China Crisis 'Black Man Ray'

Chart Peak: 14

YouTube

Most of the songs on this album so far seem to fall into one of two categories: either they're painfully overfamiliar, or I've never knowingly heard them before. This one certainly falls into the latter category, although I had at least vaguely heard of it. After this and 'Wishful Thinking' I'm rather getting the impression that China Crisis were one of those bands where you had to be there.

There seem to be all sorts of theories about who or what Black Man Ray might have been (see here for the most interesting treatment of the issue I've found) but there's a vagueness about the whole thing, musically and lyricially, that makes the question fairly uninteresting to me. Producer Walter Becker (the one from Steely Dan who wasn't selling solo albums) polishes this to a fine sheen but leaves it too smooth to grab onto; the result is pretty but ineffectual. And just like their biggest hit, it seems to doze off and fade out at the end, without leaving much trace in my memory.

Also appearing on: Now 2
Available on: Flaunt the Imperfection

Power Station 'Get It On (Bang A Gong)'

Chart Peak: 22

YouTube

A couple of albums ago, a commenter suggested that the All Saints version of 'Under The Bridge' was the worst cover of all time. Would that we could be so sure. Power Station were, you may have the misfortune to remember, a supergroup formed by some of the hundreds of people called Taylor who were members of Duran Duran during a lull in group activity (I presume it was a lull in the lull that produced 'View To A Kill'). The brought in ex-Chic drummer Tony Thompson, who probably should have known better and Robert Palmer, who might not have. Their self-penned hit 'Some Like It Hot' seems to have eluded the Now series, which instead finds itself representing them with the rather less successful follow-up.

Perhaps aptly, given the transatlantic origins of the group, their title seems to split the difference between the UK and US releases of the T-Rex hit, which were called 'Get It On' and 'Bang A Gong' respectively. And that's about the only aspect of this rather constipated cover version that I can call appropriate. Even in this heavily edited single version there's room for excesses of guitar and bass solos, and Palmer's rather earnest delivery sheds exactly the wrong sort of spotlight on Marc Bolan's playfully nonsensical lyric, and the overall effect is that they seem to have emphasised precisely the wrong elements of the song. Somehow, this version is more obviously about sex than the original, but it's not even a fraction as sexy.

Available on: The Power Station

Simple Minds 'Don't You (Forget About Me)'

Chart Peak: 7

YouTube

Another film I've never seen, and if you feel like making connections even further back, a song that Bryan Ferry apparently refused to record. In fact, even Simple Minds themselves reportedly turned it down at first, but were ultimately persuaded by their record company. And it seems to have been something of a decisive moment too: it gave them a US Number One single (and a long-running UK hit, despite its surprisingly low peak here) but at the expense of a certain amount of their reputation. To be sure, they'd already set off on the path of stadium rock, as can be heard on the very first Now! album with 'Waterfront', but recording an off-the-peg song for a film soundtrack seemed like the point of no return down that road. Of course, they made a fortune in the ensuing years, but when in later decades they tried to return to their art-rock origins, the genie wasn't going back into the bottle.

As for the record itself, I find again that listened to with a critical ear, it's not quite as bad as I thought, but I still wouldn't say it was actually good. The bombast that comes as standard with Jim Kerr seems particularly out of place with such light material, and he sounds utterly punchable by the closing la-la-la-la's. There are some mildly interesting bass parts, but all the rest sounds exactly what it is: part of the dressing for a mid-80s teen movie, and not really comprehensible without that context, or at least the memory of it.

Also appearing on: Now 1, 6, 7, 14, 15, 23, 30
Available on: EMI Presents 'The Great Big Scottish Songbook'

David Bowie (with the Pat Metheny Group) 'This Is Not America'

Chart Peak: 14

YouTube

Yes, this track is from The Falcon And The Snowman, which I've never really heard of outside the context of this song. Somehow I'd always assumed it would be a cartoon or something, but I learn now it's actually about a couple of men spying for the USSR. I suppose that explains why they got an experimental jazz fusion band to do the soundtrack, and why they'd have conjured such a bleak atmosphere. It also gives me a hint of what Bowie's lyric might actually be about, although I presume it'd make more sense over the closing credits.

Be that as it may, on the single, or on the Best Of Bowie album where I first heard it, the song has to stand on its own merit and in that context it's still rather good. Not the sort of thing I'd have been able to get my head around when I was seven (if I ever did hear it then, I didn't notice) but it seems most effective to me now as a sort of soundscape. That synthesised horn sound that decorates some of the choruses seems very lonely and Bowie's singing is well-judged, if a little stagey. Perhaps that artificial element is even a help, because it helps add to the mood of isolation; in fact, I might almost go so far as to say that this saves me the effort of seeing the film, because I think I can understand the central character's motivation. Perhaps that wasn't the desired effect, but never mind.

Also appearing on: Now 2, 7
Available on: Platinum Collection

Bryan Ferry 'Slave To Love'

Chart Peak: 10

YouTube

Perhaps Ferry's most popular solo song, and despite my general dislike for his music I admit I don't really mind this one. It helps, perhaps, that this is his own song rather than one of the many awful covers he tends to inflict on us, although it does seem a little similar to the late Roxy Music hit 'Avalon'. As there, he seems to rein in the most affected parts of his crooning and set up a mellow, slightly jazzy mood. In fact, the major flaw of this track is that it's so laid back it's easy to overlook it, even when you're trying to pay attention so you can write a blog post about it. Sorry Bryan.

Also appearing on: Now 13, 24
Available on: Best Of

Marillion 'Kayleigh'

Chart Peak: 2

YouTube

I've long had the impression that Marillion fans have some resentment of them being identified with this song, although I'm not sure how much of that is to do with the song itself and how much with the extent to which it overshadows the rest of their career. As an outsider I can call it as I see it (well, as I hear it, although the video does seem to prove my point somewhat about fake recording studio scenes).

Actually, this isn't quite as bad as I thought I remembered it being, although I haven't radically changed my opinion. It is notable for its slightly unconventional structure, but even though they are apparently autobiographical Fish's lyrical snapshots don't entirely seem convincing. Maybe his voice just isn't right for the mood, or I was distracted by the thought of him dancing in stilettos. Any other emotion is pretty much beaten out of it by the heavy-handed rock anthem production, complete with screechy guitars, massed keyboards and that big drumbeat to tell us where the chorus is. And the dramatic ending is always spoilt for me by the fact that he has to change the stress on the titular name the very last time he sings it for the sake of scansion. Still, it got enough attention that women of that age are apparently disproportionately under 25...

Also appearing on: Now 6, 10
Available on: The Singles: 1982-1988

Paul Young 'Every Time You Go Away'

Chart Peak: 4

YouTube

Is he really shouting "dick!" 12 seconds into this track? Perhaps it's aimed at the video director who seems to have spent a good deal of the budget trying to remake Casablanca or something and then drenched PY with the least convincing rain effect in history.

This cover of a little-known Hall & Oates album track became his only US Number One, deposing the aforementioned Duran Duran Bond them and being knocked off in turn by Tears For Fears. No wonder they called it the Second British Invasion; ironically none of those songs made it to the top of the UK chart. Whilst the combination of singer and writers sounds to modern ears almost like a parody of mid-80s MOR-ism, I have to admit that for what it is this is fairly well screwed together; at least the arrangement has just enough spookiness from the electric sitar and the odd tinkles of piano to dispel at least for a moment the sense that this isn't ideal for his voice.

Also appearing on: Now 1, 20
Available on: The Essential