Updating the nows - Now Yearbook 1972

While the polly tictions continue argue stuff out this Monday we're going back to the time I was in single digits and you found the radio listening to songs.

That to an extent is what's driven buying the Now Yearbook series, hearing your favourites from the past that bring back memories from the times.

Back then I had a home made stereo record player and am radio that I'd play my 45's and Top Of The Pop's cover versions albums on in an era that if you bought a Ronco 24 hits one instead even to my junior ears it didn't sound good.

Record One opens with an all-time favourite, ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ by John Lennon, The Plastic Ono Band, Yoko Ono & The Harlem Community Choir – and it leads an opening run of classics including Rod Stewart’s #1 ‘You Wear It Well’, Don McLean with ‘American Pie’, ‘A Horse With No Name’ from America and a song by the same name ‘America’ from Simon & Garfunkel, released as a single in 1972 to promote the duo’s ‘Greatest Hits’ collection. More legendary U.S. artists follow including Harry Nilsson with his #1 ‘Without You’, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney & Wings with their first Top 10 hit ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’.

Flipping over to Side Two for ‘Baby I’m-A Want You’ from Bread, ‘Anticipation’ from Carly Simon and Neil Diamond with one of his signature tracks, U.S. #1, and the title of recent biopic ‘Song Sung Blue’. Gilbert O’Sullivan enjoyed his first chart-topper with ‘Clair’ while Colin Blunstone hit with ‘Say You Don’t Mind’ and Cat Stevens scored a Top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic with ‘Morning Has Broken. A good ten before ‘Thriller’, Michael Jackson had his first solo hit with ‘Got To Be There’, and is followed by timeless songs from Labi Siffre with ‘It Must Be Love’ and Johnny Nash who enjoyed a massive hit with ‘I Can See Clearly Now’.

1972 saw Glam Rock become hugely popular, and Record Two kicks off at the rock end of glam with Alice Cooper and the anthemic #1 ‘School’s Out’, and followed by the superb art-rock of Roxy Music on their debut ‘Virginia Plain’ – and Mott The Hoople with the David Bowie written and produced ‘All The Young Dudes’ hitting the Top 3. 

Ahead of their biggest commercial year in ’73, Sweet scored their third Top 5 hit with ‘Wig Wam Bam’ and Slade follow with the second of two #1’s in 1972, ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’. 

Elton John had a huge year and Top 5 smash ‘Crocodile Rock’ is featured next alongside the Moog classic  chart-topper ‘Son Of My Father’ by Chicory Tip and co-written by Giorgio Moroder before rounding off the side, Jeff Beck had a hit with the re-released ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’ 

Flipping to Side Two, we are celebrating a great year for soul music on the charts with The Stylistics leading an incredible run of classics with ‘Betcha By Golly Wow’ ahead of ‘Lean On Me’ from Bill Withers, Love Unlimited’s sublime ‘Walkin’ In The Rain With The One I Love’ and ‘Family Affair’ a huge hit and a massively-influential track from Sly & The Family Stone

The O’Jays announced their ‘70s Philadelphia International era with ‘Back Stabbers’ and The Supremes and Michael Jackson  as Motown remained popular also feature along with pop gems from Melanie with ‘Brand New Key’ and the massive selling ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing’ a #1 from The New Seekers.

Record Three is packed with huge hits and launches with one of Elton John’s signature songs, the #2, ‘Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long Long Time)’. Rod Stewart provided the stunning vocal on Python Lee Jackson’s ‘In A Broken Dream’ and Slade’s other #1 in ’72 ‘Take Me Bak ‘Ome’ is next, alongside the debut hit from Electric Light Orchestra, ‘10538 Overture’, which reached #9 and became the first of 13 Top 10 smashes they would enjoy in the ‘70s – and the huge ‘Silver Machine’ from Hawkwind featuring a pre-Motörhead Lemmy Kilminster on lead vocals. 

The side finishes with ‘Lady Eleanor’ from Lindisfarne and ‘Burning Love’ a UK and US Top 10 hit for Elvis Presley… 

Side Two, concludes this 3 lp set with 72’s easy listening and pure pop classics - opening in style with Shirley Bassey and her second ‘Bond’ theme ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ ahead of Andy Williams’ ‘Speak Softly Love’ – the theme from the year’s biggest film ‘The Godfather’. 

‘The Way Of Love’ from Cher comes ahead of joyful pop nuggets from Sammy Davis Jr and Tony Christie with ‘(Is This The Way To) Amarillo’ reaching #18 in 1972 but hitting #1 33 years later! Up next, Paul Simon with his Top 5 hit ‘Mother And Child Reunion’, a #2 debut hit for Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show with ‘Sylvia’s Mother’ and Don McLean makes a second appearance with his #1 ‘Vincent’. 

The set ends on an instrumental that closes this collection and 1972’s biggest selling single: Based on the arrangement of the previous year’s hit for Judy Collins, The Pipes and Drums Of The Military Band Of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards celebrated a huge selling version – featuring a bagpipe solo – of ‘Amazing Grace’.

As someone who lives Pipe Bands, I loved it at the time.

This is a great set, the equal of four of those Dolly Bird covered Top Of The Pops albums with the original hits this time, that as you lower the arm brings everything all back.

Updating the nows - Now Yearbook 1976

We are back on road, rolling back the years with the Now Yearbook so after a gap as I didn't bother with the 1997 edition we pick up from the 1977 Volume and jump back in 1976 the year of the IMF bail out and the great Summer Heatwave.

Back then we'd be sat around the record player or Hifi feeding discs as that was the dominant recorded music format then with our besties talking and singing along which is a good a reason to get the record version (it's on a four cd version) as that just takes us right back.

Basically we get a selection from the cd version with the only moan from me about where Love Me Like I Love You is, a top 5 Rollers hit it delivers on lime green vinyl.

 Record One kicks off in magnificent style with signature songs from legendary artists: A number 2 in 1976, Queen’s ‘Somebody To Love’ is first up, followed by Electric Light Orchestra with ‘Livin’ Thing’, Fleetwood Mac with ‘Say You Love Me from Rumours’, and 10cc with ‘I’m Mandy Fly Me’. Dr. Hook had a huge hit with ‘A Little Bit More’, and Chicago chart topping number1 with their all-time classic ballad ‘If You Leave Me Now’, while the side closes with Eric Carmen’s enduringly popular ‘All By Myself’. 

Flipping over to Side Two we have huge hits from the year – including 4 number1s: 14 years after making their UK chart debut, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons enjoyed their first chart-topper with ‘December 1963 (Oh What a Night) following on from their 1975 resurgence’, while Leo Sayer reached number 2 in the UK, and had a number1 in the US with ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’. 

Pop gems follow from David Dundas, Bryan Ferry, Sailor, Smokie – and Slik, featuring a pre-Ultravox Midge Ure reached the top with ‘Forever And Ever’ produced by the same team that had hits with the Bay City Rollers. 

Showaddywaddy celebrated their biggest hit and their first number 1 with ‘Under The Moon Of Love’keeping us entertained that christmas, and the UK won at Eurovision, with the winner ‘Save Your Kisses For Me’ by Brotherhood Of Man not only topping the chart but also becoming 1976’s biggest seller and bringing the first LP to a close.
 

Record Two opens with a stellar run of pure-pop classics. Elton John celebrated his first UK number1 single, in a duet with Kiki Dee on ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’, and Cliff Richard with ‘Devil Woman’, Tina Charles debuted with ‘I Love To Love’ and The Real Thing with ‘You To Me Are Everything’. 

More pop nuggets follow from Billy Ocean and Dana, before the side finishes with R&J Stone with ‘We Do It’ and the evergreen ‘Midnight Train To Georgia’ from Gladys Knight & The Pips.

 Side Two opens with ‘Silly Love Songs’ gave Wings a UK number 2 and became ‘76’s biggest seller in the US and opens a run of great vocalists; Neil Diamond, Daryl Hall & John Oates with ‘She’s Gone’, Paul Simon’s ’50 Ways To Leave Your Lover’ and a trio of the year’s classic rock smashes: ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ from Thin Lizzy, ‘Squeeze Box’ from The Who, and closing with the epic ‘Music’ from John Miles.
 

Record Three celebrates ‘76’s dancefloor scene with a stunning collection of disco and soul gold: First up, Donna Summer with her debut smash ‘Love To Love You Baby’ before ‘More More More’ from Andrea True Connection and Candi Staton’s timeless ‘Young Hearts Run Free’. Melba Moore with ‘This Is It’ comes ahead of Diana Ross with the genre-defining ‘Love Hangover’, and the side is completed with huge floor-fillers from Tavares and Barry White ahead of The Isley Brothers with the soul standard ‘Harvest For The World’.

 On Side Two country music is represented with Dolly Parton making her UK singles chart debut with ‘Jolene’ three years after it was a hit in the US, but it was a Dutch band, Pussycat, who hit the top with their country-pop track ‘Mississippi’. Bonnie Tyler made her chart debut with ‘Lost In France’, and ‘Forever And Ever’ gave Demis Roussos a ’76 chart topper, and an easy-listening classic, whilst Guys N Dolls had a second Top 5 hit with their cover of ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’. The LP ends with a trio of the year’s most beautiful ballads: Gallagher And Lyle with ‘Heart On My Sleeve’, ‘Love And Affection’ the stunning singles chart debut for Joan Armatrading, and finishing with a second peerless single on this collection from Elton John with ‘Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word’.

This is an enjoyable rump through 1976 in music even if for licensing reasons we have no Abba or David Bowie present. 

Now Yearbook Vault 1981

Welcome back to THE VAULT, the bolt on of the New Yearbook series that mixes singles that failed to trouble the top 30 but were really interesting with American hits that didn't do much over here in the U.K. and we're doing this vinyl style.

Part of that's a channelling of those tracks on our Ronco or KTel  albums that sandwiched between the surefire hits they added maybe thinking they'd do better than they did and anyway sometimes they interested us more  and part is music meant mainly vinyl for us back then.

Old rituals bring back memories. 

 It's three lps in one sleeve so as it's a bit thin be careful as it will soon crease or rip but at least the discs are polylined so they're well protected.

 

Time to open this bad boy up!

A year away from their Top 40 debut, record one opens with Simple Minds with ‘Sweat In Bullet’ from their ‘Sons And Fascination’ album and followed by Spandau Ballet with ‘Paint Me Down’ from their second album ‘Diamond’. Heaven 17 are up next with their debut single ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’, alongside the debut from Eurythmics ‘Never Gonna Cry Again’. 

John Foxx released ‘Europe After The Rain’ as the lead single from ‘The Garden’, and Gary Numan reunited with his former band members, now called Dramatis on the superb ‘Love Needs No Disguise’. Closing the side, Altered Images feature with their debut ‘Dead Pop Stars’, along with the 1978 debut ‘Young Parisians’ from Adam & The Ants – re-released to become a hit in 1981. Flip the LP over to celebrate some of ‘81’s best soul and disco featuring Rick James, Sister Sledge and Chaka Khan, ahead of funk-pop genre melding from Freeez, Shakatak and Level 42 before this first disc closes with reggae artist Sheila Hylton who made the Top 40 with her cover of The Police track ‘The Bed’s Too Big Without You’.

Bruce Springsteen starts record two with the title track from his #2 album ‘The River’ which gave him his first UK Top 40 single, and John Mellencamp – who would have to wait another year for his UK chart debut – with ‘Ain’t Even Done With The Night’, his first Top 20 hit in the US. REO Speedwagon are up next with a track, ‘In Your Letter’ from the years’ biggest-selling album in America Hi Infidelity and a big seller here), and Billy Joel released a live version of ‘Say Goodbye To Hollywood’, giving him a Top 20 hit there. Great singles from Elton John and Joan Armatrading lead to the side finishing with The Alan Parsons Project and another US hit, ‘Time’.

Side B opens with the Pretenders from their second album, and a single ‘Louie Louie’ that got a US, but not a UK release. Pat Benatar led into her ‘Precious Time’ album with ‘Fire And Ice’, and Generation X released ‘Dancing With Myself’, a track that lead singer Billy Idol would revisit in his solo releases. Echo & The Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes, and Dexys Midnight Runners all feature ahead of Joe Jackson covering the jazz/blues/swing standard ‘Jumpin’ Jive’, and The Manhattan Transfer – who had a huge US hit with their cover of doo-wop classic ‘Boy From New York City’, which closes the second record.

Record 3 opens with an brilliant run of alt-pop: The Creatures - Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie from Siouxsie And The Banshees - released their debut ‘Mad Eyed Screamer’ along with ‘Primary’, the single from The Cure’s ‘Faith’ album, New Order with ‘Procession’, plus The Psychedelic Furs with ‘Dumb Waiters’. The Clash released the non-album single ‘This Is Radio Clash’, and reggae and new-wave fusion from Scritti Politti with the sublime ‘The “Sweetest Girl” to which we were to more of in later years. The side closes with two chart regulars The Undertones and Squeeze with ‘It’s Going To Happen’ and ‘Is That Love?’ and the final side kicks off with Debbie Harry, as 1981 saw her release her first solo album ‘KooKoo’, and from it here the second single ‘The Jam Was Moving’. Donna Summer released ‘Cold Love’ from her ‘The Wanderer’,( her first for Warners), and Commodores feature with ‘Lady (You Bring Me Up)’. Steve Winwood follows on with ‘While You See A Chance’, and the final three begin with Journey and their rock ballad ‘Who’s Crying Now’, Rush with the epic ‘Tom Sawyer’, and closing the collection, Meat Loaf with the lead single from his album ‘Dead Ringer For Love’, ‘I’m Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us’.

This selection works well bring  a mixture of memories to many of us especially those of us with more ecliptic tastes while sounding more fuller than those old K Tel and Ronco discs did back then.

 

Now Yearbook Vault 1980

We last tackled the new now yearbook Vault series in early October when we bought and reviewed the 1984 edition as I felt this by offering American only hits and Bubbling Under UK hits did offer something that would slot in with my original Now 2,3 and 4 and Hits and Hits II compilation albums bought back then.

Well they returned last Friday not with the previous two years but a three lp version of a set devoted to 1980 which is a under represented period with compilations here so looking at the tracklist, I decided to buy this one.
 

 

Record 1 kicks off with established superstars with big U.S, hits: Bruce Springsteen (with ‘Hungry Heart’ from the great The River album), Billy Joel (with ‘You May Be Right’) and Blondie with ‘The Hardest Part’ that was a single in the U.S. but not in the U.K. 

New-wave with a retro feel from The Ramones, The Revillos and The B-52’s lead into singles before the hits came for Echo & The Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes.

Fipping over the side for disco-pop from Donna Summer with ‘Sunset People’ and Shalamar with ‘Right In The Socket’ ahead of the fusion of soul & jazz from The Manhattan Transfer, and the superb collaboration between Wilton Felder and Bobby Womack on ‘Inherit The Wind’. 

Jazz influenced pop from Level 42 who we were to hear more from in 1982 leads to chilled soul from Brenda Russell with her timeless track ‘In The Thick Of It’ and finishing with the unmistakable vocals of Joan Armatrading.

Synth-driven pop would become the dominant genre in the charts over 1981 which is featured on Record 2 celebrates some of the formative singles of the genre from Sparks and John Foxx alongside Ultravox, The Human League and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark who would be among the most successful groups of the next five years. 

More synth-pop from The Buggles and New Musik follows whilst the disc draws to its close with The Tourists with ‘Don’t Say I Told You So’.

Turning over to the second side we open with ‘Dance Stance’ from Dexys Midnight Runners  that was the single that came a few months before ‘Geno’ took them to #1. 

Great guitar pop from Squeeze and XTC leads into The Clash, ahead of reggae and ska from Junior Murvin and The Bodysnatchers, and hugely influential early hip-hop from Kurtis Blow with ‘The Breaks’.

Record 3 begins with the ballad ‘Sartorial Eloquence’ from Elton John followed by more huge musical icons such as Paul Simon (‘Late In The Evening’), Linda Ronstadt (‘Hurt So Bad’) and Carly Simon (‘Jesse’). Robert Palmer, Bill Nelson and The Cars with Touch And Go complete the side with new-wave classics .

Turning the record over over on the flip side shows stellar vocals from Pat Benatar and Journey kick off an explosive line up of 1980’s rock from Saxon, Girlschool, UFO and the debut single from Iron Maiden. Phil Lynott features with his first solo hit ‘Dear Miss Lonely Hearts’, whilst the final word is given to the legendary ZZ Top – they were 4 years away from a U.K. chart single, but ‘Cheap Sunglasses’ hit the U.S. chart in 1980.

 Although we have the Now Yearbook 80 lp, two lps of Extras and a few original complations this brings otherwise missing American favourites and the early singles of acts we were to hear more of in one nice package. Recommended.

Updating the nows - Now Yearbook 1977

We pick up from ourlast main entry from May 6th  where we went back to 1974 with this, the 1977 edition as we didn't bother with vinyl copies of the outstanding 80's and 90's editions released between these two.

 

1977 was many things.

It was the year of the Silver Jubilee with all the street parties, events including presentations of commemorative mugs at school marking it, it was when officially I became a teenager when magazines like Look-In and features on pop music mattered as I was very much into music back then.

It was the year that saw much of the mainstays of 1972-1976 drop out of the charts and new more direct "new wave" bands come in.

We had The Muppet Show on ATV at the weekends that was must see tv which for us back then was in colour and Mutli-Coloured Swap Shop on the BBC although we loved 'Tiswas" on ATV Saturday mornings.

It was also ten years since Radio One started in September 1967.

As with all vinyl editions this is a three lp version reduced to just 49 tracksand reordered to fit the format compared with cd versions with single thin jacket and lined inners.
 

We kick off LP1 with a timeless anthem from Queen with ‘We Are The Champions’ from the News of the World album and followed by the huge instrumental rock of ‘Fanfare For The Common Man’ by Emerson, Lake and Palmer. 

The song that would open ‘Live Aid’ years later is next up from Status Quo with their signature ‘Rockin’ All Over The World’although it was written by John Fogarty, and followed with classic pop-rock from 10CC with ‘Good Morning Judge’ and Yes with their huge hit ‘Wonderous Stories from the Going For The One allbum.’. 

Hot Chocolate enjoyed their first #1 with ‘So You Win Again’, and Donna Summer and Boney M. both make the first of two appearances on this collection with Top 3 pop smashes ‘Love’s Unkind’ and ‘Ma Baker’….

Flipping over for a side two we are celebrating easy-listening pop brilliance, and opening with a run of four #1s: Manhattan Transfer with ‘Chanson D’Amour’, David Soul with the UK and US #1 ‘Don’t Give Up On Us that some were infactuated with’, Leo Sayer with another trans-Atlantic chart topper ‘When I Need You’, and Deniece Williams with ‘Free’. 

Olivia Newton-John’s ‘Sam’ continues the run of pop gems that also includes #1 ‘Angelo’ from Brotherhood Of Man’, ‘You’re Moving Out Today’ from Carole Bayer Sager and Meri Wilson’s unforgettable ‘Telephone Man’. The superb vocals from Elkie Brooks on ‘Pearl’s A Singer’ closes the first LP in style.

LP2 opens with an amazing run of punk and new wave classics that I mentioned at the start: The Stranglers with ‘No More Heroes’, The Clash with their debut ‘White Riot’, Ramones with ‘Sheena Is A Punk Rocker’, and The Jam with their first Top 20 hit ‘All Around The World.

 Elvis Costello with the classy ‘Watching The Detectives’ leads into defining tracks from Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers with Roadrunner, Boz Scaggs, and Ram Jam plus a hit from the tv soundtrack to ‘Rock Follies'.

Flipping over to side 2 European disco leads the hits with Baccara’s chart-topping ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’, alongside massive tracks from Belle Epoque and the debut ‘Daddy Cool’ for Boney M. ‘The Crunch’ from The Rah Band was an instrumental smash, as was disco-flavoured re-working of the ‘Star Wars’ theme which gave Meco a US chart topper. 

The side winds down with two of the years’ biggest soul ballads – the Floaters hit #1 in August with ‘Float On’, and the Commodores released an all-time classic, with ‘Easy’, featuring Lionel Richie on vocals.

The concluding LP opens with one of music’s defining moments: Donna Summer’s #1 ‘I Feel Love’ with its production showcasing the role of the synthesizer – the track not only signalled the future direction of pop music but has also filled dancefloors since its 1977 release. 

The Trammps ‘Disco Inferno’, Heatwave with ‘Boogie Nights’, The Emotions’ ‘Best Of My Love’, Rose Royce with ‘Car Wash’, chart newcomers Chic with ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’, ‘Nights On Broadway’ from Candi Staton and side-closer ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’ from Thelma Houston all feature here in a stellar run to celebrate disco as one of the dominant genres in 1977 and was set to dominate in future years.

The final side opens with the sumptuous ‘Telephone Line’ from the Electric Light Orchestra, and ‘Silver Lady’, the second track and second #1 from David Soul on this collection.. Smokie had an enduring hit with ‘Living Next Door To Alice’, and 10cc hit big again with ‘The Things We Do For Love’. 

Liverpool Express and Alessi Brothers enjoyed hit ballads, whilst 1977’s singles chart saw ‘Way Down’ from Elvis Presley go to #1 in the wake of his death of which I did own a copy at the time. The final track is 1977’s biggest seller – the first single to sell over two million copies! – and the years’ Christmas #1!! as ‘Mull Of Kintyre’ from Paul McCartney & Wings closes this retrospective.

That was the last single I bought in 1977 after Jonathan Richman's Egyptian Reggae and that diversity is really what I loved pop music back then and the loss of Marc Bolan that year hit more more than Elvis Presley not least as I'd spent half my life following growing up with him.

Now Millennium series revisted Pt.III

 

The last time we looked at this twenty-first century series in in late March when we rediscovered Crazy Frog but this last week the next instalment came out during the period I didn't get any Now discs but did get single artist titles instead.

As ever there are two years to this set, 2006 and 2007 and I elected to get the four cd book form for the extra notes on each track.

2006 kicks off on disc 1  with the lead single from Amy Winehouse's defining 'Back To Black' album, 'Rehab', followed by Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy' - the biggest selling single of 2006 and the first single to reach #1 on download only sales. I really like the vocal on that track.

Furtado collaborated with Timbaland with huge success and her #1 'Maneater' is up next. Christina Aguilera showcases powerhouse vocals on 'Ain't No Other Man', while Corinne Bailey Rae's 'Put Your Records On' relaxes the vibe. I loved her debut album that year.

Fergie turns up the temperature with her first solo hit 'London Bridge (Oh Shh)' before  collaborations from The Pussycat Dolls and Snoop Dogg with their sizzling smash 'Buttons', and LL COOL J and Jennifer Lopez on the beat-bumping 'Control Myself, whilst dancefloor smash 'Thunder In My Heart (Again)' by Meck feat. Leo Sayer is next. 

That helped to revive his career and spark interest in his back catalogue.

 The irresistible riff from Orson's #1'No Tomorrow' leads into hits from P!nk, Kelly Clarkson, James Morrison and The Feeling - before Pop ballads from Shayne Ward and Will Young, and hit cover versions from McFly, Emma Bunton, Ronan Keating and Westlife. 

The second disc opens with the huge track 'Patience' from Take That which returned them to #1 after a 10 year absence, and the contemporary classic 'Chasing Cars' from Snow Patrol, before big hits from Keane and Lily Allen with her debut and first #1 'Smile'. 

Scissor Sisters 'I Don't Feel Like Dancin'' was a massive hit, a personal fav too and leads to superstars Robbie Williams, Pet Shop Boys and The Killers. A great run of Indie-Pop is next, including hits from Fall Out Boy, The Zutons, The Fratellis, and the #1 'America' from Razorlight. Leona Lewis won the 'X-Factor' and features alongside crossover club smashes from Fedde Le Grand, Booty Luv, and Infernal. 

2007: Britney Spears announces her intention to be heard on disc 3 with 'Gimme More', followed by more huge giant Pop acts - Girls Aloud's with 'Call The Shots', Sugababes with 'About You Now', and MIKA dazzles with his infectious #1 'Grace Kelly'. 

He was much talked about that year.

The irresistible '2 Hearts' from Kylie Minogue gives way to two massive floor-fillers; 'Proper Education' from Eric Prydz vs. Floyd and Freemasons feat. Bailey Tzuke with 'Uninvited'. A stellar selection of some of the best R&B smashes of the decade follows, from Justin Timberlake, Ne-Yo, Amerie, and Akon. Sean Kingston and Newton Faulkner both enjoyed debut success in 2007, while celebrated songwriters John Mayer, and Rufus Wainwright showcase their skills and lead into the closing tracks on the disc from legendary stars Céline Dion and Michael Bublé with their outstanding vocals. So good.

CD4 delivers hit after hit, starting with Leona Lewis's powerhouse ballad, 'Bleeding Love' - 2007's biggest selling single, before Fergie's global smash 'Big Girls Don't Cry (Personal)'. OneRepublic's 'Apologize' and another timeless gem from Take That with 'Rule The World' and other brilliantly crafted tracks from singer-songwriters, lead by '1973' from James Blunt and 'Hey There Delilah' from The Plain White T's, alongside huge radio records from The Fray with 'How To Save A Life', and Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse on their version of 'Valerie'.

 Anthemic Alt-Rock hits from Kaiser Chiefs, The View and Scouting For Girls all feature, as do Top 40 debuts from Kate Nash, Just Jack, The Hoosiers and Peter, Bjorn and John, whilst the last word is given to Pop royalty the Spice Girls with 'Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)' - their first single to feature the original line-up in nearly ten years.

It was an interesting two years and it's been grear hearing  these tracks I recall from radio play again.

Updating The Nows - Now Yearbook 1974

Into May and the Now Yearbook return to the past gets back to those pages we favour on vinyl going back to a year that has some parallels, extreme economic and social disruption plus a general election (if you were around you might recall we had two) and while the grown ups were getting worried about the "State of the Nation" we were playing, reading our comics, playing our records and enjoying Vision On.

Getting back to this, we have a record with some 48 tracks, all but one a substantial hit almost the equivalent of four of those cheesy cover girl Top Of The Pops albums that had remakes of all the hits, pressed on three lumps of green vinyl but sadly lacking the informative booklet of the cd version

 

Record One opens with  ‘Killer Queen’ that was first Top 5 single for Queen, and followed by the classic ‘Jet’ by Paul McCartney & Wings the second second from his latest album, and the still breathtakingly original, and hugely influential ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us’ from Sparks. This is followed up by run of ‘glam rock" from Sweet and Roxy Music, and including #1s from Suzi Quatro, and the years’ biggest seller ‘Tiger Feet’ from Mud, before closing with Slade’s ‘Far Far Away’. 

Flipping over to side two we start with Elton John with ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’, before some of the years biggest Rock hits, including ‘You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet’, ‘Radar Love’, ‘Dance With The Devil’ and the Faces ‘Pool Hall Richard’ before concluding with ‘Mike Oldfield’s Single’ – the ‘theme’ from his iconic album ‘Tubular Bells’. 

Record Two's first side is packed with huge hits including 6 #1’s - with chart-toppers from David Essex, The Rubettes, Alvin Stardust and Paper Lace, plus a huge hit from Pilot the Scottish group that promised much and the first Top 3 single for the Bay City Rollers with ‘Shang-A-Lang’. 

To my delight 1974’s biggest selling singles act were The Wombles, and their debut ‘The Wombling Song’ is up next along with the #1 global smash ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ from Carl Douglas inspired by the cult films and sport, before ending with the Reggae-Pop #1 ‘Everything I Own’ from Ken Boothe. 

1974 was a landmark year for Soul music, and it included the first global ‘Disco’ smashes and fittingly this is given a side to itself kicking off with with Barry White’s #1 ‘You’re The First, The Last, My Everything’ before a run of iconic floor-fillers from The Hues Corporation, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, and a further #1 ‘Rock Your Baby’ from George McCrae. 

We conclude this side with four of the greatest Soul ballads of all-time from The Isley Brothers, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye and ‘You Make Me Feel Brand New’ from The Stylistics. 

Record Three kicks off with the title track from the year’s biggest selling album, ‘Band On The Run’ from Paul McCartney & Wings – followed by the iconic ‘Candle In The Wind’ from Elton John, ‘I Honestly Love You’ by Olivia Newton-John which was her first US #1, and the amazing ‘The Air That I Breathe’ from The Hollies, before a run of four songs: John Denver’s ‘Annie’s Song’, ‘She’ from Charles Aznavour’, ‘The Three Degrees with ‘When Will I See You Again’ and ‘Sad Sweet Dreamer’ from Sweet Sensation – all of which hit #1 in 1974. 

The final side of Record Three is an eclectic line-up of pure Pop heaven led by the number ones ‘Seasons In The Sun’ from Terry Jacks and ‘You Won’t Find Another Fool Like Me’ from The New Seekers that charted in December of 1973, and including Stephanie De Sykes, 10cc, and Lulu with ‘The Man Who Sold The World’, featuring David Bowie on backing vocals, before a second appearance from Sparks with ‘Amateur Hour’, plus Cockney Rebel’s ‘Mr Soft’, and Leo Sayer closing out this collection with his debut hit ‘The Show Must Go On’.

As you can see this is a very comprehensive selection of hits, many of which I certainly recall gathered up from the original recordings in the media we were brought up on.

Recommended.

Now Millennium series revisited Pt.II

The Now Millennium series continues advancing from the original 1999 volume issued in 2000 and in most respects this series continues on from that and on March 1st the next volume was issued following on from 2002/3.

As with all of this series each volume covers two years with one year per two discs and in the book form version I bought you get some background notes on each song and act included not that in the passing years I've forgotten Crazy Frog!

CD1 is the first of two taht cover 2004 and begins with George Michael's top-5 smash ‘Amazing’, before Pop queens Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue feature with the sensational ‘Toxic’ and ‘I Believe In You’. As well as co-writing the Kylie smash, Jake Shears along with his band The Scissor Sisters had a fantastic year in 2004 with their self-titled album, showcased on this release with their massive hit ‘Laura’. Robbie Williams continued to enjoy massive success, Duran Duran returned and further cemented their legacy with ‘(Reach Up For The) Sunrise’, plus Anastacia and Natasha Beddingfield both enjoyed huge hits with ‘Left Outside Alone’ and ‘These Words’. Will Young’s phenomenal achievements in 2003 spilled over into 2004 with the release of ‘Your Game’ and Maroon 5’s ‘This Love’ ended up at number 3 after their 2002 sleeper-hit album ‘Songs About Jane’ was re-released. Dancefloor favourites come in the form of legendary Hip-Hop / Pop from Outkast and Kelis, plus the Pop-Dance of The Shapeshifters, ‘Call On Me’ from Eric Prydz, and the fusion of LMC and U2. The disc cools down with the #1 from Eamon and the soulful vocals of Lemar.

CD2 kicks off with the undisputed classic ‘Mr. Brightside’ from The Killers before featuring other fantastic bands; Keane, Snow Patrol, R.E.M. and The Streets - all here. 2004 was a stellar year for Pop singles, and included here - Sugababes, Girls Aloud, band rivals Busted and McFly, plus Ashlee Simpson and Avril Lavigne all experienced Chart success.

CD3 begins by highlighting amazing song writing, including ‘Speed Of Sound’ from Coldplay, James Blunt’s ‘You're Beautiful’, ‘Bad Day’ from Daniel Powter and the electrifying ‘Dakota’ from Stereophonics. New singles from New Order and Eurythmics come before Duran Duran, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams all make their second appearance. KT Tunstall’s massive ‘Suddenly I See’ leads to Chart favourites from Natalie Imbruglia and Simon Webbe. The huge ‘Caught Up’ from Usher and ‘1 Thing’ from Amerie come before the heavy beat of The Black Eyed Peas’ ‘Don't Phunk With My Heart’, and the disc closes with Akon’s flagship  number one smash ‘Lonely’.

CD4 leads with the irresistible ‘I Predict A Riot’ from the Kaiser Chiefs, followed by more great bands – The Bravery, Doves, Oasis and Bon Jovi all released unforgettable tracks in 2005. It was also the year that Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Since U Been Gone’ dominated the Charts, as did the R&B / Hip-Hop / Pop hits of ‘Don't Cha’ from The Pussycat Dolls and ‘Candy Shop’ from 50 Cent and Olivia. Mario and John Legend proved that romance wasn’t dead, and Elton John and Westlife released uplifting songs ‘Electricity’ and ‘You Raise Me Up’. ‘(Is This The Way To) Amarillo’ from Tony Christie charted in 2005 as the years Comic Relief track and the album ends with an early viral sensation – the undeniably catchy ‘Axel F’ from Crazy Frog.

This era was one i bought albums by artists I liked so a general resume of this period is really helpful in putting titles to songs heard on the radio or being played in HMV when buying Oasis albums.

Updating the Now's - Now Yearbook 1990

Just before off if not frozen over by the Beast From Norway our favourite series makes a return.

We last touched base as the cool kids say with Now Yearbook last September with the 1973 issue as I missed off the 1992 issue on vinyl as by that point I'd stopped buying compilations like the Now's apart from the mid to late 90's Shine Indies ones.

1990 was a transitional year format wise was as I'd moved from lp with Early 1989 with Now 14 to cd by Summer's Now 15 and that was to run on 1991 and many of main trends of 1989 continued into 1990.

Although 1989 will need to be sorted out on vinyl at some point or other, this Now Yearbook does fit in well and makes for a good end chapter to those original numbered 1980's now's.

As with the other titles it is also available in deluxe 4 cd book form and cheaper fold round card cd versions with more tracks but sometimes less is more.

Starting the rewind back to 1990 are iconic legends George Michael with ‘Praying For Time’, and Elton John with his #1 single ‘Sacrifice’, followed by top 10 smashes from The B-52’s with ‘Love Shack, a personal favourite’ and Kylie Minogue’s ‘Better The Devil You Know’, plus timeless Pop from Belinda Carlisle, Kim Appleby and Roxette’s ‘It Must Have Been Love’ from the soundtrack to ‘Pretty Woman’. We then flip the first LP over for a stellar line-up featuring The KLF, New Order, Duran Duran, the theme from ‘Twin Peaks’, Julee Cruise’s ‘Falling’, Chris Isaak with ‘Wicked Game’ and Pet Shop Boys defining ‘Being Boring’.

Dance floor-fillers kick start record two from Deee-Lite with ‘Groove Is In The Heart’, and the #1 debut from SNAP! with ‘The Power’. Legendary names fill this side including Whitney Houston, Dusty Springfield, Paul Simon and the remixed version of ‘Englishman In New York’ from Sting.

Turning over the other side features club classics from Adamski & Seal and Bass-O-Matic, followed by a run of Indie-Alt legends including Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, The Charlatans, and Candy Flip’s cover of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, before finishing with ‘Birdhouse In Your Soul’ from They Might Be Giants, and the #1 ‘A Little Time’ from The Beautiful South.

The tenth consecutive Top 10 hit for Pet Shop Boys ‘So Hard’ opens the final LP, followed by the superb cover of the Disco classic ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)’ from Jimmy Somerville, before a second appearance from Kylie Minogue with her Disco anthem ‘Step Back In Time’ and one of Stock, Aitken & Waterman’s greatest dancefloor tracks ‘Happenin’ All Over Again’ from Lonnie Gordon. More dancefloor smashes follow from Adventures Of Stevie V, Blue Pearl, and the unexpected collaboration between DNA & Suzanne Vega, before closing with one of the biggest debut #1s of the year, ‘Ice Ice Baby’ from Vanilla Ice that sampled Under Pressure by Queen.

The collection’s final side opens with the still-breathtaking interpretation of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ from the late Sinéad O'Connor. Also included are film related hits; Maria McKee’s ‘Show Me Heaven’, from the ‘Days Of Thunder’ soundtrack, and the ‘Young Guns II’ track ‘Blaze Of Glory’ from Jon Bon Jovi. The Grammy Award-winning US #1 for Alannah Myles ‘Black Velvet’ appears alongside the smash ‘Just Like Jesse James’ from Che before closing this collection is a brilliant interpretation of the classic ‘I’ll Never Fall In Love Again’ which gave Deacon Blue their highest singles chart position in a year filled with Pop highlights.

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1 George Michael - Praying For Time

2 Elton John - Sacrifice

3 The B-52's - Love Shack

4 Belinda Carlisle - (We Want) The Same Thing

5 Kylie Minogue - Better The Devil You Know

6 Kim Appleby - Don't Worry

7 Roxette - It Must Have Been Love

Disc: 1 Side 2

1 The KLF - What Time Is Love (Live At Trancentral)

2 New Order - World In Motion

3 Duran Duran - Violence Of Summer (Love's Taking Over)

4 Halo James - Could Have Told You So

5 Julee Cruise - Falling

6 Chris Isaak - Wicked Game

7 Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring

Disc: 2

1 Deee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart

2 SNAP! - The Power

3 Whitney Houston - I'm Your Baby Tonight

4 Dusty Springfield - Reputation

5 Go West - The King Of Wishful Thinking

6 Paul Simon - The Obvious Child

7 Sting - Englishman In New York (The Ben Liebrand Mix)

Disc: 2 Side 2

1 Adamski & Seal - Killer

2 Bass-O-Matic - Fascinating Rhythm

3 Happy Mondays - Step On

4 The Stone Roses - One Love

5 The Charlatans - The Only One I Know

6 Candy Flip - Strawberry Fields Forever

7 They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse In Your Soul

8 The Beautiful South - A Little Time

Disc: 3

1 Pet Shop Boys – So Hard

2 Jimmy Somerville - You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)

3 Kylie Minogue - Step Back In Time

4 Lonnie Gordon - Happenin’ All Over Again (Hip House Radio Mix)

5 Adventures Of Stevie V - Dirty Cash (Money Talks)

6 Blue Pearl - Naked In The Rain

7 DNA & Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner

8 Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby

Disc: 3 Side 2

1 Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U

2 Jon Bon Jovi - Blaze Of Glory (From "Young Guns II" Soundtrack)

3 Tina Turner - Steamy Windows

4 Alannah Myles - Black Velvet

5 Cher - Just Like Jesse James

6 Maria McKee - Show Me Heaven (From "Days Of Thunder" Soundtrack)

7 Deacon Blue - I'll Never Fall In Love Again

Updating the NOW's - Now Eighties Dancefloor Disco & Electro

We've looked a bit a Now's, mainly from the Updating the Now's angle as the original Now That's What I Call Music series started in late 1983 so there was a period before of less good compilations and certainly a lack of Year based Greatest Hits sets so we've been going back so far in to 1973

The last Updating post was from June last year looking at Alt Rock.

Now these days is a massive brand when it comes to compilations so there are a few others on compact disc dotted about but one recently did come out on December 1st last year which does slot well within the vinyl Now collection here.

Now have a few vinyl only series releases and one series is Now Eighties Dancefloor which so far has two issues an another due at the end of February.

The main aim of the series is gather up 80's dance music within genre specific issues and for these they are either regular single or radio edits rather than 12" remixes.

This appealed as it has a high proportion of tracks I don't have on vinyl albums and covers a period where I used to make my own compilation tapes from singles.

Following the height of its’ popularity in the late 1970s, Disco in the early 1980s retained the irresistible melodies and beat but became primarily synth driven. 

The era saw some of the genres’ biggest hits including this collections’ opener ‘Flashdance…What A Feeling’ from Irene Cara – this theme from the film ‘Flashdance’ was not only a massive selling single, but the song also won multiple awards including an Academy Award. Lipps Inc. produced a timeless hit with ‘Funkytown’, and Shalamar with ‘A Night To Remember’, Odyssey with ‘Use It Up And Wear It Out’ and Indeep’s ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’ were all huge commercial Disco hits.

Disco masters Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic feature here in their roles as producers and writers with Diana Ross’s massive hit ‘Upside Down’, ‘Why’ from Carly Simon, and the peerless ‘Spacer’ from Sheila & B. Devotion and in 1984 remixed Sister Sledge’s ‘Lost In Music’ which became a massive hit again and is included here in its full 12” version.

Amii Stewart’s classic version of ‘Knock On Wood’ was remixed too joining it, Donna Summer enjoyed huge success with ‘She Works Hard For The Money’ in 1983, and other established Disco superstars celebrated returns to the charts with an 80’s Disco sound including, and featured on this collection, KC & The Sunshine Band and Evelyn “Champagne” King.

The prevalence of the synth in the 1980s gave rise to new and exciting sounds and to tracks that were created with fusions of genres. 

One thing I liked about it was on this collection it celebrates ‘ELECTRO’ – a sub-genre of Electronic Dance music that combined elements of Disco, Funk and Hip-Hop and featuring a heavy synth backing, and the commercial Electro-Pop hits it produced. 

In 1984, Chaka Khan who had achieved huge success with the Disco classic ‘I’m Every Woman’, had a worldwide smash with a cover of Prince’s ‘I Feel For You’ which combined Disco, Funk, R&B, Synth-Pop and Hip-Hop – to stunning effect. 

In addition 1984 saw Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced a classic fusion of Disco, R&B, Funk and Synth-Pop for the S.O.S Band with ‘Just Be Good To Me’ and also included here are hugely influential Electro-Pop gems from Freeez, Rockers Revenge feat. Donnie Calvin, Malcolm McLaren, Break Machine, and Rock Steady Crew.

In the latter half of the 80s, Disco and Electro-Pop continued to evolve and fill dance-floors. Taking influences from both genres, Expose and Company B enjoyed ‘freestyle’ hits and DJ, remixer and producer Jellybean had a string of hits including ‘Just A Mirage’, and Whitney Houston became a global superstar. 

One of her signature tracks ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)’ serves as a stellar example of how Dance music had evolved through the decade and remained as vital and uplifting as ever.

This usefully expands upon my original NOW and HITS compilations and their Ronco and KTel predecessors.

New -old things and that

 Hello there.

It was apparently as I hadn't been born then 65 years last Friday that that iconic BBC tv children's show Blue Peter first began and so on friday's show they looked at past shows and presenters most of whom were known to me ever since I first watched it.

Henry the dog was as good as gold throughout the show as makes and challenges were performed before the cake was cut.

Monster Fun in all its ghoulish fun is being enjoyed here as is the Beano which is actually the oldest  British in production comic even though the life of a child has changed in many ways since the late 1930's and today apparently they don't "do" phone calls.

A few more records were cleaned across the week as some were not cleaned at the time and a clean groove is a prerequisite for clear crackle free sound from them as I played a few this weekend for the first time in ages. 

We don't normally mention the cd only Extra editions of the Now yearbook series only normally looking at the regular three lp version instead as for me handling and playing records is linked to the period but this is worth picking up as it has a great collection of glam rock, soul and pop which shows what a great year for music 1973 was.

HK and the Millennium Now series revisited.

This may be a "wrapped up" edition but there's a few things going on such as the closure of Sanriotown.com and the associated email service some of us adored in the earlier part of this century where we could play games and talk about everything in the Hello Kitty world.

A few months back Now who gives many hundreds of compilations resumed a series originally undertaken in 1999 called the Millennium Series that covered 1980 through 1999 in two cd sets.

They decided logically to start at the year 2000 but strangely rather than having stand alone editions per year  decided to make each set a pair so we have have on the third and forth cds, 2001

I did buy a fair bit of music during this era but I never bought the Nows as much of the chart music they featured was Electronic Dance and HipHop which generally doesn't do much for me but as a reminder of what those hits were like and there are some I really did like it's a handy set.

On Friday the follow up emerged which pairs 2002 and 2003.

There is actually more on this set I do like although as before I tended to buy individual artist albums by people I liked such as Jamiroquai and Katie Melua so I can see this being played a fair bit.

One of the things I noticed in the early two thousands was the wide gap between sales between the most popular albums artists and what was in and promoted for the singles charts, wider than it was between 1971 and 1974.

It was the start of the TV talent show acts being pushed into the charts often by producers and labels owned by the tv production company

Updating the Nows - Now Yearbook 1973

September,eh?

That month which has the last week of the summer vacations, the return to school which for most of this district will be tomorrow building permitting and the return of old friend of a series, the Now Yearbook.

1973 was a year that loomed large in my memory being more of the age you took in more of what was going in the world and you followed pop stars and music more and that is the year Now have strangely enough decided to pick up the seventies.

Our last release was 1978 and the contrast between the late seventies and the remainder was quite big, like if diversity in terms of music styles was a big thing in the decade the early seventies had it big time.

That diversity reflected in my own buys that year from things like the instrumental Eye Level to Slade and Wings via Gary Glitter and Alice Cooper.

As with all the vinyl editions you only get a selection about 47 tracks from the 4 cd set but let's face it if you were around then you associate playing these songs  with plonking the record and playing it on your record player so to pick this up and do that brings it all back.

Talking of Mr Glitter he's not on the set in any form and there is the odd strange choice such as Blinded By The Light by Bruce Springsteen that as much as I love it, just was NEVER a UK hit in that year but on whole most of what should be here such as songs by Wings, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Sweet, Ike & Tina Turner are present and correct  when it comes to versions.

If you want a Glam Fest, this isn't it although there is rightly a good sample of it as it covers the popularity of soul not least the delights of the Philadelphia International catalogue which as a soul fan I just adore.

This is great set overall that only could of been improved on by bumping the number of lps to four and certainly sounds better than those 24 track K Tel compilations we had that year!

Now USA 80 - any good?

Sometimes it seems those people at Now That's What I Call Music seem to have a release most weeks in any given month.

Having given us the first in a volume of year by year 80's 12" mixes, recently they've concocted this broad spread of American hits from the 80's across four well filled cds although it has a plain card sleeve and no track notation which might of helped the casual fan.

Given the small type, I'll post a full tracklist.

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1 Jennifer Holliday - And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going 

2 Anita Baker- Giving You The Best That I Got 

3 Tina Turner- What's Love Got To Do With It 

4 REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You 

5 Toto - I Won't Hold You Back 

6 Journey - Open Arms 

7 Kenny Rogers - Lady 

8 Juice Newton - Angel Of The Morning 

9 Christopher Cross- Ride Like The Wind 

10 Paul Simon - Late In The Evening 

11 Neil Diamond - America (From "The Jazz Singer" Soundtrack) 

12 Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer 

13 John Mellencamp - Jack & Diane 

14 Bruce Springsteen - Hungry Heart 

15 Pat Benatar - Love Is A Battlefield 

16 The Police - Every Breath You Take 

17 Daryl Hall & John Oates - You Make My Dreams (Come True) 

18 Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl 

19 Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes 

20 Billy Joel - A Matter Of Trust 

Disc: 2

1 Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine - Conga 

2 Wang Chung - Everybody Have Fun Tonight

3 A Flock Of Seagulls - I Ran (So Far Away) 

4 Corey Hart - Sunglasses At Night 

5 Nena - 99 Luftballons 

6 Stacey Q- Two Of Hearts 

7 El DeBarge - Who's Johnny 

8 Smokey Robinson - Being With You

9 Debbie Gibson- Foolish Beat 

10 Paula Abdul - Cold Hearted 

11 Whitney Houston - You Give Good Love 

12 Lionel Richie - My Love

13 The Fixx - One Thing Leads To Another 

14 R.E.M. - Stand 

15 Peter Schilling - Major Tom (Coming Home) 

16 Duran Duran- The Reflex 

17 Go-Go's - We Got The Beat

18 Culture Club - I'll Tumble 4 Ya 

19 The Cars- Shake It Up 

20 The Romantics - Talking In Your Sleep 

21 The Bangles - Walk Like An Egyptian 

Disc: 3

1 Exposé - Seasons Change 

2 LL COOL J - I Need Love 

3 Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam - Lost In Emotion 

4 Irene Cara - Flashdance...What A Feeling 

5 Ray Parker Jr. - Ghostbusters 

6 Let's Hear It For The Boy - Deniece Williams

7 Diana Ross - Upside Down 

8 Lipps Inc. - Funkytown 

9 Olivia Newton-John - Physical 

10 Michael Sembello - Maniac 

11 Eddie Murphy - Party All The Time 

12 Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson - Say Say Say

13 Ready For The World - Oh Sheila 

14 The S.O.S Band - Take Your Time (Do It Right) 

15 Aretha Franklin - Freeway Of Love (Singles edit)

16 Sheila E.- The Glamorous Life, Pt. 1 

17 Company B- Fascinated 

18 Pebbles - Mercedes Boy 

19 Young MC - Bust A Move 

Disc: 4

1 Steve Miller Band - Abracadabra 

2 Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger 

3 Belinda Carlisle - Mad About You 

4 Blondie - Call Me (Theme From "American Gigolo") 

5 Kenny Loggins - Danger Zone (From "Top Gun" Original Soundtrack) 

6 Yes- Owner of a Lonely Heart 

7 Pretenders- Show Me 

8 Laura Branigan- Spanish Eddie

9 Eric Carmen - Hungry Eyes (From "Dirty Dancing" Soundtrack) 

10 Robert Palmer- Simply Irresistible 

11 John Waite - Missing You 

12 The J. Geils Band - Centerfold 

13 Don Johnson - Heartbeat 

14 Night Ranger - Sister Christian 

The set is not perfect, for instance we really don't need Duran Duran's The Reflex (remix) even though this was a US no.1 as it was too in the UK and has a place in Now 3 where something like Talk Talk's It's My Life or Def Leppard's Photograph big US hits that did little in the UK do fit better.

King Of Pain also would of been a better choice than Every Breath You Take being a big hit over there for a Police track but overall it does work adding often missed off tracks by Corey Hart. Bruce Springsteen, Belinda Carlisle, Laura Branigan and The Fixx that I loved following the US Charts back then.

Talking In Your Sleep was good example of  massive US hit that did nothing as much as I bought the 12" in late 1983 from my local record store and was covered in 1986 by Bucks Fizz and is exactly the sort of track that does belong on such a set.

For the modest price, it's worth some shelf space.

Updating the Now's - Alternative 80's

We've looked a bit a Now's, mainly from the Updating the Now's angle as the original Now That's What I Call Music series started in late 1983 so there was a period before of less good compilations and certainly a lack of Year based Greatest Hits sets so we've been going back so far in to 1978.

Now these days is a massive brand when it comes to compilations so there are a few others on compact disc dotted about but on Friday one did come out which does slot well within the vinyl Now collection here.

The transition between the more recent Now Yearbooks and the Original Now's in my collection is 1983 with Now Yearbook '82 being the last one which was topped up around Christmas with Now Yearbook 80-84 and a series of five boxed lps one each for 1980 through 1984 covering tracks not in with the individual yearbooks.

Because of the limits on what would fit the three lp Yearbooks and constraints of the original nows being just Chart Hits some influential songs were missed and this is very true of Alternative Rock.

This release is a double pink vinyl lp set with a graphic cover but it is also available in four cd folding card cover form.

This set does help fill those gaps in vinyl form with tracks by Japan, The Cure, The Cult, the B-52's and Tom Robinson amongst many others.