Well, out of the last two televised episodes, and the Mike Smith one, thursday's 20/3 show was the worst, in my opinion. In fact it is hard for me to find one positive thing to say about the episode, it was so bland, except Janice Long had a hand in its presenting, and if Janice is involved it must have at least one strong redeeming feature. Without going into too much analysis i think it is worth a 2/10.
The Mike Smith/Bruno Brookes 27/03/ show, at least seemed a little more musically varied, and more enjoyable as a consequence, although i do surprise myself in picking alongside the Duane Eddy's fabulously distinctive guitar playing on ''Peter Gunn'', Samantha Fox's “Touch Me (I Want Your Body)” as a highlight. Sam's track does possess an edge to it, which in this period of high sheen and glossy pop, is often hard to find. Her voice isn't great technically, but in a strange way that might work to the song's advantage, as it does have a raw quality to it, and she does manage to hit some high notes. The electric guitar solo helps, too. The less said about Mike Smith the better, and although Bruno Brookes isn't especially annoying, he seems a little rusty to be particularly impressive, after a lay off presenting the show. As previously mentioned i like Duane's ''Peter Gunn'' guitar playing, although the excess of production sound via the Art Of Noise isn't especially to my taste. Atlantic Starr's “Secret Lovers'' is a pretty ballad, but i'm not sure how many times i could listen to it before its slickness becomes irritating. Probably the episode is worth 3.5/10
Onto the latest 03/04/86 episode, which i think is probably the best of the three.
There are a few more highlights this time round. Big Audio Dynamite's “E=MC2'' is certainly interesting, and like Mick Jones previous band The Clash, they have a rather eclectic mix to their sound, incorporating dance, amongst other things, probably inspired in part by Don Letts being a group member. He gives their sound a definite contemporary edge, and although i'm less inclined to rate this song as highly as a few others in this edition, at least the band were indulging in finding something new, instead of playing it safe with more traditional rock sounds. The song actually references a number of films directed by Nicholas Roeg, including samples of speech from the film Performance, originally released in 1970.
George Michael's ''A Different Corner'' is a definite highlight, and it was one ballad of his that i could have imagined David Cassidy singing, maybe a decade and a half earlier. I'm not sure it has quite gained the kind of status of George's ''Careless Whisper'', but in its own way it works just as well. Strangely enough, the version i liked most of the song was not by George, but by Pop Idol contestant, Korben in the first series of the show. Korben got heavily criticised by Pete Waterman, but i thought his interpretation was magnificent. If i could find it online i would post a link, but it doesn't seem to be available.
A-ha's ''Train Of Thought'' is another good track, and one that seems forgotten with their catalogue of hits. Maybe it isn't amongst their most memorable tunes, but the song has a fantastic vibrancy about it, showing off Morten Harkett's versitility really well. The verses are very reminiscent vocally of David Bowie. There is a lot more to A-ha than first meets the ear, and ''Train of Thought'' musically and visually is a good example of that. There is a real sparkle as the song moves through its various sections.
The Real Thing's ''You To Me Are Everything'' is the first of the episode's true lowpoints, and yet the song in its original 1976 incarnation was very good. I think by the mid eighties, the idea of the remix was definitely a way of squeezing out a little extra revenue by the record companies, but rarely did these new versions come close to those original versions. The Real Thing's Eddie Amoo commented on Shaun Tilley's Payback series, that the he disliked these new remixes, but the band felt they may go along with promoting them as they would at least increase their profile, after their earlier success had started to wane.
Cliff and The Young Ones ''Living Doll'' is another really low point for me, because i don't find anything remotely funny about the record, or video. However, it was for a good cause, and Cliff's plays his part in the re recording effectively enough. The Young Ones anarchy at times could be mistaken for gross immaturity, and it all seems a little too contrived. For a truly funny novelty hit, Benny Hill's ''Ernie'' from 71 was miles better - and it reached no 1 on its own merits too, without a cause pushing its fortunes.
Falco's ''Rock Me Amadeus'' was a very big record with an equally large sound. It has a real bite to it, and a bombast about it which i do enjoy, although it wouldn't go down with me necessarily as a song i'd be itching to hear frequently. Like several of the other tracks on this edition, unlike many songs from this period, it could never be described as bland. The subject matter, and German sounding vocal added to this song appearing strikingly distinctive.
The Style Council's “Have You Ever Had It Blue?'' is an alternative version to their album track, ''With Everything To Lose'' from 'Our Favourite Shop', with different lyrics. Apparently ''Have You Ever Had It Blue?'' was written first, but the''With Everything To Lose'' lyrics were adapted later, to fit into the concept of ''Our Favourite Shop''and it was the latter song that first saw the light of day. I'm not sure why Weller didn't go for the ''With Everything To Lose'' lyric, because it cut far deeper. ''Have You Ever Had It Blue?'' is definitely well crafted, but the excitement The Style Council's music held for me in the early days had unfortunately evaporated by this point. ''Have You Ever Had It Blue?'' i'd describe more as well crafted, than anything approaching inspiring.
It was good seeing John and Janice appearing together again presenting.
5.5/10 for the episode
Last edited by Jedikiah on 1 September 2018 11:01am