Friday, November 21, 1980

REO Speedwagon’s Hi Infidelity was released: November 21, 1980

Originally posted November 21, 2011.



“If you need proof why arena rock was giant, this is it.” STE REO Speedwagon could arguably be credited with bringing arena rock to its pinnacle. They “had been slogging it out in the arenas of the U.S.” STE for nearly a decade, “building up a sizeable audience because they could deliver live.” STE This was much the same story for the band’s peers like Styx, Journey, and Foreigner. The difference is that all those bands had landed a couple top ten albums. The highest REO ever previously reached was #29.

Then, in 1981, all four bands topped the album charts. However, REO got their first “with this incredibly mainstream collection of power ballads and economic hard rock.” RO They did it with a fifteen-week chart-topper which sold more than 9 million copies in the U.S. This was “a record that not just summarized their strengths, but captured everything that was good about arena rock. This is the sound of the stadiums in that netherworld between giants like Zeppelin and MTV’s slick, video-ready anthems.” STE

“The band’s strongest attribute is its inconspicuous nature. You never see it coming. Kevin Cronin has a serviceable voice and Gary Richrath is a solid if unspectacular lead player” RO “but there’s a real urgency to the songs and the performances.” STE Keep on Loving You set “the pattern for the power ballads that would take many a hard rock band to the top of the charts throughout the ‘80s.” RO That song “and the surging Take It on the Run…define their era.” STE There’s also “the Bo Diddley-inspired opener, Don’t Let Him GoSTE and other radio-friendly songs like “the sun-kissed ‘60s homage In Your Letter, and Tough Guys.” STE

“What’s really great about these songs is not just the sheen of professionalism that makes them addictive to listen to, but there’s a real strain of pathos that runs through these songs – the album’s title isn't just a clever pun, but a description of the tortured romantic relationships that populate this record’s songs. This is really arena rock’s Blood on the Tracks, albeit by a group of guys instead of a singular vision, but that makes it more affecting, as well as a killer slice of ear candy.” STE




Awards: Resources and Related Links:

Saturday, November 15, 1980

Kenny Rogers topped the pop charts with “Lady”

Lady

Kenny Rogers

Writer(s): Lionel Richie (see lyrics here)


Released: September 29, 1980


First Charted: September 26, 1980


Peak: 16 US, 14 CB, 15 HR, 15 RR, 14 AC, 11 CW, 12 UK, 2 CN, 16 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.)


Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 16.0 world (includes US + UK)


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 93.1 video, 63.33 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

In 1980, Kenny Rogers was the biggest draw in country music. To capitalize on his status – and a year which had already seen three top five hits on the country charts – his record label wanted a Greatest Hits package to ring in the Christmas season. Rogers had just ended his five-year relationship with producer Larry Butler and was seeking new blood to spark his creativity.

He turned to Lionel Richie, who wasn’t yet the solo superstar he was to become within a few years. At the time, he still fronted the Motown group The Commodores. Like Rogers, Richie had experienced major crossover success. The 1978 hit “Three Times a Lady” had topped the pop, R&B, adult contemporary, and UK charts. The country-tinged “Easy” (1977) was a hit on all four formats as well.

The pair of songs caught Rogers’ attention. Rogers contacted Motown founder Berry Gordy about working with the Commodores. Because of a motorcycle accident to drummer Walter Orange, the group had delayed a concert tour and Richie and Co. had time on their hands. Lionel flew to Las Vegas to meet with Rogers. Richie played demos of “Lady” and “Goin’ Back to Alabama”, songs he’d written two years earlier. FB Rogers cut both in an 8 ½ hour session; the former included some lyrical tweaking to reference Rogers’ relationship with his wife. TR As Rogers said, “The idea was that Lionel would come from R&B and I’d come from country, and we’d meet somewhere in the middle.” FB

The song became Rogers’ fourth million-selling single and his first #1 on the pop charts. BB It was also the biggest pop song of 1980 WHC and the first song of the decade to hit all four of the major Billboard charts (pop, country, adult contemporary, R&B). FB It hit #1 on the first three of those.


Resources:

  • BB Billboard (9/08). “All-Time Hot 100
  • FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 533.
  • TR Tom Roland (1991). The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 272.
  • WHC Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Page 109.


Related Links:


First posted 11/15/2011; last updated 10/29/2022.

Saturday, November 8, 1980

Willie Nelson “On the Road Again” hit #1 on the country chart

On the Road Again

Willie Nelson

Writer(s): Willie Nelson (see lyrics here)


First Charted: August 30, 1980


Peak: 20 US, 22 CB, 11 GR, 16 HR, 16 RR, 7 AC, 11 CW, 64 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.)


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 35.31 video, 123.67 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Willie Nelson was born in Texas in 1933. He started his career as a songwriter, writing such classics as Faron Young’s “Hello Walls” and Patsy Cline’s “Crazy.” He charted on his own for the first time in 1962 on the country charts, but it wouldn’t be until 1975 that he landed his first of 25 country chart toppers, “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” The song was also his first entry on the pop charts, hitting #21. It would be another five years before he’d land another top 40 hit – this time with 1980’s “On the Road Again” (#20).

Fellow outlaw country artist Waylon Jennings said Nelson “will go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest songwriter ever in country music…He can write the most complex song…that will shoot over most people’s heads, and then he will turn around and write a little song like ‘On the Road Again’ that everyone can appreciate.” TR

Nelson wrote the song for the movie Honeysuckle Rose. He was tapped to star as “an aging musician who fails to achieve national fame.” WK Nelson was asked to write a song for the movie about touring. TR Bob Dylan called it “a song of a traveling bandit” BD which captured the life of a touring musician. He said, “this song feels like the movement of the road. The way it feels on a bus…when you’re on the road, you’re living the life you love. Making music with your friends, and earning a living…The thing about being on the road is that you’re not bogged down by anything. Not even bad news. You give pleasure to other people and you keep your grief to yourself.” BD

“On the Road Again” won a Grammy for Best Country Song and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song. It also won the American Music Award for country song of the year.


Resources:

  • BD Bob Dylan (2022). The Philosophy of Modern Song. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. Pages 91-92.
  • TR Tom Roland (1991). The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Pages 270-1.
  • SF Songfacts
  • WK Wikipedia


Related Links:


First posted 11/2/2022; last updated 2/3/2023.

Friday, November 7, 1980

Eagles released first live album

First posted 3/26/2008; updated 9/20/2020.

Eagles Live

Eagles


Released: November 7, 1980


Recorded: live October 1976 and July 1980


Peak: 6 US, 24 UK, 25 CN, 3 AU


Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, -- UK, 10.6 world (includes US and UK)


Genre: classic rock


Tracks: Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. Hotel California
  2. Heartache Tonight
  3. I Can’t Tell You Why
  4. The Long Run
  5. New Kid in Town
  6. Life’s Been Good (Joe Walsh solo song) (6/10/78, 12 US)
  7. Seven Bridges Road (12/20/80, 21 US, 17 AC, 55 CW)
  8. Wasted Time
  9. Take It to the Limit
  10. Doolin’-Dalton (Reprise II)
  11. Desperado
  12. Saturday Night
  13. All Night Long (Joe Walsh solo song) (5/17/80, 19 US)
  14. Life in the Fast Lane
  15. Take It Easy

Chart figures are only for songs not previously featured on any Eagles’ albums.


Total Running Time: 77:10


The Players:

  • Glenn Frey (vocals, guitar, keyboards)
  • Don Henley (vocals, drums)
  • Don Felder (guitar, vocals)
  • Randy Meisner (bass, vocals: 1976)
  • Timothy B. Schmit (bass, vocals: 1980)
  • Joe Walsh (guitar, keyboards, vocals)

Rating:

3.368 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings)


Quotable: “The most heavily overdubbed [live album] in history” - Rolling Stone Record Guide (1983)


Awards:

About the Album:

Eagles Live is the first live album by the…Eagles, a two-LP set released in 1980. The Eagles broke up on July 31, 1980 after their concert at Long Beach. However, the band still owed Warners a live record from the tour. Eagles Live (released that November) was mixed by Glenn Frey and Don Henley on opposite coasts – the two decided they couldn’t bear to be in the same state, let alone the same studio, and as Bill Szymczyk put it, the record’s perfect three-part harmonies were fixed ‘courtesy of Federal Express.’ The 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide said it is ‘perhaps the most heavily overdubbed [live album] in history.’ After the credits that list no fewer than five attorneys, the album's liner notes simply say, ‘Thank you and goodnight.’” WK

Eagles Live includes…tracks recorded in the fall of 1976 (thus allowing for the inclusion of departed singer Randy Meisner on Take It to the Limit).” AMG Also from 1976, are New Kid in Town, Wasted Time, Doolin-Dalton (Reprise II), and Desperado. WK

However, “the bulk of the album comes from the end of the Eagles’ 1980 tour, just before they broke up, and it reflects their late concert repertoire, largely drawn from Hotel California and The Long Run.” AMG

“The occasional early song such as ‘Desperado’ and Take It Easy turn up, but many of the major hits from the middle of the band's career – ‘The Best of My Love,’ ‘One of These Nights,’ ‘Lyin’ Eyes’ – are missing, replaced by such curiosities as two extended selections from Joe Walsh’s solo career, Life’s Been Good and All Night Long.” AMG

“At least Walsh introduces some live variations to his material; the rest of the Eagles seem determined to recreate the studio versions of their songs in concert, which may work for them live but almost makes a live recording superfluous. The previously unrecorded rendition of Steve Young’s Seven Bridges Road is welcome, and the album would have benefited from more surprises as well as a livelier approach to a live recording.” AMG

Resources and Related Links:

Monday, November 3, 1980

Adam & the Ants release Kings of the Wild Frontier

First posted 4/1/2008; updated 9/8/2020.

Kings of the Wild Frontier

Adam & the Ants


Buy Here:


Released: November 3, 1980


Peak: 44 US, 112 UK, -- CN, 2 AU


Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.3 UK, 0.8 world (includes US and UK)


Genre: new wave


Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.)

  1. Dog Eat Dog (10/11/80, 4 UK, 15 AR)
  2. Antmusic (12/6/80, 2 UK, 14 AR)
  3. Los Rancheros
  4. Feed Me to the Lions
  5. Press Darlings
  6. Ants Invasion
  7. Killer in the Home
  8. Kings of the Wild Frontier (8/2/80, 2 UK)
  9. The Magnificent 5
  10. Don’t Be Square (Be There)
  11. Jolly Roger
  12. You’re So Physical (4/25/81, 19 AR)
  13. The Human Beings

Rating:

4.084 out of 5.00 (average of 10 ratings)


Quotable: “One of the great defining albums of its time” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide


Awards:

About the Album:

“Hooking up with Malcolm McLaren was a pivotal moment for Adam Ant, since the manager not only introduced Ant to the thundering, infectious Burundi drum beat that became his signature, he stole his band, too. Adam and the rest of the Ants had just worked up how to exploit the Burundi style when McLaren pirated the boys off to support Annabella Lwin in Bow Wow Wow – using the very same sound they had developed with Adam Ant. It was now a race to get that sound into the stores first.” STE

“Adam lucked out when he joined forces with guitarist Marco Pirroni, who quickly proved to be invaluable. Adam and Marco knocked out a bunch of songs that retained some of the dark artiness of Dirk Wears White Sox, largely anchored by those enormous Burundi beats and given great, irresistible pop hooks – plus a flash sense of style, as the new Ants dressed up in something that looked like American Indians with a velveteen touch of a dandy fop. It was a brilliant, gonzo move – something that quickly overshadowed Bow Wow Wow.” STE

“The resulting record, Kings of the Wild Frontier, is one of the great defining albums of its time. There’s simply nothing else like it, nothing else that has the same bravado, the same swagger, the same gleeful self-aggrandizement and sense of camp. This walked a brilliant line between campiness and art-house chutzpah, and it arrived at precisely the right time – at the forefront of new wave, so Adam & the Ants exploded into the British popular consciousness.” STE

“If image was all that they had, they would’ve remained a fad, but Kings of the Wild Frontier remains a terrific album because it not only has some tremendous songs – the title track and Antmusic are classic hits, while Killer in the Home and Physical (You're So) are every bit their equal – but because it fearlessly, imperceptibly switches gears between giddy and ominous, providing nothing short of a thrill ride in its 13 songs. That’s why it still sounds like nothing else years after its release.” STE

Resources and Related Links:

Saturday, November 1, 1980

Alan Parsons Project released The Turn of a Friendly Card

Turn of a Friendly Card

Alan Parsons Project


Released: November 1, 1980


Peak: 13 US, 38 UK, 16 CN, 24 AU


Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 2.0 world (includes US and UK)


Genre: progressive rock


Tracks:

Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. May Be a Price to Pay [4:52] v: Elmer Gantry
  2. Games People Play [4:17] v: Lenny Zakatek (12/6/80, 16 US, 18 CB, 13 HR, 12 RR, 8 CL, 9 CN, 95 AU)
  3. Time [5:05] v: Eric Woolfson (4/18/81, 15 US, 14 CB, 13 HR, 7 RR, 10 AC, 20 CL, 30 CN)
  4. I Don't Wanna Go Home [4:54] v: Lenny Zakatek
  5. The Gold Bug (instrumental) [4:28]
  6. The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part One) [2:39] v: Chris Rainbow
  7. Snake Eyes [3:17] v: Chris Rainbow (3/21/81, 67 US, 83 HR, 47 AR, 25 CL)
  8. The Ace of Swords (instrumental) [2:58]
  9. Nothing Left to Lose [4:03] v: Eric Woolfson
  10. The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part Two) [3:12] v: Chris Rainbow (44 CL, 90 AU)

All tracks written by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson. The ‘v’ after the song listing indicates who does lead vocals.


Total Running Time: 40:25


The Players:

  • Alan Parsons (production, engineering, assorted instruments)
  • Eric Woolfson (vocals, keyboards, piano)
  • Chris Rainbow, Elmer Gantry, Lenny Zakatek (vocals, backing vocals)
  • Ian Bairson (guitar)
  • David Paton (bass)
  • Stuart Elliott (drums, percussion)
  • The Philharmonia Orchestra, arranged and conducted by Andrew Powell

Rating:

4.022 out of 5.00 (average of 19 ratings)


Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

“By then well-known for their concept albums, in 1980 the Project turned its sights” JW to “the age-old temptation of gambling and its stranglehold on the human psyche.” MD “It was a reasonably original theme for a concept album, having rarely been addressed by anyone with more intellectual wattage than Kenny Rogers (insert cutting remark here)” JW “The actual theme is well above the notion of gambling. Instead, it appears to be how we look at life, especially the hand we've been dealt, and what chances lie ahead of us if we're willing to take some risks.” CT

“Parsons and lyricist/occasional lead vocalist Eric Woolfson co-composed the album with imagination and flair.” JW “What sets this album apart and makes it remarkably listenable…is the strength of the arrangements by keyboardist/co-composer/producer Parsons.” JW

“Elmer Gantry's soaring vocals” JW kick things off on “the spacious, driving, synth-and-drums thumper May Be a Price to Pay.” JW

On lead-single “Games People Play, “our hero makes the conscious decision to walk away from the life he's been leading to try and find something different.” CT “Vocalist Lenny Zakatek sounds compelling and focused, giving the song a seriousness that aids in realization of the album's concept.” MD “There is a dynamism to the very progressive way Parsons mixes strings with exotic synth tones and…acoustic drums that creates one terrific pop hook after another.” JW This “is a great example of the AP approach at this stage of his career in that it has a basic pop structure, but features unusual shifts in tone and tempo, an ambient middle section, great use of orchestral elements and a generous guitar solo – all decidedly progressive touches.” JW

Next up is Time, which features Eric Woolfson on lead vocals for the first time. WK This ballad “immediately tugs on the heart strings and stays with you for a long time.” CT Woolfson’s “vocals are pitch-perfect,” JW “floating along amongst sighing strings and synthesizer washes and layered background vocals.” JW He “carries this luxurious-sounding ode to life's passing to a place above and beyond any of this band's other slower material.” MD It “may…be the best on the entire album” JW and “one of the Alan Parsons Project's best numbers.” CT

“No sooner has our hero left his old life behind when the voice of reason kicks in on I Don't Wanna Go Home,” CT voiced, by the way, by the “gritty ‘tattered and torn’ despair” JW of Lenny Zakatek. “This also could be the voice of doubt -- you take your pick: ‘You can't win you damn fool / You drank all the wine from the cup / And your painted lady's gone now / And you're way back on the downside, Lookin' up.’ As our hero realizes his plight, he decides not to return to his past - possibly because he can't face ridicule on his return.” CT

The album features a pair of instrumentals. First up is “an interesting number aptly titled The Gold Bug. Like most of the band's instrumentals, its flow and rhythm simulate the overall tempo and concept of the album, acting as a welcome interlude.” MD The song references the Edgar Allan Poe short story of the same name WK and includes a whistling part from Parsons where he imitates the spaghetti western film themes of Ennio Morricone. WK The saxophone was originally credited to Mel Collins, but in the remastered edition is noted as “a session player in Paris whose name escapes us.” WK

The Ace of Swords "features expert incorporation of the orchestra into a largely futuristic, synthesizer-driven cut. The APP core of Ian Bairnson (guitars), David Paton (bass), Stuart Elliott (drums) and Andrew Powell (orchestral arrangements), along with Parsons and Woolfson on keys, is at the height of its powers here.” JW

The five-part title suite, which includes “The Ace of Swords,” highlights “the breakdown of human willpower and our greedy tendencies.” MD It “is the only part of the album that squarely addresses gambling.” JW On The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part One), “our hero continues to press his luck, if only to return to what he used to be on Snake Eyes.” CT “Sung by Chris Rainbow, [this] is the most compelling of the five pieces, and ties together the whole of the recording.” MD

Although our protaganist “thinks luck is about to come his way, he eventually hits rock bottom with a deafening thud... which leads us to Nothing Left to Lose. On this number, the realization finally comes to him, and he is left with a clean slate to start his life again: "You read the book you turn the page / You change your life in a thousand ways / The dawn of reason lights in your eyes / With the key you realise / To the kingdom of the wise.’” CT

The album wraps with the unfairly overlooked The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part Two). This song rightly showed up on the Project’s second anthology, released in 1988, but was never a hit, despite nicely showcasing the album’s concept and still standing firmly on its own. This could well be the Project’s best forgotten song.

The Turn of a Friendly Card is to the point and doesn't let down when it comes to carrying out its idea.” MD It “is a strong piece of work that hangs together well and still entertains through repeated listens.” JWThe Turn of a Friendly Card remains one of this group’s most enjoyable albums.” MD


Notes: In 2015, a deluxe anniversary edition added a second disc with songwriting demos from Eric Woolfson, additional early versions of the songs, and single edits of “Games People Play,” “The Turn of a Friendly Card,” and “Snake Eyes.”

Resources and Related Links:


Other Related DMDB Pages:


First posted 3/24/2008; last updated 9/24/2021.