Chase The Kangaroo

MUSIC REVIEW SERIES:   LOOKING BACK ON THE 80’S MUSIC  | 1981 THEN AND NOW Moving Pictures  ~Rush | Then and Now Moving Pictures  was Rush's 8th studio effort and continued to blaze the band into stardom. Three of my all time Rush songs are found on this record, "Limelight", "Red Barchetta" and "Tom Sawyer".  I've always felt that combining the hits from  Permanent Waves  and Moving Pictures would have made the ultimate album. Listening to  Moving Pictures  today, you can't get away from the dated aspect of the album, but you don't really care.  When you give this album a spin, you know are going back to hear some great songs.  Alex Lifeson's guitar solo on, "Limelight" alone is worth the travel back to 1981.  And speaking of, Lifeson claimed that solo was his favorite to play live.   Moving Pictures  ~Rush Released:  February 12, 1981 Genres:  Progressive rock, hard rock Producer:  Rush, ...

MUSIC REVIEW SERIES:   LOOKING BACK ON THE 80’S MUSIC  | 1981 THEN AND NOW Talk Talk Talk  ~Psychedelic Furs | Then and Now Like Echo and the Bunnymen and others, I didn't really pay a lot of attention to the Furs during my younger years.  I became more familiar with them later on.  Of course, in 1986, everyone became more familiar with the Psychedelic Furs.  None of us had a choice.  You can thank or blame John Hughes and Molly Ringwald.  I'm curious to know if the re-issue of their iconic, "Pretty In Pink" gained them more commercial success than all of their previous hits and sales. Chances are, you didn't know there was a re-issue of the song, "Pretty In Pink".  They re-recorded it for the movie.  The original recording first showed up on,  Talk Talk Talk.   It was much grittier and slightly less poppy then the 1986 recording.  In fact, the Furs do a good job of balancing post-punk grit with the right amo...

MUSIC REVIEW SERIES:   LOOKING BACK ON THE 80’S MUSIC  | 1981 THEN AND NOW Mommy Doesn't Love Daddy Anymore ~Resurrection Band | Then and Now Sometime in '81, Resurrection Band released their sixth album,  Mommy Doesn't Love Daddy Anymore .  The title alone showed that the Chicago-based rockers weren't afraid to address the realities of a painful world (which is something most Christian musicians are still afraid of doing).  As the title suggests, they tackled the topic of divorce, as well as, materialism, society and the disabled, and spiritual struggles.  One of the great things about this band was that they truly believed that, " Jesus brings the light into every situation " (from, "Elevator Muzik").  Regardless of how ugly or painful the topic, these guys knew Jesus was at the heart of the answer to any problem and there wasn't any issue His healing power couldn't redeem.  They thrived on meeting people where they were The album...

Music Review Series:   Looking Back On The 80's Music  | 1981 Then and Now Ghost In The Machine  ~The Police | Then and Now The Ghost In The Machine  came with significant changes when compared to The Police's previous 3 albums.  The obvious change was in the name.  Their producer, Nigel Gray was missing from the controls.  Which led to the notable change in sound.  Keyboards (piano and synth) made an appearance, along with horns.  These additions took a bit away from the grit and edge The Police were known for.  As an unsurprising result, Andy Summers recollected, "I have to say I was getting disappointed with the musical direction around the time of Ghost in the Machine. With the horns and synth coming in, the fantastic raw-trio feel—all the really creative and dynamic stuff—was being lost.  We were ending up backing a singer doing his pop songs." In retrospect, it is still The Police.  They still produced great mu...

Music Review Series:  Looking Back On The 80's Music  | 1981 Then and Now October  ~U2 | Now and Then "Gloria In te domine Gloria Exultate Gloria Gloria Oh, Lord, loosen my lips." "Gloria" is hands down the reason I bought this album.  Early on, U2 recognized the value of  grabbing the listener's attention out of the gate with each album. Like "I Will Follow" on  Boy , "Gloria" doesn't disappoint.  "Gloria" also sets the tone for  October , not only musically, but lyrically. "Gloria In te domine Gloria Exultate Oh, Lord, if I had anything, anything at all I'd give it to you." U2's faith arises time and time again throughout the years, but on  October , it takes center stage. This is a bold move considering both the success of  Boy  and this being their second studio album. Just look to songs like, "Rejoice", "Tomorrow", "With A Shout (Jerusalem)", "...