Saturday, June 9, 2001

50 years ago: “Rocket 88” hit #1 on R&B chart

Rocket 88

Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats

Writer(s): Jackie Brenston, Ike Turner (see lyrics here)


Released: April 1951


First Charted: May 12, 1951


Peak: 15 RB, 6 DF (Click for codes to charts.)


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 3.8 video, 5.24 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

“Rocket 88” “has been officially anointed ‘the first rock and roll record ever made’ by generations of white male music journalists.” AH The song “addressed three subjects that would feature in many successful rock songs: cars, women, and liquor.” LW Saxophonist Jackie Brenston was from Clarksdale, Mississippi – the site of the crossroads legend in which bluesman Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil in return for his guitar-playing prowess. LW

Ike Turner’s “rolling boogie-woogie piano…anticipated the style of Jerry Lee Lewis a few years later” LW and Little Richard repeated it nearly note-for-note as the intro to “Good Golly Miss Molly.” AH A damaged speaker cone on the guitar amp led to the distortion sound that became a common feature in future rock songs. LW

The earnings from the song also helped Sam Phillips set up Sun Records, which is the record company most associated with the beginning of rock and roll thanks to launching the careers of Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, and Carl Perkins. It was King who suggested that Ike Turner contact Phillips, “a white man who was motivated by a deeply-felt anger at racial injustice, which expressed itself as a belief that if other white people could just see the humanity, and the talent, in black people the way he could, the world would be a much better place.” AH

Ike & His Kings of Rhythm went to Memphis to record with Phillips who incidentally saw the damaged amp as a good thing. He said it would sound different and different was always good. AH The song they performed was “Rocket 88,” a song written by Brenston. In reality, he didn’t so much write the song as reinvent “Cadillac Boogie,” a B-side for the Drops of Joy. AH To Ike’s horror, when the song was released it was credited to Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats instead of Ike Turner & His Kings of Rhythm. AH


Resources:


Related Links:


First posted 3/24/2023; last updated 8/22/2023.

Tuesday, June 5, 2001

Asia released seventh album, Aura

Aura

Asia


Released: June 5, 2001


Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU


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


Genre: rock


Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.)

  1. Awake
  2. Wherever You Are (2001, –)
  3. Ready to Go Home (2001, --)
  4. The Last Time
  5. Forgive Me
  6. Kings of the Day [Regis Diem]
  7. On the Coldest Day in Hell
  8. Free
  9. You’re the Stranger
  10. The Longest Night
  11. Aura


The Players:

  • Geoff Downes (keyboards)
  • John Payne (vocals/ bass)
  • Steve Howe, Ian Crichton, Guthrie Govan, Elliott Randall, Pat Thrall (guitar)
  • Chris Slade, Michael Sturgis (drums)

Rating:

3.874 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)

About the Album:

Keeping track of Asia’s ever-changing lineup can be a nightmare. Its greatest consistency comes from the 1992-2004 run of albums spearheaded by keyboardist Geoff Downes (the only Asia member on every album) and vocalist John Payne. 2001’s Aura followed a five-year delay since the band’s last studio effort, 1996’s Arena. The interim was flooded with a pair of Downes/Payne era archival releases, three separate hits compilations (Anthology, The Collection, and Heat of the Moment – The Very Best of), and four live albums released in 1997 alone, although recorded at different phases of the band’s career. And that wasn’t everything! Even die-hard fans had to wonder if it was worth it.

The band’s eventual return to recording new material brought a similar rehash approach. Downes and Payne reached back over the years to bring in former guitarists Steve Howe, Pat Thrall, and Elliott Randall. As if that weren’t enough, Ian Crichton and Guthrie Govan put in a few licks as well. Drummer Michael Sturgis, who’d worked on the last couple albums, was here again, but split time with Chris Slade.

With such a hodge podge lineup, it isn’t surprising that there isn’t a “powerful and striking…thread throughout.” AZ However, this album “is not so much about dynamics, power, anthemic velocity and…perfection” AZ as it is about “melancholy, mellowness, warmness, appeal and thematic soundness;” AZ in essence, “subtle sensory stimulation (as the name of album indicates).” AZ


Notes: The special edition of the album also featurd “Under the Gun,” “Come Make My Day,” and “Hands of Time.”

Resources and Related Links:

  • DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Asia
  • AZ Tigran Haas, Amazon.com customer review


Other Related DMDB Pages:


First posted 4/20/2008; updated 8/6/2021.

Monday, June 4, 2001

The Smiths: A Retrospective, 1982-1988

The Smiths

A Retrospective: 1982-1988

Overview:

This rock quartet formed in Manchester, England, in 1982 and disbanded in 1987. They are considered one of the most important acts to emerge from the British independent music scene in the 1980s and became a staple of the college rock movement.

The Smiths released only four studio albums over their short career from 1984 to 1987. However, it was only months “after releasing their first album, [that] the Smiths issued the singles and rarities collection Hatful of Hollow, establishing” HH a “funny, annoying, and/or incredible thing about both the Smiths and Morrissey” WL – “a tradition of repackaging their material as many times and as quickly as possible.” HH This may not be entirely troublesome to Smiths fanatics, however, since “many people consider the Morrissey/Marr duo to be the last great songwriting team [hence] any release by the Smiths is indispensable” WL to “any die-hard fan of the Smiths.” WL Besides, “many of their finest songs were never issued on their studio albums” HH because “the Smiths treated singles as individual entities, not just ways to promote an album.” HH


The Players:

  • Morrissey (vocals)
  • Johnny Marr (guitar, et al)
  • Andy Rourke (bass)
  • Mike Joyce (drums, percussion)


On the Web:


Lists:

Awards:

The Studio Albums:

Hover over an album cover to see its title and year of release. Click on the album to go to its dedicated DMDB page.


Compilations:

Under each album snapshot, songs featured on the anthologies are noted. If the song charted, the date of the song’s release or first chart appearance and its chart peaks are noted in parentheses. Click for codes to singles charts.


The Smiths (1984):

  • Hand in Glove (5/13/83, 19 CO) HH, LB, VB
  • This Charming Man (10/31/83, 1 CO, 8 UK) HH, VB
  • What Difference Does It Make? (1/16/84, 5 CO, 12 UK) HH, VB
  • Still Ill (37 CO) HH, VB
  • Reel Around the Fountain (35 CO) HH
  • You’ve Got Everything Now HH


Meat Is Murder (1985):

  • How Soon Is Now? (1/28/85, 1 CO, 16 UK) HH, VB
  • Barbarism Begins at Home (4/85)
  • That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore (7/1/85, 12 CO, 49 UK) WL, VB

Hatful of Hollow

The Smiths


Released: November 12, 1984


Recorded: 1983-84


Peak: -- US, 7 UK, -- CN, -- AU


Sales (in millions): 0.13 US, 0.3 UK, 0.43 world (includes US + UK)


Genre: college rock


Tracks: (1) William, It Was Really Nothing (2) What Difference Does It Make? * (3) These Things Take Time * (4) This Charming Man * (5) How Soon Is Now? (6) Handsome Devil * (7) Hand in Glove (8) Still Ill * (9) Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now (10) This Night Has Opened My Eyes * (11) You’ve Got Everything Now * (12) Accept Yourself * (13) Girl Afraid (14) Back to the Old House * (15) Reel Around the Fountain * (16) Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want


Total Running Time: 56:11

Rating:

4.105 out of 5.00 (average of 22 ratings)


Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About Hatful of Hollow:

This was an odd collection gathering some of the Smiths’ early singles and B-sides alongside BBC recordings (marked with an asterisk). The BBC recordings are of cuts from The Smiths. They “are nervy and raw – and they’re also not the selling point of the record.” HH Instead, this collection deservers celebration because it includes a fair share of “classics, including the sweet rush of William, It Was Really Nothing, and the sardonic Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, the tongue-in-cheek lament of Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want, the wistful Back to the Old House, [and] Girl Afraid.” HH “With such strong material forming the core of the album, it’s little wonder that Hatful of Hollow is as consistent as The Smiths and arguably captures the excitement surrounding the band even better.” HH


Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:

  • Handsome Devil (5/13/83, B-side of “Hand in Glove”) HH
  • Accept Yourself (10/31/83, B-side of “This Charming Man”) HH
  • Back to the Old House (1/16/84, B-side of “What Difference Does It Make?”) HH, LB
  • These Things Take Time (1/16/84, B-side of “What Difference Does It Make?”) HH, LB
  • Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now (5/21/84, 5 CO, 10 UK) HH, LB, VB
  • Girl Afraid (5/21/84, B-side, 39 CO) HH, LBj
  • William, It Was Really Nothing (8/20/84, 10 CO, 17 UK) HH, LB, VB
  • Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (8/20/84, B-side, 9 CO) HH, LB, VB
  • This Night Has Opened My Eyes HH, LB

The Queen Is Dead (1986):

  • The Boy with the Thorn in His Side (9/23/85, 10 CO, 23 UK) WL, VB
  • Bigmouth Strikes Again (5/19/86, 2 CO, 26 UK) WL, VB
  • There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (10/24/92, 2 CO, 25 UK) WL, VB
  • Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others VB
  • I Know It’s Over VB

The World Won’t Listen

The Smiths


Released: February 23, 1987


Recorded: 1984-87


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


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


Genre: college rock


Tracks: (1) Panic (2) Ask (3) London (4) Bigmouth Strikes Again (5) Shakespeare’s Sister (6) There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (7) Shoplifters of the World Unite (8) The Boy with the Thorn in His Side (9) Money Changes Everything (10) Asleep (11) Unloveable (12) Half a Person (13) Stretch Out and Wait (14) That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore (15) Oscillate Wildly (16) You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet Baby (17) Rubber Ring


Total Running Time: 59:26

Rating:

2.921 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings)

About The World Won’t Listen:

In 1987, Rough Trade released this UK-only collection of singles (including those from the Meat Is Murder and The Queen Is Dead albums) and B-sides. The album featured 16 songs, although there was an 18-track version released as well. “Shakespeare’s Sister, Panic, Ask, [and] Shoplifters of the World Unite…are all definitive, as are “the sneering, bouncing pop of You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, BabyLB and “the elegiac Unloveable, Asleep, Stretch Out and Wait, and Half a Person.” LB


Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:

  • Oscillate Wildly (1/28/85, B-side of “How Soon Is Now?”, 39 CO) WL, LB
  • Shakespeare’s Sister (3/18/85, 11 CO, 26 UK) WL, LB, VB
  • Stretch Out and Wait (3/18/85, B-side) WL, LB
  • Rubber Ring (9/23/85, B-side of “The Boy with the Thorn in His Side,” 39 CO) WL, LB
  • Asleep (9/23/85, B-side of “The Boy with the Thorn in His Side”) WL, LB
  • Unloveable (5/19/86, B-side) WL, LB
  • Money Changes Everything (5/19/86, B-side) WL
  • Panic (7/21/86, 3 CO, 11 UK) WL, LB, VB
  • Ask (10/20/86, 10 CO, 14 UK) WL, LB, VB
  • Shoplifters of the World Unite (1/26/87, 4 CO, 12 UK) WL, LB, VB
  • London (1/26/87, B-side) WL, LB
  • Half a Person (1/26/87, B-side, 39 CO) WL, LB
  • You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet Baby WL, LB

Louder Than Bombs

The Smiths


Released: March 30, 1987


Recorded: 1983-87


Peak: 62 US, 38 UK, -- CN, -- AU


Sales (in millions): --


Genre: college rock


Tracks: (1) Is It Really So Strange? (2) Sheila Take a Bow (3) Shoplifters of the World Unite (4) Sweet and Tender Hooligan (5) Half a Person (6) London (7) Panic (8) Girl Afraid (9) Shakespeare’s Sister (10) William, It Was Really Nothing (11) You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet Baby (12) Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now (13) Ask (14) Golden Lights (15) Oscillate Wildly (16) These Things Take Time (17) Rubber Ring (18) Back to the Old House (19) Hand in Glove (20) Stretch Out and Wait (21) Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (22) This Night Has Opened My Eyes (23) Unloveable (24) Asleep


Total Running Time: 72:44

Rating:

4.093 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings)


Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About Louder Than Bombs:

In 1987, neither Hatful of Hollow nor The World Won’t Listen were available in the U.S. American audiences were thus treated to this 24-track package which featured 13 cuts from Listen and 8 from Hollow. It “makes the record a little redundant for most Smiths fans.” LB However, it “boasts a wealth of brilliant material” LB and “mostly does a great service by tidying up the Hollow and Listen collections. By whittling out the songs on those collections that appeared on the Smiths’ studio albums, Bombs fits neatly beside the studio albums without overlap. The one exception is the presence of Hand in Glove, the band’s first single. This seems an odd choice since there were still three non-album cuts (Handsome Devil, Accept Yourself, and Money Changes Everything) from Hollow and Listen that weren’t transported over to Bombs.

Bombs also adds “the bizarre travelogue of Is It Really So Strange?,” LB Sheila Take a Bow, and Sweet and Tender Hooligan, all of which rank with the Smiths’ best. In fact, in the opinion of the DMDB, Bombs showcases the best of the Smiths throughout their career, making it the ideal launch pad for beginners even more so than any of their official studio albums.


Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:

  • Golden Lights (10/20/86, B-side of “Ask”) LB
  • Sheila Take a Bow (4/13/87, 10 CO, 10 UK) LB, VB
  • Is It Really So Strange? (4/13/87, B-side) LB
  • Sweet and Tender Hooligan (4/13/87, B-side) LB

Strangeways, Here We Come (1987):

  • Girlfriend in a Coma (8/10/87, 4 CO, 13 UK) VB
  • I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish (11/12/87, 12 CO, 23 UK) VB
  • Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me (12/7/87, 12 CO, 30 UK) VB
  • Stop Me if You’ve Heard This One Before (1/21/88, 9 CO) VB

The Very Best of

The Smiths


Released: June 4, 2001


Recorded: 1983-1987


Peak: -- US, 30 UK


Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.3 UK


Genre: college rock


Tracks: (1) Panic (2) The Boy with the Thorn in His Side (3) Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now (4) Ask (5) Bigmouth Strikes Again (6) How Soon Is Now? (7) This Charming Man (8) What Difference Does It Make? (9) William, It Was Really Nothing (10) Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (11) Girlfriend in a Coma (12) Hand in Glove (13) There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (14) Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (15) That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore (16) I Know It’s Over (17) Sheila Take a Bow (18) I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish (19) Still Ill (20) Shakespeare’s Sister (21) Shoplifters of the World Unite (22) Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me (23) Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before


Total Running Time: 78:34

Rating:

3.865 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings)

About The Very Best of:

For a group that only released four studio albums, there are WAY too many compilations out there, including Best…I, Best…II, Singles, The Sound of the Smiths, AND the three B-side collections highlighted on this page. This is the one that makes the most sense and gathers the biggest and best for the casual fan.

Resources and Related Links:


First posted 4/27/2008; last updated 2/25/2022.