Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

One more round with songs that have topped the charts and some obscure titles.

1972: David Bowie

1973: Kool and the Gang

1978: Chic

1978: The Police

1965: Spencer Davis Group

1977: Sex Pistols

1968: The Move

1884: Stone Temple Pilots

1969: The Band

1966: The Royal Guardsmen

1970: Stephen Stills

1979: The B-52s

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

This week's compilation consists mainly of releases from 1982. I can't say why, but perhaps it's simply because only good songs were released that week.

1967: Kaleidoscope

1987: Pink Floyd

1971: Chicago

1979: Sugerhill Gang

1982: George Thorogood 

1982: The Clash

1982: The Pretenders

1982: John Cougar 

1967: Bee Gees

1980: The Police

1963: Marvin Gaye

1982: Tears For Fears

1979: Chic

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

Another journey through various decades of music.

1985: David Bowie and Mick Jagger

1971: Joni Mitchell

1976: Steve Miller Band

1962: The Crystals

1976: Nick Lowe

1977: Steely Dan 

1978: The Police

1981: The Go-Go's

1965: Donovan

1975: Bad Company

1966: The Monkees

1963: The Ronettes

1981: Devo

1998: The Rolling Stones (the remix version)

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

Another round of charting singles from the last decades, that are worth hearing again. Let's go.

1998: Air

1977: Television

1965: The Yardbirds

1974: Focus

1984: Huey Lewis and the News

1983: The Human League

1966: James Brown

1976: Patti Smith Group

1978: The Police

Live Music On German Television

 

During the weekend I found another footage of a live concert. The Police appeared with a couple of songs from their debut album in 1979 in Bremen for a short show in the popular TV-show Beat Club. In these days the station had a great feeling for new bands and invited them alongside to other new bands like The Ramones. Outlandos d'Amour were one of the last albums I bought before I was drafted into the army in January 1979 because I was fascinated about the mixture of ska and reggae and their punk inspired sound. Their debut was fresh, new and mass compatible (a thing I really didn't expected) and still worth to listen to. Sadly they never reached the level again with their further albums.

Rock'n'Roll Of ...Corse

This was the title of a documentary I saw last weekend. It featured an artist that I never had on my radar. Henry Padovani was born 1952 in Bastia, Corsica. As a musician he moved in the middle of the 70's to London and soon he was a part of the upcoming punk scene. He was the forming member of The Police until Andy Summers kicked him out of the band because he wanted to be the only guitar player in this band. After his discharge he joined another punk band from the values - Wayne County and the Electric Chairs where he played guitar in their early days. This also didn't last forever and so he collected some band mates that grew up in the early punk days to form The Flying Padovanis, a band that tried to establish an instrumental sound based on legends like Link Wray. After this period he got the offering to have a leading role in IRS Records. He was one of those who signed a lot of new great artists in these days - but this will be a story that would be told on these sites soon. At least he managed Italian rock musician Zucchero for a couple of years. I have to admit that his name wasn't close to me to the punk revolution but watching the documentary I saw that he was more than a satellite to the punk and new wave scene in London almost 40 years ago.

The Police - Fall Out
Wayne County & the Electric Chairs - Fuck Off

https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/081575-000-A/rock-n-roll-of-corse/

From The Inbox

Sometimes I am already surprised which music of young bands is made. Many of these bands were inspired by the heroes of the past and try to let live on their music. Not that I am misunderstood: I doubt in no manner the skill of the single musicians and their abilities to write songs in their tradition. What I miss nevertheless is, often that I do not enough influence from the younger history of music in their sound finds again. Anyway, there are some artist I would like to feature time by time because they did a very good job. Today's band Olio reminds me on the early Police but with less punk and reggae influence and therefore some more heavy metal in it. Here is the band in their own words:

Three brothers from other mothers (and fathers) got together, from the OC, LA and DC, to create a miscellaneous collection of musical works aka OLIO. Inspired by everything from Black Sabbath to Barry White these guys stir up an eclectic blend of rock/pop/funk music and serve it up hot! Whether it’s songs about break-ups, make-outs, shake-ups or four letter words, Olio produces electrifying, positive music from their studio in Los Angeles, CA. On stage Arif Hodzic sings and breaks strings (sometimes his right hand gets heavy), DeHaven Carrington grooves on drums and croons (when the lights are low and the mood is right), and newest member Kelley Hill is a fireball of energy, bouncing on one leg and just tearing the bass up (you may even see metal shavings come off the neck).

Olio hit the road in the USA the summer of 2013 for their “Comeback Kings Tour.” Played a successful string of dates in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and cities in between in June and Scottsdale, Austin, Fort Worth, Little Rock, Columbus, Philadelphia, NYC, DC, Kill Devil Hills and Atlanta in July and August. 5 weeks, 11,000 miles and 30 shows! They went back into the studio to record a brand new album "Untitled" due for release in March 2014. This is a much anticipated project, after their time with recording legend Eddie Kramer, who produced the band's last two EP's, the aforementioned Comeback Kings & the yet to be released France Sessions.

Back on December 18, 2012 Olio released the Comeback Kings EP produced by legendary producer/engineer Eddie Kramer (Hendrix, Zeppelin, Beatles, Stones, Santana, Woodstock, Kiss, Frampton, Robert Randolph, Grace Potter). This session was born from a project at Loyola Marymount University where Eddie and the band recorded their first single together "Hello/Goodbye". This prompted a new relationship so the band & Eddie could finish an EP. Before the project was done, Eddie needed a band to do a session in France for a Recording Workshop for some of the worlds top young Producers.

So Olio got on a plane and while there, they laid down the foundation tracks for the France Sessions EP. More importantly they wrote two new songs while there. One of which is "Rich People Problems" which Eddie loved and had the band record it immediately! old school style, no click track, just push record and go! The song is now a staple in the live shows and shows the raw energy of the band as well as their groovesmanship. the second song "Round & Round" can be heard on their 2014 release "Untitled."

2011 is what kind of started all of this good fortune. Olio won the Emerging Artist Competition held by Rusty’s on the Santa Monica Pier. They were the only band to play the Twilight Dance Series twice in one summer, opening for Dawes with Jackson Browne in front of a crowd of several thousand music lovers. Shortly there after bassist Kelley Hill joined the band and they have been non-stop ever since.

Other accolades include the celebrated release of their 2010 single “Get It Good” following the success of the 2009 11 song album “Living The Dream.” The songs are dynamic ranging from the nylon stringed sweetness of “Completely Beautiful” about the profound impact of becoming a parent (received an Honorable Mention Award in the 2008 West Coast Songwriters International Competition) to a hard rock/rap collab that already has 20,000 NJ Devils fans shouting “Here We Go” at the Prudential Center. Their homage to the mamacita de futbol aka “Soccer Mom” inspired one impassioned UK critic to call them “sexist and subtle as a sledghammer.” (Olio still thinks Benny Hill, John Cleese and Ricky Gervais are funny) The sound created is rich and packs a punch reminiscent of the John Mayer Trio while thematically aiming for Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life.”

To experience Olio only on recording is like Vader without the Darth. Whether it’s 30 minutes or 3 hours, the energy generated by these three could power a small town (or even the lesser known planet Zeta-Reticulan5). So, maybe the question isn’t Who or What is Olio but rather When and Where?

OLIO - Boom
OLIO - Get A Room

The Foreign Correspondent Returns - Stories About German Rock Music # 30

Over the last month I featured a lot of bands from Germany and our close neighbors Austria and Switzerland. Today I would like to talk about a band that was originally from England. As far as I know they were more successful in Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal than in their native country. Fischer-Z was a band formed by John Watts, David Graham, Steve Skolnik and Steve Liddl in the late 70s. They started their career during the New Wave era with short little pop songs dominated by the voice of John Watts. After two acceptable albums they got big success in Germany with their third album Red Skies Over Paradise. On this record they got more and more inspired by reggae music and sounded like the poor mans Police. Many songs on this record got hooks you will remember days after. According to my opinion her success deals basically with her politcal statements. They have provided with her statements against the cold war and for the disarmament of cruise missiles for a lot of attention in the political stamped society at the beginning of the 80s. Fischer-Z was one of the less bands a lot of people could agree with - the punk and new wave scene as well as the ganja smoking reggae nerds and the singer/songwriter addicted ones. After all the years it's good to hear them again.

Enjoy and have a good weekend.

Fischer-Z - So Long
Fischer-Z - Marlies
Fischer-Z - Room Service
Fischer-Z - Berlin
Fischer-Z - Red Skies Over Paradise