So hold me close honey, say you’re forever mine
And tell me you’ll be my lonely valentine.
Bruce Springsteen: “Valentine’s Day” (Springsteen)
From the album Tunnel Of Love
Columbia Records, 1987
“The Lost Boys: Hard-To-Find ’80s Albums” gives you exactly what the title implies: a rare or out-of-print album or EP from the ’80s in its entirety. Some will be from CD, but most will have been lovingly transferred from pristine vinyl culled directly from the Analog Kid’s vast collection. Whatever album I choose, it will be one that you can’t easily find a physical copy for sale on Amazon or in your local record store (if you even have one anymore). Death…by stereo!
The Stray Cats first burst through American television sets in the summer of 1982. The videos for “Rock This Town” and “Stray Cat Strut” were in constant rotation on MTV, and they forced this fourteen-year old video addict to answer a very serious question:
Who had better hair: Brian Setzer or Mike Score?
In retrospect, I suppose it’s a good thing that I never had the guts (or enough Stiff Stuff) to sport either hairstyle. I did embrace the music, though, and I’ve remained a fan of Setzer, Slim Jim Phantom and Lee Rocker ever since.
Built For Speed was the Stray Cats’ debut album in North America, but it was actually a compilation of songs pulled from their first two UK albums (Stray Cats and Gonna Ball) along with the newly-recorded title track. Both “Rock This Town” and “Stray Cat Strut” reached the Billboard Top 10 in 1982, and all of a sudden three retro-rockers from Massapequa were huge stars.
Some critics considered the Stray Cats a novelty act at the time, but anyone who ever saw them live knew that these ‘Cats could PLAY. I’ve been lucky enough to see them in person a few times over the years, mostly in tightly-packed sweaty bars. Those shows were some of the best concerts I’ve ever seen– it’s truly amazing that such a big sound could come from one guitar, one upright bass, and one little four-piece drum kit.
Despite its status as the Stray Cats’ biggest album in America, Built For Speed has been out of print on CD for years. Please enjoy this copy of my original CD, which I am happy to say was autographed by all three ‘Cats after a show in Austin in September of 1988.
Stray Cats: Built For Speed
EMI America Records, 1982
1. “Rock This Town” (Setzer)
2. “Built For Speed” (Setzer)
3. “Rev It Up & Go” (Setzer)
4. “Stray Cat Strut” (Setzer)
5. “Little Miss Prissy” (Setzer)
6. “Rumble In Brighton” (Setzer/Phantom)
7. “Runaway Boys” (Setzer/Phantom)
8. “Lonely Summer Nights” (Setzer)
9. “Double Talkin’ Baby” (Wolfe)
10. “You Don’t Believe Me” (Setzer/Phantom/Rocker)
11. “Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie” (Motola/Page)
12. “Baby Blue Eyes” (Burlison/Burnette)
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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.
Stray Cats: “Rock This Town” [Single Version] (Setzer)
Rock This Town [Single Version]
Stray Cats: “You Can’t Hurry Love” (Holland/Dozier/Holland)
Both taken from the 7″ single Rock This Town
EMI America Records, 1982
Stray Cats: “Sweet Love On My Mind” (Burnette)
Stray Cats: “Drink That Bottle Down” (Setzer/Phantom/Rocker)
Both taken from the 12″ single Stray Cat Strut
Arista Records, 1983
Vinyl rips courtesy of the Analog Kid
A Flock Of Seagulls: “Space Age Love Song” (Score/Reynolds/Maudsley/Score)
From the album A Flock Of Seagulls
Arista Records, 1982
The Analog Kid’s iTunes music folder contains over 84,000 songs, so you may think that I own everything by everybody. Not so fast, my friends– even a collection that large is bound to have some true one-hit wonders and/or obscurities mixed in with the 1,200+ Elvis Costello songs. In this continuing series, I will feature an artist that has exactly one song in my entire library.
After all, one is the loneliest number…
John Kongos: “He’s Gonna Step On You Again” (Kongos/Demetriou)
From the album Kongos
Fly Records, 1971
I’ll be honest: I didn’t even know that the Happy Mondays’ “Step On” was a cover song until about ten years ago. That’s when I purchased Rhino’s Super Hits Of The ’70s: Have A Nice Day, Volume 6, and proceeded to have my mind blown when John Kongos’ amazing original version first blasted out of my speakers.
My first exposure to “He’s Gonna Step On You Again” produced a multitude of reactions:
AWE : “Holy shit, this song is unbelievable. This came out in 1971? No $#@&ing way!”
BEMUSEMENT : “How have I never heard this before? What kind of a music junkie am I, anyways?”
EMBARRASSMENT : “I gave the Happy Mondays waaaaaayyyyy too much credit back in 1990.”
I suppose the fact that I had never heard of South African John Kongos until about ten years ago can be forgiven– after all, “He’s Gonna Step On You Again” barely scraped the bottom of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971. I was also only four years old when it was released, and Kongos’ inventive use of taped drums loops was just a little bit more advanced than my current jam at the time:
Still, the song was a huge hit in the UK and was clearly quite an influential track. I should have known about it, and today I have made sure that YOU know about it.
You know what else really twists my melon, man? The fact that I have yet to acquire any more original Kongos material, but yet somehow own another Happy Mondays Kongos cover (“Tokoloshe Man,” from Rubáiyát: Elektra’s 40th Anniversary). I’ve been looking for the Kongos album on vinyl for years, but the only actual copy I’ve ever found was so mangled that it was virtually unplayable. I almost bought it anyways out of pure respect for greatness.
Someday, it will be mine. Oh yes– it will be mine…
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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.
Happy Mondays: “Step On” (Kongos/Demetriou)
From the album Pills ‘N Thrills And Bellyaches
Factory Records, 1990
![Rubáiyát_ Elektra's 40th Anniversary [Disc 1]](https://theanalogkidblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/rubc3a1iyc3a1t_-elektras-40th-anniversary-disc-1.png)
Happy Mondays: “Tokoloshe Man” (Kongos)
From the album Rubáiyát: Elektra’s 40th Anniversary
Elektra Records, 1990
Phil Harris & Bruce Reitherman: “The Bare Necessities” (Gilkyson)
From the album The Jungle Book
Disneyland Records, 1967
Every Tuesday, the Analog Kid blog goes back in time and features some groovy R&B/soul songs from a specific year. Sometimes you’ll hear songs from individual artists, and other times you’ll get an entire full-length classic LP ripped directly from the Analog Kid’s vast vinyl vault. Warning: by R&B/soul, I also mean disco. I could go A Taste Of Honey on your ass at any given moment, so just be ready!
You may have noticed that I feature a lot of Prince (and Prince-related material) on my Groovy Tuesday posts. There are multiple reasons for this:
1) Prince is a bad-ass (obviously).
2) My Google hits go through the roof on Prince posts.
3) Prince notoriously hates having his music posted on non-authorized sites, so I feel like a bit of a bad-ass myself when I do so.*
After deciding to shelve the release of The Black Album in late 1987, Prince quickly recorded Lovesexy to take its place. “Alphabet St.” became a Top 10 single, but overall Lovesexy didn’t sell nearly as well as its predecessors. Prince also irked a large portion of his fan base when he released the CD version of Lovesexy as one long track, so you actually had to listen to the whole album from the beginning (or blister your finger pushing the manual search button) to get to individual songs.
Any animosity held towards Prince disappeared during the epic Lovesexy tour. My friends Simon and Dave were somehow able to sneak into Reunion Arena for soundcheck when the tour stopped in Dallas in November of 1988. They even managed to get a recording of it, but unfortunately the tape’s sound quality was equivalent to Rerun’s popcorn-enhanced Doobie Brothers bootleg on What’s Happening!!. Their recording may have been awful, but both will still swear that it was one of the best shows either had ever seen. I was still in school down in Austin at the time, and I had to wait ten more years for the chance to finally see Prince live. I am still furious at myself for missing this tour, but at least I’ve seen Prince six times since to help make up for it.
The Lovesexy CD is currently listed as “out of stock” on Amazon, but you can download the album if you want. Guess what, though? It’s still only available as one long track! What are you supposed to do if “Anna Stesia” is your favorite Prince song (like me) and you just want to hear it without skipping through the first three songs? Why, you come to the Analog Kid blog of course. It’s amazing what one can do with no real job, a rare CD, and some quality editing software.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Analog Kid is happy to present to you a copy of Lovesexy with each song properly indexed as its own mp3. Use them together. Use them in peace.
Prince: Lovesexy
Paisley Park Records, 1988
All songs written by Prince
Note from The Analog Kid: I updated all of the songs in this post with higher-quality mp3s on 3/26/2016. Enjoy!
1. “Eye Know”
2. “Alphabet St.”
3. “Glam Slam”
4. “Anna Stesia”
5. “Dance On”
6. “Lovesexy”
7. “When 2 R In Love”
8. “I Wish You Heaven”
9. “Positivity”
*Disclaimer: I am in no way comparing my relatively miniscule amount of bad-assness to Prince’s legendary level of bad-assness. If the Purple One or one of his minions happen to read this, please don’t sue me. I really am just trying to spread the word to the masses, especially for an album as hard to find as Lovesexy. I will take it down if you ask me to. I will also make you pancakes.
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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.
Prince: “Escape” (Prince)
B-side of the 7″ single Glam Slam
Paisley Park Records, 1988
Prince: “Scarlet Pussy” (Prince)
B-side of the 12″ single I Wish U Heaven
Paisley Park Records, 1988
Prince: “Alphabet St. (this is not music, this is a trip)” (Prince)
From the 12″ single Alphabet St.
Paisley Park Records, 1988
Alphabet St “this is not music, this is a trip”
“What’s Happening!!” (Henry Mancini)
Prince: “Glam Slam [Remix]” (Prince)
From the U.S. 12″ single Glam Slam
Paisley Park Records, 1988
Beware: I am about to open Pandora’s Box.
’80s new wave music is my true love. This is the music of MTV. KROQ. Valley Girl. Martha Quinn. The Atari 2600. Members Only. Friday Night Videos. Nina Blackwood. Ms. Pac-Man. Night Flight. Richard Blade. Sixteen Candles. Alan Hunter. Jam boxes. Revenge Of The Nerds. Cabbage Patch Dolls. Parachute pants. J.J. Jackson. Live Aid. Mark Goodman. Rubik’s Cube. Donkey Kong.
This is the music that still makes me feel like a perpetual teenager.
Ecstatic ’80s New Wave: 1984
Eurogliders: “Heaven (Must Be There)” (Lynch)
From the album This Island
Columbia Records, 1984
Eurogliders had a string of hits in their native Australia in the mid-’80s, but “Heaven (Must Be There)” was their only song to receive any significant airplay in the United States. The single reached #21 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart, and nearly broke the Top 60 on the Hot 100. I must have put this song on at least 100 compilation tapes/CDs over the years…
Ultravox: “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes” (Cann/Cross/Currie/Ure)
From the album Lament
Chrysalis Records, 1984
It always amazed me that most of my friends and acquaintances had never heard this song (well, not until I sat them down and forced them to listen to it at least). Did you people not watch MTV? Did you not stare in awe at Midge Ure tearing it up at Live Aid? I fell in love with “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes” the very first time I heard it, but Ultravox remains very under-appreciated in the United States– even “Vienna” didn’t chart over here. Shameful.
INXS: “Original Sin” [Dance Mix] (A. Farriss/Hutchence)
From the 12″ single Original Sin
Original version from the album The Swing
Atco Records, 1984
Vinyl rip courtesy of the Analog Kid
Listen Like Thieves may be the first INXS album I ever purchased, but The Swing will always be my favorite. The album didn’t perform particularly well in the United States, but “Original Sin” was a big hit just about everywhere else. Producer Nile Rodgers crafted The Swing into INXS’ most-danceable record, but it’s also the best batch of songs the Aussies ever committed to vinyl.
XTC: “All You Pretty Girls” [Single Version] (Partridge)
Original version from the album The Big Express
Virgin Records, 1984
“All You Pretty Girls” was the lead single from The Big Express, XTC’s seventh album. By that point, XTC existed only as a studio band due to Andy Patrtridge’s issues with severe stage fright. The lack of touring exposure likely contributed to the poor chart performance of “All You Pretty Girls” (and The Big Express album as well), but it’s still a fantastic song and and one of XTC’s best singles.
Duran Duran: “The Wild Boys” [Wilder Than The Wild Boys Extended Mix] (Duran Duran)
From the 12″ single The Wild Boys
Original version from the album Arena
Capitol Records, 1984
Every time I hear this song, I picture Andy Taylor trying to sneak into the control room (cigarette in mouth, of course) to turn up his guitar. I mean, listen to it– the man is rocking out, and he’s about as loud up in the mix as Yasmin’s backing vocals. Not a surprise, I suppose, that Taylor would soon need a side project (The Power Station) to vent his pent-up guitar frustrations…
“The Wild Boys” peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it is perhaps best known for its futuristic video that almost killed Simon LeBon. The “Simon almost drowned” myth has been dispelled over the years, as has the rumor that Yasmin LeBon provided backing vocals on the song (started by me almost three whole sentences ago!).
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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.
Ultravox: “Vienna” (Cann/Cross/Currie/Ure)
From the album Vienna
Chrysalis Records, 1980
Ultravox: “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes” [Extended Version]
From the 12″ single Dancing With Tears In My Eyes
Chrysalis Records, 1984
Vinyl rip courtesy of DJ PaulT and his amazing Burning The Ground site: http://burningtheground.net/
INXS: “I Send A Message” (A. Farriss/Hutchence)
From the album The Swing
Atco Records, 1984
The Power Station: “Murderess” (Taylor/Palmer/Taylor)
From the album The Power Station
Capitol Records, 1985
The Analog Kid 