Welcome to Part Fifteen of the 1984 Hideaway 200. If you're just joining the party, click HERE to view the fourteen parts we've done. Each part features ten albums selected at random from the ranked countdown of our Top 200 favorite songs from 1984. No charts were consulted and no music videos were watched in the creation of our list. As an extra bonus, we spotlight our favorite pressing from the HERChives for each song. Usually, it's a compact disc source but there are also SACDs, digital downloads, and digital vinyl rips. We like what we like. The recordings were judged across five audio systems featuring various equipment selected for optimal sound to our ears. Now you know.
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An extreme protest song (that's not where bombs go!) encouraging the slaves of the world to rise up and punish their masters. It was obvious we had an issue with authority based on several of our other song picks for the 1984 Hideaway 200 with "Balls To The Wall" being the pinnacle and outlet of our pent-up rage at our managers, our parents, our teachers, and our counselors. Basically, anyone telling us how to think, how to act, how to dress, or how to live our lives. The best-sounding version of Accept's "Balls To The Wall" we have is the 2009 Japanese pressing of the Balls To The Wall compact disc.
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We would have sworn that "Obsession" was the latest cut by Berlin. It had the teasing vocals, the burbling synths, and the hooky-as-heck chorus. The part we sing along with is the dual-tracked male vocal, with one of the tracks being sung and the other simply spoken in a low-key echo effect. We like doing that for other songs, too. Our favorite-sounding version of Berlin's Animotion's "Obsession" can be found on the 1984 West German atomic compact disc pressing for the U.S. of Animotion.
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"Stuck On You" was our pick to click after just one spin of Can't Slow Down aka Lionel Richie's Thriller. Dad brought home several albums he borrowed from a new co-worker just before Christmas 1983 and Can't Slow Down was one of them. He had purchased himself a new rack of stereo equipment from a local department store and thought Can't Slow Down in particular brought his new system alive. We like the album but it should have never won the 1985 Album of the Year Grammy over Born In The U.S.A. or Purple Rain. The best-sounding version of Lionel Richie's "Stuck On You" here in the HERChives is the 2012 high-resolution digital download of Can't Slow Down.
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Billy Idol's music appealed to us from the start with "Dancing With Myself". He continued to rock his way into our world with each successive single (except both runs of his cover of "Mony Mony" which we detest) and we got to see Idol and his underrated guitarist Steve Stevens in August 1984. Idol even briefly mentioned that particular show in his autobiography. Tracking through the Rebel Yell album shortly after its release we were stopped in our tracks when "Eyes Without A Face" began playing. It was a different sound, a beat-heavy ballad with Billy singing rather than shouting. Then around the 2:25 mark, Steve Stevens steps forward and the song veers back toward familiar Idol-sounding territory for about a minute before reverting back to the way it started. Our favorite version has always been the full-length album version and the best-sounding version of Billy Idol's "Eyes Without A Face" we have heard is on the 2001 U.S. compilation disc Love Songs from the Time Life Modern Rock series.
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It's all about that synth-riff and catchy chorus. We saw pretty-boy Corey open for pretty-boy Rick Springfield when the latter filmed The Beat Of The Live Drum at the local Convention Center. One of those songs where they tried to pass off the 5:20 album version as an extended version on an unnecessary twelve-inch single. We prefer the 3:55 single edit. Our favorite-sounding version of the single edit of Corey Hart's "Sunglasses At Night" is the 2003 Australian compact disc pressing of 1984-1985 from the Time Life Australia series Edge of the 80s.
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Our "Two Tribes" meet cute can be found HERE. Is it just us, or has this song become scary recently? The best-sounding version of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Two Tribes (Annihilation)" to our ears is from the 1989 European compact disc maxi-single "Two Tribes" though we imagine if we ever come across a really well-done digitization of the vinyl 12" single, that might take the crown.
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Christine McVie's talents as a singer and songwriter are unrivaled. She can be unflappably happy in one song and beyond broken-hearted in the next. Her work in Fleetwood Mac complemented the group's other talented heavy-hitters and we thought for sure upon first hearing "Got A Hold On Me" that it was a new Fleetwood Mac joint. But it's just McVie doing what McVie does best: write and sing. As many of our viewers can attest, we can't even do either of those things. As much as we love the song, we can't help but feel we were still grieving her passing when we did our ranking. Were we doing our ranking today - right now! - "Got A Hold On Me" would easily be in the Top 60. Our favorite-sounding version of Christine McVie's "Got A Hold On Me" can be found on the 1994 double-disc compilation Rockin' USA.
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What an uplifting feel good song this is. Deniece Williams's performance on "Let's Hear It For The Boy" is beyond spirited and George Duke's production and synth-work is flawless. We even enjoy listening to the instrumental version of "Let's Hear It For The Boy" occasionally. The notes, riffs, and runs Williams voices are amazing, too. We think the best-sounding version of Deniece Williams's "Let's Hear It For The Boy" is on the 2001 U.S. Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) of Footloose.
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Paul McCartney wrote the script and played the lead in the film Give My Regards to Broad Street. For the soundtrack of the film, he decided to re-record some of his earlier work as a member of The Beatles and Wings. In hindsight, the best decision he made during the whole failed project was writing and recording "No More Lonely Nights". A cozy mid-tempo ballad with David Gilmour on guitar we believe was self-sabotaged when dozens of needless and pointless variations of the song were released. Our favorite version of the many different ones released is the 1993 double-disc compilation Now That's What I Call Music! 1984.
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Hey! There are many edits of "Close (To The Edit)" in the HERChives but the one we're singling out today is the 4:10 single edit. Hey! Though the song originally followed us home on the album (Who's Afraid Of?) The Art Of Noise, it has since spread via cash-in singles and nostalgic compilations. Hey! If you've heard it, you know. Hey! The best-sounding version of The Art of Noise's single edit of "Close (To The Edit)" is on the 2011 U.K. expanded edition of the Into Battle With The Art Of Noise compact disc.
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