Rock 80, without a doubt, is HERC's favorite K-Tel album strictly from a musical selection standpoint (as opposed to others with a more sentimental value.) It was as if K-Tel had inside knowledge of young HERC's own record collection and they set out to compile the perfect collection just for him. It worked because HERC bought a copy and has cherished it for more than 30 years now.
The tracks on Rock 80 are all from the pre-MTV era of 1978-1980 although almost all of them went on to become MTV hits. Several of the songs are debut singles for their artists, while others are their only hits. A few of the songs have been featured on motion picture soundtracks, in television shows and in commercials over the years. And almost half of the tracks on Rock 80 have even been covered by other artists - two in particular by the same artist for a movie soundtrack. (More on that later.) Now it's time for side one track one...
Appearances by Pretenders (above), Blondie and Pat Benatar signaled a welcome change in the former all boys club that had been rock music in the Seventies. (HERC is not forgetting the fabulous Wilson sisters and their band Heart. He feels they hit their rockin' peak prior to 1978. Anyone care to disagree?)
Three songs on Rock 80 stand out in particular in HERC's memories: "Driver's Seat", "My Sharona" and "Call Me". The songs were unique in their musical structure, their sound and their lyrical content and for HERC they defined the sound of Rock 80. HERC was so inspired he recorded the album onto a 90 minute blank cassette and fleshed it out with a few extra songs that fit within the playlist almost perfectly. Within two years, HERC had compiled one two three more 90 minute Rock 80-themed collections and those tapes remain in the Audio Archive to this day. He has since made CD collections and now Spotify playlists. On to side two track two...
It is the wonderfully punky post-disco jam "Pop Muzik" that brings Rock 80 to a close. Created by Robin Scott or "M" as credited publicly, this delightful slice of electronic studio wizardry still sounds fresh today. In an interview with superseventies.com, Mr. Scott reflected on his intent in creating the song:
I was looking to make a fusion of various styles which somehow would summarize the last 25 years of pop music. It was a deliberate point I was trying to make. Whereas rock and roll had created a generation gap, disco was bringing people together on an enormous scale. That's why I really wanted to make a simple, bland statement, which was, 'All we're talking about basically (is) pop music.
It was 10 Things I Hate About You, a modern re-telling of Shakespeare's "Taming Of The Shrew", that featured both "Cruel To Be Kind" and "I Want You To Want Me" from Rock 80 in the movie and on the soundtrack. Both songs were covered by the band Letters To Cleo and their vocalist Kay Hanley.
While HERC couldn't dig up any quality performance clips of either song, he can wholeheartedly recommend the movie where you will see and hear both of those songs and many more. As well as Heath Ledger in one of his most romantic, touching and funny performances.
Love this album, I bought it brand new when it was released. However I have lost it somewhere in one of our many moves. Played the heck out of it all the way up to the mid 90's. Would love to find another vinyl copy of this somewhere.
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