***Click on 000list to see the full archive of album reviews (includes links to the reviews & stand out tracks)***

~~~Click on Thrift Store Music Player to hear all the stand out tracks on Youtube
~~~

^^^Click on Art Gallery to browse the album covers^^^

Blog Archive

Showing posts with label 1Q. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1Q. Show all posts

Friday, July 3, 2020

Quick (the) - Wah Wah

Name: The Quick
Album: Wah Wah!
Year: 1986
Style: Hair Rock, Power Pop
Similar Bands: Journey, Def Leppard, Jackson Browne
"One-Word" Review: Slick Digitized Hair Pop 
Based Out Of: England
Label: A&M
Cover, Record
Back, Record
Wah-Wah! (1986)
  1. Adventures Tonight 3:57
  2. Down the Wire 3:17
  3. We Can Learn From This 4:51 (single)
  4. Cry Baby 4:27
  5. Poise 3:50 /
  6. I Needed You, You Needed Me 3:53 (single)
  7. The Big Decision 5:03
  8. Last Victim 3:45
  9. Sharon 4:02
  10. Bed of Nails 3:46 (single)
Album Rating (1-10): 6.0

Members & Other Bands:
  • Philip Carden Thornalley - Producer, Engineer, LIN, AMS Programming, Bass (The Cure, Johnny Hates Jazz, First Steps, Katrina & the Waves more)
  • Colin Campsie - Vox (The Giant Steps, Grand Hotel, Dance People, Culture Club, Endgames, David Roach, Quarterflash, Ann Lewis, China Crisis, Keep It Dark, Hidemi Ishikawa, Sanne Salomonsen, Deniece Williams, Simon F, Deon Estus, Go West, Robert Hall, Louise, 911, Brit Pack, Beverly Craven, Duncan Dhu)
  • George McFarlane - Bass, Keys, Guitar (The Giant Steps, Grand Hotel, Dollar, China Crisis, Endgames, The Mood, Helen Terry, Deon Estus, Deniece Williams)
  • Jim Williams - Guitar (Phil Thornalley, Nick Heyward, Ambassadors USAFE Dance Band, Sunset Gun, Zeke Manyika, Simon F, Holywood Beyond, Man Jumping, Deon Estus, Udo Lindenberg, Halo James, Peter Murphy, Breathe. Beverly Craven, Bros, This Mortal Coil, Vivienne Mckone, Mikel Erentxun, Monroes, Rick Astley, M People, First Choice, F Machine, Diego Vasallo, John Parr, Broken Wings, Jackie O, Indigo, Duncan Dhu, RB Morris)
  • Jim Copley - Drums (Graham Parker, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Mona Liza Overdrive, Psuchedelix, Spreadeagle, The Pretenders, UPP, Alan Tew, Roy Gaines, Ann Lewis, Mechanical Man, Go West, Deon Estus, Killing Joke, Tears for Fears, Robert Hall, Zazie, Alexander Mezek, Diesel, Curt Smith, Martin Page, Soulsister, Chris De Burgh, Paul Rogers, Dogwood, M3, Stefanos, Josh Groban, Iommi, Bernie Marsden, Magnum, Ali Maas, Micky Moody)
  • Matt John Barry - Engineering & Production Assist, Cymbal Intervention, Backing Vox (Mavis Toi, Samantha Fox, Opossum Sun Trail)
  • Frank De Luna - Mastering
  • Louise Rutkowski - Backing Vox (Jazzateers, Sunset Gun, The Hope Blister, Kindness of Strangers, This Mortal Coil, Love & Money, Waves on Canvas, Mavis Toi, Phil Thornalley)
  • Deidre Rutkowski - Backing Vox (Jazzateers, Sunset Gun, This Mortal Coil, Cactus World News, Love & Money, Louis Philippe)
  • Hugh Tennent = RAK Studios
  • Nick Sykes - Recording
  • Sandy Roberton - Representation
Unknown-ness: Never heard of this band. Not much to go by with the bold, colorless font & cover artwork. There is a wah wah painting on the back that looks like a childish commentary on excess noise in NYC. So is this album an addition to the amount of noise, or an ironic critique on too much noise. And with a year on A&M of 1986, will this be college radio jangley rock with a snarky, humorous tone?

Album Review: This is the duo Campsie & McFarlane's fourth and final album. While this The Cure bassist produced album is hair rock with pop-synth production, most of their other material before and after this album is lighter, funkier, and dancier, as they were kind of a full-on synth wave pop duo in the beginning. But this album shows very little of that genre, and feels like a shot at the US radio market, even if it is about 6 years past prime for this style. The vocals are raspy between Steve Perry & Def Leppard, and the production is dense guitars and dated, time-period appropriate crystalline synth that feels completely digitized. Lead off song sounds like it should be on the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack. Single "We Can Learn From This" is a smooth R&B

Stand Out Track: Poise

Links:

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Q-Tips - s/t

Name: Q-Tips
Album: s/t
Year: 1980
Style: Big Band, Jazzy New Wave, Blue Eyed Soul
Similar Bands: Joe Jackson, Rod Stewart, Jackson Browne, Creedence Clearwater Revival, J Geils Band, Sha-Na-Na
"One-Word" Review: Big Band Oldie Pop Party
Based Out Of: England
Label: Chrysalis, EMI, Warner Bros
Cover, Record
Back, Record
Q-Tips (1980)
  1. Some Kinda Wonderful 3:42 (John Ellison cover)
  2. Tracks of My Tears 3:25 (Smokey Robinson cover) (Single)
  3. Please Don't Stay Home 3:20
  4. You Are the Life Inside Me 4:33
  5. The In Crowd 3:20 (Dobie Gray / Ramsey Lewis cover)
  6. (Now I'm Left With A) Beautiful Memory 3:07 /
  7. SYSLJFM (The Letter Song) 2:41 (Joe Tex cover) (Single)
  8. A Man Can't Lose (What He Don't Have) 6:07 (Single)
  9. Uncle Willy 3:14 (single)
  10. Different World 3:36
  11. Keep Your Shoes On 3:35
Album Rating (1-10):7.0

Members & Other Bands:
  • Bob Sargeant - Producer
  • Norman (Dingo Blue) Mighell - Engineer
  • Mark Dearnley - Engineer
  • Nigel Mills - Assist Engineer
  • Nick Rogers - Assist Engineer
  • John Gifford - Guitar (Streetband, Dmascus Road, Undermind, Street & Rock, Mary Tomaselli)
  • Ged Doherty - Mgmt
  • Roz Fleetwood - Q-Tips Info
  • Paul Young - Vox (Streetbandm, Kat Kool and the Kool Kats, Band Aid, Los Pacaminos, Squeeze, Johnny Logan, Barbara Dickson, Bobby Womack, Il Novecento, Clannad, Vangelis, Zucchero, SAS Band, Robbie McIntosh Band, Small Faces All Star Charity Band, Chicane, Steve Fowler, Cherokee, Music Relief 94, Sharkweek, Sulo)
  • Barry Watts - Drums (Adam Ant, John Foxx)
  • Mick Pearl - Bass (Streetband, Faraway Stars, Argus, The Monos!)
  • Garth Watt-Roy - Guitar, Backing Vox (The Greatest Show on Earth, East of Eden, Marmalade, Adam Ant, Fuzzy Duck, Ossie Laine, Steamhammer, Living Daylights, Limey, David McWilliams, London Symphony Orch, BA Robertson, Bonnie Tyler, Navah)
  • Ian (The Rev) Kew (Kewley)- Keys (Samson, Limey. Strider, Royal Family, Wishbone Ash, Jack Lee, The Alarm, Jacqui Brookes, David Gilmour, Squeeze, Stan Webb's Chicken Shack, Mango, Manic Street Preachers, Johnny Hallyday, Gerry McAvoy, National Flag )
  • Tony Hughes - Trumpet (Adam Ant, Stiff Little Fingers, Angelic Upstarts)
  • Steve (Fix-It) Farr - Baritone Sax, Backing Vox (Adam Ant, Status Quo, Stiff Little Fingers)
  • (Oscar) Stewart Blandamer - Alto Sax, Backing Vox (Adam Ant, Status Quo, Stiff Little Fingers)
Unknown-ness: Never heard of them, but with the bright primary colors, matching outfits, they reminded me of Squeeze or Joe Jackson (not Madness with the similar poses, however) to me when i bought it at an Oxfam charity shop in London, so I'm guessing this will be Catchy New Wave.

Album Review: They have big band character, but often settle for power pop tunes, often reminding me of the little i know of Jackson Brown and sometimes sounding like John Fogerty / CCR. Not much new wave here, except their songs are short swinging pop songs that have a lot of brass, and could be swept into a Joe Jackson camp. I was not aware this is a Paul Young band after his former Streetband. I only know Young was a singer because of his solo album i reviewed a while ago, but he does add a little Blue Eye Soul to the tracks here and there. They were a reportedly very fun and popular live act in the early 80s. At the very least, Paul Young is still actively playing out live (2020). This record was reissued in 2013 with live & bonus tracks. 

Stand Out Track: Please Don't Stay At Home (live version)

Links: