1980s – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Replacements – Hold My Life

There is a reason I like SNL’s first 5 seasons the best, and to me, they never came near that again. Were some of the later seasons just as funny or funnier? Yes, they were, but more rigidly controlled. Why am I bringing this up on a Replacements post? One word…Risk. I like it when actors, comedians, and musicians are on the edge. You know good and well it could break apart at any moment, but somehow they manage to pull it back together at the last minute. Artists who take chances and run the risk of running off the road are exciting. Sometimes a chaos grenade needs to be pitched in to liven things up. No bigger chaos grenade than the Replacements musically.

One thing that took me a while to learn when I played in various bands, it’s alright to mess up (I don’t mean stupid mental mistakes). As long as you were trying to push the song forward, take chances. I’ve been on stage when a song falls apart. Not a good feeling, but you learn from those things. I noticed the crowd always loved it when you tried different things on the edge.

The crowd was not musicians, but they could feel a car wreck coming, but more often than not, it didn’t come and was pulled back between the lines…but it was the thought of watching a train/car wreck. In other words, the phrase “playing with fire” came into play, but it paid off so many times. After a while, you can control the chaos when you conquer your fear of making mistakes. Then it becomes second nature, and you know how to progress, and the mistakes stop, but the thought/energy doesn’t…so we learned to risk it from time to time. I guess that is why I love the Replacements so much…they perfected that energy. I first learned it from The Who.

The Replacements are famous for that mentality. Everything sounds like it could fall apart, and that’s exactly the point. This song is the opening track from the album Tim from 1985. The Replacements had already built a reputation for mixing chaos with something close to truth. It doesn’t ease you in; it drops you right into the middle of the chaos.

The recording came during sessions with producer Tommy Erdelyi, better known as Tommy Ramone. The Ramones drummer pushed the band toward to something tighter, but you can still hear and feel the sharp edges. I always liked the line “Hold my life until I’m ready to use it.” It sounds like a throwaway at first, but it stuck with me. Back then, it sounded like an attitude. Now it sounds more like a question. There’s frustration in it, maybe a sense of being stuck between wanting control and not knowing what to do with it.

This album was their first major label release on Sire Records in 1984. This would be the last album by the original band because Bob Stinson would be kicked out a couple of years later. Tim was placed 136th on Rolling Stone’s 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and 137th in a 2012 revised list. The album peaked at #186 on the Billboard Album Chart in 1986.

Hold My Life

Oooo well, well, wellI bought itDown on all foursLet me crawlIf I want ICould dieOh byMy handTime for decisions to be madeCrack up in the sunLose it in the shade

Razzle dazzle razzle drollTime for this one to come homeRazzle dazzle razzle dieTime for this one to come aliveAnd hold my lifeUntil I’m ready to use itHold my lifeBecause I just might lose itBecause I just might lose itBecause I just might lose it

Well, well, wellAnyone could tellClassic aweA lucky shotOoo-leh-doHate ’emSomeday soonFace ’emTime for decisions to be madeCrack up in the sunLose it in the shade

Just my, just my, just myWe might crack up in the sunBut we’ll lose it in the shade

Razzle dazzle razzle drollTime for this one to come homeRazzle dazze razzle dieTime for this one to come aliveAnd hold my lifeUntil I’m ready to use itHold my lifeBecause I just might lose itBecause I just might lose itHold my lifeHold my lifeHold my, hold my, hold my, hold my, hold

Godfathers – She Gives Me Love

There’s no easing into She Gives Me Love. It hits fast and stays there. Released in 1986 on Hit by Hit, the track shows what The Godfathers were about in their early run: tight playing, sharp edges, and no interest in slowing down.

I listened to their first real album Birth, School, Work, Death, and it was fantastic. I then skipped around and listened to some songs throughout their career. Super band… they have a tough, rough Katie bar the door… no-holds-barred sound. I hear some Who, Kinks, Small Faces, Sloan, and other bands in them.

The main reason I like them…the hooks. They know how to develop and use great hooks in the right places. While you have the hooks and melodies, you also have the super-aggressive anger riding on top of everything. They mix it perfectly. In short… abrasive in-your-face rock.

The band, led by Peter Coyne and Chris Coyne, came out of the UK scene with a sound that pulled from R&B and stripped-down rock. You can hear that here. The guitars are direct, and the whole thing feels built for a small room turned up too loud. It doesn’t try to expand beyond that.

This is one I came across later, digging past the usual tracks people mention. It felt like finding something still wired tight after all these years. No buildup, no release, just straight through. Sometimes that’s all you need.

She Gives Me Love

Don’t claim to understand herI wonder what she’s doing with meDon’t know what she does with the rest of her timeBut she gives it to me for free

She gives me loveShe gives me love

She never takes my moneyBut she always steals my timeShe’s the kind of a girl that if you gave her the worldShe’d say it wasn’t worth a dime

She gives me loveShe gives me love

It’s not easy to explain itThe effect she has on meMake a dumb man talk and a blind man seeThat sweet little mystery

She gives me loveShe gives me love

Formerly Brothers – The Return of the Formerly Brothers …album review

A while back, I really started to get into Doug Sahm because the guy was quality, period. Everything I’ve heard from him I’ve liked. Thanks to halffastcyclingclub for more information about Doug. He was born in 1941 and had singles out when he was 14 in 1955. He was a child prodigy and a proud Texan.

The Formerly Brothers brought together three players who already had long histories: Amos Garrett, Doug Sahm, and Gene Taylor. I’m grateful they did, and the reason I first listened was because of Doug Sahm, but he is far from the only one on this album. When three artists of this caliber get together, sometimes it can feel forced, but this one doesn’t. The album was released in 1987.

They got their name from the press always introducing them individually as “formerly of” different bands. They started this album after appearing at the 1986 Edmonton Folk Festival. The project came together as a collaboration between these artists who had crossed paths for years.

Doug Sahm founded, with Augie Meyers, The Sir Douglas Quintet. He would go on to have a solo career and also play with The Texas Tornados, among many others. The American-Canadian Amos Garrett became known for session work, including his time with Paul Butterfield and his guitar on Maria Muldaur’s Midnight at the Oasis. Gene Taylor worked with many artists, including Canned Heat and, later, The Blasters, but he was always in demand for his piano playing.

By all accounts, they got along well, and the music shows this. It sounds like very talented musicians having fun at a party, but the music stays precise, yet not rigid. What makes the record work is that it doesn’t try to give us any new style of music. It sticks with styles like blues structures, R&B grooves, barroom riffs, and pure country. Sometimes bundled all together for our listening pleasure.

The music slips easily into different styles like changing socks. The first song that got my attention on this album is the song Teardrops On Your Letter for its soulful sound and that tremelo guitar to open it. Sahm knocks that vocal out of the park. They cover Dylan with Just Like A Woman and it is a version I will go back to.

Louis Riel is another song that caught me right away. Again, it was the soulful voice of Sahm. The opener Smack Dab In The Middle is somewhere in the middle of R&B and Country. Big Mamou is pure old school country. Probably my favorite on the album is Queen of the Okanagan.

The record blends blues, R&B, country, and Texas roots music while blurring the lines between them. Sahm’s voice carries a lot of it while Garrett’s guitar fills the spaces with that clean tone and bending style. Gene Taylor’s piano is a big part of this album as well.

There’s a loose feel across the album, but it’s not sloppy. It’s the kind of looseness that comes from experience. If you’ve spent time with Sahm’s solo records or the Texas Tornados, this sits right alongside that world, just scaled down a bit.

The album won the Juno Award for Best Roots & Traditional Album at the Juno Awards of 1989. Also, here is a 15-minute interview with Doug Sahm. He tells a lot about his history in this one.

Joe Cocker – When The Night Comes

In 1989, I remember riding around in my Celica and hearing this song a lot on our then-local radio station, 103 WKDF. Later on in 2000, I got to see Joe Cocker open up for Tina Turner. Great concert with two huge talents. He hadn’t lost a step at all in 2000. The last time I posted a Cocker song, Christian reminded me about a later hit for him. It was either this one or Keep Your Hat On… but either way it’s excellent.

When this song opened the album One Night of Sin in 1989 and marked a strong return for Cocker. The track was written by Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance, and Diane Warren, and you can hear that late 80s style in the structure, built for radio but still rooted in R&B and rock.

The guitar entrance is what caught my ear. Over that, Cocker’s voice carries the song. He doesn’t overplay it; he lets the quality of his voice do the work. It is controlled, but still has that edge he was known for, and what I love about him. The track became one of his bigger late-career hits and helped reintroduce him to a wider audience at the end of the decade. I’ve heard the album, and it’s good, and they avoided overproduction.

It felt current for the time, but still like Joe Cocker. The groove pulls you in, but it is the vocal that keeps you there. It is a comeback song that doesn’t try to go overboard; it just works. The song peaked at #11 on the Billboard 100, #23 in Canada, and #65 in the UK in 1989. The album peaked at #52 on the Billboard Album Charts, #60 in Canada, and #20 in New Zealand.

When The Night Comes

Hold onI’ll be back for youIt won’t be longBut for now there’s something elseThat’s calling meSo take me down a lonesome roadPoint me east and let me goThat suitcase weighs me downWith memories

I just want to be the one you run toI just want to be the one you come toI just want to be there for someoneWhen the night comesLet’s put all the cares behind usAnd go where they’ll never find usI just want to be there beside youWhen the night comesWhen the night comes

Two spirits in the nightThat can leave before the morning lightWhen there’s nothing left to loseAnd nothing left to fearSo meet me on the edge of townWon’t keep you waiting I’ll be ’roundThen you and IWe’ll just roll right out of here

I know there’ll be a time for you and IJust take my hand and run awayThink of all the pieces of the shattered dreamWe’re gonna make it out some dayWe’ll be coming backComing back to stayWhen the night comes

I want to be the one you run toWhen the night comesTo be the one you’d come toI want to be the one you run toOohI just want to be the one you run towant to be the one you come toI just want to be there for someoneWhen the night comesLet’s put all the cares behind usAnd go where they’ll never find usI just want to be there beside youWhen the night comesWhen the night comesAh ah when the night comesWhen the night rolls downAh ah when the night comesI want to be with youAh ah when the night comesOh ah when the night comes inAh ah ohAh ah when the night comesWhen the night comesAh ah when the night comesI want to be right by your sideAh ah when the night comesYes babyAh ah ohDon’t do that to me womanAh ah ohEver stayed when the night time gets in hereAh ah when the night comesI want to rise and up in theWhen the night comesAh ah when the night comesAh ah ohLove me

Mink DeVille – Love and Emotion

I love this sound they had. It reminds me of old Springsteen and a Southside Johnny New Jersey sound. They changed through the years, but Willy DeVille kept his own personal sound. The intro is what hooked me on this. It sounds huge starting off, and that sax is just wonderful. I feel like I’m in a smoky bar listening to a great band around midnight. Been there, done that, and it’s awesome.

Mink DeVille was formed in 1974 in San Francisco, but they are known for their association with punk bands at the New York club CBGB. They would go on to record six albums, and Willy DeVille made 10 albums solo. The band lasted until 1986.

His songs seem to sound like the songs that came from street corners instead of studios. I mean that as a huge compliment. They feel grounded and tangible. This song is from the 1981 album Coup de Grâce, which keeps that feeling going. By this point, Willy DeVille had a mixture of soul, Latin rhythm, and rock and roll that set the band apart.

By the time Mink DeVille got to Coup de Grâce in 1981, things had shifted. The early CBGB-era lineup was mostly gone, and Willy DeVille was steering the band on his own terms. The sound moved a little further away from the rawer New York street feel of the first records. It was something more controlled, but it was still rooted in soul and R&B.

The album was produced by Jack Nitzsche (Jack Nitzsche said that DeVille was the best singer he had ever worked with), which matters here. Nitzsche had worked with everyone from Phil Spector to the Rolling Stones, and he understood how to build atmosphere. On this song, that approach shows. It’s a smoother album, but it never loses that club feel that Willy DeVille was good at.

The title suggests something soft, but the delivery has an edge. That contrast was always part of Mink DeVille’s sound. The music sounds older but without sounding like a revival act. The album peaked at #161 on the Billboard Album Charts in 1981.

Love And Emotion

We walk the street, and I hold your hand
And as we stroll along, I can’t understand
How a love can live
In this desolate land

Broken windows and broken hearts
And you are cheated before you start
Was there ever a chance?
No, there was never a chance

But then your love, love and emotion
Oh, your love, love and emotion
Oh, how your love, love and emotion
Oh, your love sets me free

So everyday at five o’clock
I run down your street to your block
And up five flights of
Up five flights of stairs

And in your laughter, there’s mission bells
Colored lanterns and carousels
And in this hallway is home
No, I’m not so alone

Because your love, love and emotion
Oh, your love, love and emotion
Oh, how your love, love and emotion
Oh, your love sets me free

Oh, how your love, love and emotion
Oh, your love, love and emotion
Oh, how your love, love and emotion
Oh, your love sets me free

Squeeze – Piccadilly

I owned the album East Side Story, the fourth album by Squeeze, and this song caught my attention right off. It drew comparisons to the Beatles, especially in Rolling Stone Magazine at the time. That’s usually the kiss of death, and so unfair to any artist to start comparing to Dylan or anyone else. This album was hyped, but it paid off. This song wasn’t a hit, but it was a hit in my car and at home because I wore it out. So, #1 on Max’s chart.

One of the strengths of Squeeze was always their ability to shift gears within an album. On East Side Story, you get upbeat pop, soul influences, and a few slower pieces. In my opinion, they were one of the best pop bands of the 1980s, but didn’t get played here as much, except for a few big hit singles. Their songs were quality and good, and they didn’t sound thrown together to get a hit.

It was written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, and the song shows their usual approach with sharp observations about what is around them. Like Tempted, they use adjectives SO well in this, and it puts you in the song. You can see what they are talking about. As in a purple hairdryer, begging folk singer, the neon club lights of adult films and Trini Lopez, and just visuals, you can see. Tilbrook’s vocal keeps things straightforward, which fits the tone of the lyrics.

By 1981, Squeeze had become one of the most reliable songwriting bands of the British new wave era. After the success of Argybargy, the group wanted to try something broader for their next record. Instead of using one producer, the band worked with a couple, Elvis Costello and Roger Bechirian, which helped give the album its varied sound.

When the album was released in 1981, it became one of Squeeze’s most respected records. Songs like Tempted, Labelled With Love, Messed Around, Is That Love, and In Quintessence were the singles, but deeper cuts like this song show another side of the band, just as well-crafted.

The album peaked at #44 on the Billboard 100 and #19 in the UK in 1981.

Piccadilly

She’s not a picture above somebody’s fireShe sits in a towel with a purple hair dryer,She waits to get even with me.She hooks up her cupcakes and puts on her jumperExplains that she’ll be late to a worrying mother,She meets me in Piccadilly.A begging folk singer stands tall by the entranceHis song relays worlds of most good intentions,A fiver a ten p in his hat for collection.She talks about office she talks about dressesShe’s seen one she fancies her smile is impressing,So maybe I’ll treat her someday.We queue among strangers and strange conversationLove’s on the lips of all forms of engagements,All queuing to see tonight’s play.A man behind me talks to his young ladyHe’s happy that she is expecting his baby,His wife won’t be pleased but she’s not been round lately.The girl was so dreadful we left in a hurryWe escaped in the rain for an Indian curry,At the candle lit Taj Mahal.My lips to a napkin I called for a taxiThe invite of eyes made it tense but relaxed me,My mind took a devious role.The cab took us home through a night I’d not noticedThe neon club lights of adult films and Trini Lopez,My arm around love but my acting was hopeless.

We crept like two thieves from the kettle to the fireWe kissed to the sound of the silence that we’d hired,Now captured, your love in my arms.A door opened slightly a voice spoke in worryMum went to bed without wind of the curry,Our secret love made its advance.Like Adam and Eve we took bite on the appleLoose change in my pocket it started to rattle,Heart like a gun was just half of the battle.

Madness – One Step Beyond

In the 1980s, I was watching MTV, and I came across this band playing a song called Our House and I loved it. Not only did I like the song, but the bands irrevelant humor wore off on me. They didn’t take themselves seriously at all, and I respect that.

When this song came out in 1979, it sounded like a party breaking out in the middle of the British charts. Madness was part of the late-1970s ska revival that grew out of London clubs. Their version of this was actually a remake of a 1964 instrumental by Jamaican artist Prince Buster. Madness kept the structure but turned it into something louder and more chaotic. The song begins with Chas Smash shouting “Don’t watch that, watch this!” before the band launches into the riff. From that moment, it feels like a call to the dance.

It’s a fast ska rhythm, brass sounds, and a repeating organ line. Unlike many pop songs of the time, there is very little singing. Instead, the horns carry the melody while the band pushes the tempo forward. It captures the mix of Jamaican ska and British pub-rock attitude that defined the early Madness sound. The record was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, who helped give the band a tight but lively sound.

The video, with the group dancing and marching through London streets, helped define their image. Madness were not trying to be serious rock stars. They looked like a gang of friends who started a band and brought the party with them. This was the title cut off of their debut album, released in 1979. The album peaked at #2 on the UK Album Charts and #27 in New Zealand that year. The song peaked at #7 in the UK.

Here is a later live version. The crowd was ready!

One Step Beyond

(Hey you, don’t watch that,
Watch this!
This is the heavy heavy monster sound
The nutsiest sound around
So if you’ve come in off the street
And you’re beginning to feel the heat
Well listen buster
You’d better to start to move your feet
To the rockin’est, rock-steady beat
Of Madness
One step beyond!)

(One step beyond!…)

Pixies – Gouge Away

I started following this band in the 1990s after hearing the song “Here Comes Your Man,” which caught my power-pop ear. It was on their 1989 album, Doolittle. I love the dynamics in this one and the harder style.

By 1989, Pixies were no longer an underground surprise. After Surfer Rosa, they went into the studio to make a tighter, more direct record. That record became Doolittle. The sessions took place in late 1988 in Boston, with Gil Norton producing. Norton pushed the band toward precision. He said he focused on structure and dynamics. Gouge Away benefited from that approach.

Black Francis brought the song in with its biblical reference; he drew from the story of Samson and Delilah. But in the studio, the band worked on feeling more than sticking strictly to that concept. The verses were kept restrained on purpose, so the chorus would hit harder. That is where the dynamics came into play. I like the sound of Kim Deal’s driving bass in this one. Also, I have to mention, the guitar solo is very unique to me. I love the way they fit that solo in with the sustain.

Unlike some of the raw edges on Surfer Rosa, Doolittle was built with layering in mind. Multiple vocal takes were tracked to get Francis’s half-whisper right before the explosion of the refrain. The final mix keeps plenty of space in the verses, then opens up when the band surges. As the closing track, Gouge Away was put there to leave a mark. It ends the album the way the Pixies often worked in the studio at that point, controlled and sharp.

The album peaked at #98 in the Billboard Album Charts, #8 in the UK, and #18 in New Zealand in 1989.

Gouge Away

Gouge awayYou can gouge awayStay all dayIf you want to

Missy aggravationSome sacred questionsYou stroke my locksSome marijuanaIf you got some

Gouge awayYou can gouge awayStay all dayIf you want to

Sleeping on your bellyYou break my armsYou spoon my eyesBeen rubbing a bad charmWith holy fingers

Gouge awayYou can gouge awayStay all dayIf you want to

Chained to the pillarsA three day partyI break the wallsAnd kill us allWith holy fingers

Gouge awayYou can gouge awayStay all dayIf you want to

Style Council – Shout To The Top

I am a Paul Weller fan, and it’s nice to see what he did after he left The Jam in 1982. Some really good soul pop songs and excellent songwriting, as you would expect from Weller. I mostly know his Jam songs but I’m learning more about him.

Paul Weller and Mick Talbot built the song around a bright keyboard riff and a gospel-type groove that is more Curtis Mayfield than punk. It was a stand-alone single. It was later added to the 1984 album Our Favourite Shop CD release, and it became one of their biggest hits in the UK and a club favorite. It was on the US album Internationalists, a version of this album.

This song is a great example of a perfect blend of soul history and modern pop. It’s built for radios and dance floors…and anyone needing a push through their day. Instead of stacking layers of guitars, the band focused on the rhythm and let the groove carry everything.

The song peaked at #7 in the UK and #6 in New Zealand in 1984-85. The album peaked at #1 in the UK, #6 in New Zealand, #123 in the Billboard Album Charts, and #53 in Canada.

Should It To The Top

I was half in mind, I was half in needAnd as the rain came downI dropped to my knees and I prayedI said, “Oh heavenly thing, please cleanse my soulI’ve seen all on offer and I’m not impressed at all”

I was halfway home, I was half insaneAnd every shop window I looked in just looked the sameI said, “Now send me a sign to save my life‘Cause at this moment in time there is nothing certain inThese days of mine”

You see it’s a frightening thing when it dawns upon youThat I know as much as the day I was bornAnd though I wasn’t asked, I might as well stayAnd promise myself each and every day

That when you’re knocked on your back and your life’s a flopAnd when you’re down on the bottom there’s nothing elseBut to shout to the topWell we’re gonna shout to the topWe’re gonna shout to the topWe’re gonna shout to the topHey, we’re gonna shout to the top

You see it’s a frightening thing when it dawns upon youThat I know as much as the day I was bornAnd though I wasn’t asked, I might as well stayAnd promise myself each and every day

We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)

So when you’re knocked on your back and your life’s a flopAnd when you’re down on the bottom there’s nothing elseBut to shout to the top (shout)Well, we’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)

And when you’re knocked on your back and your life’s a flopAnd when you’re down on the bottom there’s nothing elseBut to shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)

Hey, yeah, shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)

We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)

We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)

Desert Rose Band – She Don’t Love Nobody

A few months ago, around September, I met Arthur when he was commenting on my blog. He is better known as purplegoatee2684b071ed. We have had some wonderful conversations, and I told him if you ever want to post a music post…I would be honored to do it. He took me up on my offer, and he wrote up a post about The Desert Rose Band. I do appreciate Arthur writing this up. Here is Arthur!

I am Purplesomething or other. My name is Art Schaak. I have no idea where WordPress got the name for me. When I found this incredible blog I signed up for WordPress and they told me my e-mail, which is fairly unique, was already assigned to this Purple guy. purplegoatee2684b071ed, that’s what they call me. For years I had a full beard, now I am clean shaven (when I shave) and I’ve never sported a goatee. I have been called an old goat, and old other things, and I honestly find it hard to deny.

I have been reading and commenting on this blog since September of 2025, a relative newcomer. I am much more impressed with the community and its individual members than you should be of me.

I am 72 years old. I have been a big music fan as long as I can remember. I skirted the peripheries of the music industry in the mid 70s until I realized I was not a follower of fashion, dedicated or not. I know a little about this stuff, am horribly opinionated, and have very eclectic tastes.

The Desert Rose Band was Chris Hillman, Herb Pedersen, John Jorgenson, Bill Bryson, Jay Dee Maness, and Steve Duncan. This song, written by John Hiatt, reached #3 on Billboard’s US Hot Country Songs and was awarded the 1989 Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group Grammy. It wasn’t their biggest hit, but it is my favorite.

The magic lies in the music. Give it a listen. It is the energy. The harmonies are tight. The performance is together. It might be too perfect, considering some of the opinions offered elsewhere on this blog, but I can’t call that a problem. This tune just delightfully pops along.

Hiatt’s lyrics are a lot of fun. Yes, I am a fan and have been since his Hanging Around The Observatory debut on Epic way back in the 70’s. By the way, Hiatt did two songs on the second White Duck album on Uni that I was amazed I found at a 25-cent parking lot sale at Rhino Records; I played it once, and that was more than it deserved.

Jorgeson continues to play, but his recent performances in the Los Angeles area have been with his bluegrass ensemble and his hot jazz ensemble. A long way from the Desert Rose Band or his tenure with the Elton John band. He is a great guitar player with an even greater sense of the overall music he is producing, kind of like Ry Cooder, where one can groove on his expertise or just be amazed at the incredible music he is putting out.

By the way, the web says the last performance of the Desert Rose Band, Live at the Country Music Hall of Fame CMA Theater, October 2, 2022, is due to be released in March of 2026.

And Chris Hillman seems extremely active (considering his age and such), according to his website, chrishillman.com.

Like I said, give it a listen.

She Don’t Love Nobody

From my humble point of view
She don’t love nobody
Nothin’ borrowed, nothin’ blue
She don’t love nobody

Behind the green eyes I detect
She don’t love nobody
Her heart no kiss could resurrect
She don’t love nobody

All of her life
She’s been told to hang on tight
There’s a man who’d make her his wife
But she’s not interested in anything mama said

She throws passion to the wind
She don’t love nobody
She don’t give out but she don’t give in
She don’t love nobody

And if I could I’d make her mine
But she don’t love nobody
And she would never walk that line
She don’t love nobody

All of my life
I’ve been told to hang on tight
There’s a girl who’d be my wife
But I’m not interested in anything mama said

I want the girl who does not need
She don’t love nobody

She’s the one my heart receives
She don’t love nobody

She don’t love nobody
She don’t love nobody

Peter Case – I Shook His Hand

Each tongue is a world, each eye is an ocean
Of every child, woman, man here in living motion
Now who’ll protect us, who’ll pеrfect us
Who’ll live to see the day whеn love connects us

I just started to listen to Peter Case recently, although I like the Plimsouls, I never knew much about Case. This song and its history intrigued me. First of all, it’s a great song, but Case started this song by reminiscing about when he was a kid and shook hands with John Kennedy at a county fair that Kennedy had appeared at. So by total coincidence, this again fits into the book I’m reading. I had a playlist of his songs, and I heard this one, and I thought…what hand did he shake? I then read his quote about shaking hands with JFK.

He first broke out with The Nerves, a tight power pop band that was popular on the early LA power-pop scene. Though they never found major commercial success, they did have the song Hanging on the Telephone, later covered by Blondie. The Nerves showed Case’s gift for melodic songwriting and short three-minute power pop songs.

After that came The Plimsouls, who blended power pop with roots rock and harder edges. Tracks like A Million Miles Away made them cult favorites and briefly pushed them into the mainstream. The band toured constantly, but music industry pressure and burnout pulled them apart just as they were gaining traction.

This song is off of Peter’s self-titled debut album, released in 1986. The musicians he gathered, I’m a huge fan of. Roger McGuinn on his 12-string Rickenbacker, Jim Keltner on drums, Van Dyke Parks on keyboards, T-Bone Burnett producing, and acoustic guitar and more. He was on Geffen Records at the time and also released a UK EP called Steel Strings that contained many of these songs. He also released another EP called Selections from Peter Case. That one had two different versions of the song Steel Strings on it.

The album was largely recorded live in the room, with players reacting to each other instead of building tracks layer by layer. I say this a lot in my reviews, but it’s true in this case as well. The band played to each other, and there were minimal overdubs. He kept small imperfections that made the performances feel real. The goal wasn’t to overproduce the album; it was to capture the way these songs worked when he played them alone or in small rooms.

He has been productive as a solo artist. 14 studio albums, 4 EPs, 3 compilations, and 11 singles. A tribute album was also released in 2006, A Case for Case, with various artists.

Peter Case: I wrote this one in 1984, on the Amtrak train down to San Antonio, where I was meeting the rest of the Plimsouls to start a tour. It’s about meeting JFK on his trip to the Erie County Fair, when I was five, though I was also thinking about MLK and RFK.

I Shook His Hand

I was a kid out behind the fair
His words were like lightning in the summer air
His eyes were wild with the truth he told
Holding back the rain while the thunder rolled

I was too young to understand
I was proud to say I shook his hand

He took command on a winter’s day
All across the land, spring was on its way
He struck fear into the hearts of fools
Breaking up the gangs, breaking all their rules

Too young not to understand
I was proud to say I shook his hand

Each tongue is a world, each eye is an ocean
Of every child, woman, man here in living motion
Now who’ll protect us, who’ll pеrfect us
Who’ll live to see the day whеn love connects us
Who’ll take a step out in this land
I’ll be proud to say I shook his hand
I shook his hand, well I shook his hand

For years they tried to kill him, he finally died
I still remember how I felt when my mama cried
I grew up with a bullet in my breast
If you knew it or not, so did all the rest

Robert Cray – Smoking Gun

Robert Cray was a delight to hear in the 1980s. SRV, Robert Cray, Eric Clapton, and a few others received significant radio play in that decade. It was great hearing the guitar-dominant songs.

The song was recorded for Strong Persuader, the album that changed Robert Cray’s career. The sessions focused on sound clarity and guitar, not excess. Producers Bruce Bromberg and Dennis Walker kept the arrangements tight, making sure the rhythm section stayed locked in.

The song’s success was helped by radio and MTV, which was unusual for a blues artist at the time. The video, simple and story-driven, fit the song’s mood and helped it cross formats. That exposure turned this song into a breakout hit and pushed Strong Persuader into success. This song helped him get to a wider audience, and he didn’t lose who he was.

His guitar tone is remarkably clean and controlled in this song. Sometimes, it’s not what you put into a song, but what you leave out. Silent spaces let songs breathe, and I think that is a big part of this. The song peaked at #22 on the Billboard 100 in 1986. The album peaked at #13 on the Billboard Album Charts, #34 in Canada, #5 in New Zealand, and #34 in the UK.

Smoking Gun

I get a constant busy signal
When I call you on the phone
I get a strong, uneasy feeling
You’re not sitting there alone

I’m having nasty, nasty visions
And baby you’re in every one, yeah
And I’m so afraid I’m gonna find you with
A so-called smoking gun

Maybe you wanna end it
You’ve had your fill with my kind of fun
But you don’t know how to tell me
And you know that I’m not that dumb

I put two and one together
And you know that’s not an even sum
And I know just where to catch you with
That well-known smoking gun

I’m standing here, bewildered
I can’t remember just what I’ve done
I can hear the sirens whining
My eyes blinded by the sun

I know that I should be running
My heart’s beating just like a drum
Now they’ve knocked me down and taken it
That still-hot smoking gun

Yeah, yeah, still-hot smoking gun
They’ve taken it, the still-hot smoking gun
Oh, they’ve taken it, still-hot smoking gun
They’ve knocked me down
And taken it
Oh

INXS – What You Need

During the 1980s, I was watching/listening to MTV, and INXS was one of the top bands they played. They always had an energy about them and some good, solid rock songs, which I appreciated at the time and still do!

They formed in 1977 in Australia and first called themselves The Farriss Brothers (because of the brothers in the band…Andrew and Jon Farriss). They picked the name INXS in 1979, a name that looked like a logo and sounded like a radio station. They were young and already aiming past the local scene. They went on until 1997 when lead singer Michael Hutchence passed away. After that, they had some guest singers, but it just didn’t work.

In 1985, this single was released from the album Listen Like Thieves.

By the time they recorded this album, Listen Like Thieves , they’d already proven they could write catchy singles. They were looking for the perfect balance between rock and dance-floor music. This song lands right in that lane. It’s built on a tight riff and a rhythm you can’t miss. They made it lean, and they made it hit.

A big part of the story is producer Chris Thomas, the guy who’d worked with everyone from the Sex Pistols to Roxy Music to Pretenders. Thomas helped INXS refine the sound, ensuring the songs had space and punch without sacrificing their edge. It’s not too glossy; you can still hear the band playing like a band. The mix keeps the groove upfront where it belongs.

The song peaked at #5 on the Billboard 100, #21 in Canada, #14 in New Zealand, and #51 in the UK in 1985. Listen Like Thieves peaked at #11 on the Billboard Album Charts, #24 in Canada, #4 in New Zealand, and #48 in the UK.

Altogether, they had 12 studio albums, 4 live, and 71 singles!

What You Need

Hey,
here is the story
Forget about the trouble in life
Don’t you know,
it’s not easy
When you gotta walk upon that line

That’s why –
You need
That’s why –
This is what you need
I’ll give you what you need

Don’t you
get sad and lonely
You need a change from
What you do all day
Ain’t no sense in
all your crying
Just pick it up
and throw it into shape

Ugh Yeah.
That’s why – That’s why
This is what you need
I’ll give you what you need
OH, oh,
YEAH, yeah
No, no, no
HEY
Hey you,
won’t you listen
This is not the end of it all
Don’t you see there
is a rhythm
I’ll take you where you
Really need to be
Ugh Yeah.

Give you what you need
Saxo

Rick X

….

Fine Young Cannibals – Johnny Come Home

It was around 1989 when I first heard these guys. It was around the time that She Drives Me Crazy was released. I had just broken up with my first proper girlfriend, so after wallowing in self-pity with Temptation tapes in my car…I listened to this band as well. They had been around since 1985, but I really noticed them 4 years later. Better late than never.

Fine Young Cannibals formed after The Beat split, with bassist David Steele and guitarist Andy Cox teaming up with singer Roland Gift, who had been acting and singing. This song was one of the key early songs of what the new band was, less ska bounce, more tension, and sharper. The production has that clean guitar and a vocal that sits right on top. Gift’s voice is the signature, and the track is built to frame it.

The song, like most of their songs, has a great dynamic to it. You can feel it build and fall and rinse and repeat. In the mid-80s, when a lot of pop was glossy and loud, Fine Young Cannibals made something that was clean and sharp.

After their second and last album The Raw & the Cooked blew up, they were suddenly one of the biggest bands in the world, and that kind of pressure can crush a band. They were also a band that worked slowly and carefully; they weren’t the type to crank out an album every year. So basically, they split up at the height of their fame. You know what? I totally respect that, and they left on top.

They did release a few songs for benefit albums and released a song called Flame in 1992 for their greatest hits package. Roland Gift does do an occasional tour now under the name Roland Gift presents Fine Young Cannibals, but not the original band.

This song peaked at #9 on the Billboard 100, #16 in Canada, #13 in New Zealand, and #8 in the UK in 1985.

Johnny Come Home

Nobody knows the trouble you feel
Nobody cares, the feeling is real

Johnny, we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny, we’re sorry

Use the phone, call your mom
She’s missing you badly, missing her son
Who do you know, where will you stay
Big city life is not what they say

Johnny, we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny, we’re sorry

You’d better go, everything’s closed
Can’t find a room, money’s all blown
Nowhere to sleep, out in the cold
Nothing to eat, nowhere to go

Johnny, we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny (Johnny), we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on home
Johnny, won’t you come on home

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes – Havin’ A Party

When that chorus kicks in, I’m in heaven. It sounds like early sixties greatness, and it’s just fun to sing along with. I’ve never been to New Jersey, but Southside Johnny and Springsteen make me feel like I did. Asbury Park has served as a musical mecca for decades. I’m hoping that one day I will get there.

This is not just a cover of the Sam Cooke standard; it is a full Jersey Shore revival meeting, led by Southside Johnny, who sounds like he has lived every lyric and is still catching his breath. When I see him perform on film, he performs with the audience rather than for… in what I’ve seen. He gets them involved and everyone has a good time.

I love this version because he doesn’t try to out-sing Sam Cooke, because who could? You can hear him reacting in real time, stretching lines, yelling encouragement as he feeds off the band as much as they feed off him. They are built to hear live, and they live up to that job.

It was on the album Havin’ a Party With Southside Johnny, released in 1979-1980. This song on the album was live, and it’s from 1976. The song was written by Sam Cooke and released in 1962. The original version peaked at #17 on the Billboard 100 and #30 in Canada in 1962. Rod Stewart also did a version that charted in 1994.

Havin’ A Party

Yeah, everybodyYeah, get every one apartIs there a problem, whooCan we do this now

We’re havin’ a partyEverybody’s swingingDancing to the musicOn the radio (we’re on our way, man)So listen, Mr. DJKeep those records playing (alright)‘Cause I’m having such a good timeDancing with my baby

We’re having a partyDancing to the musicPlayed by the DJOn the radioCokes are in the ice boxPopcorn’s on the tableMe and my babyAre out there on the floor

And we’re havin’ a partyEverybody’s swingingDancing to the musicOn the radioSo listen, Mr. DJKeep those records playing‘Cause I’m having such a good timeDancing with my baby

Everybody’s swinging (oldies)Oldies, doing the twist nowIf you take requestsI’ve got a few for youDon’t forget the soul twistPlay that one called “I Know”I got to hear what suites meNo other songs will do

And we’re havin’ a partyEverybody’s swingingDancing to the musicOn the radioSo listen, Mr. DJKeep those records playing‘Cause I’m having such a good timeDancing with my baby

‘Cause I’m having such a good timeDancing with my baby‘Cause I’m having such a good timeDancing with my baby

Baby, is alright (baby, is alright)Baby, is alright (baby, is alright)Baby, is alright (baby, is alright)Baby, is alright (baby, is alright)Baby, is alright (baby, is alright)Is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Baby, is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)

Is alright (is alright)Baby, is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Baby, is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Baby, is alright (is alright)

…