Closing out '77
20 - "Spanish Stroll," Mink DeVille
Formed in San Francisco in 1974, this group relocated to New York a year later and became one of the house bands at the legendary punk club CBGB, even though their sound was more bluesy and traditional than many of their peers. Their first and only hit in Britain was this cool rock strut with lyrics about street characters in the City. Pretty damn great. The band would accumulate lots of acclaim but little sales until their breakup in 1985, then singer Willy DeVille would begin a solo career that peaked when he wrote and sung "Storybook Love," the Oscar-nominated closing theme to the film The Princess Bride, and continued until his death from cancer in 2009. This definitely has me interested in exploring more Mink DeVille at the very least.
19 - "Gary Gilmore's Eyes," The Adverts
This London punk band burst onto the scene with this topical, controversial single. In January of 1977, convicted murderer became the first person to suffer the death penalty in the United States in over ten years when he was executed by firing squad in Utah. It was revealed that Gilmore asked that his organs be donated for transplant, including his corneas, and so this song imagines a hospital patient waking up to realize that his new eyes originally belonged to the infamous criminal, because somehow the imprint of Gilmore's crimes can be detected by the eyes' new host. I'm not sure if that's how things work scientifically, but it's an interesting thought in a shock/sci-fi sense, and this angle definitely makes this otherwise boilerplate punk song interesting. Interesting enough to win this chart's Uneasy Rider.
18 - "We're All Alone," Rita Coolidge
She's boring af, as the kids say. I've said this repeatedly. Moving on...
17 - "Looking After Number One," The Boomtown Rats
This Irish New Wave group just missed the Top Ten with their first single, this punk blast about being selfish and getting by any way one can. Good, as dumb rebellion goes. Their later stuff got more interesting, peaking with the classic "I Don't Like Mondays." And of course, Bob Geldof is best known for Live Aid. Given how he made his first public impression, that's pretty ironic.
16 - "Telephone Man," Meri Wilson
The Atlanta one-hit wonder's novelty about making a "connection" with a phone installer. Reach out and touch someone, indeed.
15 - "Tulane," The Steve Gibbons Band
After spending the 60s in a bunch of minor British bands. Birmingham's Gibbons found his biggest success with this cover of a Chuck Berry song about two guys who run afoul of the law because their "novelty shop" is a cover for their traffic in some sort of illegal substance. It sounds like British dudes covering Chuck Berry. Not much more to it than that.
14 - "Dancing in the Moonlight," Thin Lizzy
The fifth U.K. hit for this Irish band is not a cover of the King Harvest song, but rather a Springsteenish strut about being young and free and out after dark. Phil Lynott is definitely one of the great voices of a certain kind of rock n' roll cool.
13 - "The Crunch," The RAH Band
From Teesside, Richard Anthony Hewson was a prolific producer who also scored two #6 hits nine years apart with a non-existent "band" named for his initials. The first of these was this instrumental that sounds as if it was created with synthesizers but was in fact performed on standard guitars and keyboard with the use of effects pedals. It's a fun little song that sounds like it should have been the theme for a sitcom about police or something like that.
12 - "You Got What it Takes," Showaddywaddy
Our second encounter with these Leicester retro-rockers was this cover of a 1959 Marv Johnson about a lady who has that certain je ne sais quoi. They do what they do well enough, but it doesn't really move me.
11 - "Do Anything You Wanna Do," The Rods
This pub-rock group from Essex started as in 1975 as Eddie and the Hot Rods, even though there was no one named Eddie in the band. ("Eddie" was a dummy they had on stage with them at early gigs but quickly abandoned.) Their biggest hit was this tune about not conforming and making your own way. The usual stuff, catchily delivered.
10 - "Nobody Does it Better," Carly Simon
The hit theme from the 007 film The Spy Who Loved Me. I can think of at least three artists who did superior Bond themes, but still, Top Five ain't bad. Don't be so vain, Carly.
9 - "That's What Friends are For," Deneice Williams
Another, "no, it's not that song" songs. The American soul singer's second U.K. Top Ten isn't the one Dionne, Stevie et al recorded, but rather a midtempo ballad about a "friendship" that sounds like it's a little more than that. I really appreciate her voice on this one. I stil don't care for "Let's Hear it for the Boy," though.
8 - "Silver Lady," David Soul
The Starsky and Hutch star's Top 40 reign ended at home with the transatlantic #1 "Don't Give Up on Us," but it continued here with four more hits, including a second charttopper in the form of this disco-popper about returning home to a true love after having wild but fulfilling adventures. Unspectacular, but performed with conviction.
7 - "Nights on Broadway," Candi Staton
The second and last Top Ten for this American soul singer was a cover of the 1975 Bee Gees hit. That's my favorite of theirs, as you may know, but Staton gives it a nice soulful touch that sells me on it. Love it.
6 - "Angelo," Brotherhood of Man
The second of three #1s for this two-man, two woman group was this mumber about a Mexican shepherd boy running off with a rich girl. Like ABBA without the depth.
5 - "Down Deep Inside," Donna Summer
Sultry disco from the underwater thriller The Deep, produced and arranged by Bond composer John Barry. Don't quite understand how it didn't chart in America,
4 - "Oxygene IV," Jean-Michel Jarre
The son of prominent film composer Maurice Jarre, Jean-Michel became a worldwide sensation with the release of his electronic instrumental album Oxygene. The hypnotic fourth track became a major hit and uas been used in multiple media ever since. It's hypnotic and intriguiung, and definitely one of the touchstones of the emerging electronic scene.
3 - "Float On," The Floaters
You don't get much more 70s than this soul ballad where the individual members of this Detroit group list off their Zodiac signs and the qualities they like in women. It's an audio leisure suit.
2 - "Magic Fly," Space
Not to be confused with the English band we encountered in the 90s, this is a French electronic duo whose biggest hit was this Moroder-esque dance instrumental. It doesn't sound dated at all. I would absolutely accept this as, say, a new Daft Punk track.
And on top 39 years ago, we found...
1 - "Way Down," Elvis Presley
Just weeks after his shocking death, the King scored his first U.K. #1 in seven years with this rockabilly number about the effects of love. A very boisterous performance that promised a potential artistic revival that, unfortunately, would not be realized.
More soon. Thanks for listening.
No comments:
Post a Comment