Category: Music

Grace Jones: Island Life (1985)

Last night Ben and I went to the Fathom Events screening of the New York Metropolitan's production of Philip Glass's Akhnaten. I have loved this piece since I first got my hands on the CD recording in the spring of 1988. I finally got it on vinyl last March, having only heard it digitally for the past 30 years. I've written at length (here, and here) about how it affects me, but long ago I gave up any hope of ever seeing the opera performed.

All that changed last night.

When a friend in San Francisco alerted me to the upcoming performance  on Fathom a few weeks ago, I jumped at it. Yes, the tickets were kind of pricey relative to a regular movie, but it was at a one of the nice dinner-and-a-movie theaters, and after experiencing it last night, I have to say it was worth every damn penny.

These are shots from the "new" Phelim McDermott production (the one we saw last night), not the one you find on YouTube.

All it took was the opening notes of the Prelude and the tears started streaming down my cheeks. The Window of Appearances and Akhnaten and Nefertiti gave me chills.

The sets, the staging, the costumes all combined to transport me to another world. And if nothing else, made me want to now see this production live. In short, it was magical.

Jean Michel Jarre: Oxygene 3 (2016)

And I stand by my original assessment…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj7A8SX7ccI&list=PLCFC37B95C9159ACC

Jean Michel Jarre: Oxygene (1976)

Eurythmics: Touch (1983)

https://youtu.be/COZg9utGiIc

Queen: A Night at the Opera (1975)

Madonna: You Can Dance (1987)

Rick Astley: Whenever You Love Somebody (1987)

Jean Michel Jarre: Equinoxe (1978)

Still gives me chills.

Grace Jones: Inside Story (1986)

Madonna: Like a Virgin (1984)

From Behind the Grooves:

"Like A Virgin", the second album by Madonna is released. Produced by Nile Rodgers, it is recorded at The Power Station in New York City from April – May 1984. By early 1984, with her self titled debut finally gaining significant sales and chart momentum, Madonna is anxious to begin work on her sophomore release. She wants to produce the project herself, after being left in the lurch by producer Reggie Lucas when he quits before sessions for the first album are complete. Madonna's record label Warner Bros isn't willing to grant her full creative control, and insists that a seasoned professional be in charge of the sessions. Being a huge fan of the band Chic, she asks guitarist Nile Rodgers to produce her. The pair get to work right away, selecting songs for the album. Madonna pens five of the nine songs, co-writing four of those with former boyfriend and Breakfast Club band mate Stephen Bray. The rhythm section consists of Nile Rodgers on guitar and Synclavier, along with former Chic band mates Bernard Edwards (bass), Tony Thompson (drums) and Rob Sabino (keyboards). Even with Rodgers firmly at the helm, Madonna is also very hands on, being present at all sessions, observing and making suggestions to Rodgers and the other musicians. Once recording is completed, the album is held back for several more months as Madonna's debut is still generating hits. Released at last in mid-November, "Like A Virgin" is an immediate smash. It spins off four top five pop singles including "Material Girl" (#2 Pop, #49 R&B, #1 Club Play), "Angel" (#5 Pop, #71 R&B, #1 Club Play), "Dress You Up" (#5 Pop, #64 R&B, #1 Club Play) and the title track (#1 Pop, #9 R&B, #1 Club Play). The album's iconic cover, back cover and inner sleeve photos are taken by fashion photographer Steven Meisel (Seventeen, Vogue). The original US and Canadian promo LP copies are pressed on pure white "virgin" vinyl (originally intended for stock commercial copies also, but deemed too expensive) with custom art labels. "Virgin" establishes Madonna as a pop superstar on a global basis, and becomes her biggest selling album, moving over twenty one million copies worldwide. The album is remastered and reissued on CD in 2001 with the 12" mixes of "Material Girl" and the title track as bonus tracks. The album is also reissued as a 180 gram vinyl LP by Rhino Records in 2016, and as a limited edition clear vinyl pressing in the UK (exclusively through Sainsbury's) in 2017. It is also reissued as a limited edition white vinyl LP, as part of Rhino's "Back To The 80's" series in July of 2018. "Like A Virgin" spends three weeks at number one on the Billboard Top 200, peaking at number ten on the R&B album chart, and is certified 10x Platinum in the US by the RIAA, earning a Diamond Certification.

A white vinyl version? In addition to the clear vinyl version I just got? Oh lord…hide my credit card! (True Blue is my favorite Madonna release, with Like a Virgin being a close second, so you know eventually that white vinyl is going to be spinning on my turntable.)

Damn I feel old.

Chicago: Chicago IX (1975)

This was my first real exposure to Chicago. Oh sure, I was aware of the band (I mean you couldn't turn on the radio without hearing them), but this was the first album of theirs I actually bought. I remember putting the record on my turntable, plugging in my headphones and falling in love. From that point on I was a huge fan, and as recently as the 2000s I was still backfilling my catalog with the earlier albums I'd previously brushed off.

To be honest, however, I did lose interest in the majority of their work after Chicago X, the album that came out immediately after this one.

Grace Jones: Living My Life (1982)

Elton John: Madman Across the Water (1971)

Stevie Wonder: Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants (1979)

Much like the Brothers Johnson's 12-inch red vinyl single for Strawberry Letter 23 smelling like strawberries when new, this 2-disk vinyl set smelled like orchids when first opened.

Prince: 1999 (1982)

Madonna: Bedtime Stories (1994)

Probably my favorite music video of all time.

The album itself is also available in a very limited edition 2-LP gatefold edition on pink vinyl. It is, of course, priced in the stratosphere and a completely unrealistic purchase on my salary. (And frankly, I'm not as hot to get it as I once was, learning that it's on hot pink vinyl, not the powder-pink I feel it should've been.)

UPDATE: I had the date wrong on the release of this LP. It was actually October 25th, not the 5th.

https://youtu.be/U6fjqZArxjg

Culture Club: Waking Up With The House On Fire (1984)

One of those rare finds. Released in 1984 and still sealed in the original shrinkwrap.

Culture Club: Colour By Numbers (1983)

Elton John: Blue Moves (1976)

Like many others, when  Blue Moves first came out, and for many years later, I had a love/hate relationship with this album. The sound was so different from all of Elton's previous work, and yet still so fresh. It also annoyed me no end back in the day that all four sides of the album wouldn't fit on a standard 90 minute cassette tape, requiring that you buy a notoriously thin and prone to breakage and entanglement-in-the-player 120-minute cassette.

Now, of course, I think this collection is brilliant.

Favorite tracks: One Horse Town, Boogie Pilgrim, Crazy Water, Shoulder Holster, Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word, If There's a God in Heaven (What's He Waiting For?), and Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance).

Madonna: Erotica (1992)

Donna Summer: The Wanderer (1980)

Or as I like to call it, "The beginning of the end of her career."

Quarterflash: Quarterflash (1981)

This is a playlist that I put together a few years ago and burned onto CD as a holiday gift for my surviving friends from the 80s with whom I shared these musical memories. These songs—mostly from the mid-to-late years of the decade—in addition to the pop hits of the day, comprised the soundtrack of our lives as we transitioned from life in Tucson to life in San Francisco. It puts me in a…strange…headspace, so I don't listen to it very often, but sometimes it's just what the doctor ordered to remind me that life has not always been the psychic clusterfuck we all currently find ourselves living through.

Donna Summer: On The Radio (1979)

Alec R. Costandinos: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1978)

Grace Jones: Bulletproof Heart (1989)