Now 4 CD round-up

One final piece of business to wrap up Now 4 is the CD release which carries over the numbering of the LP it coincided with, even though it's not the fourth CD and there's so little in common with the other formats that they'd struggle to be classed as the same album in the charts; the artwork is different of course, because two of the four acts who stare out at you from the cover of the vinyl and tape aren't even on the CD. Still, despite the tenous connection between the two records, I thought I should record the content, or at least paste it off the internet...

1. Duran Duran 'The Reflex' (video) ^{Originally included on Now 3}
   
2. Ray Parker Jr. 'Ghostbusters (Searchin for the Spirit)'
3. Culture Club 'The War Song'
4. John Waite 'Missing You'
5. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 'Locomotion' (video) ^{Originally included on Now 3}
6. UB40 'If It Happens Again'
7. Tina Turner 'What's Love Got to Do with It' (video) ^{Originally included on Now 3}
8. Bronski Beat 'Why?'
9. The Style Council 'Shout to the Top!'
10. Phil Collins 'Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)' (video) ^{Originally included on Now 3}
11. Giorgio Moroder & Philip Oakey 'Together In Electric Dreams'
12. Julian Lennon 'Too Late for Goodbyes'
13. Status Quo 'The Wanderer'
14. Thompson Twins 'Doctor! Doctor!'
15. Queen 'Radio Ga Ga' ^{Originally included on Now 2}

By sneaking in selections from early in 1984, this seems to equate to a more consistent collection than the standard version, and Queen certainly offer a more satisfying finale than Eugene Wilde. That said, my favourite track from the entire album is absent and it's sort of a pity in retrospect that 'Listen To Your Father' didn't get a CD release. Either way not many people jumped at the chance to pay more for a shorter album and this has now become such a rarity that it's reputed to change hands for over £200 on the rare occasions one comes up for sale, presumably to collectors only.

By the way, I think all this makes 'The Reflex' the only track to have opened two Now albums, albeit only on a technicality.

Eugene Wilde 'Gotta Get You Home Tonight'

Chart Peak: 18

YouTube

No relation to Kim Wilde of course, as it's neither of their real names (he's actually Ron Broomfield and at time of writing Wikipedia claims that he adopted the pseudonym because "He had sex with a hooker and then decided to call it the Wilde Flowers of sex." Citation possibly needed there.

It probably wasn't the best idea to look this song up on YouTube after watching a load of comedy clips either, because with that in mind this could almost be mistaken for a parody of loverman soul. Of course, that's partly because it's over 25 years old now and the parts that now sound so cliched might have been fresher then, but there is something decidedly unconvincing about it; he tells whoever he's singing to to kick off her shoes, although the title implies that he wants her to go home without them. It's slick, but going through the motions. Still, it continues the tradition of a slow song at the end of a Now album, which remains more or less solid (on vinyl at least) until the twenties.

Available on: The Best of Eugene Wilde

Malcolm McLaren 'Madam Butterfly'

Chart Peak: 13

YouTube

A song possibly better remembered now for the video, regularly dug out by VH-1 because it has some women in it without much on. Well, at least McLaren isn't in it in person...

I do wonder how many of the viewers remembered the song itself, which is another of McLaren's attempts to blend old and new styles, in this case 80s RnB and opera. It's not a bad idea, I suppose, but the execution isn't as effective as it could have been, especially now it's not modern any more. And McLaren's narration just grates on me. I think perhaps you had to be there.

Also appearing on: Now 1
Available on: Fans

Rockwell 'Somebody's Watching Me'

Chart Peak: 6

YouTube

You wait all this time for a Michael Jackson appearance and then there are two on the same album... For yes it is him singing the chorus, and cynical voices have suggested that this record wouldn't have been the hit it was without this; certainly no other Rockwell singles reached the Top 75 in the UK, although he managed to scrape the US Top 40 with 'Obscene Phone Caller' and the Top 100 with a cover version of 'Taxman', which seems like a fair summary of his lyrical agenda: paranoia and a difficult relationship with the IRS.

The other fact everyone knows about Rockwell is that his father owned the record company. Many sources claim that Berry Gordy didn't find out his true identity until after the album came out, which I've never entirely believed, especially considering the effort it must have taken to call in the big guests and producers for this, and the fact that, let's face it, he can't really sing or anything. There's enough money thrown at this to give it some entertainment value, and that's probably why it turns up regularly on Halloween compilations alongside Ray Parker Jr. But it's in no way an actual good record.

Incidentally, this is the third Motown track on Now 4, three more than I can see on the previous volumes put together; they must have taken some persuading because this was a hit in February nearer the time of Now II. Motown's biggest single of 1984 is still absent, but perhaps we should be grateful for small mercies.

Available on: True Motown / Spectrum 3 CD Set

Eurythmics 'Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)'

Chart Peak: 4

YouTube

This is probably as good a time as any to come clean and admit that doing Now 4 at this stage was a bit of a mistake. I had an undisclosed plan to do one album from every year from 1983 to 1999, so I was about to do Now 5 for 1985, but then forgot myself and made a last-minute switch to this 1984 album. Oops.

Still, it's one of the few times I get to write about the Eurythmics here, presumably for contractual reasons; the soundtrack to a film of 1984 was on Virgin rather than their usual home at RCA, and so presumably more easily obtainable. I haven't seen the film and I don't think I'd heard the song before either, although I do remember the "Doo-do-do, boom-boom" middle section from a VH-1 trailer. The rest reminds me oddly of Queen somehow. They made worse records than this, but it feels like it loses a lot out of context.

Also appearing on: Now 2, 6
Available on: 1984 for the Love of Big Brother

Level 42 'Hot Water'

Chart Peak: 18

YouTube

Level 42's second Top 20 hit after 'The Sun Goes Down' (and also their first Hot 100 hit in the US, I believe) finds them on their way towards the smooth pop sound that made them stars, whilst still retaining some of the slap-bass funk of their pre-fame days. I can't really claim much knowledge of the early stuff (and probably wouldn't get it anyway) so I have to take people's word for it that they knew what they were doing then.

In fact I don't remember hearing this before either, as it was overshadowed by the later more radio-friendly stuff. Coming to it now it seems to be falling rather between two stools, and despite the polished production they seem unsure of themselves. The lyric seems like a precursor to 'Running In The Family' and whilst that's not a favourite of mine it at least seems more wholehearted than this, which can't quite bring itself to be a pop song but isn't quite anything else either.

Also appearing on: Now 6, 7, 10, 13, 14
Available on: Level Best

Pointer Sisters 'Jump (For My Love)'

Chart Peak: 6

YouTube

There's another subtitle here, but at least a well-known one: apparently it was added to avoid confusion with the Van Halen song.
In some ways, it's difficult to review this song in words, because it's not a work of great literary ambition; it strives to be no more than the vivacious pop song that it is. Perhaps the most interesting (if obvious) way to look at it is to compare it to the Girls Aloud version; they didn't exactly reinvent it but the words are much more intelligible there, which isn't necessarily an advantage. Both versions also sound slightly overstaffed, as if they don't really need so many singers on them, but that's the risk you run in a vocal group. And the version I've linked to has a longer outro than I remember, which certainly could have been trimmed. For all that, though, this is a record that succeeds so well on its own terms as to make further questions irrelevant.

Available on: Jump: the Best of the Pointer Sisters

UB40 'If It Happens Again'

Chart Peak: 9

YouTube

Another song I remember hearing a lot at home for some reason; in fact I tend to associate it particularly with the Feargal Sharkey track, possibly because they both have that dramatic brass punch. 'If It Happens Again' was their first self-penned hit after the Labour Of Love covers set that's represented twice on the first Now album. As such, they'd already passed their artistic peak so far as I'm concerned, but they had a few good pop songs left in them and this is one of them.

However, it's hard to agree with the comment on this other upload that it "hardly sounds like it's an 80s hit." In fact one of the most notable elements of this track is the use of electronic drums and other synthesisers alongside the traditional instrumentation, in line with contemporary trends in reggae. The grouchy lyric suits the whiny quality in Ali Campbell's voice quite well and the only major flaw is that they seem to run out of ideas too long before the end, and that video is a bit creepy. Otherwise though, this is about the best of the after-they-were-really-good years.

Also appearing on: Now 1, 6, 7, 9, 13, 17, 18, 26, 41, 56
Available on: The Very Best of UB40

Ray Parker Jr 'Ghostbusters (Searchin For The Spirit)'

Chart Peak: 2

YouTube

A song that now recharts so regularly in October that it almost feels like cheating to listen to it in February. But listen I did, and for the purposes of this post I actually had to look up 'I Want A New Drug' by Huey Lewis and the News, who sued Parker over this. There are three minutes I won't get back. It's not my place to comment on the (confidential) outcome of the case; suffice it to say that there is some resemblance (though a few people have also mentioned M's 'Pop Muzik' which predates both records) but there's no real comparison.

Parker apparently struggled for inspiration in time for his deadline (which explains a lot I guess) before he came up with the mock-ad-jingle idea. The lyrics he wrote to it have some air of first-draft silliness about them but that's no bad thing in this context; what really sells it is his deadpan delivery. It was enough for the single to come near the top of the UK chart in late summer, months before the film was actually released here. I don't know how he feels about the fact that this has overshadowed the rest of his career, but he'll have to live with it.

Oh, and I've never seen that 'Searchin For The Spirit' subtitle anywhere but this album.

Available on: Greatest Hits

Nik Kershaw 'Human Racing'

Chart Peak: 19

YouTube

A commenter says this could almost be a Stevie Wonder song, and that's not far off if you allow the caveat that it sounds like Stevie Wonder in the 1980s, rather than at his peak. Still, it's one track that turns out to be better than I expected, and I think I like this more than the the Nik Kershaw songs I remembered from the time. I don't think I can take it as seriously as it seems to take itself, but there's a decent melody in there and it's solidly produced and all.

Also appearing on: Now 2, 3, 6
Available on: Then & Now

Kim Wilde 'The Second Time'

Chart Peak: 29

YouTube

Despite the title, this was of course the first time Kim Wilde showed up on a Now album, and for good measure her first single for new label MCA, complete with the catalogue number KIM1. Maybe they thought about saving this one up for the next single but thought it was too strong a potential hit to wait. If so, they weren't entirely right so far as the UK goes, with the single barely sneaking into the Top 30, though it did better in some other European countries and even crept into the US chart.

It starts of not unlike the OMD track, actually, but with the crucial syllable replaced by "Go!" (the US release was subtitled "Go For It"). And that sort of sets the tone for what is, listening now, a remarkably hard-hitting song about a woman's insatiable sexual appetite in a "cheap motel". Strong stuff, and all the odder when you recall that this was written by Marty and Ricky Wilde, who are of course her father and brother respectively. This, I must admit, wasn't really how I remembered her, and it feels slightly uncomfortable now, at least if you're my age. Still, more tolerable than 'Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover' somehow.

Also appearing on: Now 8, 13, 14, 25
Available on: The Collection

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 'Tesla Girls'

Chart Peak: 21

YouTube

For some reason, I didn't think it was a good sign when I looked up the YouTube video and it started with somebody shouting "NO! NO!". And I was sort of right, really, because 'Tesla Girls', a song I'm sure I'd never heard before, is a pretty slight thing for a single, albeit deliberately. It seems to be part of the direction of simplified pop songs that OMD were heading towards later in their career (all the more so once they became effectively a solo project for Andy McCluskey) but it seems to be less catchy than some of their bigger hits. As to whether it's related to Cold War-era scientist Nikola Tesla (who wasn't a girl) the jury seems to be out.

Also appearing on: Now 3, 8, 20, 25, 34
Available on: Junk Culture

Feargal Sharkey 'Listen To Your Father'

Chart Peak: 23

YouTube [the actual song starts about a minute and a half in]

Madness are one of three acts to have appeared on all of the first three Now albums. All those runs come to a halt on this volume but they can still claim a presence thanks to this first release on their Zarjazz label, a song written by Chas Smash himself (I believe most of Madness also play instruments on the track: they certainly appeared with him on TotP. As well as launching the label, this was also the official start of Sharkey's solo career and given this pedigree (he'd had his first Top 5 hit the previous year fronting the Assembly's 'Never Never') expectations may have been pretty high but in the end even the release of a mullet-tastic picture disc couldn't propell it any higher than 23 and it drifted into near oblivion; as far as I'm aware the only CD release of this song was on an obscure re-issue of 'You Little Thief' (and even that was the 12" mix).

Weirdly, though, one place it did find a home was the cassette deck of the family car, so it's a song that (aptly enough) I strongly associate with my childhood. I was decidedly pleased to find
the 7" you see illustrated there, not only for this reason but because 'Listen To Your Father' is something of a corker, a vaguely Northern-soulish stomper that you wouldn't have blamed Madness for keeping to themselves (except that the rhyme of "good" and "mood" wouldn't really work in a London accent I suppose). As it is, though, Feargal got it and his vocal performance makes you wish he hadn't stopped singing to become a spokesman for the very record industry that is refusing to sell this track to you, should you want to buy it.

Also appearing on: Now 6

U2 'Pride (In The Name Of Love)'

Chart Peak: 3

YouTube

If only I'd started this album a week earlier I could have timed this post for MLK Day. Oh well.

The start of a long run of appearances for U2, even despite the conspicuous gap around their late-80s commercial peak. Whilst they'd already had a Top 10 single in the UK with 'New Year's Day', this was the start of their real superstar era, and the start of a long run of Top 10s that remained officially unbroken until 1991.

It was of course the lead single from their pivotal album The Unforgettable Fire (recently re-released in Deluxe Edition form if you can stomach that price) and to some extent follows the template set by earlier anthems like 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' and the aforesaid 'New Year's Day', but with more inventive production. Drumming has probably never sounded better on a rock record thanks to the combined efforts of Larry Mullen Jr, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois and the acoustics of Slane Castle. Wisely, though, the arrangement is quite sparse, allowing the maximum space for Bono's expansive vocal. Apparently he has been dismissive in retrospect of the impressionistic lyrics, but that to me just shows how much the band have lost their way in more recent years. He does have a point in regretting the line "Early morning, April 4, shot rings out in the Memphis sky" as innacurate, but it's forgiveable for once. U2 are an easy band to dislike but this single is a strong case for the defence, using all their worst tendencies for the good.

Also appearing on: Now 5, 20, 22, 32, 36, 37, 41, 47, 48, 49, 53, 57 [LMC vs U2], 60, 61, 62, 63, 66, 72
Available on: The Unforgettable Fire (Remastered)

Big Country 'East Of Eden'

Chart Peak: 17

YouTube

For some reason, this is the one Big Country song I remember fairly well, though it's far from their biggest hit. It was the most successful single release from their only Number One album Steeltown, but that's unlikely to have made a lot of difference in my childhood because we didn't have the album.

In fact, the reason I remember this is a slightly more surprising one: it's actually quite a good record. Maybe that's not surprising to everyone, but in retrospect I've struggled to get what people liked about them beyond the absence of Richard Jobson. Bombastic as it is, 'East Of Eden' comes closest to hitting the mark for me, thanks to that punchy chorus "some days I just don't worry". Were I of the right generation I think I could love this.

Also appearing on: Now 2, 7, 8
Available on: The Greatest Hits Of Big Country And The Skids

Status Quo 'The Wanderer'

Chart Peak: 7

YouTube

As it happens, I do actually remember this record; but if I didn't then knowing the original song I could have guessed exactly what a Status Quo version would sound like and I'd have been right. Recorded as a new track for their compilation 12 Gold Bars Vol 2, this version of Dion's hit recasts the already simple song in typical heads-down Quo style. It seems almost irrelevant to try and criticise this because anybody buying it would have known exactly what to expect.

In fact, the most interesting thing here is the video; not that the premise is at all inventive, but it's quite intriguing to see the passage of time. London looks quite different a quarter-century ago, people's clothes are pretty different and the picture quality attainable on portable video cameras was very different. And yet Quo seem exactly the same. In fact, I don't think it's even the same line-up now, but Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt seem to have done all their aging by this point and they still sound the same. And all this despite the fact that more time has passed from 1984 to now than from the original 1961 hit to then.

Also appearing on: Now 8, 14, 18, 33 (with the Beach Boys), 53
Available on: Pictures: 40 Years of Hits

Queen 'It's A Hard Life'

Chart Peak: 6

YouTube

Well, I knew this was the third of four consecutive Top Ten hits from their album The Works, but I had no memory of it before writing this post. Knowing how big Queen were at the time, it's not plausible that I never heard it, so I must assume that it was getting played on the radio between 'Too Late For Goodbyes' and 'Together In Electric Dreams' and I just didn't notice it.

It doesn't leave much of an impression on me now either. It seems to push the usual Queen buttons but without much to attract attention. Maybe it was just so each member of the band got a single off this album. Apparently they all thought Freddie Mercury looked like a prawn in the video. Er, you can tell I'm struggling for things to say here, can't you? Sorry. I can understand why the Now 4 CD went with the more memorable 'Radio Gaga' instead.

Also appearing on: Now 2, 3, 6, 7, 15, 16, 19, 21, 25 [with George Michael], 32, 33, 54 [with Vanguard]
Available on: The Works

Tina Turner 'Private Dancer'

Chart Peak: 26

YouTube

And another accidental connection here; 20 years later Kane Gang singer Martin Brammer co-wrote Tina's last hit to date, 'Open Arms'. This however comes from the more famous pen of Mark Knopfler, who supposedly realised at a rather late stage that this song didn't suit a male vocal and dropped it from the Love Over Gold album. In the spirit of waste not, want not, it went on to become the title track of the comeback album I referred to before as a big in-car favourite during my formative years, and this song still reminds me of motorways.

Of course, as a child I didn't grasp the meaning of the lyric. In fact, I think I even romanticised it a little by mishearing "...keeping your eyes on the wall" as "...keeping your eyes on The One", but nonetheless something in the melody and atmosphere of the track caught my attention, and it's a song I've always remembered. Now I do know what's going on, it's all the more difficult to imagine Dire Straits ever releasing this (apparently they are still on the backing track, although Jeff Beck takes over the lead guitar). It's Turner's vocal that makes it work, sounding appropriately weary but not too dark to overpower it; it seems as if the protagonist is a little in denial about the true sadness of her position.

Needless to say, this single version is heavily edited from the seven-minute album track, but most of what gets cut seems to be sax solo, which I don't consider a great loss. According to the internet, a further edit had to be made for Top Of The Pops to remove the advertising slogan "American Express will do nicely thank you". The past is a foreign country indeed.

Also appearing on: Now 1, 6, 16, 17, 18, 21, 25, 26, 32, 34, 44
Available on: All The Best

Kane Gang 'Respect Yourself'

Chart Peak: 21

YouTube

For some reason I'd always thought that some or all of the Kane Gang were actually called Kane, and that they were Scottish. Neither of those things seems to be true, so I was probably getting them mixed up with Hue & Cry. They do seem to have a little in common, with their very 1980s take on soul music. And as if to prove the point, they make their only Now appearance with a cover version, suggesting that EMI missed the boat for their self-composed (and bigger) hit 'Closest Thing To Heaven'.

Needless to say, this is better than the Bruce Willis version [click at your own risk] but fails to convey the passion of the original. They give it a decent shot but can't transcend the very 1980s sound; perhaps it's unfair of me to criticise a record from 1984 for that, but I struggle somewhat to see the appeal of listening to this version when there are others around. The strongest thing about it is probably PP Arnold's sterling backing vocal.

Available on: The Miracle of the Kane Gang: Remastered & Expanded

Heaven 17 'Sunset Now'

Chart Peak: 24

YouTube

Their only appearance with a song that isn't 'Temptation', as the big follow-up hit 'Come Live With Me' never made the cut. In fact this is a remarkably small hit to have shown up on here at all, and whatever impression it might have made is long forgotten now, so I heard it for the first time over the weekend. With that in mind I did wonder whether I should hold back a bit and give the song more of a chance to grow on me, but I'm enough of a procrastinator at the best of times, so it's first and second impressions to go on.

At first, I was distracted by the admirably low-budget video: the cardboard cut-out of the band which pops up (literally) for the backing vocal is cute. In fact, the song itself hasn't made a lot of impact on me at all, as indeed is the case with most of their oeuvre. It seems like another instance of their sarcasm; a deadpan delivery of lyrics that, written down, seem to be about a war, but I sense that the formula had been used better before. I reserve the right to change my mind though.

Also appearing on: Now 1, 23
Available on: How Men Are