- Artist: Madness
- Title: Shut Up
- Year: 1981
- Format: Vinyl 7 in.
- Rating (1-10): 8
- Owner: Mary
- Acquired: “No idea”
You know, I try to do these in a somewhat alphabetical order, but I have records laying all over the place along with Christmas stuff and I can’t keep it straight! I need to backtrack some tomorrow and try to pick an I and a K.
Madness. The great ones. A Sigler household favorite. And this is a great a single. “Shut Up” is of course familiar to me, but “A Town With No Name” on the flipside is one I don’t recognize. What is on an album? Anyhow, it’s an excellent instrumental with a mild spaghetti western vibe. Thumbs up, for both.
Etched in the run off margins:
Side A – PASS THAT BUCK – ARUN
Side B – GOOD LUCK TO THE FAITHFUL SHERPAS
- Artist: The Cars
- Title: Since You’re Gone
- Year: 1981
- Format: Vinyl 7 in.
- Rating (1-10): 6
- Owner: Mary
- Acquired: ?
I really liked The Cars when I was a teenager. I even bought a couple albums, but they’ve never been a big part of my life. That said, I always enjoy their music whenever I hear it. “Since You’re Gone” was a radio hit, maybe it still is on the “classic rock” stations or XM. I dig it and the flipside “Think It Over” is a more upbeat rocker with a very 1980s sound, a sound created by them as much as anyone. This single was from their fourth album Shake It Up and came out in 1981.
Even if The Cars never existed Ric Ocasek will always be my hero for his work on the early Bad Brains records.
- Artist: New Order
- Title: Ceremony (Later pressing)
- Year: 1981
- Format: Vinyl 12 in.
- Rating (1-10): 8
- Owner: Mary
- Acquired: ?
I’m posting from the east coast of Virginia tonight. We rolled in after midnight last night, and we’re here to see my friend Chris Hunter get married tomorrow!
You know, we have another pressing of this New Order 12 inch Ceremony and according to this article at Wikipedia it is supposed to be a different recording. I played them back to back and I can’t tell any difference. The cover is completely different, there is nothing etched in the run off margins on this one, and the songs are credited to the band members instead of Joy Division like the earlier pressing. Musically they seem identical, but for some reason I liked it a little better this time.
Both of these New Order songs, “Ceremony” and “In a Lonely Place”, were written when the band was still Joy Division. This was the first single by the new band. I didn’t recognize “Ceremony.” Mary says it because I “didn’t go to enough dance nights” at the clubs. Anyhow, it sounds like New Order to me, while “In a Lonely Place” sounds a lot darker, slower.
Etched in the margins:
- Side A: “How I Wish We Were Here With You Now”
- Side B: “Watching Love Grow — Forever”
Wikipedia has an article with a lot of trivia about this single. It seems we have the original pressing of this 12 inch.
- Artist: Gang of Four
- Title: What We All Want 12 inch
- Year: 1981
- Format: Vinyl 12 in.
- Rating (1-10): 8
- Owner: Mary, maybe, probably
- Acquired: Hmmm…
And now we return to our regularly scheduled “G” programming. Today, G is for Gang of Four, and like I previously mentioned “What We All Want” is my favorite song from their excellent album, “Solid Gold.” The packaging on this 12 inch is… minimalist. The only thing that makes it at all special is the flipside, “History’s Bunk!”, which at the time was previously unreleased. That latter song eventually came out on the EP “Another Day/Another Dollar” and a re-issue of “Solid Gold” on CD. Even though it’s the same original album version, “What We All Want” is the winner here.
Could I be happy with something else
I need something to fill my time
Could I be happy with something else
I need someone to fill my time
