Welcome to part eighteen of twenty that make up the 1984 Hideaway 200. If you're just joining in on the fun, click HERE to see all of the other parts. The end is near my friends. We can feel it.
152
"Strut" was Sheena Easton's Sandy Olsson moment, transforming from the demure, fresh-faced girl next door who sings adult contemporary ballads to the edgy, eye makeup-wearing girl from around the way who sings Top 40 hits. "Strut" marked the beginning of Sheena Easton's career renaissance in the U.S. She'd soon become Prince's muse, his duet partner, and portray Sonny Crockett's ill-fated wife on Miami Vice. We've always liked Easton's music but "Strut" was definitely a game-changer. Our favorite-sounding version of Sheena Easton's "Strut" is the 1984 Japanese pressing for the U.S. compact disc of A Private Heaven.
143
Musically, "Too Young To Fall In Love" is one of the Crüe's strongest, most aggressive tracks. Lyrically, it has one of the group's most notoriously misogynistic phrases but we weren't really listening to the lyrics back then. Well, maybe just the choruses which we shouted out with impunity. The song does rock though those pesky offensive lyrics probably are the reason it is down here at number 143 on the 1984 Hideaway 200. The best-sounding version of Mötley Crüe's "Too Young To Fall In Love" to our ears is found on the 1985 West German target label pressing for the U.S. compact disc of Shout At The Devil.
190
We liked Bonnie Tyler's "It's A Heartache" and played the ever-loving crap out of it off K-Tel's Starburst back in 1978 and 1979. We rediscovered our love for Tyler and the over-the-top artistry of Jim Steinman in 1983 with their haunting hit "Total Eclipse Of The Heart". Die-hard Steinman fans heard the intro of Footloose's "Holding Out For A Hero" and thought it sounded familiar as it was the intro to "Stark Raving Love" from Steinman's own Bad For Good album. We love "Holding Out For A Hero" epic grandiosity, all clattering drum machines and soaring background vocals. Listening to the song is always good for a quick energy bump or an attitude adjustment. Our favorite-sounding version of Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For A Hero" is from the 1984 Japanese pressing of the compact disc for the European market of Footloose.
149
For years, our favorite-sounding version of "Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)" was the one on Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits Of The 80's, Vol. 13. Then, just before the dawn of the Pandemic, DJPaulT decided that his original 2012 digital restoration of the promo U.S. 12" single of "Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)" was due for a do-over so he did a meticulous remaster. That high-resolution digitized vinyl rip instantly became the best-sounding version of the song we've ever heard. We prefer the Single Version as it practically leaps out of the speakers at the listener.
61
We had "Misled" up at number 47 and now we have "Fresh" here at number 61 on the 1984 Hideaway 200. It's repetitive and monotonous but that bassline just pumps don't it? There's a Special Mix of both "Misled" and "Fresh" that could be a lot cooler and a couple of "Fresh" remixes but we prefer getting down to the groovy bassline of the album version. The 2016 Big Break Records Deluxe Edition of Emergency contains all of those mixes and much more. Highly recommended. Our favorite-sounding version of the full-length album version of "Fresh" is on the 2018 Japanese pressing of the compact disc of Emergency.
13
One of the things that invaribly happens when we undertake a big project like this is lots of possible tangents, the most common of which is <this song> makes us want to hear <that song> which in turn makes us want to hear <this other song> and on and on and on. And on. And then the sun comes up. The other common tanget is diving into an album we hadn't heard in a while after seeking out one or two songs from it. In the case of Talk Show, we knew that we wanted both "Turn To You" and "Head Over Heels" on the countdown so we listened to them and let the album play through and then played it again and again. By the time the dust had settled and we were getting down to the serious business of ranking 200 songs from 1984 as our favorites, our choice of which of the two songs mentioned would be ranked higher had flip-flopped so we have "Turn To You" here at number 13 which does seem a little high and "Head Over Heels" back at number 38 which seems a little low. Maybe next time we'll get it closer to perfect. The best-sounding version of "Turn To You" by the Go-Go's we have in the HERChives is the 1990 Japanese pressed compact disc of Talk Show.
120
Planet P's Major Tom having a panic attack on the launch pad song "Why Me" was followed in short order by Planet P Project's tale of a dark future "What I See". Planet P Project is Tony Carey's outlet for his more synth-based music and Pink World was conceived and recorded as a two-disc prog rock opera. Carey's vocals set the mood nicely in "What I See" while the synths whine and drone. Carey also brought along more guitar than on his eponymous 1983 album. The whole track sounds ominous, full of tension, and mechanized. Our favorite-sounding version of Planet P Project's "What I See" is from the digitized version of the original promo 1984 U.S. pressing on Barbie pink vinyl of Pink World.
112
We were apparently one of the few folks that saw Eddie & the Cruisers in its initial theatrical run; it opened in September 1983, one week before The Big Chill. Loved the retro-rock soundtrack so we picked up the album on the way home that night just as the mall was closing. We never knew about the on-off-on chart journies of the upbeat "On The Dark Side" and the ballad "Tender Years". "Tender Years" turned out to be the b-side to Cafferty's debut single back in 1980. The best-sounding version of John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band's "Tender Years" in our collection is from the 2017 U.S. Audio Fidelity Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) of Eddie & the Cruisers.
26
Remixed by Art of Noise member Gary Langan, the Below The Belt Mix of "Flesh For Fantasy" is a tour de force. Langan manages to deconstruct the original track and put it back together again in a different order. Steve Stevens and his guitars rock harder, Idol's vocals are chopped and stuttered while Keith Forsey's widescreen production is given the hi def treatment. "Flesh For Fantasy" is fine and dandy as heard on Rebel Yell, all moody and mid-tempo before building up in the bridge and rocking out in the chorus but we prefer the Below The Belt Mix. Our favorite-sounding version of Billy Idol's Below The Belt Mix of "Flesh For Fantasy" is on the 1987 Austrian pressing for the U.S. market compilation of Vital Idol.
174
Sounding more 1978 punk than 1984 new wave, Killing Joke's "Eighties" is a blast from start to finish. Guitarist Geordie Walker pulled a few righteous riffs out of his trickbag for this track, including one that Kurt Cobain liked a whole lot. Their is angst and attitude in these grooves and we can't help but pogoing our hearts out for two of the song's four minutes. The best-sounding version of Killing Joke's "Eighties" to our ears is the 1990 U.S. pressed compact disc of Night Time.
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