a great dance beat so it makes sense that it was a #1 US dance hit. But what is going on with some of the lyrics? "...'cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance well they're no friends of mine".....that seems a bit judgmental. But lets take a look at the one line that always has me stopping mid-Safety Dancing....."Everybody Look At Your Hands". WHAT???? Every time that line comes up...I look at my hands....but now what do I do??? And why am I being asked (or is it told?) to do this??? I'm still confused.
The video provides no help. Only the lead singer (and chief songwriter), Ivan Doroschuk, appears in the video. But don't let that fact confuse you...'cause there's a whole gang of strange people to fill this video. There's a dwarf that is playing a lute, there's a hyper-active blond woman and some sort of Renaissance Faire going on and every few seconds or so someone forms their arms into the shape of an "S"...see, 'cause its the Safety Dance....like I said, this video doesn't offer any help. It should be noted that the blonde woman has since been identified as Louise Court. She is an Editor and Writer at Cosmopolitan Magazine (it still seems odd to me that she was "missing"....I never knew there were people looking for her).
