The Analog Kid blog has been featuring out-of-print ’80s albums on “The Lost Boys” series for quite a while, and now it’s time for the ’70s to join the party! “Lost In The Flood: Hard-To-Find ’70s Albums” will give you the chance to listen to some great music from the ’70s that can no longer be easily acquired on-line or at your local record store (especially since many of you probably no longer even HAVE a local record store!).
Robert John is a bit of a mystery. His career on the pop charts spanned four decades, and he had two Top 5 hits: 1971’s “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” and 1979’s “Sad Eyes” (which went all the way to #1). Even with that resume, Wikipedia doesn’t even know his birthday. He could be dead for all we know.
I do know this: I have been searching for a vinyl copy of Robert John’s self-titled 1979 album for years, and I finally hit the jackpot earlier this week. I made only my second trek to Josey Records, one of the last true record stores in Dallas. It’s a gigantic space, and I’ve always been afraid to go in because I knew I would get lost in there. And lost I was– four hours went by like that, but at least I emerged with some great stuff. Part of my haul was a mint sealed copy of Robert John– it even has the sticker proudly proclaiming the inclusion of the hit single “Sad Eyes.”
I love finding sealed vinyl– it’s like opening a vault to the past. Sure, I could keep it sealed and help maintain its value– but where’s the fun in that? Robert John has never been released on CD, and I’ve always been curious to hear the whole record. “Sad Eyes” really stood out to me whenever I heard it on the radio during the summer of 1979, and I’m happy to say that the rest of the album contains some pretty damn good pop music. John’s amazing falsetto voice was a natural for a lot of these Bee Gees-inspired tunes, and I wish I knew why John only made one more record (1980’s Back On The Street) before forever disappearing into obscurity…
I really took my time on this vinyl rip in order to create the best-sounding copy possible from what just might be the best source material left in the world for Robert John. The results are pretty damn good, although the only imperfections on this beautiful piece of vinyl just happen to occur during the beginning of the full-length version of “Sad Eyes” on side two. I did my best to clean it up, though, and I hope you enjoy this high-quality rip of a long-lost pop classic.
I’ll be sharing a few of my other finds from Josey Records over the next few weeks, so keep checking back with The Analog Kid Blog! I can’t wait to listen to this gem:
I paid $1 for a sealed promo copy. Was it worth it? Tune in next week to find out– same bat time, same bat channel!
Robert John: Robert John
EMI America Records, 1979
320 kbps vinyl rip courtesy of The Analog Kid
1. “That’s What Keeps Us Together” (Mike Piccirillo)
2. “Love Of A Woman” (Mike Piccirillo)
3. “Lonely Eyes” (Mike Piccirillo)
4. “Am I Ever Gonna Hold You Again” (Mike Piccirillo)
Am I Ever Gonna Hold You Again
5. “Dance The Night Away” (Mike Piccarillo/George Tobin)
6. “Give A Little More” (Robert John/Mike Piccirillo/Tom Pedrick)
7. “Sad Eyes” (Robert John)
8. “Takin’ My Love For Granted” (Eddie Brown/Jeff Labes)
9. “Only Time” (Mike Piccirillo/Gary Goetzman)
10. “Stay A Little Longer” (Robert John/Tom Pedrick)
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Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
Robert John: “Sad Eyes” [7″ Version] (Robert John)
EMI America Records, 1979
Robert John: “The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)” (Stanton/Linda/Weiss/Creatore/Campbell/Peretti)
Atlantic Records, 1972
The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)
The Tokens: “The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)” (Stanton/Linda/Weiss/Creatore/Campbell/Peretti)
From the album The Lion Sleeps Tonight
RCA Records, 1961
The Analog Kid 
Damn that “Sad Eyes” song brings back some memories. I don’t know if I have heard it since maybe a high school prom.
funny story the way i found out about this album even existing is because when i was in middle school and during community service hours i volunteered at the nursing home my great grandmother was at this was back in 1997. anyway one of the tasks i was assigned was to go through a big box of records that was donated and there was a lot of them and whatever was in there that i thought wouldnt be appropriate for a nursing home i was allowed to keep and this was on of the records in there that i wound up taking home. i kept it for a while before getting rid of it when i was downsizing my collection due to lack of space.